King Lear (2018)

 

Portrait shot of character King Lear sitting on a chair with his three daughters by his side in the palace. Background is black and white chequered floor with black wall panels.

King Lear and his three daughters ©BBC

 

Director: Richard Eyre

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Emily Watson, Florence Pugh, Jim Broadbent, Andrew Scott, John Macmillan, Jim Carter, Christopher Eccleston, Tobias Menzies, Anthony Calf and Karl Johnson

Production Company: Playground Entertainment, Amazon Studios and BBC

Kent Locations Used: Dover

King Lear is a modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. The film tells the tragic story of King Lear (Anthony Hopkins) who abdicates his throne in favour of his two corrupt daughters Regan (Emily Watson) and Goneril (Emma Thompson), rejecting his loving and honest third daughter Cordelia (Florence Pugh) when she fails his test of flattery.

Director, Richard Eyre, has previously worked on films Notes on a Scandal, Iris, and Stage Beauty. Anthony Hopkins who plays King Lear, is best known for his role in The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Hitchcock. Emma Thompson as eldest daughter Goneril, was previously in Love Actually and The Remains of the Day.

Scenes were filmed in various locations in Dover, such as at Dover Castle, Samphire Hoe, and Abbot’s Cliff.

King Lear will air on Monday 28 May 2018 at 9:30pm on BBC Two.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 


Una (2017)

Una (Rooney Mara) standing in warehouse looking forward

Una (C) WestEnd Films

Writer: David Harrower

Director: Benedict Andrews

Starring: Rooney Mara, Riz Ahmed, Ben Mendelsohn, Tobias Menzies, Indira Varma, Tara Fitzgerald

Production Company: Bron Studios, Film4 Productions, Jean Doumanian Productions, WestEnd Films

Kent Locations Used: Dungeness, Greatstone, Lydd

Looking to resolve her past, Una (Rooney Mara) confronts Ray (Ben Mendelsohn ), her former neighbour, at his work place, seeking answers. As buried secrets and forbidden desires start to surface, they begin to threaten the stability they have found in their new lives.

Una (Rooney Mara) and Ray (Ben Mendelsohn) staring at each other

Una (C) WestEnd Films

The film is based on the play “Blackbird” that was written by David Harrower. Benedict Andrews (National Theatre Live: A Streetcar Named Desire) directed and Rooney Mara (A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Social Network) takes the lead role alongside  Riz Ahmed (Jason Bourne, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Ben Mendelsohn (The Dark Knight Rises, Bloodline) Tobias Menzies (Casino Royale, Atonement), Indira Varma (Game of Thrones, Hunted) and Tara Fitzgerald (Legend, Brassed Off).

The production chose to film in Kent in June 2015, using Dungeness, Greatstone and Lydd which feature as a remote hideaway location.

The Dungeness, Greatstone and Lydd coastal area boasts a unique and large expanse of sandy beach backed by dunes and the largest shingle desert in Europe. Ginger and Rosa (2012), The Poison Tree (2012) and Parade’s End (2012) have previously used the area for filming.

Una is released in cinemas from Friday 1st September 2017.

 

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 


The Honourable Woman (2014)

The Honourable Woman - Nessa Stein (Maggie Gyllenhaal) wearing a headscarf standing in a desert

The Honourable Woman © BBC/Drama Republic

Director and writer: Hugo Blick 

Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lubna Azabal, Eve Best, Andrew Buchan, Janet McTeer, Tobias Menzies, Genevieve O’Reilly, Katherine Parkinson, Stephen Rea

Production company: BBC Worldwide, Drama Republic, Eight Rooks, SundanceTV

Kent Locations: Cottage in New Romney, Little Cheyne Court Wind Farm, Dengemarsh Road, Romney Marsh

This BBC Two political thriller focuses on Nessa Stein (Gyllenhaal), a young woman who inherits her Zionist father’s weaponry business and gradually changes its purpose to laying data cables between Israel and the West Bank. As she continues to promote reconciliation between the Israelis and the Palestinians, she inevitably finds herself in the middle of a political maelstrom.

The eight part drama was written and directed by BAFTA recipient Hugo Blick (Up in Town, Sensitive Skin, The Shadow Line) and stars an award winning cast, including Maggie Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Secretary, The Dark Knight), Lubna Azabal (Incendies, Body of Lies), Eve Best (The King’s Speech, Much Ado About Nothing), Andrew Buchan (Broadchurch, Nowhere Boy), Janet McTeer (Parade’s End, Tumbleweeds), Tobias Menzies (Casino Royale, Game of Thrones), Genevieve O’Reilly (Episodes, Spooks), Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd, The Boat That Rocked) and Stephen Rea (V for Vendetta, The Shadow Line).

In the summer of 2013, The Honourable Woman crew spent 2 days filming at several locations in the Romney Marsh area, including a cottage in New Romney, Little Cheyne Court Wind Farm, and Dengemarsh Road.

Romney Marsh in East Kent is a unique landscape of over 100 square miles of woodland, wetlands as well as sand and shingle shores. Many productions have taken advantage of this stunning area including Ginger and Rosa (2012), Great Expectations (2011) and The Inspector Lynley Mysteries – Natural Causes (2006).

The Honourable Woman starts on BBC Two on Thursday July 3rd 2014 at 21:00. 

 

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.