My Kingdom (film)

Last updated

My Kingdom is a 2001 British crime film directed by Don Boyd and starring Richard Harris, Lynn Redgrave and Jimi Mistry.

Contents

It premiered at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival on the eve of 9/11 and like many films that year was consequently compromised commercially. [1] It was subsequently previewed in Los Angeles to heighten nomination opportunities for the performance of Richard Harris later that year and was well reviewed by the Los Angeles Times and Variety . [2] [3]

The film, co-scripted by Boyd with The Guardian journalist Nick Davies and drawing on both their researches into the London and Liverpool criminal underworld (which in Boyd's case included the Kray brothers), brought Boyd into conflict with its principal lead Richard Harris, who wanted to rewrite the script. [4] [5] The film was released in the United Kingdom by Tartan Films receiving mixed reviews while generally acknowledging a fine performance from Harris who was nominated for a British Independent Film Award. [6] [7] Harris acknowledged his approval for the final film at a valedictory event held at the Cambridge Film Festival months before his death. [8]

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Bob Thornton</span> American actor, filmmaker and musician

Billy Bob Thornton is an American film actor, writer and director. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller One False Move, and received international attention after writing, directing, and starring in the independent drama film Sling Blade (1996), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. He appeared in several major film roles in the 1990s following Sling Blade, including Oliver Stone's neo-noir U Turn (1997), political drama Primary Colors (1998), science fiction disaster film Armageddon (1998), the highest-grossing film of that year, and the crime drama A Simple Plan (1998), which earned him his third Oscar nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanessa Redgrave</span> British actress (born 1937)

Dame Vanessa Redgrave is an English actress. Throughout her career spanning over six decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and an Olivier Award, making her one of the few performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. She has also received various honorary awards, including the BAFTA Fellowship Award, the Golden Lion Honorary Award, and an induction into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Redgrave</span> English actor (1908-1985)

Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE was an English actor and filmmaker. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Mourning Becomes Electra (1947), as well as two BAFTA nominations for Best British Actor for his performances in The Night My Number Came Up (1955) and Time Without Pity (1957).

<i>Gods and Monsters</i> (film) 1998 film

Gods and Monsters is a 1998 period drama film written and directed by Bill Condon, based on Christopher Bram's 1995 novel Father of Frankenstein. The film stars Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, and David Dukes. Its plot is a partly fictionalized account of the last days of the life of film director James Whale (McKellen), known for directing Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). A veteran of World War I, the aged Whale develops a complicated relationship with his gardener, Clayton Boone (Fraser), a fictitious character originally created by Bram for the source novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynn Redgrave</span> British-American actress (1943–2010)

Lynn Rachel Redgrave was a British-American actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards during her career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Independent Film Awards</span> British film award

The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports, and promotes British independent cinema and film-making talent in the United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, with the ceremony itself taking place in early December.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Bell</span> English actor (born 1986)

Andrew James Matfin "Jamie" Bell is an English actor. He rose to prominence for his debut role in Billy Elliot (2000), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, becoming one of the youngest winners of the award. He is also known for his leading roles as Tintin in The Adventures of Tintin (2011) and as Ben Grimm / Thing in Fantastic Four (2015).

Don Francis Bowman "Sugarcane" Harris was an American blues and rock and roll violinist and guitarist. He is considered a pioneer in the amplification of the violin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gil Bellows</span> Canadian character actor, screenwriter, and director (born 1967)

Gil Bellows is a Canadian actor, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for the roles of Tommy Williams in the 1994 movie The Shawshank Redemption, Billy Thomas in the Fox television series Ally McBeal (1997–2002), and CIA agent Matt Callan in the CBS television series The Agency (2001–2003). In 2016–2017, he was a regular cast member in the USA Network series Eyewitness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Harris</span> British actor

Sean Harris is an English actor. He played Ian Curtis in 24 Hour Party People (2002), Micheletto Corella in The Borgias (2011–2013), Fifield in Prometheus (2012), Solomon Lane in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) and Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), Philip in Possum (2018), William Gascoigne in The King (2019) and Henry Peter Teague / Peter Morley in The Stranger (2022).

Camelot is a 1967 American musical fantasy drama film directed by Joshua Logan and written by Alan Jay Lerner, based on the 1960 stage musical of the same name by Lerner and Frederick Loewe. It stars Richard Harris as King Arthur, Vanessa Redgrave as Guenevere, and Franco Nero as Lancelot, with David Hemmings, Lionel Jeffries and Laurence Naismith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Elliott</span> American jazz musician

Don ElliottHelfman, known as Don Elliott, was an American jazz trumpeter, vibraphonist, vocalist, and mellophone player. Elliott recorded over 60 albums and 5,000 advertising jingles throughout his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Clark (English actor)</span> British actor, director and producer (1932–2023)

Ivan John Clark was an English actor, director and producer. Clark is probably best known for his role as Just William in theatre and radio in the late 1940s and as the former husband of actress Lynn Redgrave, to whom he was married for 33 years. However, he established himself as a stage actor and director after moving to the United States in 1960, and became noted for directing plays featuring his wife in the 1970s beginning with A Better Place at Dublin's Gate Theatre (1973), then in America The Two of Us (1975), Saint Joan (1977–78), and a tour of California Suite (1976). In 1981, he directed an episode of the CBS television series House Calls, in which Redgrave starred.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimi Mistry</span> British actor

Jimi Mistry is a retired British actor. He is known for appearing in numerous films such as East Is East (1999), The Guru (2002), Ella Enchanted (2004), The Truth About Love (2005), Blood Diamond (2006), Partition (2007), RocknRolla (2008), Exam (2009), It's a Wonderful Afterlife (2010), and West is West (2010). He is also known for his roles, as Dr. Fred Fonseca in BBC1 soap opera EastEnders, Latif in Cinemax series Strike Back, Kal Nazir in long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street, and as Tom Bedford in Kay Mellor drama The Syndicate.

<i>Billy Roses Jumbo</i> 1962 film

Billy Rose's Jumbo is a 1962 American musical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Doris Day, Stephen Boyd, Jimmy Durante, and Martha Raye. An adaptation of the stage musical Jumbo produced by Billy Rose, the film was directed by Charles Walters, written by Sidney Sheldon, and featured Busby Berkeley's choreography. It was nominated for an Academy Award for the adaptation of its Rodgers and Hart score.

Donald William Robertson Boyd is a Scottish film director, producer, screenwriter and novelist. He was a Governor of the London Film School until 2016 and in 2017 was made an Honorary Professor in the College of Humanities at Exeter University.

<i>Bear Island</i> (film) 1979 British film

Bear Island is a 1979 thriller film loosely based on the 1971 novel Bear Island by Alistair MacLean. It was directed by Don Sharp and starred Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee and Lloyd Bridges.

<i>The National Health</i> (film) 1973 British satirical film

The National Health is a 1973 British black comedy film directed by Jack Gold and starring Lynn Redgrave, Colin Blakely and Eleanor Bron. It is based on the play The National Health by Peter Nichols, in which the staff struggle to cope in a NHS hospital. The film satirically interweaves the story of the real hospital with a fantasy hospital which exists in a soap-opera world where all the equipment is new and patients are miraculously cured – although the only "patients" seen are doctors or nurses who are themselves part of the soap opera plots. In the real hospital, the patients die while the out-of-touch administrators focus on impressing foreign visitors.

The 5th British Independent Film Awards, held on 30 October 2002 at the Pacha Nightclub in Victoria, London honoured the best British independent films of 2002.

<i>Wild Rose</i> (2018 film) 2018 British film

Wild Rose is a 2018 British musical drama film directed by Tom Harper and starring Jessie Buckley, Julie Walters, Sophie Okonedo, Jamie Sives, Craig Parkinson, James Harkness, Janey Godley, Daisy Littlefield, Ryan Kerr, Adam Mitchell, and Nicole Kerr. The screenplay was written by Nicole Taylor.

References

  1. Howell, Peter (9 September 2011). "TIFF and 9/11: Memories of terror". Toronto Star . Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  2. "'Kingdom' is a fitting Richard Harris finale - latimes". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  3. Elley, Derek (15 June 2001). "My Kingdom". Variety.com. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  4. Boyd, Don (4 October 2002). "Shooting? That was too good for Billy..." The Guardian . Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  5. "The directors: Don Boyd on directing Richard Harris". Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  6. "My Kingdom". Rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  7. "British Independent Film Awards · BIFA". Bifa.film. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  8. [ dead link ]