Yahoo Lifestyle Steven Soderbergh Taps Ian McKellen, Michaela Coel & James Corden For Dark Comedy ‘The Christophers’
EXCLUSIVE: Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings franchise), Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You), and James Corden (Gavin & Stacey) are set to star in The Christophers, the next film from Steven Soderbergh, which goes into production in London in February.
The Christophers is a dark comedy about the estranged children of a once-famous artist who hire a forger to complete his unfinished works so they can be discovered and sold after his death. Script is by Ed Solomon, Soderbergh’s collaborator on the 2021 crime thriller No Sudden Move, Max miniseries Full Circle, HBO murder mystery Mosaic (released as both a series and a mobile app), and Bill & Ted Face the Music (which Soderbergh exec produced).
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Department M, run by Michael Schaefer and Mike Larocca, will finance the film, with Schaefer and Larocca to serve as executive producers. Schaefer comes to the project after collaborating with Soderbergh on his 2018 film Unsane during his time as President of New Regency.
For two-time Oscar nominee McKellen, recent projects include the films The Critic, Hamlet, and The Good Liar.
Best known for creating and starring in the award-winning series I May Destroy You and Chewing Gum, Coel will next be seen starring opposite Anne Hathaway in David Lowery’s epic pop melodrama Mother Mary for A24. Additionally, she’s set to star in, write and exec produce First Day on Earth, a new drama series to be co-produced by HBO and the BBC.
A 12-time Emmy winner best known stateside for his eight years as host of The Late Late Show, Corden starred over the summer in The Constituent at The Old Vic in London. Next, he returns as Smithy in the Christmas finale of his acclaimed comedy Gavin & Stacey, co-created and co-written with Ruth Jones, which airs on iPlayer and BBC One on December 25.
Most recently, Soderbergh directed Black Bag, a spy thriller for Focus Features, starring Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, and Regé-Jean Page, which hits theaters on March 14. Up for release before then is the Oscar winner’s Neon psychological thriller Presence, which hits theaters just over a year after its Sundance premiere, on January 24.
Soderbergh is repped by Sugar23 and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols; McKellen by CAA and Independent Talent Group in the UK; Coel by Maison 2, UTA, and Granderson Des Rochers; Corden by the UK’s United Agents, CAA, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; and Solomon by CAA and Kevin Kelly at Gendler, Kelly & Cunningham. Deal was brokered by Sugar23 and Jamie Feldman at Lichter, Grossman, Nichols.
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