The Eagle of the Ninth – Photos from the Roman film starring Channing Tatum

Directed by Kevin Macdonald. Starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland, Mark Strong and Tahar Rahim, The Eagle of the Ninth is set in the dangerous world of second-century Britain. In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila (Tatum) arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth. Accompanied only by his British slave Esca (Bell), Marcus sets out across Hadrian’s Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia – to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father’s memory, and retrieve the lost legion’s golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth.

Source: Movie Web

The Eagle of the Ninth is shooting

The Eagle of the Ninth has begun shooting in Hungary. No it is not a film about golf. If you like big Roman epics then this could be for you. It is directed by Kevin Macdonald and stars Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland, and Mark Strong.

Filming begins today on the Roman epic adventure The Eagle of the Ninth, directed by Academy Award winner Kevin Macdonald and produced by Duncan Kenworthy. Shooting entirely on location in Hungary and Scotland, the film is co-financed by Film4 with Focus Features, which holds worldwide rights excluding U.K. free-TV.

The cast is headed by Channing Tatum (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, the upcoming Dear John), Jamie Bell (Defiance, Jumper), two-time Golden Globe Award winner Donald Sutherland, and Mark Strong (the upcoming Sherlock Holmes and Robin Hood). Mr. Macdonald is reunited on the new film with Jeremy Brock, BAFTA Award-winning screenwriter of his 2006 film The Last King of Scotland, who has adapted the screenplay of The Eagle of the Ninth from Rosemary Sutcliff’s classic novel of the same name.

The Eagle of the Ninth is set in the dangerous world of second-century Britain. In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila (played by Mr. Tatum) arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth. Accompanied only by his British slave Esca (Mr. Bell), Marcus sets out across Hadrian’s Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia – to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father’s memory, and retrieve the lost legion’s golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth. Mr. Sutherland portrays Marcus’ uncle Aquila, who has retired in Britain; Mr. Strong is cast as Guern, an ex-soldier who holds crucial information about the Ninth.

Film4 head Tessa Ross added, “We’re incredibly excited to be working again with the wonderful Kevin Macdonald and his brilliant collaborators on this great project – Duncan, Jeremy, and our colleagues at Focus.”

In addition to The Last King of Scotland, for which Forest Whitaker won the Best Actor Academy Award, Mr. Macdonald’s films as director include One Day in September, which won him the Best Documentary Feature Oscar; the mountain-climbing thriller Touching the Void; and, most recently, State of Play, starring Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck.

Duncan Kenworthy has produced three of the most successful British films of all time: Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Love Actually. Together, they have grossed nearly $900 million at the worldwide box-office. He has been nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards, and has won five BAFTA Awards and three Emmy Awards. He was made an O.B.E. in 1999 for services to film, and is vice president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). In 2004, he created the Toledo Scholarships at the National Film and Television School for British ethnic minority students; there have been eight Toledo Scholars so far.

Film4, headed by Tessa Ross, is Channel 4 Television’s feature film division. The Company develops and co-finances film productions and is known for working with the most innovative talent in the U.K., whether new or established. Film4 was a financier of Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, which won 8 Academy Awards earlier this year. Film4 partnered with Focus on Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges, for which star Colin Farrell won a Golden Globe Award. It also backed Steve McQueen’s Hunger, winner of, amongst other awards, the 2008 Cannes International Film Festival’s Camera d’Or; and Mike Leigh’s Oscar-nominated Happy-Go-Lucky, for which star Sally Hawkins won a Golden Globe Award.

Film4′s most recent releases include Ken Loach’s Looking for Eric and Michael Winterbottom’s Genova. Upcoming Film4 projects include Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones; Paul King’s Bunny and the Bull; Sam Taylor Wood’s Nowhere Boy; Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go; Xiaolu Guo’s She, A Chinese, which won the Golden Leopard at the 2009 Locarno Film Festival; and, with Focus Features International, and the UK Film Council’s Premiere Fund, Mike Leigh’s new film.

Kevin Macdonald to bring The End of Eternity

Kevin Macdonald has made a deal with New Regency to develop and direct The End of Eternity, the 1955 Isaac Asimov novel according to Variety.

The Eternity of the title is an organization and a place which exists outside time. It is staffed by humans (usually male) called Eternals who are recruited from different eras of human history commencing with the twenty-seventh century. The Eternals are capable of traveling “upwhen” and “downwhen” within Eternity and entering the conventional temporal world at almost any point of their choice, apart from a section of the far future which they cannot enter. Collectively they form a corps of Platonic guardians who carry out carefully calculated and planned strategic minimum actions, called Reality Changes, within the temporal world in order to minimise human suffering as integrated over the whole of (future) human history.

It sounds like major league sci-fi and I think I’ll be having a read of it when I can.

The director is following up the newspaper drama “State of Play” with “Eagle of the Ninth,” a second-century Roman military drama for Focus Features

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State of Play, 2009 – Movie Review

Director: Kevin MacdonaldStarring: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels, Michael Berresse, Viola Davis
Running Time: 127 minutes
Score: 8/10

This is a fantastic review by Don Fishies.

Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is helping with the government investigation of a shady military-based company when he receives word that his mistress has committed suicide. Visually distraught, he leaves a hearing in tears and sets off a media circus. Seasoned reporter Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) was his roommate in college, and the two have remained friends. In a bid to quash the political blogging of junior reporter Della Frye (Rachel McAdams), McAffrey sets out to find the truth about the story.

State of Play sets itself up early on to be a cookie-cutter, predictable thriller. But as the film progresses, it rather quickly becomes the twisty and conniving thriller it needs to be. Despite being heavily dialogue driven, the film is an intense ride that will keep people on edge throughout. Some scenes are downright terrifying in their amped up suspense and political intrigue. This film really set out to be tense, and succeeds wonderfully. It knows just what punches to pull, and when to pull them.

The script, written by political scribes Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tony Gilory and Billy Ray, is insight and intriguing. It could have easily been made boring and inundated with rehashed politicalisms (like all of their last films), but this film revels in how interesting it becomes. It has laughs strung throughout (a genuine surprise), and lacks the nerve to become loaded to the brim with facts and innuendos. Instead, it expertly weaves between scenes, amping up the intensity of some scenes, and downplaying others.

But this is mainly due to the incredible performances by the cast. Crowe (who I usually loathe) and Affleck are simply outstanding in their roles. Age issues aside, both play their character with finesse and charisma. Affleck looks and acts like a confused wet-behind-the-ears, gunning-for-higher-office political pawn from beginning to end. Some of the reactions on his face are downright devastating in how excellently they are conveyed. And this is a guy critics once said could not act. Coupled with one-two shot of acting in Hollywoodland and directing Gone Baby Gone, we may be seeing a renewed resonance and importance for the Oscar-winner. Crowe on the other hand, delivers his strongest performance in years. While he has been downplayed and underused in his last few films, he carries this film. He is stubborn and vaguely likable, but he makes his character work for all of his idiosyncrasies and ethically-questionable tactics. He makes a seasoned journalist look like an amateur.

McAdams, all but a ghost recently, holds her own against the two heavy-hitters and delivers a performance that is both inspired and emotional. It gives her a lot of room to act, and she delivers in every instance. The rest of the cast is a bit mixed however, as so little of them is given that much to do. Harry Lennix, Robin Wright Penn, Jeff Daniels, the horrifying Michael Berresse and especially Jason Bateman, all deliver noteworthy performances, but never get to really shine in them. They all have their traits and motivations, but get little screen time to truly express them. They each are developed quite strongly, but they lack the movement afforded to Crowe, Affleck and McAdams. I simply loved Helen Mirren’s scenery-gauging editor and all of her subtleties. But she too, is downplayed to the point of almost barely being in the film.

Despite its intensity, the film is bogged down by its dialogue-heavy scenes and consistent character additions. It is easy to keep track of everyone, but so many people are introduced that the film loses its focus on more than one occasion. It makes for a few scenes that are merely filler between the scenes of useful heavy acting. It just feels so tiring. I understand now how daunting a task it must have been to convert six hours of British television into a 127-minute film, but there are scenes that are just too easy to not have been cut out (some entire mildly useful subplots may have helped). Adding characters in makes sense for a story about two journalists frantically searching to lift the lid on a story, but there needs to be more emphasis on what was needed and not needed. A brilliant montage in the middle of the film goes almost entirely to waste because the filmmakers lack the knowledge of what should be cut. Limiting the preposterous and silly climax could have also done wonders. The scenes that are left in the film (including the finale) are great, but they could have been stronger if they were as tightly wound as the film wants itself to be. A little less shaky hand camera movement could have also significantly benefited the film.

Even with its problems, it is clear from the on-set of the first shot in the bullpen at the Washington Globe that the filmmakers are going for a very keen sense of homage to All the President’s Men. While the on-going and very professional relationship between McAffrey and Frye is very similar to Woodward and Bernstein, the fabric of journalistic integrity and researching are the core of State of Play. The film is loaded with allusions to the Oscar-winning film, and even mimics shots right out of the film. While it is obvious for anyone who has seen Men, this film’s nods are done in such a delicate and unique way that they never become distracting or blatant. The film is its own, and does not ever feel like it is living in its big-brother’s shadow. It is a fresh take on old-fashioned reporting in a very digital age, and frequently walks the tight line of old versus new.

State of Play looked interesting, and surprisingly delivers on almost every count. It is not a perfect film, but it is a solid example of great film-making. It wants to be more, but seems content at being a twisty and suspenseful modern thriller.

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State of Play – TV Spot

Director: Kevin Macdonald
Writer: Matthew Michael Carnahan
Studio: Universal Pictures
Cast: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams

Due out on 17th April 2009

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State of Play – TV Spot

Director: Kevin Macdonald
Writer: Matthew Michael Carnahan
Studio: Universal Pictures
Cast: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams

Due out on 17th April 2009

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State of Play – International trailer

The plot will be similar to that of the original six-hour program, retaining several main characters, but condensing and changing certain aspects to fit the two-hour format. The film is set in Washington, D.C. and tells of Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), a fast-rising United States Congressman with ambitions to become his party’s presidential candidate. This goal is threatened after his mistress (a former research assistant) is found dead in suspicious circumstances, while right-wing opponents to Collins’ campaign for social reform attempt to use the scandal to kill his political career. During a probe into a series of seemingly unrelated murders, Cal McCaffrey (Russell Crowe), an investigative journalist and Collins’ former campaign manager, finds himself tasked with solving the case, becoming romantically involved with the Congressman’s estranged wife (Robin Wright Penn) in the process.

Director: Kevin Macdonald
Writer: Matthew Michael Carnahan
Studio: Universal Pictures
Cast: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams

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State of Play – New poster shows Russell Crowe has a giant head

Handsome, unflappable U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins is the future of his political party: an honorable appointee who serves as the chairman of a committee overseeing defense spending. All eyes are upon the rising star to be his party’s contender for the upcoming presidential race. Until his research assistant/mistress is brutally murdered and buried secrets come tumbling out.

D.C. reporter Cal McCaffrey has the dubious fortune of both an old friendship with Collins and a ruthless editor, Cameron, who has assigned him to investigate. As he and partner Della try to uncover the killer’s identity, McCaffrey steps into a cover-up that threatens to shake the nation’s power structures. And in a town of spin-doctors and wealthy politicos, he will discover one truth: when billions are at stake, no one’s integrity, love or life is ever safe.

Directed by Kevin Macdonald. Starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams and Helen Mirren.

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State of Play – New Photo

A rising congressman and an investigative journalist are embroiled in a case of seemingly unrelated, brutal murders. With Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels and Helen Mirren. Directed by Kevin Macdonald. Screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan and Tony Gilroy and Billy Ray.

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