Latest in Mike Leigh

Mr. Turner writer-director Mike Leigh, who has been nominated for Oscars five times, knew exactly who he wanted to play the lead role in his new biopic about the revered and irascible English Romantic painter J.M.W. Turner. That was, as he tells Deadline’s Pete Hammond in this video clip from our recent Oscar showcase…

In Mr. Turner, Mike Leigh’s biopic of the British painter J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851), the artist finds true love late in life in Sophia Booth, the no nonsense landlady of his seaside retreat in Margate. Leigh also found love later in life with Marion Bailey, 63, the veteran actress who portrays Mrs. Booth. Timothy…

In this week's podcast, Deadline Awards Columnist Pete Hammond and host David Bloom catch up the latest news from the just-opened Cannes Film Festival, where Pete and the rest of the Deadline team are busy covering the first days of the annual glam fest and the deals and parties behind the glitz. Grace of Monaco had a…

Alison Thompson, co-president of Focus Features International (FFI), announced multi-territory sales on director Asif Kapadia's (Senna, The Warrior) untitled documentary on five-time Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse. FFI also saw strong sales on seven-time Academy Award-nominated writer/director…

BREAKING: Sony Pictures Classics has acquired North American, Latin American and Eastern European rights to an untitled film by Mike Leigh that will focus on JMW Turner, considered England’s greatest artist. Leigh has set his Secrets & Lies star Timothy Spall to star, with Georgina Lowe producing and Gail Egan exec…

Timothy Spall is attached to star in the next film from Mike Leigh. Focus Features International will begin worldwide sales in Cannes in May, on the film about British landscape watercolorist J.M.W. Turner. Turner was a pioneering and controversial figure in his day, but is now considered one of the most celebrated…

Armed thugs spread violence Friday in Mexico’s second largest city, causing minor disruptions at the Guadalajara International Film Festival, which closes out Saturday. Gangs commandeered 11 vehicles in the Guadalajara metropolitan zone as well as more in surrounding areas, according to Guadalajara Reporter. One man…

Mike Leigh has been named president of the jury for the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival. The British director’s films have been invited to Berlin in various sections in the past including 1984’s Meantime, 1998's short The Short And Curlies, 1991's Life Is Sweet and 2008's Happy-Go-Lucky for which Sally Hawkins…

BREAKING: Just before the New York Film Festival closed tonight with the premiere of the Alexander Payne-directed The Descendants, the Film Society of Lincoln Center announced that its longtime program director and Selection Committee head Richard Pena  will stepping down after next year’s 50th annual festival. Pena…