London, 19th March 2018
Principal photography begins today on JUDY, based on the true story of Judy Garland’s final concerts in London.
Renée Zellweger, Academy Award winner and three times Academy Award nominee (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Cold Mountain and Chicago), plays Judy Garland. Cast members joining Zellweger include Jessie Buckley (War and Peace), Finn Wittrock (American Horror Story) and Michael Gambon (Harry Potter).
JUDY is directed by Tony nominee and two times Olivier winner Rupert Goold (King Charles III). The film is based on a script written by Tom Edge (The Crown) and is produced by BAFTA winner David Livingstone (Pride) for Calamity Films. Goold’s creative team includes Director of Photography Ole Bratt Birkeland (The Crown), Musical Director Matt Dunkley (Black Swan), Editor Melanie Oliver (Les Miserables), Costume Designer Jany Temime (Harry Potter), Make Up and Hair Designer Jeremy Woodhead (Doctor Strange) and Production Designer Kave Quinn (Far from the Madding Crowd).
Winter 1968 and showbiz legend Judy Garland arrives in Swinging London to perform in a sell-out run at The Talk of the Town. It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in THE WIZARD OF OZ, but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown.
As she prepares for the show, battles with management, charms musicians, and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through. Even her dreams of romance seem undimmed as she embarks on a courtship with Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband.
And yet Judy is fragile. After working for 45 of her 47 years, she is exhausted; haunted by memories of a childhood lost to Hollywood; gripped by a desire to be back home with her kids. Will she have the strength to go on?
Featuring some of her best-known songs, including the timeless classic ‘Over the Rainbow’, JUDY celebrates the voice, the capacity for love and the sheer pizzazz of “the world’s greatest entertainer”.
JUDY is a Pathé, BBC Films and Ingenious Media presentation of a Calamity Films Production. Executive Producers are Cameron McCracken for Pathé, Rose Garnett for BBC Films and Andrea Scarso for Ingenious.
Laurence Myers, Lee Dean, Aaron Levene, Charles Diamond, Ellis Goodman and Hilary Williams will also receive Executive Producer credits.
Pathé will distribute the film in the UK, France and Switzerland and will handle sales throughout the rest of the world.
For further information contact:
Annabel Hutton/Nicki Foster/Ellen Steers, Premier
Firstname.surname@premiercomms.com / 020 7292 8330
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/JudyGarlandFilm/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudyGarlandFilm/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/JudyGarlandFilm/
PATHÉ
Pathé operates as a film studio in France, the UK, the Netherlands and Switzerland. It is involved in all aspects of filmmaking, from development and production through to international sales, distribution and exhibition.
Films produced/distributed by Pathé range from The Queen to Slumdog Millionaire and from Philomena to Selma.
In recent years Pathé’s productions have won 16 BAFTAs (66 nominations) and 13 Oscars (46 nominations).
Pathé International handles the international marketing and sales of Pathé’s own productions and also acquires third party films for worldwide representation. As one of Europe’s leading sales agents, Pathé International has a significant presence at all major film markets and festivals.
www.pathe.co.uk Twitter @patheuk
CALAMITY FILMS
Calamity Films is an independent film and television production company set up by David Livingstone in 2010. Their first feature was PRIDE (2014) directed by Matthew Warchus and written by Stephen Beresford. The film received 7 BIFA nominations, winning Best British Film, three BAFTA nominations, including Best British Film, and a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Film. David won a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Producer alongside writer Stephen Beresford. Calamity currently has projects in development with Studio Canal, Lionsgate, Sky, EOne, BFI and BBC Films.
David Livingstone was previously President of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution at both Universal Pictures International and Working Title Films. During his career in London and Los Angeles, he has been responsible for the worldwide marketing, advertising, publicity and promotional strategy for over 100 films.
BBC FILMS
BBC Films is at the forefront of independent filmmaking in the UK, developing and co-producing around twelve films a year. In 2015 BBC Films was awarded the Michael Balcon BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema. Rose Garnett is the Director of BBC Films.
Recent releases include the BAFTA and Oscar nominated Victoria & Abdul starring Judi Dench, William Oldroyd's Lady Macbeth, which was nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards including Best British Film and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, Thomas Napper's Jawbone, also nominated for a BAFTA in the Outstanding Debut category, Andy Serkis' directorial debut Breathe starring Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy and the documentary Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami.
Idris Elba's directorial debut Yardie and The Happy Prince, written, directed by and starring Rupert Everett, both world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and had their European premieres at the Berlin International Film Festival and will open in the UK later this year via Studiocanal and Lionsgate.
Current and upcoming releases include Studiocanal’s The Mercy, directed by James Marsh and featuring Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz, Lionsgate's On Chesil Beach starring Saoirse Ronan coming to cinemas in June, Apostasy, directed by first time filmmaker Daniel Kokotajlo and eOne's The Children Act featuring Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci due out in August.
Currently in post-production are Chiwetel Ejiofor’s untitled directorial debut based on the novel The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Peter Strickland’s ghost story In Fabric starring Oscar nominee Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Out of Blue directed by Carol Morley and starring Patricia Clarkson, The White Crow directed by Ralph Fiennes, Denmark starring Rafe Spall, Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Stan & Ollie starring Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly, The Aftermath with Keira Knightley and Alexander Skarsgård, VS. starring Screen’s Star of Tomorrow, Connor Swindells and Iciar Bollain’s Yuli written by Paul Laverty.
bbc.co.uk/bbcfilms Twitter @BBCFilms
INGENIOUS
For 18 years, Ingenious has been at the forefront of investing in the UK’s creative economy and in that time has raised and deployed over £9 billion. In the last decade, Ingenious has been involved in the production of a diverse and glittering slate of films, including the multi-award winning Life of Pi, Avatar (the highest grossing film of all time), Oscar®-nominated films Carol and Brooklyn, five films in the long-running X-Men franchise, the highly successful Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, breakout British hits including Suffragette and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as well as acclaimed television programmes The Fall, Dr. Foster and The Honourable Woman, among many others.
Currently in post-production are Baltasar Kormákur’s Adrift, starring Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin, and Three Seconds, from Andrea Di Stefano starring Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike and Clive Owen.
