The Playlist
Oliver Lyttelton
25 Oct 2011
Relationships are key in the filmmaking world, particularly in terms of actually getting the damn things made, and it’s no surprise that many of the most successful filmmakers are ones with long-running close partnerships with producers. One of the closest today is that between eclectic filmmaker Michael Winterbottom and his long-term producing partner Andrew Eaton. The pair first worked together on the 1994 TV series “Family,” founding Revolution Films together around the same time, and have made a film almost every year.
We talked to Eaton recently when he was promoting his latest film “360” at the BFI London Film Festival, and, as well as news on Beatles biopic “The Longest Cocktail Party,” which Winterbottom is planning to direct, and the remake of “Red Riding,” we also managed to get updates from him on a host of projects that the two are, or were, planning together at Revolution.
…And 2013 should see another Winterbottom film, as his long-in-the-works prison drama “Seven Days,” with John Simm and Shirley Henderson, is almost done, with Eaton updating, “We’ve got another year to go, we’ve got one more bit of filming to do.”
Whatsonstage.com
Theo Bosanquet
20 October 2011
John Simm as Hamlet (2010)
Sheffield Theatres artistic director Daniel Evans, currently in rehearsals for the forthcoming revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, has announced the final part of the company’s year long 40th anniversary season.
Simm returns to Sheffield
The 40th anniversary season climaxes in the Crucible with a new revival of Harold Pinter’s popular play Betrayal, which runs from 22 May to 9 June 2012 (previews from 17 May). Directed by Nick Bagnall, the production will feature a return to the Crucible for Life on Mars star John Simm, who played Hamlet there last year.
Famously played backwards in time, Betrayal traces a seven-year affair between art gallery owner Emma and literary agent Jerry (Simm), the best friend of her publisher husband Robert, from its poignant end to its first illicit kiss.
Simm’s other stage work includes Elling (Bush Theatre and Trafalgar Studios) Speaking in Tongues at the Duke of York’s, Goldhawk Road (also at the Bush) and Danny Rule (Royal Court Theatre).
Read full article.
Manchester Evening News
The Diary by Dianne Bourne
28 September 2011
Bumper year for RTS TV awards as MediaCity makes its mark on the north west
Hollyoaks stars and real-life couple Claire Cooper and Emmett J Scanlan will go head-to-head for an RTS Award
With the BBC’s ongoing move of departments to MediaCity in Salford, this year’s North West Royal Television Society Awards is shaping up to be the biggest ever.
So who better to host this year’s glittering red carpet awards bash than BBC Breakfast’s very own Bill Turnbull, one of the most high profile names set to move up to join colleagues in Salford in the new year.
Bill will be the host with the most at the event, which rewards news, entertainment and factual programmes created here in the north west.
Organisers say the arrival of MediaCity to the region has rather raised the bar, with the competition set to be tighter than ever after a record number of entries.
There are 21 categories with submissions from individuals, production companies and broadcasters, with the nominations revealed yesterday.
And one showbiz category that rather caught The Diary’s eye is the eagerly-anticipated Best Performance in a Continuing Drama gong – that this year includes a real-life soap couple doing battle. For Hollyoaks stars Claire Cooper and Emmett J Scanlan have both been nominated for their soap roles as Jacqui McQueen and scheming Brendan Brady.
Claire told The Diary: “Firstly as we both share in the same passion it is an absolute honour to be nominated. I can’t think of a better actor to be up against, so even if Emmett does win I’ll be over the moon and proud to have that award on our mantelpiece!”
Emmett, bless him, said he hopes Claire wins over him though.
He said: “I really am truly honoured to be nominated, the people of Britain have welcomed me in into their homes with open arms and for that I’m utterly humbled. But I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this award than Claire. And no one as hard working.
“Then again she paid me to say that… I’m kidding. Bring it home, Cooper!”
The Best Performance in a Comedy category looks to be one of the most eagerly-anticipated, with EastEnder Jo Joyner nominated for her role in Candy Cabs up against Shameless favourite Tina Malone, comedy star Johnny Vegas for Ideal and Joel Fry for White Van Man.
Meanwhile Corrie has been rewarded for its 50th anniversary storylines – with the tram crash and live episode nominated for two production gongs, with the soap also nominated as Best Continuing Drama as well as for Best Entertainment Programme.
But it may face stiff competition for that particular gong from the south – as hit reality show The Only Way Is Essex also makes the nomination list as it is produced by Liverpool-based media company Lime Pictures.
The Best Performance in a Single Drama will also be close to call, with David Tennant nominated for Single Father, Christopher Eccleston for Accused, John Simm for Exile and Suranne Jones for Scott and Bailey.
Alex Connock, chair of RTS North West, said he was delighted with the calibre of this year’s entries.
He said: “This was always going to be a big year in the north west, as the BBC starts to move into MediaCityUK.
“But what’s really exciting is that there are so many other developments – a growth in the number of entries overall, really strong performance by indies, great contributions from well beyond Salford and Manchester. So it promises to be a great awards evening.”
The red carpet bash takes place on 19 November 2011.
Mind Media Awards
27 Sep 2011
Mind is delighted to announce the shortlist for the 2011 Mind Media Awards. The Mind Media Awards celebrate the best portrayals of mental distress, and reporting of mental health, in the media.
Nominated in the Drama category are:
- Casualty (BBC 1)
- Exile (BBC 1) Three part psychological thriller, starring John Simm and Jim Broadbent, that reminds us of how shameful and shocking mental health care was in the UK within living memory. A son returns to his hometown to reconnect with his father and learn the truth about what happened between them years before.
- Holby City (BBC 1)
See the full shortlist of nominations announced for this year’s Mind Media Awards.
This year’s Awards will be held at the British Film Institute on Monday 28 November. Watch the 2010 film to see what the winners, nominees, judges and guests thought of last year’s event.
Mind would like to thank Nutmeg productions for its kind generosity and hard work in producing this film
Mind is now accepting suggestions for the 2012 Mind Media Awards.
BBC Radio 2
Dermot O’Leary, Noel Gallagher Sits In
10 Sep 2011
Noel Gallagher Sits In
John Simm joins Mancunian musical legend and wit Noel Gallagher as he presents the Dermot O’Leary Show, with Matt Morgan. David Walliams also joins the show by phone, to provide an update on his bid to swim the length of the Thames for Sport Relief.
Listen to Radio Interview (click play button below):
BBC Radio 2 Music – Noel Gallagher with John Simm (0:32:46)
(With special thanks to ‘Peter Popper’ at The Railway Arms for the heads up!)
Charity Postcard Auction Event
23 July – 31 July
Mike Rophone ‘whr Mascot’ & Katy McAleese
Charity Postcard Auction: John Simm: Dr. Who
John Simm Signs for Charity Postcard Auction (front & back shown. Pic of John not incl.)
This is a one off item for sale. John has appeared in Mad Dogs; Exile; Moving On; The Master in Doctor Who, The Devil’s Whore, Life on Mars; State of Play; Miranda; Magic Hour; The Lakes; Cracker; The Bill; and Heartbeat.
John has written “With love and best wishes” on the back of a picture of Snowdonia postcard (see picture), which measures about 5” by 3”. The picture of John is NOT included in this auction.
Over 200 postcards will be listed this weekend, see Complete Listing.
Postcard auction begins this weekend to raise money for charity. The postcards are signed by stars of the stage and screen and the money will be split between Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Walsall Hospital Radio. This event is to help spread the word so please invite EVERYONE to join, thank you
Half of the postcards will be listed on the 23rd of July and the other half on the 24th July. The postcards will then be listed for a week. To find who you want to bid on please type ‘postcard’ and the name of the person you want to bid on into the eBay search box. If you can’t find who you want then they’ll be listed on Sunday.
Happy bidding
Mike Rophone ‘whr Mascot’ & Katy McAleese
The Guardian
Phil Fisk and Alice Fisher
20 May 2011
Ahead of the Philips British Academy Television Awards on Sunday, photographer Phil Fisk shares his extraordinary portfolio of television stars. Read more special Bafta coverage – including Mark Gatiss on the state of television and interviews with Miranda Hart and Sir Trevor McDonald – in the Observer Magazine this weekend.
John Simm: Photograph by Phil Fisk
Watching TV dramas can be a busman’s holiday,” admits John Simm. “I watch them differently, wondering why they did that shot, why it was like that.”
Looking at his CV, it’s easy to see why he might feel that way. As well as working with the best drama writers in television today – Paul Abbott, Jimmy McGovern, Peter Flannery, Abi Morgan – Simm’s also found mainstream adoration both as Doctor Who’s nemesis The Master and as Sam Tyler, the “back in time” cop from Life on Mars. This year he appeared in black comedy Mad Dogs – Bafta-nominated for best drama serial – and the dysfunctional family drama Exile. Shooting Mad Dogs, he says, was tremendous fun; Exile was just tremendous.
“The set was a riot; Olivia Colman and Jim Broadbent were a right old laugh. We had to make it fun or it would have been the most depressing job in the world – the script was so heavy and so good”
Mad Dogs Series 2 Confirmed For Early 2012
The Gang is Back
Mad Dogs 2 is set for early 2012 - the boys are back.
Mad Dog fans – the wait is finally over. Mad Dogs 2 has been confirmed for early 2012 and Max Beesley, Philip Glenister, John Simm and Marc Warren will all reprise their roles.
Leftbank Pictures are once more behind the second series, filming this summer in Majorca and Ibiza, and will once again comprise 4 hour-long episodes for transmission in early 2012 with all cast optioned for a potential third series too.
The story picks up where series one ended with Woody, Baxter and Rick driving away from the villa as Quinn has chosen to stay and make a new life in Majorca. In the opening scenes viewers will see Woody, Baxter and Rick have a change of heart and turn back.
So there's more of this...
However, it isn’t long before they realise they’ve made the wrong move, setting themselves on an even more misguided course. In the series two opener viewers will see another killing and an escape with the drug money but can they really make a getaway when there are people who want their money back? The complicated situation the friends have found themselves in continues to spin wildly out of control and surely it can only be a matter of time before they face their day of reckoning…
Series one proved a big success with viewers earlier this year gaining a loyal weekly audience to become the eleventh most watched programme in Sky 1’s history. And the programme has also received a BAFTA nomination for Drama Serial.
Stuart Murphy, Director of Programmes, Sky 1 HD, Sky 1, 2 & Pick TV and Director of Commissioning, Sky Entertainment commented: “Customers loved this show so it’s great to commit to more. At Sky we work hard to bring our viewers high quality original entertainment made by the very best production companies with fantastic talent so I’m delighted we can confirm Mad Dogs’ return just a few weeks after the first series has finished its run. This also marks a growing investment in British scripted content, to sit alongside our great American shows.”
And a little more of this...
Andy Harries and Suzanne Mackie return to executive produce for Leftbank Productions with James Hawes (Merlin, Doctor Who) directing scripts written again by Cris Cole.
Andy Harries commented: “Mad Dogs had such an impact that it was as obvious as a dead goat that we had to do more and all the our amazing cast felt the same.”
Suzanne Mackie said: “Before we had finished the first series of Mad Dogs we felt that there was so much more to do with these characters. I have been working with Cris Cole on the scripts ever since we finished shooting series one and the ideas for series two and three are every bit as explosive and inventive as they were at the beginning.”
Excited? Can’t wait to see the boys back in action? Let us know and join the conversation on our Facebook page and Twitter stream.
With thanks to The Railway Arms for the News Link!
John Simm: In Love With Shakespeare
Sky Arts
Sky Arts 1 HD
Premiering Saturday 28 May 6.30pm
Finest thespian talents unite for a celebration of Shakespeare
Catherine Tate
A cast of some of the country’s finest actors has assembled for a celebration of Shakespeare’s greatest speeches.
Simon Callow, Stephen Campbell-Moore, Anthony Head, Robert Lindsay, Richard Madden, Jonathan Pryce, John Simm, Catherine Tate, Samuel West, Janie Dee and Colin Hurley, who appear in Shakespeare’s Globe’s 2011 season, will recite a selection of some of the best of the Bard’s monologues in a series of Shakespeare shorts.
The pieces were chosen by each actor as their particular favourite and have been filmed to celebrate the work of organisations and charities including Shakespeare Country, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Shakespeare’s Globe.
A 30 minute film, which will broadcast all the speeches, will premiere on Saturday 28 May. The individual monologues will then be broadcast throughout May and June on both Sky Arts 1 and 2.
Simon Callow
Simon Callow will recite one of Shakespeare’s best-known battle speeches, ‘Once more unto the breach, dear friends,’ from Henry V. Catherine Tate’s chosen passage is Hermione’s speech ‘Sir, spare your threats,’ from The Winter’s Tale, the climax of the play in Act III, where she defends her honour against her jealous husband Leontes.
Jonathan Pryce will enact perhaps one of the most famous speeches of them all, Hamlet’s celebrated ‘To be or not to be’ while Samuel West will perform the most famous speech of Richard II: ‘No matter where; of comfort no man speak,’ the speech which marks Richard out as one of Shakespeare’s most poetic characters.
Stephen Campbell-Moore’s choice is one of the most highly quoted of all the speeches, Mark Anthony’s funeral oration from Julius Caesar, “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears.” John Simm’s chosen passage is from Hamlet, Act II, scene 2: ‘Oh what a rogue and peasant slave am I,’ the speech in which the conflicted Hamlet berates himself for being a coward in failing to avenge his father’s death.
Robert Lindsay
Robert Lindsay will perform Edmund’s ‘Why “bastard”?’ speech from King Lear. Richard Madden’s chosen passage is the declaration of war from the famous tennis ball scene in Henry V. Actors Janie Dee and Colin Hurley are both currently appearing in the Globe’s production of All’s Well that End’s Well, and will perform extracts from the play: the Countess of Rousillon’s sensual soliloquy, and the comic duologue in Act 2, Scene 2, with Dee as the Countess and Hurley as her clown servant Levache. Anthony Head will tackle Cardinal Wolsey’s monologue from Henry VIII, Act 3 Scene 2: ‘So farewell to the little good you bear me.’ His daughter Emilie Head, best known as Carli from the hit series The Inbetweeners, will perform a favourite monologue as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.
“I couldn’t imagine a better cast to come together in celebration of the very best of the Bard,” comments James Hunt, Channel Director of Sky Arts. “We’re delighted that this remarkable selection of our finest thespians were so keen to take part and reveal their favourite pieces for the channel. The performances are a remarkable and fitting celebration of some of the greatest speeches ever written.”
In Love with Shakespeare is a B Good Picture Company Production and is directed by Joe Stephenson.
The Citizen
Jemma Humphreys
4 May 2011
One of TV’s finest actors, John Simm, was back on our screens this week in BBC psychological thriller Exile. The publicity-shy Nelson star tells us how filming in East Lancashire took him back to his youth.
John Simm: Lancashire is still my spiritual home
When Burnley-born Paul Abbott created the plot for Exile it had Nelson-raised John Simm’s name written all over it.
In the programme a moody teenager who left the terrace streets of Lancashire for a new life in London returns home after 15 years.
After making the very same move himself in 1988, aged 18, who else but John would play the role?
“My early life certainly helped me play this part, it wasn’t hard to put the two together,” said John who recently received rave reviews for Sky’s Mad Dogs.
“But my character’s circumstances for leaving are obviously very different from my own experiences.”
Creator Paul Abbott and writer Danny Brocklehurst, who have previously worked together on Clocking Off and Shameless, teamed up for this BBC psychological thriller.
John plays down-on-his-luck journalist Tom Ranstadt, sacked from his job and dumped by his lover, who does something he hasn’t done for 15 years — he returns home to the north.
“This character I play isn’t a very nice man, which you see right from the very beginning.
“But when your life’s a mess and there’s nowhere else to go, you go home and a lot of people will relate to that,” explained the 40-year-old actor.
As it transpires, Tom left home at 17 when his seemingly loving and caring journalist father, played by Jim Broadbent, beat him up, sending him into self-enforced exile.
John, who is married to Kate with children Ryan, nine, and Molly, four, added:
“My character worships his dad, a brilliant journalist full of morals.
“He was a deputy editor for the equivalent of The Lancashire Telegraph today — and Tom wanted to be just like him.
“One day he goes into his dad’s study and finds a top secret file and his father beats him nearly half to death.
“He leaves home immediately and never returns until now.
“But when he comes back to confront his dad he finds he is so far into Alzheimer’s he can’t give him any answers.”
Over the three-parter, we saw Tom become the journalist he has always wanted to be as he pieces together facts in search of the truth.
“He discovers a mindblowing scandal that is so disturbingly dark, it’s shocking,” John added.
Given the subject matter, John said it was important to keep the set jovial and light — something which, with the chosen cast, was never a problem.
“If you’re doing something so heavy, it can get you down, but with Jim and Olivia (Coleman, who plays his sister) it was just a joy.
“Jim is such a lovely man and Olivia is really funny. We had a really great time.
“And my family came over to visit the set too so that was fun.”
John’s parents live in Hapton and his youngest sister still lives in Nelson where the family settled after moving over the pennines from Leeds where John was born.
Filming, which concluded earlier this year, was a trip down memory lane for John, when the cast and crew visited sets in Bolton, Manchester, Bury and Ramsbottom.
In Ramsbottom, film crews closed off Bridge Street and Railway Street and even filmed scenes in the Grant’s Arms pub, Market Place.
“It reminded me of being 17 again,” said John who grew up in Temple Street, Nelson, with his parents, two younger sisters and an outside toilet.
“You forget how lovely the people are. Lancashire is my spiritual home; I spent most of my youth there and it’s always a joy to be back there.”
The former Edge End High School pupil added: “I used to go to Burnley and Manchester for nights out and I have fond memories growing up.
“I had a great childhood, we were very poor, but we played out and we had so much fun.”
After leaving Nelson at 16, John trained in acting at Blackpool and The Fylde College before moving to London to launch his career.
An everyman with a rare talent, it wasn’t long before he was starring in Jimmy McGovern’s The Lakes and since then he’s never stopped: films Human Traffic, Clocking Off, 24-Hour Party People, and TV series Crime and Punishment, Sate Of Play, Life on Mars and Doctor Who.
Not to mention his theatre credits which include playing Hamlet last year at The Sheffield Crucible. And in 2012 he’s set to star in Michael Winterbottom’s latest feature film Seven Days, about a prisoner, shot in real time.
But making the trip north for Exile was a particular career highlight, according to John.
“It was fantasic to work with Paul Abbott, and lovely to see him again as he’s a very old friend of mine. Anything with his name on it is quality.
“There’s something about being from the north,” said John, who, as a teenager, toured the working men’s clubs of East Lancashire with his dad playing the guitar.
“So much brilliant art, music, and creativity comes from the north.
“There is something in the water. It’s an incredible place.”
But there is one aspect of Exile John isn’t looking forward to, the same part he always dreads about a new series — watching himself.
“I really don’t like it,” admitted the modest performer.
“I watch through splayed fingers, but you learn from yourself, so you have to see what you’ve done. Only once though!”
