Hello, and welcome back to Week in Review, our roundup of industry-wide news. From stage to screens big and small, we’ve got you covered. It’s everything you need to know and all you can’t afford to miss.
A black female 007: ‘It’s about bloody time’
Actor Lashana Lynch has found herself the subject of a sexist rant amid conversations around the future of Britain’s most recognisable film franchise – James Bond. The British actor, whose credits include Captain Marvel as well as a stint in daytime soap Doctors, is currently filming for Bond 25 where she’ll take over from Daniel Craig’s James Bond as agent 007 in a reportedly “popcorn-dropping moment.”
The Mail last week quoted an anonymous source who reported that the 25th instalment in the franchise will open with a scene where Lynch, a black woman, is shown taking on the role of agent 007 after Bond retires to Jamaica. However, those hoping for a female to lead the franchise will be disappointed as Craig’s Bond comes out of retirement to tackle one last villain. As the source says, “Bond is still Bond but he’s been replaced as 007.” Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has also confirmed Bond will likely remain as male.
Although many have praised the shakeup of the latest Bond film and attributed the new direction to co-writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, American commentator Ben Shapiro claimed the casting of Lynch was at odds with the nature of the franchise. In a sexist rant, Shapiro claimed a female double agent “makes no sense” and the appeal of the Bond franchise rests in a male character seducing women. Most commentators welcomed the rumours of Lynch’s role, with Bond aficionado Darren Paul Fisher saying “it’s about bloody time.”
BBC and Netflix join forces for The Serpent with Tahar Rahim
French star Tahar Rahim has boarded BBC One drama The Serpent along with Netflix as co-producers, as the BBC hops into bed with one of their biggest competitors for original drama. Rahim plays serial killer Charles Sobhraj in the story of how the conman and murderer was brought to justice in the mid-70s by a young diplomat tracking him throughout Southeast Asia. The eight-part series is written by Richard Warlow (Ripper Street) and directed by Tom Shankland and produced by ITV’s Mammoth Screen. Rahim, who has been shooting Damien Chazelle’s follow up to La La Land, said it was a role he had “dreamed of playing” since discovering the haunting story of Sobhraj as a child. Further casting is to be announced soon. Read more here.
READ: Netflix Creates Major UK Production Hub at Shepperton Studios
Costume departments stockpiling materials ahead of Brexit
Costume departments have this week admitted to stockpiling material as part of a process for preparing for a no-deal Brexit, as industry leaders warn the effects of exiting the EU will be “frustrating” at first and then “much more serious” to the health of the industry. The Stage reported that major wardrobe departments and independent costume makers are bracing for “significant disruption” and price hikes if materials regularly sourced from EU countries are delayed or subject to new taxes.
Warning that a no-deal with the EU could mean “artistic compromise” for productions, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s head of wardrobe Alistair McArthur said some key items bought from within the EU can be stockpiled, but buying in advance is not always possible. London period costumes specialist Cosprop warned a significant amount of business for costumiers comes from outside the UK and additional paperwork involved post-Brexit was at-odds with the needs of the industry. General manager Chris Garlick said: “We make and hire out costumes that we then send to Europe. At the moment, there’s no paperwork involved in that. The way the industry works is that everything is so last-minute...and things have to happen very quickly, [meaning] we are put at risk.”
Lighting and audiovisual specialists White Light’s boss Bryan Raven warned: “If we make it hard for people to come to this country to work, and [the EU makes] it hard for us to go and work in their countries, then we are very quickly no longer going to be a world-leading producer of music, theatre or events.” Read more here.
BFI to screen Armando Iannucci’s David Copperfield
Armando Iannucci’s retelling of Dickens’ David Copperfield is to open the 63rd BFI London Film Festival this autumn. As the first images of Dev Patel were revealed this week, so was the news that Iannucci (The Death of Stalin, The Thick Of It) and Peep Show writer Simon Blackwell’s adaptation of the 1850 novel The Personal History of David Copperfield will get its European premiere on 2 October in London. Patel stars alongside Tilda Swinton, Ben Whishaw, Gwendoline Christie, Hugh Laurie, Benedict Wong, and Peter Capaldi in the classic Victorian coming-of-age class story. Read more here.
READ: What Is the BFI + Why Should You Care?
Former Soho boss launches ‘John Lewis-style’ pantomime company
Former Soho Theatre artistic director Steve Marmion has launched a new production company dedicated to pantomimes. Marmion said Panto Co would operate in a similar way to John Lewis, the department store where employees are co-owners and shareholders in the business and receive a share of profits. Marmion argued: “For a long time, there have been people getting wealthy from pantomime and I want to see that happen more fairly.” Actors will be rewarded for returning to the company, with Marmion saying “people will always work harder and more passionately if they have a vested interest in what they are doing.” Read more here.
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