Global Showbiz Briefs: Mongrel Media Picks Up ‘100-Year-Old Man’ For Canada; Gareth Neame Reacts To Julian Fellowes’ ‘Downton Abbey’ Comments; More
Mongrel Has Date With ‘100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out A Window’
Canada’s Mongrel Media has acquired the Swedish hit The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out A Window And Disappeared. Felix Herngren’s film is an adaption of Jonas Jonasson’s best-selling novel. It’s scored big in Scandinavia so far, earning $11.4M in 12 days of release in Sweden, and has been the top movie from the region at the box office in Norway and Denmark. The film is the lighthearted story of a healthy centenarian who decides it’s not too late to start over. When Allan (Robert Gustafsson) lands in a nursing home, he refuses to celebrate his 100th birthday and instead escapes out a window to embark on a journey that involves a suitcase of cash and a gang of criminals. Flashbacks reveal that Allan also played a key role in 20th century history when he was pals with U.S. presidents and Russian tyrants. Mongrel, which acquired all Canadian rights from StudioCanal, will release it in summer this year.
‘Downton Abbey’ Creator Responds To Julian Fellowes Remarks
Earlier this week, I noted there had been some breathless reporting about comments made by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal. Queried by the paper on Downton, Fellowes said he didn’t “know yet if there is a season 6, but it’s not going to go on forever. It won’t be Perry Mason.” This led to rampant headlines about the possible demise of the hit Brit period drama that just debuted its 4th season in the U.S. The response prompted Downton executive producer Gareth Neame to release a statement today to calm things down. “I can confirm that there are no plans to end the show after the fifth series,” he said. “ITV commission each series on a year-by-year basis. In an interview given to The Wall Street Journal, Julian Fellowes stated that the show would not go on forever (inevitable of course and something both he and I have been on the record for previously). For now ITV have commissioned series five, and that is what we are busy preparing,” Neame said. It’s long been known that Fellowes is signed on for NBC drama The Gilded Age with a script commitment and significant penalty attached. He’s previously said that if NBC picks up the show, he’ll be writing it when Downton “finishes.” Neame will be collaborating with Fellowes on The Gilded Age.
