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Alex Ritman
U.K. Correspondent
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Alex Ritman oversees U.K. TV, film and awards news, interviews and features from his base in London. He also covers various festivals — including Cannes, Berlin and Venice — and reports on the Middle East. Career highlights since joining THR include winning an award for his coverage of the 1MDB corruption scandal, being the first journalist to break news of the so-called Hollywood Con Queen, writing in-depth profile pieces on the likes of Rob Delaney, Daniel Radcliffe, Letitia Wright, Vanessa Kirby and Paul Mescal, and seeing his exclusive story about a CGI James Dean satirized by The Onion. Oh, and a 90-minute Zoom interview with Jean-Claude Van Damme.
More from Alex Ritman
The 35 Most Powerful Women in International Television
The writers and actors strikes in Hollywood, and the related issues of AI and the disruption of business models brought on by global streaming platforms, have dominated industry discussions this year, overshadowing debates over gender equity, diversity and inclusion. But the progress in those areas continues, noted by groups like the 50:50 Equality Project, a […]
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‘Starve Acre’ Director Daniel Kokotajlo on Why Folk Horror Is Having a Cinematic Moment
For his 2017 feature debut, Brit director Daniel Kokotajlo delved into his own personal experiences growing up as a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Apostasy, a remarkable drama that opened a window into the strict Christian sect he had long since turned his back on, was celebrated as one of the most daring and powerful […]
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‘Rings of Power’ Star Morfydd Clark on Returning to Horror With ‘Starve Acre’: “It’s Nice to Be Seen as Spooky and Creepy”
It’s a been quite a life-changing few years for Morfydd Clark. After breaking out as a troubled and God-fearing palliative care nurse in A24’s wonderfully unsettling and critically lauded psychological horror Saint Maud, which was finally released in 2021 after several pandemic delays, the fast-rising Welsh actress headed straight to Middle-earth, fronting The Rings of […]
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Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival Postponed Due to Conflict Between Israel, Hamas
The sixth edition of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, which was set to start on Friday, has been pushed back by two weeks due to the dramatic escalation in violence between Israel and Hamas and a rising civilian death toll. “In light of the deeply troubling circumstances resulting in the loss of innocent lives, El […]
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‘Within Sand,’ First Saudi Arabian Film to Be Shot in Neom, Gets Trailer
Middle East and North Africa-focused distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Saudi Arabia-based producer Al Sarid Films have launched the trailer for the Saudi Arabian epic Within Sand, the first Saudi film to be shot in Neom, the region of the country set to be home to a proposed $500 billion megacity. The film is […]
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Jeymes Samuel on His Bold, All-Black Biblical Epic ‘The Book of Clarence,’ Wanting People to Think “Wow, I Haven’t Seen That Before”
Back in 2021, the BFI London Film Festival opened in the most audacious and A-list manner seen in many years. With the curtain-raising slot usually reserved for more somber, prestige dramas, Netflix’s all-star, all-Black rootin’ tootin’ Western The Harder They Fall — with an ensemble cast including Regina King, Idris Elba, LaKeith Stanfield, Jonathan Majors, Delroy Lindo and Zazie Beets — brought the house down, with […]
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First Images of Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas Unveiled as Pablo Larrain’s ‘Maria’ Begins Shoot
The first two images of Angelina Jolie as famed diva Maria Callas in Pablo Larrain’s upcoming biopic Maria have been revealed. Based on true accounts, the film will tell the tumultuous, beautiful and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singers, relived and re-imagined during her final days in 1970s Paris. With the […]
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Léa Seydoux, George MacKay Sci-Fi Romance ‘The Beast’ Lands at Sideshow and Janus for U.S.
The Beast, Bertrand Bonello’s time-hopping cosmic romance starring Lea Seydoux and George MacKay, has been acquired by Sideshow and Janus Films for the U.S. A theatrical release is planned for 2024. The film, which had its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival, later screened in Toronto and has just had its U.S. […]
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Greta Gerwig Says She Hid in the Back of ‘Barbie’ Screenings During Its Opening Weekend, Teases New Project
Greta Gerwig says the reception to her monster hit Barbie has been “the most thrilling thing” to experience. Speaking at a special screen talk Sunday at the BFI London Film Festival, where she received a rockstar welcome (as did her interviewee, Succession creator Jesse Armstrong), she said the film’s set had been “the most joyful” […]
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Sofia Coppola’s ‘Priscilla’ Sells Worldwide Following Venice Bow
Priscilla, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla Presley biopic that was one of the buzziest films to premiere at the Venice Film Festival (where lead star Cailee Spaeny won the Coppa Volpi for best actress), has sold around the world for The Match Factory. Adding to the previously announced sales in France (ARP SAS), the film has secured […]
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Tara Studios, Major Irish Facility Backed by Former Pinewood Boss Ivan Dunleavy, Opens Its Doors (Exclusive)
Ivan Dunleavy, who ran legendary U.K. studio Pinewood for 17 years before departing in 2017 following a buyout, has a new studio venture, this time in Ireland. Tara Studios, based at the 154-acre Borleagh Manor estate in County Wexford less than an hour’s drive from Dublin (and, crucially, connected via a motorway to the capital), […]
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Signature Picks Up Animated Feature ‘The Inseparables’ From ‘Toy Story’ Writers for U.K. (Exclusive)
Signature Entertainment has said that it has acquired the U.K. and Irish rights to animated family adventure The Inseparables, written by Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow (Toy Story), from nWave Studios. A major theatrical release is planned for Dec. 8. The feature is produced by Matthieu Zeller (The Queen’s Corgi, Bigfoot Family, Chickenhare and the […]
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