London Film Festival Review: Matthew Warchus’ Opening-Night Movie ‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical’
There are stories so good they can withstand any amount of retelling. Matilda began life as Roald Dahl’s rollicking tale of an outrageously spirited, clever little girl who defeats the bullying headmistress whose vocation is to make children miserable. The Royal Shakespeare Company turned it into a Christmas musical that burst the banks of the festive season, running for years and winning seven Olivier Awards in 2012 in London, then five Tonys the following year in New York. Now, director Matthew Warchus, along with writer Dennis Kelly and songwriter Tim Minchin, has directed the London Film Festival opener Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical for the screen. And once again, it is an absolute blast.
From the moment it begins, with a series of glowingly lit babies in cribs “singing” about how their besotted parents think they’re all geniuses, it is clear that Warchus and the team have not...
From the moment it begins, with a series of glowingly lit babies in cribs “singing” about how their besotted parents think they’re all geniuses, it is clear that Warchus and the team have not...
- 10/5/2022
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
For cinematographer George Steel, the key to “The Aeronauts,” director Tom Hooper’s $80 million film starring Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne as balloonist-scientists who soar to 35,000 feet to break records in 1862, was to take the viewer along for the ride.
When Variety visited the cast and crew on set in London, Steel was crouched into the corner of the 8-by-8 balloon basket. “Tom was adamant that it should feel like the camera was in the basket with them,” says Steel. “[Most] of the shots didn’t deviate from that. There are a few shots on a crane from outside the basket, and then we used a helicopter. If you couldn’t do it for real, Tom wasn’t interested.”
Some of the first shots were of Redmayne and Jones at 2,000 feet above the English countryside, where Steel directed helicopters and drones to capture aerial shots without VFX. Jones’ stunt double, Helen Steinway Bailey,...
When Variety visited the cast and crew on set in London, Steel was crouched into the corner of the 8-by-8 balloon basket. “Tom was adamant that it should feel like the camera was in the basket with them,” says Steel. “[Most] of the shots didn’t deviate from that. There are a few shots on a crane from outside the basket, and then we used a helicopter. If you couldn’t do it for real, Tom wasn’t interested.”
Some of the first shots were of Redmayne and Jones at 2,000 feet above the English countryside, where Steel directed helicopters and drones to capture aerial shots without VFX. Jones’ stunt double, Helen Steinway Bailey,...
- 12/6/2019
- by Valentina I. Valentini
- Variety Film + TV
What do you say about a 19th-century ballooning movie that looks great in the air but doesn’t stick the emotional landing? That’s the problem with The Aeronauts, one of those “based on a true story” undertakings that are only partly true. The film reunites Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, who previously costarred as Stephen Hawking and his wife Jane in The Theory of Everything (both were nominated for an Oscar; only he won the trophy). Redmayne plays real-life British meteorologist James Glaisher, who thinks he can defy the...
- 12/3/2019
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
There is something disarming about the joint presence of the ever-bashful Eddie Redmayne and the fiercely charismatic Felicity Jones that instantly feels wholesome. So when the duo embarks on a hot air balloon adventure in “Wild Rose” director Tom Harper’s “The Aeronauts,” you can’t help but tag along and root for “The Theory of Everything” co-stars. Playing a pair of complementary trailblazers that start off on the wrong foot, , even if it operates on a handful of clichés with little character-based substance to speak of.
Which is why Amazon Studios’ two-week-only exclusive theatrical window slated for December is a curious release strategy for a film whose greatest selling point is the reasonable amount of greenscreen visual wonder it delivers through a pair of enchanting leads. With his signature on-screen amiability (even when his character is being difficult or grumpy), Redmayne plays real-life scientist James Glaisher, who dreams of...
Which is why Amazon Studios’ two-week-only exclusive theatrical window slated for December is a curious release strategy for a film whose greatest selling point is the reasonable amount of greenscreen visual wonder it delivers through a pair of enchanting leads. With his signature on-screen amiability (even when his character is being difficult or grumpy), Redmayne plays real-life scientist James Glaisher, who dreams of...
- 9/4/2019
- by Tomris Laffly
- Variety Film + TV
Credit: Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios announce that principal photography has begun across the UK and in London for the feature film The Aeronauts.
The film reunites Felicity Jones (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) and Eddie Redmayne following their successful collaboration on The Theory of Everything, where Jones received an Oscar nomination and Redmayne went onto win the Oscar for his performance of Stephen Hawking.
The Aeronauts is directed by BAFTA nominee Tom Harper and is written by BAFTA winner Jack Thorne.
Set in 1862, The Aeronauts follow wealthy young widow Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) and ambitious scientist James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) as they mount a balloon expedition to fly higher than anyone in history. This is a journey to the very edge of existence, where the air is thin and the chances of survival are slim. As their perilous ascent reveals their true selves, this unlikely pair discover things about...
Amazon Studios announce that principal photography has begun across the UK and in London for the feature film The Aeronauts.
The film reunites Felicity Jones (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) and Eddie Redmayne following their successful collaboration on The Theory of Everything, where Jones received an Oscar nomination and Redmayne went onto win the Oscar for his performance of Stephen Hawking.
The Aeronauts is directed by BAFTA nominee Tom Harper and is written by BAFTA winner Jack Thorne.
Set in 1862, The Aeronauts follow wealthy young widow Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) and ambitious scientist James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) as they mount a balloon expedition to fly higher than anyone in history. This is a journey to the very edge of existence, where the air is thin and the chances of survival are slim. As their perilous ascent reveals their true selves, this unlikely pair discover things about...
- 8/15/2018
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Amazon Studios is under way in the UK on ballooning survival pic The Aeronauts, starring Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne.
The online giant has released a striking first look of the two actors (who starred opposite each other in The Theory Of Everything) 2,000 feet in the air.
Tom Courtenay (45 Years), Anne Reid (The Last Tango In Halifax), Rebecca Front (The Thick of It), Vincent Perez (Riviera), Tim McInnery (Game of Thrones), Phoebe Fox (The Hollow Crown) and Himesh Patel have joined the cast.
Pic is directed by BAFTA nominee Tom Harper (War & Peace) and is written by Jack Thorne (Harry Potter And The Cursed Child).
Set in 1862, the film follow wealthy young widow Amelia Wren (Jones) and ambitious scientist James Glaisher (Redmayne) as they mount a balloon expedition to fly higher than anyone in history. The chances of survival are slim.
The film is produced by Harper,...
The online giant has released a striking first look of the two actors (who starred opposite each other in The Theory Of Everything) 2,000 feet in the air.
Tom Courtenay (45 Years), Anne Reid (The Last Tango In Halifax), Rebecca Front (The Thick of It), Vincent Perez (Riviera), Tim McInnery (Game of Thrones), Phoebe Fox (The Hollow Crown) and Himesh Patel have joined the cast.
Pic is directed by BAFTA nominee Tom Harper (War & Peace) and is written by Jack Thorne (Harry Potter And The Cursed Child).
Set in 1862, the film follow wealthy young widow Amelia Wren (Jones) and ambitious scientist James Glaisher (Redmayne) as they mount a balloon expedition to fly higher than anyone in history. The chances of survival are slim.
The film is produced by Harper,...
- 8/15/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
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