Benjamin Myers: Last News

A son who killed who’s own father in a fatal street attack carried no emotion in his face as he was jailed for life today.

After years of playing a humble scullery maid in Downton Abbey, Sophie McShera was thrilled to land a “lady of the manor” role in a gripping new period drama. Sophie stars as powerhouse Grace in acclaimed film director Shane Meadows’ BBC drama The Gallows Pole. “Maybe I’m delusional,” Sophie, 37, says.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Beta Cinema has closed further presales for “The Offing,” which will star Helena Bonham Carter, and will be directed by Jessica Hobbs, an Emmy Award-winner for “The Crown.” New deals include Spain (Beta Fiction), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo), Switzerland (Pathé Films), former Yugoslavia (Discovery) and the Middle East (Front Row). CineSky Pictures has picked up worldwide airline rights. A multi-territory deal with Curzon, Cineart and Madman for U.K./Ireland, Benelux and Australia/New Zealand was revealed in April. “The Offing,” which is based on the novel by Benjamin Myers, is set on the northeast English coast shortly after World War II. It tells the story of shy, 16-year-old Robert, and the hard-drinking, foul-mouthed, bohemian recluse Dulcie Piper, played by Bonham Carter, and their unlikely friendship.

Beta Cinema has closed its first presales on period drama The Offing starring Helena Bonham Carter. Curzon, Cineart and Madman have joined forces to acquire all rights for UK/Ireland, Benelux and Australia/New Zealand in what is described as a competitive situation. The distributors will work on an aligned campaign across the markets. Beta first launched The Offing at the EFM in February. Filming is lined up for later this year.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Jan Mojto’s Beta Cinema has announced first pre-sales for feature film “The Offing,” which will star and is executive produced by Helena Bonham Carter. Jessica Hobbs, who won an Emmy Award for “The Crown,” directs the U.K.-set English-language project. Distributors Curzon, Cineart and Madman joined forces and acquired all rights for U.K./Ireland, Benelux, and Australia/New Zealand in a multi-territory deal, fending off robust competition. The project was one of the hottest titles at the European Film Market, and further deals in major territories will be announced shortly, Beta Cinema said.

EXCLUSIVE: Two time Oscar nominee Helena Bonham Carter is reteaming with The Crown director Jessica Hobbs on period drama The Offing, which Beta Cinema will launch sales on at next week’s EFM.

murder.Neil Badrock admitted manslaughter over his "ferocious, brutal and totally unforgiving" street attack on 51-year-old Neil Farrington.The trial heard Badrock set upon his dad on Monday, May 17 last year, following a 10-hour "pub crawl" on the first day after lockdown ended, Liverpool Echo reports.Witnesses described him "volleying" his father and shouting "I will f***ing kill you" in an assault lasting a full five minutes in Kirkby, Merseyside. It only ended when police arrived and found Badrock still kicking his dad in the head while shouting: "What do you think about that?"Badrock, 28, accepted headbutting Mr Farrington to the ground, then punching and kicking him, because he was "angry".He claimed his father grabbed him by the throat, he "lost his head", and had never intended to kill or seriously harm his victim.Rebecca Alger, who burst into tears when asked to relive the harrowing 999 call, described Badrock "bashing" Mr Farrington's head on the pavement.She said she could hear the noise of the younger man lifting the older man's head up and "banging it down onto the pavement", next to her front wall, before he starting kicking and stamping on him.Ms Alger said at least twice Badrock started to walk away before returning to continue his horrifying attack, and that she thought it was her sister who described him as "volleying" the victim in the head.Under questioning by Benjamin Myers, QC, defending, Ms Alger accepted Mr Farrington had first pushed Badrock away, but she said "not violently" and she thought this was a push to the chest, not a grabbing of the neck.Guy Gozem, QC, prosecuting, said: "Plainly what Neil Badrock did to his father has nothing to do with self-defence.

This Is England director Shane Meadows for a new BBC drama.The Gallows Pole, based on the novel of the same name by Benjamin Myers, is a six-part series set in 18th century Yorkshire to the backdrop of the impending industrial revolution.The series dramatises the true story of the rise and fall of David Hartley (Michael Socha) and his band of counterfeiters the Cragg Vale Coiners – who produced fake gold coins to supplement their small incomes from weaving.Meadows states half the cast is formed of “underrepresented” actors and actresses, after holding open auditions and watching over 6,500 tapes.Speaking about the show, Meadows said: “Putting this cast together (with the undying support of [casting director] Shaheen Baig and her amazing

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Cast has been set on The Gallows Pole, Shane Meadows’ first period TV drama.

BBC with a series adaptation of Benjamin Myers’ award-winning historical novel The Gallows Pole.The writer and director of This Is England (2006) and its three spinoff mini series will helm a TV reimagining of the 2018 Walter Scott Prize-winning book, which is scheduled to shoot with UK-Irish production company Element Pictures later this year.ScreenDaily reports that a call-out for first-time non-professional actors was publicised in March by Shaheen Baig Casting, which is looking for men and women to play between 25-45 years old.

Idlewild have announced a new book, released next year to mark the band’s 25th birthday.In The Beginning There Were Answers – 25 years of Idlewild will be published next February, and is written by the band’s frontman Roddy Woomble.The band shared images of the book, which they say they’ve been working on for “the past few years”, in social media posts announcing its publication.“The 225 page book charts the story of the band from its formation in the autumn of 1995 in Edinburgh, through the early years of local gigs, onto recording and touring albums such as ‘100 Broken Windows’ and ‘The Remote Part’,” the band said.