BAFTA have just released this rather nice photo of all the people who won an award at the 2012 BAFTA Film Awards which took place last night and it’s rather nice I have to say. The shot was taken on the stage after the event and includes among many, Adam Deacon who won the Orange Rising Star award, Octavia Spencer who won Best Supporting Actress for The Help, for Meryl Streep who won for The Iron Lady, John Hurt who took the award for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema, Martin Scorsese who took the Fellowship Award, Asif Kapadia and his team behind the awesome movie, Senna. The big winners of the night were the team behind silent black and white movie, The Artist which came away with seven awards.

Jon, Ben and myself were all working last night to bring you as much coverage as we could from the awards. If you missed the winners list, you can see it in full right here. We also live blogged the event which you can catch up on here and and Ben is currently posting his red carpet interviews throughout the day so keep your eyes peeled for those.

Click the image below to enlarge.

Photo comes courtesy of BAFTA / Richard Kendal / Rex Features

Photo by BAFTA / Rex Features

Fearing a remake of The Artist and wondering whether Meryl Streep could take Robert Downey Jr in a fight.

I’m brainstorming crazy stuff that Tom Cruise might jump off. For a movie. Obviously. Why? Well, you can bet somebody, somewhere, with a lot more power and influence than me is doing just that. Maybe I can think of something truly awesome and sell it to them. After all, Cruise is pretty dedicated to Doing All His Own Stunts No Matter How Crazy They Seem. Maybe I can shoehorn bungee ropes and the Russian Mafia into the equation – everyone needs a villain.

I’m actually trying to distract myself from another depressing possibility – the seemingly inevitable remake of The Artist. That’s crazy? Oh is it? Really? I fear there’s a rumour drifting through the shadowy corridors of some of the major studios’ development departments that a remake of The Artist is, in fact, A Good Idea, and that scares me. There’s bound to be someone who reckons the French shot a movie that everyone loves but nobody noticed they forgot to film in colour and switch on their microphone.

I can see it now. The frenzied late-night phone call to the jobbing screenwriter who just wants to catch a break as he types into the night on his precious Mac Book Air, brushing mice from his writing desk with a moth-eaten slipper. Yeah, it’s a great idea, the studio executives will purr down the phone, their soothing voices promising the screenwriter his Big Break. We’ll remake The Artist in colour, film it in English and spend a bit of dough on a period setting. Get Clint Eastwood to direct. He loves that kind of thing. Oscar Gold… Trying to point out, well, the point of The Artist, the screenwriter becomes the lone voice in a room full of single-minded development executives.

At which point the nightmare grows worse. It’s the perfect time to suggest to the jobbing screenwriter that Marvel fans don’t like The Iron Lady. Well, that’s not entirely unexpected, you might think. There’s a distinct lack of spandex and super-heroism going on there, and rather a lot of showy Oscar-worthiness and Meryl Streep with big hair.

Suddenly I have a powerful image in my head of Robert Downey Jr looming over Meryl ‘Iron Lady’ Streep in his sculpted metal suit, smirking as she cowers behind her Maggie Thatcher handbag and bouffant hairdo.

But some of the less clued-in studio executives start whispering of a crossover feature – The Iron Lady versus Iron Man. The industry buzz will be that apparently Marvel has botched its Iron Lady origin story and made it light on the kind of action needed to pull in the kids. They’ve set it in her apartment? Where she sees ghosts? And she runs the Government in 1980s Britain? Well, maybe we can do something with the ghost thing…

“…Maggie Thatcher! The fearless leader with a mechanised war machine that defended the Fork Lands from the tyranny of the Argents, a primitive, cave-dwelling race that worships false idols made of silver. And there are ghosts, maybe. Watch Iron Man stomp in stage left and bring on the smack down…!”

It’ll be a plotline hastily recited to an impatient studio boss by an over-imaginative and under-experienced intern fearing for her job and feeling vulnerable after her most recent break-up. Have a go at that script and you’ve got an arrogant, if disarmingly charming billionaire in a metal suit laying the smack down on a frail and confused octogenarian who sees ghosts in her flat.

Suddenly I have a powerful image in my head of Robert Downey Jr looming over Meryl ‘Iron Lady’ Streep in his sculpted metal suit, smirking as she cowers behind her Maggie Thatcher handbag and bouffant hairdo. He glances at Pepper Potts, incredulous: “The miners want me to do what to her??”

But that’ll never happen. I’m being a hopeless pessimist. Right? It’s no good – I need my distraction. Should Tom Cruise jump off Seattle’s Space Needle while being shot at by a goon in a micro-light with a mini-gun? Are they looking for a spec script for Mission: Impossible – Retirement Doctrine? I have a long night ahead…

While Uggie the dog didn’t patter away with anything Michel Hazanavicius’s charming paean to the age of silent cinema took home three of the top awards at tonight’s ceremony.

Hazanavicius won for Best Director, his star Jean Dujardin was awarded the Best Actor prize and the London critics placed The Artist at the top of the Best Films of 2011 list.

There was a nicely timed triumph for Olvia Colman as she won the British Actress of the year for her work in The Iron Lady and, more imporantly (BAFTA – what were you thinking?) for her role in Paddy Considine’s mighty Tyrannosaur.

Asif Kapadia’s Senna was celebrated as the Best Documentary of the year and in a first for the Awards, a tie voe led to Anna Paquin and Meryl Streep sharing the Best Actresses of the year, no small triumph for #teammargaret

Here is the complete list of the many worthy winners, if nothing else you should treat this as your must see list for the next six months.

FILM OF THE YEAR
The Artist (Entertainment)

CRITICS’ CIRCLE TOP 10 FILMS of 2011


1. The Artist

2. A Separation

3. Drive

4. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

5. The Tree of Life

6. We Need to Talk About Kevin

7. Melancholia

8. Shame

9. Margaret

10. The Descendants

The Attenborough Award: BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR
We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
A Separation (Artificial Eye)

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
Senna (Universal)

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist (Entertainment)

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Asghar Farhadi – A Separation (Artificial Eye)

The Virgin Atlantic Award: BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH FILM-MAKER
Andrew Haigh – Weekend (Peccadillo)

ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Jean Dujardin – The Artist (Entertainment)

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR (Tied)
Anna Paquin – Margaret (Fox)
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady (Fox/Pathé)

SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn (Entertainment)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Sareh Bayat – A Separation (Artificial Eye)

BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Michael Fassbender – A Dangerous Method (Lionsgate), Shame (Momentum)

The Moët & Chandon Award: BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Olivia Colman – The Iron Lady (Fox/Pathé), Tyrannosaur (StudioCanal)

YOUNG BRITISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Craig Roberts – Submarine (StudioCanal)

The Sky 3D Award: TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Maria Djurkovic, production design – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)

The Dilys Powell Award: EXCELLENCE IN FILM
Nicolas Roeg

The BAFTA-nominated director Phyllida Lloyd’s return to work with her Mamma Mia! star, Meryl Streep, came to the UK cinemas last week with The Iron Lady, which has seen Streep nominated for the Best Actress award at the Golden Globes in the Drama category, the winners of which are announced this weekend.

The US and a handful of other countries are getting it this weekend, and the rest of its international releases will follow in the coming weeks. Written by Abi Morgan (co-writer of Steve McQueen’s Shame, released here this Friday), the film is a biopic of the Conservative Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, played by Meryl Streep, and also stars Jim Broadbent, Anthony Head, Olivia Colman, and Richard E. Grant.

We’ve now got a great new set of posters to share with you, courtesy of JoBlo via IMP Awards, and one in particular stands out as excellent with its Banksy-esque reinterpretation of Thatcher stood before a podium.

“THE IRON LADY tells the compelling story of Margaret Thatcher, a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and intimate portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman.”

These new posters play on Thatcher’s notoriety, making a devil out of her. The film has been in UK cinemas for just under a week now, which means you don’t even have to wait any longer if you want to watch it; it should be in your local cinema right now. Here are the great new posters promoting the US release on Friday, starting with my favourite, the one inspired by Banksy, whose artwork you can see more of right here. As usual, click to enlarge.

Walking up the main staircase of Manchester Town Hall, I felt more than a little British.

With bangers and mash and a specially curated exhibition of stills and costumes from The Iron Lady, See Differently had once again created an individual and thoroughly entertaining event.

Running since 2004, this Volkswagen venture picks out carefully selected locations to enhance the cinematic experience, with previous screenings including Jane Eyre at Haddon Hall and A Clockwork Orange at Brunel University. With the Town Hall used as a double for the Houses of Parliament within The Iron Lady, it was the only suitable venue for such an evening, with guests able to roam as they wished, taking photos and feeling part of the filmmaking process.

Although other primary shooting took place in Wimbledon and other parts of London, spending the evening in a place that doubled for the hallowed halls of Parliament added a real sense of importance and historical authenticity to the event.

With costumes worn by Streep and original design ideas on show, you did almost feel in the presence of Hollywood greatness! On show were the blue suit she wore on entering 10 Downing Street (as shown above) and a beautifully embellished dress that is seen worked on by her staff during the film.

In the adjoining hall we were treated to a wonderful selection of photographs from the film including interesting behind-the-scenes facts and information on the supporting characters, serving as a brilliant way of getting more in-depth information on what we had just seen.

I strongly advise everyone to get themselves along to another See Film Differently event, as the attention to detail is fantastic, the comfortable seats, free food and drink a wonderful bonus and the atmosphere perfect for any film fan.

You can read our review of The Iron Lady here.

Phyllida Lloyd’s first experience directing Meryl Streep involved sun, song and a lot of frolicking along the sand. Three years on they have returned with a far quieter and more serious film, mapping the life of one of Britain’s most notorious political figures and only female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

A patchwork of politics and personal relationships, it is unclear as to whether the film wants to focus on Thatcher the mother or Thatcher the aggressor, with neither given enough depth to make you truly get to grips with. Most attention is given to her role as a wife, her love for Denis absolutely unconditional (pay attention to the repetitive shots of her wedding rings) and tragically hard to bear by the close. Although she would never admit it, she is completely dependent on her husband, his presence during her dementia stricken later years testament to this and giving way to some incredibly raw emotion from Streep.

The two-time Oscar winner is almost completely unrecognisable, lost behind the impressive makeup and not so much mimicking as wholly encompassing the very essence of the woman. Once her ‘screeching’ has been attended to and her hair coiffed to perfection, Streep is quite the formidable leader, the chirping male politicians that constantly peck away at her (the replacement for Mamma Mia!’s Greek chorus, perhaps) left cowering in her path, but she’s never given enough chance to show what ferocity she’s truly capable of. Far more TV movie than Hollywood biopic, Lloyd never tries to make the film unnecessarily grand, surprisingly far more about Thatcher in her confused present than in her glory days, Streep’s technical brilliance in these later years nothing short of intoxicating.

Unfortunately Lloyd does allow some of her characters to lapse into caricature at times, the more experienced Olivia Colman steering Carol away from it in moments of despair, but Alexandra Roach’s young Margaret falling foul of it, rather upstaged by Harry Lloyd’s younger Denis. As his older counterpart, Jim Broadbent may appear to be playing in line with a Shakespearian fool, but by providing the rare laughs as the obliging and eternally proud husband he is a happy escape during the film’s fragmented structure.

Set amidst times of great social unrest, the controversial IRA bombings are covered with great haste, far removed from the impressive detail the elderly Thatcher is able to recall, resulting in a lack of serious threat. We are constantly presented with how she is under pressure, but never appreciate the full intensity as anything too complicated is glazed over, leaving it a little underwhelming. Although the events in question are easy to comprehend, it’s only when real footage of the riots is shown that any tangible sense of danger is felt. But this is dampened by cliché, played over punk music and cartoonish headlines that unfortunately appear to undermine Streep’s magnetic central performance.

Never painted as the central villain, Lloyd projects her vision of Thatcher as a woman torn by decisions in a male dominated profession. Although greatly loved by her staff and family, the cabinet who question her authority are never given any real individual character, the ‘bullied’ Greek chorus technique only giving us an overview of the general consensus. Fragmented like her memories, there is no set order of service, the film feeling far less about the life of a Prime Minister than the demise of one.

While interesting to watch Thatcher’s progression from grocer’s daughter to leader of a nation, it’s never particularly gripping, the scene in the House of Commons the only real time the politics is fun and exciting. In another Oscar season case of the central performance being larger than its rather unremarkable vehicle (My Week with Marilyn, The Help), the realisation that Streep is superior to the film she leads is inescapable.

***~~ (3/5)

I’ve just watched this brand new featurette for The Iron Lady and I’m now so eager to see the film when it’s released January 6th. It stars Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in this ‘work of fiction’ from scriptwriter Abi Moore that spans 40 years of the life of Thatcher’s rise from a greengrocer’s daughter to become the British Prime Minister. When you see snippets of Streep in this you’ll be blown away which surely makes her a nominee for this year’s Oscars but I guess we’ll wait to see.

If you’ve missed our Thatcher coverage, click here for trailer and posters and scroll down to see the featurette.

The Iron Lady is directed by Phyllida Lloyd who also directed Meryl Streep​ who plays Thatcher in Mamma Mia back in 2008. Her supporting cast is rather impressive and includes Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher, Richard E Grant, Olivia Colman​, Nicholas Farrell​, Susan Brown, Roger Allam, Anthony Head and John Sessions​.

Plot: THE IRON LADY tells the compelling story of Margaret Thatcher, a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and intimate portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman.

Source: Empire

This latest trailer for The Iron Lady is close to doing the impossible and making me feel a little sorry for Maggie Thatcher, indeed this is due to the work of Meryl Streep who appears to have captured her quarry perfectly.

Early word on Phyllida Lloyd’s film is that Streep is likely to be Oscar bound for her role as Britain’s first and only female Prime Minister, and the trailers we’ve seen tease a little of the private turmoil which will undoubtedly give the political machinations the beating heart it needs to engage.

We also have glimpses of Anthony Head, Richard E. Grant and lots of the wonderful Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher and while it’s fun to play Celebrity Politicians (and how long will it be before Channel 4 snap that idea up and have the cast of Geordie Shore running the country?) there is a fine story to be mined here.

Mr and Mrs Apple have the HD version on their website, but you can watch below if you dare,

Click Here to see the previous posters and trailers for The Iron Lady.

To celebrate the release of THE IRON LADY, in cinemas January 6th, we have teamed up with Pathé to offer you the chance to win tickets to the Premiere in London on Wednesday 4^th January.

THE IRON LADY tells the compelling story of Margaret Thatcher, a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and intimate portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman.

The film stars Academy Award-winners Meryl Streep as Lady Thatcher and Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher.  Their young selves are played by Alexandra Roach and Harry Lloyd.  The rest of the cast of family and friends, politicians and advisers, is made up of the very best of British acting talent, including: Olivia Colman, Anthony Head, Richard E Grant, Iain Glen, Susan Brown, Nicholas Farrell, Roger Allam and Michael Pennington.

The film is written by award-winning writer Abi Morgan (The Hour, Sex Traffic, Brick Lane, White Girl), directed by Phyllida Lloyd CBE (Mamma Mia) and produced by Damian Jones (The History Boys, Adulthood).  It is executive produced by Francois Ivernel and Cameron McCracken for Pathé, by Tessa Ross for Film4 and by Adam Kulick for Goldcrest.

The film is a Pathé, Film4, UK Film Council presentation with the participation of Canal+ and Cine Cinema in association with Goldcrest Film Production LLP of a DJ Films Production.

You can see the official website for the movie here.

To be in with a chance of winning tickets to the premiere, simply answer the following question using the form below:

Who plays the character, Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady?

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

• Closing date is 16^th December at midday.
• This competition is not open to employees of HeyUGuys.co.uk, Pathé Distribution, their agents or anyone else associated with this promotion.
• The competition is open to UK residents aged 15 years and over, however, if the winner is under 18 years of age they must take a parent or guardian as their guest.
• The first prize is 2 tickets (1 pair) to the Premiere of The Iron Lady in London on Wednesday 4^th January 2012.
• Travel and any accommodation is the responsibility of the winner.
• The first prize winner will be notified by phone on 16^th December to check their availability and if they cannot attend or be reached within 24 hours another name will be drawn. We will make all reasonable efforts to notify the winner. If the winner cannot be contacted within this time we reserve the right to draw an alternative winner.
• The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence shall be entered into. Pathé Distribution cannot be held responsible if the event is cancelled or details changed due to unforeseen circumstances which are beyond their control.
• The promoter reserves the right to substitute the prize for one of greater or equal value. The decision of the promoter in all matters is final and binding.
• There is no cash alternative.
• Tickets are non-transferable.
• All prizes are subject to availability.
• Details are accurate at time of print.

© 2010 PATHÉ PRODUCTIONS LIMITED, CHANNEL 4 TELEVISION CORPORATION AND THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE

If the first full trailer for Phyllida Lloyd’s Margaret Thatcher biopic, The Iron Lady, hasn’t got you in a Tory-induced frenzy then let’s play host to the latest campaign hit – the new UK poster for the film.

First indications are that Meryl Streep looks unsettlingly like her Royal Thatchness, though with slightly more ‘Come to Vote’ eyes than is decent. If it were to dip its toes into the internet then a new and dubious meme may emerge – rather like the David Cameron campaign pledge poster fun we all had a few years ago.

And thank goodness it’s not like this misguided effort.

Here’s the poster, and jolly terrifying it is too. As always click to make it large.

Since the first images of Meryl Streep as Maggie Thatcher emerged The Iron Lady became a thoroughly intriguing prospect.

Through the other pictures which surfaced, showing Jim Broadbent as husband Denis, and Anthony Head, Richard E. Grant and others taking their place in the Thatcher cabinet, one thing remained to be seen – would Streep be able to humanise the Prime Minister, and make her a sympathetic character?

The full trailer for Phyllida Lloyd’s film is here and the answer is yes, Streep looks to have succeeded in typically impressive fashion.

As usual The Daily Mail have the first look at the trailer which is a little uneven at first but kicks in with Streep’s acquisition of ‘the voice’ and freaking out Jim Broadbent. From what we can see it looks a little like The King’s Speech which is not unexpected but there’s a far lighter touch at play here. The bombing of the Tory party conference looks, naturally, set to play a part in the proceedings but each new glimpse of Streep is magnetic.

Here’s the trailer,

News from the American Film Market (AFM) confirms that the inevitable Princess Diana biopic is finally on its way, and current star of the moment, Jessica Chastain will play the iconic figure for director Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall).

This won’t be a straight take on the Princess’s however, and will concentrate on her secret affair with heart surgeon, Dr. Hasnat Kahn, which lasted for two years around the mid-nineties. It was a relationship which meant a lot to Diana, so much as that it’s rumoured she considered converting to Islam so they could be together legitimately.

While this is yet another British iconic to be played by an actress from the US (Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Margaret Thatcher will be released on cinema next January) Chastain certainly looks the part, and this two-hander (from The Libertine scribe Steven Jeffreys) could potentially offer a nice alternative to the usual multi-character, lifetime-spanning biopics out there. Pre-production is set to begin in March 2012.

Via Collider.

More images from the Margaret Thatcher biopic The Iron Lady have emerged today showing off two of the star names in their Tory garb.

We’ve already seen Meryl Streep’s uncanny Maggie impression and she has captured the chilling and composed calmness of the infamous Prime Minister and now we have our first look at Richard E. Grant as Michael Hestletine and Anthony Head as Geoffrey Howe.

It’s a little unnerving to see these images from The Daily Mail (of course) but I still can’t wait to see Phyllida Lloyd’s film, not least for the ensemble cast (which has Tyrannosaur’s Olivia Colman as Carol Thatcher) but also becuase Abi Morgan’s screenplay for Shame was fantastic and I can’t wait to see what she’ll make of this.

Pics ahoy,

This poster is fabulous and it’s so nice to see someone go to a great deal of effort to create an amazing poster. Here’s the first poster for Meryl Streep’s new movie, The Iron Lady courtesy  of Yahoo. As you can see, in this poster, we get to see an awesome London cityscape explode out of Streep’s (Margaret Thatcher) head. Sounds painful but looks excellent!

The Iron Lady is directed by Phyllida Lloyd who also directed Meryl Streep​ who plays Thatcher in Mamma Mia back in 2008. Her supporting cast is rather impressive and includes Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher, Richard E Grant, Olivia Colman​, Nicholas Farrell​, Susan Brown, Roger Allam, Anthony Head and John Sessions​.

Plot: THE IRON LADY tells the compelling story of Margaret Thatcher, a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and intimate portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman.

If you missed the first trailer, you can see it here.

Click the poster below to enlarge.

I actually don’t want to see any more of this film as Meryl Streep seems to have completed her Doomlord like transformation into the woMan of Steel herself and now Streep is Thatcher is Streep, Meryl becomes Maggie and spines across the country chill in hideous remembrance.

The Iron Lady is the handy work of Phyllida Lloyd who directed Streep in Mamma Mia back in 2008 and things turned out pretty well for that film didn’t they Mind you -  an Abba spouting chorus on a Greek island is a far cry from the depressive overhang of Thatcher’s Britain though the supporting cast is rather impressive and includes Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher, Richard E Grant, Olivia Colman, Nicholas Farrell, Susan Brown, Roger Allam, Anthony Head and John Sessions. Maybe if they all join in with The Winner Takes it All at the closing credits things will work out.

Here’s Thatch giving it large.

This pic is from The Playlist’s coverage of EW‘s new issue.

We’ve only seen images up to now of filming from The Iron Lady but not Pathe have released the first trailer for the movie on the BBC Breakfast. The movie is based on the life of Margaret Thatcher and takes it’s title from Thatcher’s nickname.

The Iron Lady is directed by Phyllida Lloyd who also directed Meryl Streep who plays Thatcher in Mamma Mia back in 2008. Her supporting cast is rather impressive and includes Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher, Richard E Grant, Olivia Colman, Nicholas Farrell, Susan Brown, Roger Allam, Anthony Head and John Sessions.

Plot: THE IRON LADY tells the compelling story of Margaret Thatcher, a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and intimate portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman.

Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think in the comments section. It’s completely different to what I expected but I like what I’m seeing! Oscar nomination in the bag for Streep? Guess we’ll see but what we do know, ‘the pearls are non-negotiable!’

We can expect it January 6th 2012.

I’m still secretly hoping that this is all part of a live action sequel to Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant but with every new image released that dream is looking far more unlikely.

Here’s another image from the production and it’s Maggie and Dennis in their iconic Blue salute and Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent’s own features seem to be undergoing some strange metamorphosis into those of their originals – I know make up and lighting can do wonders but there’s something unsettling here (more than the obvious).

Anyhoo, along with the two the cast looks like this: Richard E Grant, Olivia Colman, Nicholas Farrell, Susan Brown, Roger Allam, Anthony Head and John Sessions. Nice.

We Are Movie Geeks collected these pictures, and a jolly good job they did.

Film4 and Focus Features are set to reteam with BAFTA award-winning writer Abi Morgan (Brick Lane) on ensemble drama Suffragettes.

Suffragettes will center on a group of militant British women who fight for the right to vote, and be in the vein of Nigel Cole’s comedy-drama Made in Dagenham.

Sarah Gavron is attached to direct, with production set to commence once she’s done with documentary The Edge of the World.

Morgan currently has two screenplays in different stages of production: Steve McQueen’s Shame, starring Carey Mulligan and Michael Fassbender; and Phyllida Lloyd’s The Iron Lady, starring Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent. Both of which are due to be unveiled later this year.

Source: Variety

Currently filming in London The Iron Lady, Phyllida Lloyd’s biopic of Maggie Thatcher, has afforded us a look at one of our favourite actors taking on the man behind the woman who drove the UK through the turbulent political landscape of the 80s.

Jim Broadbent, who recently returned to work with Mike Leigh for Another Year, is taking on the role of Dennis Thatcher, a man who suffered a severe ribbing throughout his wife’s reign at Number 10 at the hands of the press. Something which these images, courtesy of a bizarrly skewed and clearly offended Daily Mail article, seem to suggest the film will play up.

Broadbent stars opposite Meryl Streep who is taking on the mantle of the prime minister and it is this on-screen union has me sold on the project, Richard E Grant, Olivia Colman, Nicholas Farrell, Susan Brown, Roger Allam, Anthony Head and John Sessions fill up the remainder of the cast list. Jolly good show eh?

Pics ahoy,

Yesterday marked the end of the 7th annual Glasgow Film Festival, a relatively recent addition to the country’s film tradition that is quickly becoming one of Britain’s most prestigious, a love letter to cinema of truly joyous proportions.

Divided across fifteen venues, including the Glasgow Film Theatre, the Glasgow school of art and the city’s Renfrew Street Cineworld – a cinema that holds the record for being the tallest in the world and the busiest in the U.K. - this year’s festival ran between the 17th and 27th of February, proving the most successful year yet, with attendance figures which now exceed 30,000.

Celebrating both new releases and old, the Glasgow Film Festival has this year screened The Eagle, Rubber, and Ken Loach’s latest offering, Route Irish (for which I shared a screen with Oliver Wood from Harry Potter – star struck!), along with welcome revisits to The Bridge Over the River Kwai and Battle Royale – now in g(l)orious 3D. With Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar playing as integral a role to the event as ever, it was no surprise to see the comic book writer showcasing Superman II as part of the festival’s Superheroes in Glasgow strand, as well as offering his personal criticisms of audience member’s own portfolios.

Choosing to this year honour one Meryl Streep, the festival presented nine of the actress’ most beloved movies, returning The Deer Hunter, Sophie’s Choice and Out of Africa, among others, to the big screen for one esteemed celebration of the respected Dancing Queen – who has amassed an impressive sixteen Oscar nominations over the years.

Simultaneously celebrating the best of British, Bollywood cinema and fashion in film, the Glasgow Film Festival has done its best to cater to everyone as it attempts to honour both big and small budget productions from home and away.

Though it may seem at times as though every city and their cathedral has a film festival these days, Glasgow is growing into quite the heavyweight, worthy of mention alongside fellow big-hitters London and Edinburgh. With thoughts soon turning to 2012′s festivities, Glasgow may well prove the place to be.