Philippa Langley on Unearthing ‘The Lost King’ Richard III After 500 Years – Specialty Preview

The much maligned Richard III finally gets the royal treatment in Stephen Frears’ The Lost King while in 2012 amateur historian Philippa Langley unearths the five-century-old remains of the monarch in a car park in Leicester, England. Two books and a documentary later, IFC Films is presenting the feature film version in more than 750 movie theaters.

“It took eight years from the beginning of the search to the cutting of the asphalt. To see it telescoped in about a hundred minutes made it very powerful for me,” Langley, who is played by Sally Hawkins in the film, told Deadline.

Richard III (1461-1483) is one of Shakespeare’s most vicious villains, a disfigured hunchbacked usurper and murderer. However, historians have disputed the portrayal of the last king of the House of York and the Plantagenet dynasty, noting that history is often (re)written by the victors, in this case the Tudors. An association of ‘Ricardians’, who had worked for years to restore the monarch’s image, and other benefactors, helped fund an expensive dig after a mixture of good science and some intuition led Langley to the led Leicester car park and caused Richard’s skeleton with bent spine. him to have scoliosis. It took her eight years to find him and two years to “rebury him with dignity” with the approval of Queen Elizabeth, who made Langley an MBE, or member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

she thinks The Lost King Screenwriters Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope nailed it – including a plot device that inserts King Richard (Harry Lloyd) at key moments in the film to urge Langley despite setbacks and disapproval from the academic establishment. L. Angley said that researching a historical figure is about, “How do you get from A to B to C, and if there is a gap, how do you work out the gap in your knowledge?” … The writers said, ‘This is what we want to do with it.’ At first I thought ‘What?’ But when I saw the script, I said, ‘Okay, I see.'” They showed “Shakespearean Richard in the beginning” in a production of the play, “and the historical Richard who goes with me.”

Coogan also plays Langley’s husband, John. The film premiered in Toronto. Appointment overview here.

Her current research, The Missing Princes Project, investigates the disappearance of Richard’s two nephews from the Tower of London in 1483. In Shakespeare, he had them killed. Langley said she plans to “release some very, very exciting discoveries later this year.” And yes, the team that made it happen The Lost King “You know these announcements are coming. You are aware.”

More Special Openings: Blue Fox Entertainment presents the CGI family fantasy adventure School of Magical Animals in 300 locations. Gregor Schnitzler’s German film based on the children’s book series earned more than 20 million dollars internationally. Blue Fox publishes the first English version. In an unusual school where every child gets a magical animal companion, a new girl, Ida, goes from misfit to star thanks to her talking fox named Rabbat.

Mubi presents The Five Devils at the Angelika Film Center in NYC before expanding to Los Angeles and other markets across the country. Léa Mysius’ fable premiered in Cannes and won the New Wave Best Picture at the Fantastic Fest. Appointment overview here. With Adèle Exarchopoulos, Sally Dramé, Swala Emati and Moustapha Mbengue. Eight-year-old Vicky (Dramé) has an unusual gift: she can imitate any scent she comes across, even that of her beloved mother, Joanne (Exarchopoulos). When her estranged aunt suddenly returns to town, the call of her scent transports the young girl back in time to unravel a mysterious and fiery past.

Sideshow and Janus Films open Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s Tori and Lokita, Winner of the 75th Birthday Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022. The story of two immigrants struggling to survive on the fringes of society, starring Charlotte De Bruyne, Nadège Ouedraogo and Marc Zinga. Appointment overview here. It debuts at the IFC Center after a week-long Dardenne retrospective La Promesse, Rosetta, The Son, L’Enfant, Lorna’s Silence And The child with a bicycle.

Cinema Lorber presents The worst by Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret, Grand Prix winner in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. Set in the suburbs of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France, it follows the production of a film whose director approaches a local housing project for casting. To the surprise and dismay of the local community, he chooses four working-class teenagers to star in their quest for performances of gritty authenticity. In the course of the project, blinders are moved, borders are crossed and ethical questions are raised. With Mallory Wanecque, Loïc Pech, Timéo Mahaut, Mélina Vanderplancke, Johan Heldenbergh, Esther Archambault and Matthias Jacquin. Opens this weekend at New York’s Quad Cinema before expanding to select theaters across the country. Appointment overview here.

Cinema Guild presents Hong Sangsoo’s Go upstairs at Movie at Lincoln Center in NYC. Add five theaters next weekend and then expand. Premiere at TIFF last year. “Hong has had a hot time, each of the last three films has been enthusiastically received by fans,” said the distributor, which released Hong’s other 2022 title. The novelist’s film. “We think Go upstairsand the way it plays with structure and time offers a wonderful opportunity to attract many new followers to his work.”

Kwon Haehyo plays film director Byungsoo, who accompanies his daughter (Park Miso), an aspiring interior designer, to a building owned by an old friend who is well established in the field of design. She guides them through the building, which includes a restaurant, an office, a residence and an artist’s studio. The three talk and drink amicably until a business call pulls Byungsoo away. When he comes back, it’s the same place but a different time.

Greenwich Entertainment open doc Nam June Paik: Moon is the oldest TV, directed by Amanda Kim and narrated by Steven Yeun, at Film Forum in NYC, more cities to come. The story of the pioneering artist, father of video art and creator of the term “electronic highway”. Premiere at Sundance.

Abramora presents What the hell happened to blood, sweat and tears? by John Scheinfeld opens this weekend in New York and then LA before playing in more than 50 theaters nationwide. Tells the rise and fall of the classic rock band whose wild career was derailed by a US-sponsored tour of Soviet countries in 1970.

Coker Distribution presents Linda Yellens Chantilly Bridge in four theaters in Arizona, next week in NY and LA. The story of a group of steadfast friends takes place in the director’s year 1993 Chantilly lace 30 years later. With JoBeth Williams, Patricia Richardson, Jill Eikenberry, Ally Sheedy, Helen Slater, Talia Shire, Lindsay Crouse, Patricia Richardson and Najis Sky Adzimah.

Netflix will open Crime 2 by Jeremy Garelick with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston at the Bay Area and Paris theaters ahead of a streaming release next week. The duo stars in this sequel as Nick and Audrey Spitz, who are now full-time detectives. They struggle to get their private detective agency up and running when their boyfriend, the maharaja, is kidnapped on a private island during his lavish wedding. Also with Adeel Akhtar, Mark Strong, Mélanie Laurent, Jodie Turner-Smith and Kuhoo Verma with John Kani and Dany Boon.