Filming will commence this month on David Hare’s ‘Page Eight’ which will star Dublin born Golden Globe nominee Michael Gambon along with Bill Nighy (Love Actually), Rachel Weisz (About a Boy), Judy Davis (Naked Lunch) and Ralph Fiennes (The Reader). The drama marks the first original screenplay from Oscar nominee, David Hare (adapter of ‘The Reader’ and ‘The Hours’), a contemporary spy thriller.
‘Page Eight’ will be screened on BBC Two later this year and is to be written and directed by Oscar nominee David Hare and produced by David Heyman (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and David Barron (Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1). The film is a co-production between Carnival Films (Downton Abbey, Any Human Heart, Whitechapel), Heyday Films (the Harry Potter series, The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, I Am Legend) and Runaway Fridge (the Harry Potter series, Possession).
Michael Gambon received a Golden Globe and Emmy nomination in 2003 for his role in ‘Path to War’. He received IFTA nominations in both 2010 for ’Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’ and in 2008 for ‘Celebration’. He recently appeared in a special Christmas episode of ‘Dr Who’ alongside Katherine Jenkins.
In the feature length drama which will shoot in the UK Bill Nighy will play Johnny Worricker, a long-serving M15 officer. His boss and best friend, Benedict Baron, played by Michael Gambon leaves him an inexplicable file which threatens the stability of the organisation. Johnny is forced to walk out of his job and then out of his identity to find out the truth.
NBC Universal will distribute ‘Page Eight’ worldwide. Gareth Neame (Carnival), Christine Langan (BBC Films), Scott Rudin and Bill Nighy are executive producers on Page Eight. Rosie Alison (Is Anybody There, The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas) and Celia Duval (Margot, Christopher & His Kind) will co-produce. Martin Ruhe (The American, Control, Harry Brown) is director of photography. ‘Page Eight’ was commissioned by Janice Hadlow, Controller, BBC Two, and Ben Stephenson, Controller BBC Drama Commissioning.
