English actresses Hayley Atwell (Captain America: The First Avenger) and Imogen Poots (Fright Night) have joined Outkast rapper Andre 3000 on the cast of the Jimi Hendrix biopic ‘All Is By My Side,’ which is due to begin filming in Ireland this month.

As exclusively revealed by IFTN last Friday (May 4), Andre 3000 will play Hendrix in the Irish co-produced feature, which will shoot on-location in Dublin and Wicklow. The rapper arrived in Ireland this week and is currently preparing for the role ahead of production. The feature does not, however, have the support of the late rock star’s estate who will not allow Hendrix’s music to be used in the film.

No further details as to Atwell and Poots’ co-starring roles have been announced although it is expected that Atwell will play Linda Keith, the woman who discovered Hendrix in New York’s Cheetah Club in 1966 and helped bring him to worldwide attention.

‘U-Turn’ and ‘Three Kings’ screenwriter John Ridley will direct from his original screenplay with producers revealing that the film will be based on interviews with Hendrix as well as archival materials. Ridley has previously documented Hendrix and Keith’s relationship in a radio feature for NPR entitled ‘Send My Love To Linda: An Untold Jimi Hendrix Story.’

Dublin-based Subotica Entertainment will co-produce the feature with America’s Darko Entertainment and Britain’s Matador Pictures. Darko is financing the project, while Content Film are handling sales outside of the US.

Tristan Orphen Lynch will produce for Subotica alongside Darko’s Sean McKittrick, Jeff Culotta and Danny Bramson. Nigel Thomas will produce for Matador. Ridley and Tedd Hamm will executive produce.

A statement released by the producers states: “In ‘All Is By My Side,’ there’s rock music. Then there’s Jimi Hendrix. ‘All Is By My Side’ captures the energy, the charisma, the mind-boggling talent of a legend whose musical influence still resonates around the world today. Based on actual interviews and archival materials, ‘All Is By My Side’ brings authenticity and poignantly reveals a Jimi Hendrix behind the legend. At its heart a love story, ‘All Is By My Side’ is about a man growing up, falling in love and becoming Jimi.

As stated, the project has not been licensed by Hendrix’s estate, Experience Hendrix LLC, who yesterday distanced themselves from the unlicensed biopic. It means ‘All Is By My Side’ will not feature any of Hendrix’s original material unless permission from his estate is subsequently granted.

In a statement Experience Hendrix LLC said: “Various media outlets have recently published accounts that indicate a feature length Jimi Hendrix biographical film is nearing production. Experience Hendrix, LLC, the family-owned company entrusted with safeguarding the legacy of Jimi Hendrix and administrator of the Jimi Hendrix music and publishing catalog has made it known many times in the past that no such film, were it to include original music or copyrights created by Jimi Hendrix, can be undertaken without its full participation.”

However, Hendrix’s estate did not rule out involvement in a future biopic. The statement added: “Experience Hendrix CEO Janie Hendrix, sister of Jimi Hendrix, and the EH board have not ruled out a ‘biopic’ in the future though producing partners would, out of necessity, have to involve the company from the inception of any such film project if it is to include original Jimi Hendrix music or compositions.”

IFTN understands that the feature will get around using Hendrix’s music by covering his early years and focusing on the period from his ‘discovery’ in New York in 1966 up to the point of the release of his debut album in 1967.

It is also possible that producers may seek to use songs covered by Hendrix, such as his 1966 debut single ‘Hey Joe,’ the copyright of which is not owned by Experience Hendrix LLC and was registered in 1962 by Billy Roberts. Other notable Hendrix covers include ‘All Along The Watchtower,’ which was written by Bob Dylan.

As previously reported by IFTN, Irish locations to be used during the shoot include Bray Head Hotel; the John Player Cigarette Factory on South Circular Road; Bray itself; a number of nightclubs in Bray, Dun Laoghaire and various other locations around Dublin.

Among the key Irish crew who will work on the project are line producer Donna Eperon (Love Eternal, The Other Side of Sleep); assistant art director Nenazoma McNamee (Dark Touch); cinematographer Tim Fleming (Once, Citadel); hair stylist Lorraine Glynn Whelan (Breakfast On Pluto, Albert Nobbs); make-up artist Morna Ferguson (In America, The Guard); prop buyer Sarah Kingston (Byzantium, The Guard); Ele Wood (The Other Side of Sleep) and art department trainee Julia Davin-Power (Love Eternal).

Leonie Pendergast (Raw, What Richard Did) and Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh (Ondine) will both work on costume design, while Dan Birch (Camelot, Parked, The Tudors) will look after the on-location sound. Other crew on-board include English production designer Paul Cross (Spooks, Luther).

Read the rest of this entry »

The biggest roadblock to getting a biopic about a musician made is clearing the rights to the (usually expensive) songs and pleasing the estate. If the artist in question is still alive, the process can be made slightly easier, but if not, projects can drag in develop as everyone involved tries to find common ground to meet on financially and creatively. Which leads us to "All Is By My Side," the long, long brewing Jimi Hendrix pic with Andre 3000 in the lead that, out of nowhere, was announced earlier this week as gearing up to start shooting in a matter of weeks. We wondered if this might mean Experience Hendrix were on board with the movie too -- turns out, they're not.

In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, the company says it “has made it known many times in the past that no such film, were it to include original music or copyrights created by Jimi Hendrix, can be undertaken without its full participation.” We presume lawsuits are just waiting to happen, so it'll be interesting to see how the filmmakers behind "All By My Side" get around the issue. We presume cover versions will be used -- as was done in the 2000 TV movie "Hendrix" -- but it even seems that Experience Hendrix might throw down the gauntlet if that happens, depending on how they view the term "copyrights."

But regardless, the pic is soldiering on, with Variety reporting that Haywell Atwell -- who talked about the film as early as last summer -- is confirmed, with Imogen Poots ("Fright Night," "Solitary Man") also coming on board. Penned by John Ridley ("Three Kings," "U-Turn") who will be directing as well, the film will essentially cover Hendrix's breakthrough period from 1966 to 1967. He was discovered in a New York club by Linda Keith, a model and the girlfriend of Keith Richards at the time, who introduced him to The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and producer Seymour Stein (who both declined to work with him), and eventually to manager/producer Chas Chandler who helped launch his career. He went to London, recorded Are You Experienced? and made music history.

Read the rest of this entry »

Proving the old Shakespeare axiom that some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them, then turn it into a Julia Stiles teen comedy that they keep revisiting to see if there's any more drops of greatness they can squeeze out of it, 10 Things I Hate About You director Gil Junger will return once more to his 1999 debut for the quasi-sequel 10 Things I Hate About Life. However, the film isn't billed as an official follow-up to his bubbly Taming Of The Shrew update, which remains a favorite especially of increasingly nostalgic women, people like to dwell on Heath Ledger's death, and the band Letters To Cleo, probably.

Instead, Junger says vaguely that it will somehow "advance the situations" from the original, with a plot that revolves around Captain America co-star Hayley Atwell playing one of two people who have a chance meeting while attempting to kill themselves—a scenario that Junger says was inspired by his real-life discovery of a man who'd committed suicide at a scenic overlook, as Junger looked upon tormented life at its most futile, anguished end and thought, "Hey, this would make a cute movie," presumably. Though actually, Junger—who's previously gone back to the 10 Things well with the short-lived ABC Family series of the same name—was much more straightforward about his inspiration with Variety, pointing out that last year he made more from 10 Things residuals than he did for actually directing it. And as Shakespeare also wrote, "No profit grows where is no pleasure ta'en / In brief, study what you most affect—particularly if what you affect is making easy money off of name recognition even in its most murky and tangential forms." Shakespeare was kind of a cynic, really.

Read the rest of this entry »

Though she had plenty of recognizable work before her turn in Captain America: The First Avenger, the comic book film gave actress Hayley Atwell a whole new world of opportunities in action films (she'll be seen in The Sweeney later this year across the pond). Of course, she still has a pretty face perfect for romance and the like, so it's not surprising that she's taking on a less action-packed role for a new project. What is surprising though is that Variety says Atwell's new gig is 10 Things I Hate About Life, a pseudo sequel to the seminal 1999 teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You, truly a nostalgic favorite of mine.

Variety reports Gil Junger, who wrote and directed 10 Things I Hate About You, a contemporary loose adaptation of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew with Larisa Oleynik, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the late Heath Ledger, will direct the sort-of sequel from a script that he wrote himself. The filmmaker says the story advances the situations from the original film and he was inspired to write it after he came across a man who had committed suicide at a scenic overlook. Junger elaborates:

It's not clear if he intends to bring back any of the characters of the original film (maybe Atwell is taking over Julia Stiles character?), or is this is just a film in the spirit of the first film and not necessarily an actual sequel. Audiences will likely be interested though as Junger points out that 10 Things I Hate About You is still popular enough that he made more in residuals from last year alone than he received for directing it in 1999. That's pretty crazy. Since shooting that film, Junger has kept mostly in television series and films for the small screen, but he certainly hasn't been unemplyed. Shooting on this pseudo-sequel will start in November, and the premise of this project is very intriguing, so we'll bring you more as it moves through development towards production. Interested?

Read the rest of this entry »

LOS ANGELES — Hayley Atwell of "Captain America: The First Avenger" will be starring in a new film with a somewhat familiar title. Intandem Films said Wednesday that Atwell has been cast in "10 Things I Hate About Life," a romantic comedy to be written and directed by Gil Junger.

Junger directed the hit 1999 movie "10 Things I Hate About You," which starred Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Intandem will produce "10 Things I Hate About Life" with Mad Chance Productions, according to literary and talent agency APA. The 30-year-old, London-born Atwell was a 2010 Laurence Olivier Awards nominee for the play "A View From the Bridge." Her other film credits include "The Duchess" and "Brideshead Revisited."

Read the rest of this entry »

To be honest, I must admit I have no idea what the Olivier Awards are all about, other than it seems to be a Britty style thespianic award show presumably for people who are beloved French actors? Hmm. It all seems rather unclear. But what was in perfect focus were some impressive racks, English style, on display at this weekend's award ceremony, most notably Captain America hottie Hayley Atwell, who is stacked like Gibraltar, and Lizzie Cundy, one of our favorite U.K. veteran delights, both of whom were flying their cleavetastic queens for the dress-up event.

For those of you out there, and we know you're out there, who love yourselves a woman with plenty of squeeze, train your leers toward the robust Hayley Atwell and try to size her up 360. It's a nice tour around several globes.

Read the rest of this entry »

Casting for The Sweeney movie remake continues to impress, with the beautiful Hayley Atwell joining Ray Winstone and Plan B. The actress – who starred in the Captain America movie – recently spoke to the BBC about her role in the long-overdue remake.

While it doesn’t tell us much about what they have been shooting, at least there seems to be a good atmosphere among the stars of the movie. Something we missed a few weeks ago was Top Gear’s involvement with the movie, with the third episode of their 18th series featuring Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond working on stunts and a car chase for the movie:

Read the rest of this entry »

And here’s some superheroine news to get your Monday morning going. Comely Brit Hayley Atwell, who won fans’ hearts as British agent Peggy Carter in last summer’s “Captain America” has some thoughts on how her character and the still-youthful Steve Rogers might be reunited in the films.

“I don’t know, obviously he can stand the test of time. Peggy can’t. She’s either long dead by now or in her eighties. I would love for them to have some kind of bitter-sweet reunion in an old people’s home. He’s obviously looking forward to something fabulous and she doesn’t really have her own teeth any more! It would be bitter-sweet. I’m rooting for that. I’m hoping something like that happens.”

“It was amazing, it was so big. It was a $150 million production. It was bigger than anything I’ve ever seen before. So walking onto set every day was almost like walking onto an adventure land, like Disney land. The set and the props were so big. Beautiful. Chris was great fun, he’s very talented, a good musician, a good singer, good dancer – really annoying!”

And with “The Avengers” just weeks away, there’s apparent confirmation thatScarlett Johansson’s deadly Natasha Romanoff might make her return in “Iron Man 3.”

Citing a report by Feature Film Casting, ComicBookMovie reports that, “along with the call for extras and a few (previously known) details on the movie, they reckon Johansson’s return as Black Widow is a done deal. They also report that Don Cheadle will be back as Rhodey, and Gwyneth Paltrow will once again appear as Pepper Potts.”

Read the rest of this entry »

What  on earth was Hayley Atwell wearing when she stepped out recently at the William Vintage BAFTA dinner in London? Hayley’s high heels featured spikey effects on the toes of the shoes, and a turquoise 4 3/4″ heel that looks suspiciously like python.

But none of that is to mention that most of the shoe is made up of clear plastic: PVC!Yes, seems like lucite is on its way back, and one of the big designers is leading the charge. If the metal spike embellishments didn’t give it away, perhaps the glimpse of red sole did? That’s right, Hayley is wearing the Unbout Illusion pump from Christian Louboutin’s Spring / Summer 2012 collection. The heel is not yet available in stores but will no doubt be snapped up when it is.

Read the rest of this entry »

English actress Hayley Atwell, who had been recently cast in the approaching ‘Captain America’ adaptation, has been attached to writer/director Barnaby Southcombe’s feature debut, ‘I, Anna.’ Atwell ties seasoned stars Charlotte Rampling along with Gabriel Byrne in the noir thriller based on the novel by Elsa Lewin as Emmy, the daughter of Rampling’s title character.

The London-set suspense story is told from the viewpoint of a femme fatale who falls for the detective in charge of a homicide case. Detective Chief Inspector Bernie Kominski (Byrne) — whose life has been tousled by the possibility of a divorce — is very first on the scene of the crime, but becomes distracted by the encounter with a mysterious woman. He tracks her straight down later, where they get back together at a singles party, but Anna has no recollection associated with Bernie or the night they satisfied. As Anna’s story starts to solve, painful truths are exposed. Eddie Marsan, Jodhi May, Bill Milner and Respect Blackman also star.

Atwell’s worked with Rampling ahead of on ‘The Duchess,’ and made a name for herself in Woodsy Allen’s ‘Cassandra’s Dream’ and Julian Jarrold’s ‘Brideshead Revisited.’ Variety’s casting up-date doesn’t report on the depth of Atwell’s role in the film, but we do know the movie’s currently in post-production which could be a warning sign depending on the extent of her involvement.

Composer Rob The almighty, who prepared a score for a scene in the motion picture last year when Southcombe shopped his or her picture around the Berlin Film Event, indicated on his blog site that, The project gotten more interest than every other film at the festival by quite a large margin. Time will tell, but does Atwell’s engagement peak your curiosity additional?

Read the rest of this entry »