Jude Law to star in HanWay/BBC Films black comedy Dom Hemingway
17th May 2012
Recorded Picture Company and BBC Films are combining to produce London-set black-comedy
Dom Hemingway, from writer-director Richard Shepard and starring Jude Law and Richard E Grant.
HanWay will handle sales. Shooting is due fall, 2012.
Law will play Dom Hemingway, a safecracker with a loose fuse who after 12 years in prison travels with his best friend (played by Grant) to collect what he’s owed for not ratting on crime bosses.
HanWay’s slate includes Bernardo Bertolucci’s out of competition entry
Me and You,
Woody Allen: A Documentary screening in Cannes Classics,
Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir which has a Special Screening as well as
Kon-Tiki,
Seven Psychopaths,
Great Expectations,
Quartet and
Lucky Dog.
Jeremy Thomas said: “I so enjoyed Richard Shepard’s film
The Matador, and when I read this script and thought of the film, I was excited. Richard has a special gift between comedy and drama, and we have wonderful actors to inhabit the film. I’m pleased to be working with Christine and BBC Films again to bring Dom Hemingway to life.”
Christine Langan added: “I’m delighted that Jeremy has introduced BBC Films to the inimitable Dom Hemingway. The wicked humour and great energy of Richard’s script and a superb cast make this a wildly entertaining prospect and we’re very excited to be on board.”
Richard Shepard said: “It’s crazy how many of Jeremy Thomas’ films I actually owned on DVD before ever meeting him: From
Sexy Beast to
Stealing Beauty to
A Dangerous Method. He’s clearly got great taste in story, a wicked sense of humor and keen insights in what makes a film unique and memorable. I was thrilled he took an interest in Dom Hemingway. Dom’s character is a true original, and so is Jeremy. It seems like an especially keen fit.”
Shepard is repped by Jerome Duboz at WME and Rosalie Swedlin at Anonymous Content.
While
Jude Law has a great deal of charm and has used it to great effect over the course of his career, he has never been an actor that you could label as a comedian. While he has been known to take parts in more light-hearted movies like
Sherlock Holmes,
The Holiday and
I Heart Huckabees, his greatest performances have been in movies involving strong, heartfelt emotions. That said, it's always great to see a performer who who wants to expand his or her range and give themselves a challenge, and it looks like that's what Law intends to do with Don Hemingway. THR, reporting out of the Cannes Film Festival, says that the actor has signed on to the dark comedy, which has also added
Richard E. Grant to the cast. Law will play the titular character, who is an expert safecracker who has spent the last 12 years of »
