Saoirse Ronan is back in this new Trailer for BLITZ to be released November 8, 2024 in Canada via Cineplex Pictures.
Directed by: Steve McQueen
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Elliott Heffernan, Paul Weller, Harris Dickinson
Synopsis: Sir Steve McQueenâs âBlitzâ follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.
About Cineplex Pictures
Cineplex Pictures, a division of Cineplex, is a distributor of a wide range of genre films. Recent titles include Borderlands, The Strangers: Chapter 1, The Queen of My Dreams, The Boy and the Heron, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, SAW X, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, and John Wick: Chapter 4.
Mongrel Media x Mr. Will want to give Readers in Toronto and Vancouver a chance to win passes to an Advance Screening of THE OUTRUN starring Saoirse Ronan. We’ve missed her!
Screening info Toronto:
Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 7PM
Cineplex Varsity Cinemas (55 Bloor St. W. Toronto , ON M4W 1A5)
Screening info Vancouver:
Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 7PM
Cineplex International Village (88 W Pender St 3rd floor, Vancouver, BC V6B 6N9,)
Synopsis:
After living life on the edge in London, Rona (Saoirse Ronan) attempts to come to terms with her troubled past. She returns to the wild beauty of Scotlandâs Orkney Islands â where she grew up â hoping to heal. Adapted from the bestselling memoir by Amy Liptrot.
To enter for a chance to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK and in the comments tell us which city please!
Rules and regulations here.
THE OUTRUN opens October 4, 2024.
(Photo/video credit: Mongrel Media)
Starring Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan, FOE will be getting a theatrical release October 13, 2023 via Prime Video Canada.
Details:
Directed by Garth Davis
Screenplay by Iain Reid, Garth Davis
Based on the book by Iain Reid
Produced by Kerry Kohansky-Roberts, p.g.a., Garth Davis, p.g.a., Emile Sherman, p.g.a., Iain Canning, p.g.a.
Executive Produced by Dawn Olmstead, David Levine, Robert Walak, Samantha Lang, Iain Reid
Starring Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal, and Aaron Pierre
Academy Award nominees Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal star in Foe, a haunting exploration of marriage and identity set in an uncertain world. Hen and Junior farm a secluded piece of land that has been in Juniorâs family for generations, but their quiet life is thrown into turmoil when an uninvited stranger (Aaron Pierre) shows up at their door with a startling proposal. Based on best-selling author Iain Reidâs novel, directed by Garth Davis, and co-written by Davis and Reid, Foeâs mesmerizing imagery and persistent questions about the nature of humanity (and artificial humanity) bring the not-too-distant future to luminous life
Tom George directs SEE HOW THEY RUN starring Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan and Adrien Brody! See some of the brand-new Trailer, in addition to some stills released recently from the Film.
Synopsis:
In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and eager rookie Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.
Searchlight Pictures release SEE HOW THEY RUN in theatres September 30, 2022.
(Photo/video credit: Searchlight Pictures)
Following the critical acclaim of 2017’s GOD’S OWN COUNTRY, Francis Lee returns with AMMONITE which came out of TIFF ’20 with a deafening amount of buzz. The Drama written and directed by Lee, stars Kate Winslet as reputed British Paleontologist Mary Anning. Having made several famous discoveries hunting fossils in her career, wealthy tourist Roderick Murchison (James McArdle) finds Anning and tasks her with taking his wife Charlotte (Saoirse Ronan) under her wing. She accepts reluctantly out of financial need. While the two women have very little in common coming from entirely different worlds, they realize they might just be what the other has been missing.
We had the pleasure of chatting virtually with Lee about AMMONITE, which sees its release now theatrically, as we enter Awards Season.
Lee was drawn to story of Mary Anning in that he sees many parallels between her and him.
Lee: “The thing that struck me was discovering Mary Anning is that here was this working class woman born into a life of poverty with little or no education, in a deeply-patriarchal and class-ridden society. And through her own ingenuity, courage, strength and will to survive, she became one of the leading Paleontologists of her generation. There were just some parallels there to my own life. I’m not saying I’m as brilliant as Mary Anning was at all, but I grew-up working class in very rural Northern Britain and I didn’t have a great education. I always knew from quite an early age I would’ve loved to write, direct or do both couldn’t see how I could get into such a rarified profession. I couldn’t afford film school or know anyone like me who did what I wanted to do. So there were just some subtle parallels there.”.
There’s been a good bit of controversy surrounding AMMONITE. Anning‘s family even has refuted the idea that she ever had been in a relationship with a woman, calling Lee‘s re-imagination of her, “pure Hollywood”. Lee comments about his decision to portray her in a same-sex relationship.
Lee: “I’m very obsessed with intimate human relationships and I like to explore them because I’m still figuring out how to manage them myself. I wanted to bring a relationship into this world of her’s. I wanted to respect and elevate her in a way that hadn’t happened when she was alive because all these men who came to buy her fossils re-appropriated her work for themselves. In this time, men owned women and giving her a relationship with a man wouldn’t feel equal. And of course there never was any evidence that Mary had a relationship with a man, but there was evidence she had friendships with women. So I felt giving her a relationship with a woman felt so much more respectful and equal in that sense.”.
We ask Lee about the importance of “unstraightening Queer History” which is something explored both in GOD’S OWN COUNTRY and AMMONITE.
Lee: “What’s so fascinating about this debate that’s seemed to have happened, which I didn’t quite realize would be such a big debate. It made me look at history, who records it and how they record history. And it led me down the path to think that history is subjective. It is created. It isn’t a science in a sense. It was really interesting to see where there is absolutely no concrete evidence of a same-sex relationship, historians presume heterosexuality when we know people could be gay, lesbian, asexual or bisexual. The lack of investigation or thought of thinking through what an individual or historical figure could have been or experienced I found really fascinating.”.
“What was interesting about AMMONITE is that there was no evidence that Mary ever had a relationship with a man, there was evidence of her having friendships with women. And there are a couple of historical fiction novels about Mary Anning and in one of them, it does suggest she had a relationship with a man and nobody complained. And it did make me really think where we are at in society where we need absolute concrete proof for anything that is not considered to be hetero-normative. I just felt to myself whether it’s about my character’s working class or how they identify with their sexuality, these characters have had their voices taken away from them and we haven’t heard from them.”.
“Queer Histories haven’t been recorded because a lot of the time it’s been hidden, illegal, with big consequences if you identified with the LGBTQ community. Often people from the community don’t have children, so their stories aren’t passed-on generationally. So for me it feels like if I can give voices to people or situations that have been overlooked or neglected, then I’m very happy to do that.”.
We ask about Winslet and Ronan becoming involved the with project.
Lee: “It’s quite a boring story, Will. I thought about who I’d like to be in it. First of all, Kate was top of my list because regardless of what she has been in, there’s always been such a truth and honesty to her performances. She felt like a very natural choice for me. Her agent read the Script and sent it to Kate the same day and said, ‘You have to read this because if you don’t say yes, somebody will take it immediately.’. So Kate came back the next day and said she’d like to do it. Pretty much the same thing happened with Saoirse. She got the Script, read it and rang me up to say she’d like to do it! (laughs) I wish it was more about I was in the supermarket and I bumped into somebody and their wife’s brother’s husband once cleaned for Kate Winslet and sent it to her but it wasn’t like that!”.
“The lovely thing is that this is only my second film. The first movie I did was made for no money whatsoever and not-so-famous actors. Nobody really cared about it when I was making it. What was lovely about this film was getting access to actors who not only are at the top of their game but also are very, very established and famous. And the way in which they wholeheartedly jumped on-board with me and wanted to work with me in a way in which I like to work.”.
Lee elaborates more on how working with Kate Winslet actually got weird.
Lee: “What was brilliant about working with Kate is that we like to work in a similar way. It’s very, very much about research and character building. I worked with Kate four or five months before the shoot one-on-one and we really built this character from scratch from the moment she’s born to the moment we first see her in the Film. We worked through every detail and knew every detail about the Mary we were creating. Kate has a real ability and not every actor does, to really transform herself into being somebody else.”.
“So when we were shooting, I wouldn’t recognize one part of the Kate that I knew in that character. She’s very demonstrative, she’s very physical and she talks with her hands. She’s very open emotionally. One of the things we worked so hard on was stillness, silence and internalized emotion and playing everything with looks, gestures and subtleties. I remember finishing the Film and I hadn’t seen Kate for quite some time because I was in the edits and she was away working. I couldn’t look her in the eye, I couldn’t speak to her because I didn’t know who she was, because of who I’d been looking at for the last eight or nine months was not this person. And I was quite shy. It was difficult to switch from Kate‘s performance as Mary to Kate as a human being. It took me a while to adjust.”.
“The way I see Kate now is in Mary Anning, which is so different from who Kate is. It’s kind of a bit weird. Once on-set, there was a scene she wasn’t in and I was working. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone walking around and looking around. I’m quite private and aware, so I turned to the First Assistant Director and asked ‘Who the fuck is that?’. And he said ‘It’s Kate!’. I literally didn’t recognize her because the only time I’d see her is her as Mary Anning.”.
Following-up on two very well-received films can be a daunting task. We ask Lee what’s next.
Lee: “I am writing and finding writing much slower than normal because of COVID, because I find my focus is a bit allover the place. It’s a bit worrying but I’m getting through it. I can tell you that it is a Horror film exploring the same themes I always obsess about – deep human relationships, landscape and loneliness but hopefully with some hope.”.
Elevation Pictures release AMMONITE, now playing in theatres. It will be available on Premium Digital and On-Demand December 4, 2020.
(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures)
By Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
At just age 26, Saoirse Ronan has managed to become one of the top Actors of her generation. She got nominated for her first Academy Award at the age of 13 for her work in Atonement. Since then, sheâs been nominated three more times.Â
Her talent is undeniable as seen through the unforgettable mix of characters she’s brought to life on-screen over multiple genres, such as survivor Hanna, homesick Eilis, uninhibited Lady Bird, and Writer Jo Marsh.
Her latest role has her starring as a grieving Charlotte in Francis Leeâs Ammonite. It follows Palaeontologist Mary Anning, played by Kate Winslet, who cares for Charlotte while her husband leaves for work. The two build an undeniable bond and fall in love.Â
Today, she joined Canadian Novelist Anne T. Donahue for TIFF’s In Conversation With⊠Saoirse Ronan.
On where home is to Ronan:
âItâs less of a physical location for me. I think thatâs always been the case. I have tried to find it in a place or country, but now Iâm older and I realize there are a few core people. That is my home.â.
On becoming an Actor:
âWhen we moved out to Ireland my dad was working on a film and they needed someone and I was added into it. I didn’t really want to do it. I was a quiet kid. It was this weird Art House film where I was half-human and half-clown. *laughs* And I said, âNo, that sounds terrible. I donât want to do that.â But he wanted me to. So I did it. I was 6, 7, or 8. From the moment I got on set I really loved it. I really liked the discipline matched with the play aspect.â.
On when she knew she wanted to be an Actor:
âIt wasnât until I was 12. It was when I was doing Atonement. I loved that. And I knew that thatâs what I wanted to do.â.
On Brooklyn:
âI was a wreck. An absolute wreck. I was 20, so hormones were all over the place. I moved to London at that time. I did Brooklyn in the middle of that transition. And I went back to where I grew-up. I hadnât been there in years. It represented a past time in my life that I will always be connected too, but was moving past. I think what made it overwhelming was that it was a severe meeting of two worlds. My home life, where I went to school and wasnât an Actor. And this new stage in my career which was me starting to lead as a woman, and it was an Irish woman. I was just thinking, âI have to get this right.â I was completely terrified. I never felt aware of the camera in a negative way or ever felt that it had paralyzed me. But I was feeling like that a lot in Brooklyn. But it ended up being such a special film for me to do. That Film gets to me in a way that nothing else I have done has. It was an honour to tell that story.â.
On Lady Bird:
âItâs not about her [Greta Gerwig] life. But she did grow up in Sacramento and she was in a theatre group. And I think we both wanted to be more like Lady Bird. But we were both more like rule followers. I didnât mind being influenced by the way [Greta] was. But I couldnât just carbon copy .
On her Activism:
âI donât consider myself an Activist. I think it would be unfair for me to say that. We (Actors) are a mouthpiece for the people who actually know what they’re talking about. Thatâs how Iâve always felt about. Iâve met a lot of people who support incredible causes and are passionate and hardworking about it. And Iâm kind of like everyone else asking, âWhat can I do? What do you need me to do to spread that message further?â I think there are a lot of people who do far more than I do.â.
On Timothée Chalamet:
â[In Lady Bird] we only had a few scenes together. I always knew he was special and magnetic. We are very different people and in our approaches to work. I remember we were on the way to set and were talking about our families and normal stuff. We always felt very comfortable with each other. Heâs American and European as well. We sort of were able to tap into that. On Little Women, thatâs where it felt more like a collaboration. We had these lengthy scenes where we would ebb and flow performance-wise. Heâs someone I want to continue to work with.â.
On Ammonite:
âI think itâs a luck of the draw whether you get to work with someone who you click with. Kate and I had met and just got on straight away. I think a big part of that is her because she is friendly and open. One of the good things about the junkets and awards season is getting to meet a lot of wonderful people in the mix of the madness. So, I met her a couple of times doing that stuff. And then this came around and she was a real supporter for me doing it. We were just really lucky we got on straight away. Two women getting to come together, and with more of the intimate scenes and being able to choreograph the love scenes ourselves was great. Especially with Kate.â.
On taking on so many roles:
âI donât work as much as other people. Iâm at a place at the minute where I donât need to run into a job just to work. I think because Iâve been doing it for 16 years or more now. Itâs very important that I donât burn out or kind of lose the love for it. Itâs important for me to protect the bond with my work that I have.â.
Our Review for AMMONITE can be found here.
(Photo credit: TIFF)
By Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
Francis Leeâs latest takes us to 19th-century Dorset. It follows real-life Palaeontologist Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) as she searches the coastline for marine fossils. She spends her days alone, walking the shore and helping at her motherâs tiny shop. Soon she finds her solitary life becomes upended when sheâs asked by another Palaeontologist to care for his melancholic wife, Charlotte (Saoirse Ronan). In need of the money, she agrees. Gradually, Mary and Charlotte grow close.
Lee does an amazing job shooting the Film in a show-donât-tell way. There is limited dialogue throughout. Instead, he creates scenes where the weather, objects and characters actions speak volumes. This becomes integral in escalating visually the blossoming love between Mary and Charlotte. In the First Act, Mary is rightfully angry and curt, while Charlotte is mourning the loss of her child. The beautiful coastâs weather parallels their emotions. There are overcast skies and violent waves attacking the coastline. As they spend time together, the clouds clear and the waters calm.
Ammonite is more than a period-Romance. Lee focuses on the work of the incredible Mary and the theme of women taking ownership of their work. During the 19th-century, no Scientific Society would take-in a woman. No matter how hard and astounding Maryâs work was, she was excluded. However, there were male Scientists who were interested in learning from her, being the best in her field. But in the end, they knew she was in need of money. So, they would pay her for what she found and put their names on it. In focusing on this, Lee enhances his Script with a love story involving ownership and class.
Mary loved and lived for her work. It didnât matter that in doing so, she wouldnât be part of the upper-class. However, Charlotte is part of the upper-class. Itâs here that conflict arises in their relationship. So many times, we have witnessed a forbidden same-sex romance. Although that is at play here, Ammonite focuses on their differing upbringings and that divides them no matter how badly they want to be together. Once again, Lee shows us this instead of telling us. He places his characters on opposite sides of Maryâs glassed sea-creature on display inside the British Museum.
With the talent of Winslet and Ronan in the Film’s lead roles, we are expecting greatness, and they do not disappoint. Winslet is always dynamite. Here, she gives one of her strongest performances. She encapsulates the anger Mary has for having to sell her work and her vulnerability when falling in love with Charlotte. Ronan gives a performance like we’ve never seen from her before. Sheâs strongest in portraying Charlotteâs grief and her desperation to keep Mary close to her. Their raw emotion feels authentic and honest, especially in their love scenes that are shot meticulously and delicately. And with minimal screen time, Fiona Shaw captivates as a previous love of Maryâs.
While at times it lags a little, this period-Romance which fuses Gender Politics and Classism, is made-up for with stellar performances, particularly by Winslet.
Ammonite screens at TIFF ’20 as follows:
Official TIFF ’20 selection AMMONITE gets its first official Trailer. We know many of you like us are excited about this!
Synopsis:
1840s England, acclaimed but overlooked fossil hunter Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) and a young woman (Saoirse Ronan) sent to convalesce by the sea develop an intense relationship, altering both of their lives forever.
See the Trailer:
AMMONITE is in theatres this November via Elevation Pictures.
(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures)
While we’re sad it isn’t announced for TIFF ’19, we are happy about getting to see its Trailer finally for Greta Gerwig’s reimagining of LITTLE WOMEN.
Synopsis:
Writer-Director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) has crafted a Little Women that draws on both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott, and unfolds as the authorâs alter ego, Jo March, reflects back and forth on her fictional life. In Gerwigâs take, the beloved story of the March sisters â four young women each determined to live life on her own terms — is both timeless and timely. Portraying Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth March, the Film stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, with TimothĂ©e Chalamet as their neighbor Laurie, Laura Dern as Marmee, and Meryl Streep as Aunt March.
See the Trailer:
Sony Pictures Canada release LITTLE WOMEN this Christmas.
(Photo/video credit: Sony Pictures Canada)
Universal Pictures Canada x Mr. Will want to take Readers to an Advance Screening of MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS in Montreal and Vancouver on Monday, December 10, 2018.
Synopsis:
Mary Queen of Scots explores the turbulent life of the charismatic Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan), who was the Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18. Defying pressure to remarry, she returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne. But Scotland and England fall under the rule of Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie).
Mary sends Elizabeth a letter saying that she hopes they will be able to rule side by side in harmony. Elizabeth responds affirmatively and graciously. However, there is grumbling amongst the male courtiers about having to serve women. They try to turn Elizabeth against Mary, calling her their foe.
Mary weds again, this time to Henry Stuart and gives birth to a son, James. Elizabeth, who is still childless, begins to believe that Mary wants to take over the English throne. Elizabethâs male advisors insist she should go to war with Scotland. Betrayal, rebellion, and conspiracies within each court imperil both thrones â and lead to tragic outcomes.
See the Trailer:
Artwork:
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Universal Pictures Canada release MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS Friday, December 14, 2018.
(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)
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