2. WORKING TITLE and STUDIOCANAL CONFIRM CASTING FOR
TOMAS ALFREDSON’S
TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY
September 22, 2010, London – Working Title and
STUDIOCANAL today confirmed the casting for the eagerly
anticipated shoot of Tomas Alfredson’s TINKER, TAILOR,
SOLDIER, SPY, which will commence principal photography
at the end of September. Written by Peter Straughan and
Bridget O’Connor the film is an adaptation of John le
Carré’s bestselling novel of the same name and will star
Gary Oldman as George Smiley with Benedict
Cumberbatch, David Dencik, Colin Firth, Stephen Graham,
Tom Hardy, Jared Harris, Ciarán Hinds, Svetlana
Khodchenkova, Roger Lloyd Pack and Mark Strong.
3. Tim Bevan said "Tomas is one of the most
gifted directors in the industry and we are
really looking forward to working with him on
such an exciting project. The timing is right
for a big screen version of le Carré's classic
novel. It's great for us to have Tomas
onboard who has assembled a stellar cast and
will bring a unique vision to the material."
4. The film is fully financed by STUDIOCANAL, who will
release it first in the UK through its subsidiary Optimum
Releasing and then in France and in Germany through
Kinowelt, a STUDIOCANAL company as well. Optimum will
release the film in the UK on September 16,
2011. STUDIOCANAL will handle international sales for
the rest of the world.
"We are very happy to continue our 10 year partnership
with Working Title with TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER,
SPY. Tomas Alfredson is one of the most exciting
directors working today and it’s a pleasure for all of us at
STUDIOCANAL to be part of bringing his exciting vision of
John le Carré's classic spy thriller to the screen with such
an exceptional cast.” said Olivier Courson, Chairman and
CEO of STUDIOCANAL.
5. About Working Title Films
Founded in 1983, Working Title has made more than 90 films that have
grossed over $4.5 billion worldwide. Its films have won six Academy
Awards®, 26 BAFTA Awards and prestigious prizes at the Cannes and
Berlin International Film Festivals. The company’s commercial and
critical hits include The Interpreter, About a Boy, Notting Hill, Elizabeth,
Fargo, Dead Man Walking, Bean, Johnny English, Billy Elliot, Four
Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge
of Reason, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Love Actually, Shaun of the
Dead, Pride & Prejudice, Nanny McPhee, United 93, Mr. Bean’s Holiday,
Hot Fuzz, Atonement, The Green Zone, Burn After Reading and Nanny
McPhee and the Big Bang.
Currently in production are Oliver Parker's Johnny English Reborn
starring Rowan Atkinson as the improbable secret agent and Ken Kwapis'
Everybody Loves Whales starring Drew Barrymore and John
Krasinski. The company has also enjoyed continued success on the
stage with Billy Elliot The Musical, which is currently playing to full
houses in London, Broadway and Seoul.
6. STUDIOCANAL is a European leader in production,
acquisition and distribution of motion pictures, and the
only studio in Europe distributing all media at the source
in the three largest markets: France, Great Britain
(Optimum Releasing) and Germany (Kinowelt).
STUDIOCANAL owns one of the most comprehensive film
libraries in the world with more than 5,000 French, British,
Italian, German and American films.
The company is increasingly active in International
Production having fully financed The Last Exorcism and
having co-developed and co-financed The Tourist directed
by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck starring Angelina
Jolie and Johnny Depp. STUDIOCANAL has also financed
its first British films, including Rowan Joffe's Brighton Rock
and Joe Cornish's Attack the Block which will both be
released in 2011.
7. Established in May 1999, Optimum Releasing is a key element
within StudioCanal, the pan European film, production and sales
distribution arm of French media group, Canal+. Optimum
Releasing has established a reputation for an innovative
approach to distribution and has enjoyed success with a varied
mix of film titles across all genres. A passion for film and
commitment to creativity is central to all of Optimum's activity.
Recent and current theatrical releases include Michael Moore’s
Fahrenheit 9/11, Shane Meadows’ This is England, Guillermo del
Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, Paul Haggis’ In the Valley of Elah, Marjane
Satrapi’s Persepolis, Garth Jennings’ Son of Rambow, Darren
Aronofsky’s The Wrestler, Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona,
Armando Iannucci’s In the Loop, Anne Fontaine’s Coco avant
Chanel, Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, Jacques Audiard’s A
Prophet, Roman Polanski’s The Ghost and Chris Morris’ Four
Lions.
8. Optimum Home Entertainment, the
company's stand alone DVD division,
was established in 2004 and has
released over 400 titles to date, with
sales in excess of $70 million
generated in 2008. In 2007
Optimum Releasing, StudioCanal and
Lionsgate UK jointly acquired
Elevation Sales. Elevation now
handles the joint sales and
distribution of home entertainment
product for both Optimum Releasing
and Lionsgate UK.
On the production front, Optimum’s
ambitious plans include Rowan
Joffe’s Brighton Rock starring Sam
Riley, Andrea Riseborough and Helen
Mirren, which had its World Premiere
at the Toronto Film Festival; Joe
Cornish’s Attack the Block, the first
project to emerge from the recently
announced pact with Big Talk, and
Nick Murphy’s debut feature The
Awakening starring Rebecca Hall,
Dominic West and Imelda Staunton -
both in post production - and the
establishment of Warp X with Warp
Films, the Film Council and Film4.
The first two films from Warp X are
feature directorial debuts from Paddy
Considine with Tyrannosaur, and
from Richard Ayoade with
Submarine.
9. Working Title are currently
developing with Joe Wright a live-
action feature film of Hans Christian
Anderson's timeless and beloved
fairytale 'The Little Mermaid'
This adaptation, written by Abi
Morgan (Brick Lane, The Iron Lady),
will tell the story of the young
mermaid who is willing to give up
her life in the sea and her identity as
a mermaid to gain a human soul and
the love of a human prince. The story
which has captured the imagination
of adults and children since it was
first published in 1837, will be the
first live-action feature film version
to be made in the English language.
The project will bring Joe Wright back
into the Working Title fold having
directed his first three films 'Pride &
Prejudice', 'Atonement' and 'The
Soloist' with the company.
10. I've always thought of Working Title,
the U.K. production company, as
making frothy British romantic
comedies, from The Tall Guy to Four
Weddings to Love Actually and, er,
Shaun of the Dead. I didn't realize
how many other kinds of films
Working Title has been behind,
including many of the Coens'
projects, last year's United 93, and
the upcoming Smokin' Aces, which is
about as far as you can get from
romantic comedy. Nor did I realize
that Working Title was behind those
early, edgy films of Stephen Frears
like My Beautiful Laundrette in 1985
and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid in
1987. So they're not all Richard
Curtis-directed films starring Hugh
Grant. Their most successful films
tend to be low-budget and low-
concept.
Working Title has been part of
Universal since 1999, when the
parties signed an agreement due to
expire at the end of 2007. Despite
alleged offers from DreamWorks
(which did so well in its partnership
with another U.K. company, Aardman
Animation) and Sony, Working Title
co-chairs Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan
just signed a new agreement on
Friday to extend their stay at
Universal for seven more years. The
previous deal seems to have worked
very well for both parties: Working
Title has produced a number of low-
budget sleepers and the slate does
consistently well internationally. And
no, it's not just because everyone
likes Hugh Grant. The LA Times
claims that Working Title is second
only to Imagine Entertainment as
"Universal's most consistent supplier
of films."
