In trailers for the new true crime-based period piece Boston Strangler, it’s surreal to hear an American accent emerge from Keira Knightley’s extremely English visage. But it was almost a lot weirder. Knightley and her co-star Carrie Coon, who play real-life Boston Record American reporters Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole, told People at the film’s NYC premiere that Bostonian writer-director Matt Ruskin forbade the cast from taking a stab at Boston accents. Knightley says that the cast all tried to talk Ruskin into letting them do the accent, “and he was like, ‘Absolutely not.’ So we failed, but I kind of hear him, because as I found out, people are very opinionated about that accent.”
Coon, who isn’t British but is from Ohio (which is in no way, shape, or form Boston), says that she “was really looking forward to the Boston accent.” Coon got an accidental read in at Ruskin when explaining his Boston Strangler gag order, saying he’s “from Boston and very insistent that anybody who is not from Boston was not going to be doing an accent, because he claims he’s from Boston and he doesn’t have an accent. But he does.” While Knightley and Coon are disappointed they didn’t get to throw around some “wicked pissahs” while tracking down the Boston Stranglah, it’s probably for the best. Sounds like Ruskin didn’t want a Nancy Donovan situation on his hands.
Mar. 17 2023 |
| share this post | like this post 390 |
Sep. 15 2021 |
British actress Keira Knightley is known for her measured performances in period dramas like Pride & Prejudice as well as her involvement in mainstream favourites like the Pirates of the Caribbean. Her latest project will have its premiere on September 14 at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival where it will be available in digital formats and accessible through a physical screening as well.
Directed by Eric Warin and Tahir Rana, Charlotte is a brand new animated film in which Keira Knightley voices a Jewish artist who grows up during the volatile sociopolitical climate of the Second World War. The film attempts to explore life through politics and art, delineating how the two intertwine to form a fascinating commentary on human existence.
The official synopsis reads: “Charlotte is an animated drama that tells the true story of Charlotte Salomon, a young German-Jewish painter who comes of age in Berlin on the eve of the Second World War. Fiercely imaginative and deeply gifted, she dreams of becoming an artist. Her first love applauds her talent, which emboldens her resolve.”
Adding: “But the world around her is changing quickly and dangerously, limiting her options and derailing her dream. When anti-Semitic policies inspire violent mobs, she leaves Berlin for the safety of the South of France. There she begins to paint again, and finds new love. But her work is interrupted, this time by a family tragedy that reveals an even darker secret. Believing that only an extraordinary act will save her, she embarks on the monumental adventure of painting her life story.”
Discussing the project, Jen Gorton of Sierra/Affinity, said: “All of us at Sierra/Affinity are excited to work with this star-studded cast and present this unique animated film to distributors across the globe. The story of Charlotte is one that deserves to be told and we are confident that the massive talent of the cast combined with the direction of the filmmaking team will reach and touch adults worldwide.”
Producer Julia Rosenberg also commented on the importance of the project, adding: “Charlotte Salomon invented the graphic memoir when she painted her life story in over a thousand works while living as a refugee during wartime. Her vitality and stunning talent have been overlooked for too long. Charlotte is a gesture of resistance, honouring her legacy while revealing it to the world.”
Check out the brand new clip for Charlotte below.
| share this post | like this post 451 |
Jun. 21 2021 |
Keira Knightley is in talks to star in the new Searchlight sci-fi drama Conception, reuniting with her Silent Night director Camille Griffin. Griffin will write and direct, with Celine Rattray and Trudie Styler producing through their Maven Screen Media banner.
The story is set in the near future, when the British government takes authoritarian rule over parenting. It follows a vigorous License Officer (Knightley), who is a firm believer in the controversial system she upholds until an unexpected event imperils her own parental status in the very administration she enforces.
Searchlight SVP Production Taylor Friedman and Director of Development & Production Pete Spencer will oversee for the studio.
Knightley, Griffin and Maven are coming off their upcoming Christmas-themed pic Silent Night, which Endeavor Content is selling at the Cannes virtual market and also stars Griffin’s son Roman, who starred in the Searchlight’s Oscar-nominated satire Jojo Rabbit.
| share this post | like this post 410 |
Jan. 28 2021 |
Keira Knightley is a versatile actress who has been seen in everything from blockbusters to indies to period films. Throughout her career, she has been in films where she has been seen nude and in sex scenes. Now, since having children, she added a no-nudity clause to her contract. During an episode of the Chanel Connects podcast, the Oscar-nominated actress talked to filmmaker Lulu Wang and producer/journalist Diane Solway about how she is no longer willing to do nude or sex scenes — specifically with male directors.
“It’s partly vanity and also it’s the male gaze,” she said on the podcast. “I feel very uncomfortable now trying to portray the male gaze.”
She understands that some directors need “somebody to look hot” and there are those “horrible sex scenes where you’re all greased up and everybody’s grunting”. For Knightley, she is at a point in her career where she is no longer interested in doing that. She understands the value of these types of scenes but she said that they can find someone else.
“I’m too vain and the body has had two children now and I’d just rather not stand in front of a group of men naked,” she said.
Knightley isn’t totally opposed to nude scenes. She said she would feel different if it was a story about that journey of motherhood and body acceptance — but she said it would have to be with a female filmmaker.
“I don’t have an absolute ban,” said Knightley, “but I kind of do with men.”
| share this post | like this post 241 |
Jan. 16 2021 |
At the beginning of quarantine, everyone hopped on Instagram Live, including the fashion industry. Designers sought out new ways to connect with their customers digitally in every form imaginable. They streamed concerts performed by brand ambassadors. Digital workshops were held on Zoom, teaching us how to illustrate like an artist. Your favorite creative directors shared Spotify playlists. Luxury footwear brands created virtual coloring books of their iconic shoes.
The content we consumed in the early stages of the pandemic eventually waned, and it became clear that the oversaturation of fashion’s digital programming needed to slow down. Now that we’ve recovered, we’re ready for more. Today, after almost a year in lockdown, Chanel is launching a podcast.
The French fashion label is debuting “Chanel Connects,” which brings together creatives for intimate conversations on subjects relevant to everyone, whether you own a Flap bag or not. The brand tapped celebrities we’ve spotted at their runway shows, along with architects, painters, and dancers. Participants range from front row darlings like Tilda Swinton, Keira Knightley, and Pharrell Williams to renowned artists Arthur Jafa and Jennifer Packer.
“While galleries, stages and studios have been dark, artists have not stopped creating and imagining new ways forward,” said Yana Peel, Global Head of Arts and Culture at Chanel. She points out that the series seeks to address the collective existential crises artists are experiencing, while serving as a reminder to continue “supporting the arts, championing what’s next and celebrating work that has the power to transform lives and wider society.”
The podcast pairs creatives to not only reflect on the struggles of 2020, but the unique challenges that lie ahead in 2021. Hard topics are examined, including recalibrating your imagination during a pandemic, accelerating equality for disenfranchised groups, Black Lives Matter and Black representation, art as activism and escapism, and even living on Mars.
“Our phones have made us incredibly dependent on the word ‘yes’. And because of that, we’ve become opportunistic,” Pharrell Williams tells Es Devlin in episode three. “We search for the sweetness of what we want to hear. You don’t have to change. So, if you don’t have to change, you don’t necessarily have to elevate for what’s right. And I think now for the first time, mankind has seen its reflection in the water of the internet.” “Chanel Connects” aims to make you stop and listen, so maybe that reflection is a little clearer.
| share this post | like this post 242 |
Aug. 28 2020 |
Keira Knightley is the latest actor to take on narrating duties for an animated short film relaunched by environmental activists Extinction Rebellion.
Titled “Climate Crisis, and Why We Should Panic,” the film, translated into 14 different languages, is the second of a two-part explainer video series for Extinction Rebellion, focusing on the climate and ecological crisis. Knightley — who will next star in and executive produce the series “The Essex Serpent” — explains in the film what is causing climate change, why governments must enter crisis mode to tackle this issue, and what will happen if something isn’t done about it now.
“I want to speak out in support of Extinction Rebellion,” Knightley said. “Lending my voice to the most urgent issue of our time feels like the right way for me to take a stand, in the hope that we can leave a world worth living in for our children.”
“Climate change and the ecological crisis are two sides of the same problem. This animation explains the climate change aspect in a no-nonsense way — though the message is horrifying to hear,” Knightley added.
The film is written, directed and animated by Miritte Ben Yitzchak.
The first part of the film, “Extinction Emergency, and Why We Must Act Now,” voiced by “Moonlight” actor Naomie Harris and scored by Brian Eno, summarizes the planet’s biodiversity loss, runaway consumerism and the ecological crisis that now faces us, and how the consequences will affect millions of lives around the world.
Other film shorts released by Extinction Rebellion include live action “Guardians of Life,” starring Joaquin Phoenix, Adria Arjona, Oona Chaplin, Rosario Dawson, Albert Hammond Jr., Q’orianka Kilcher and Matthew Modine; and the animation “The Gigantic Change,” featuring the voices of Whoopi Goldberg and Livia Nelson.
Extinction Rebellion’s next U.K. protest is set for Sept. 1, when the U.K. Parliament returns after summer recess.
| share this post | like this post 273 |
Jun. 12 2020 |
Keira Knightley could be making a big step into television for the first time in a while.
The British actress has signed on to star in a series adaptation of Suzanne Rindell’s novel “The Other Typist,” which is now in development at Hulu. “The L Word” creator Ilene Chaiken is set to pen the pilot, as well as serving as showrunner and producer.
Searchlight Television and 20th Century Fox Television, where Chaiken is under a multi-year overall deal, are producing the series for Hulu. According to sources, Knightley was the one who first brought the project to Searchlight’s attention and was previously developing it as a feature.
The series will center around Rose, a prim, unworldly police department typist who gets drawn into the shady world of her glamorous new co-worker Odalie (Knightley). However, when the ultimate crime is committed, it’s uncertain which of the two women was the more treacherous. Set in New York City at the height of the Prohibition era, “The Other Typist” is described as a “psycho-sexual suspense thriller” that turns on themes of identity, class, obsession and misplaced desire.
The project marks an expansion of Chaiken’s relationship with Hulu, as she already serves as an executive producer on arguably the streamer’s biggest show in “The Handmaid’s Tale.” She is also currently an EP on “The L Word: Generation Q” reboot.
Original author Rindell will serve as a producer on the project alongside Chaiken, Knightley, and Oly Obst for 3 Arts Entertainment.
Knightley most recently starred in the 20th Century Fox pic “Misbehaviour,” which fictionalized the events of the 1970 Miss World competition. Her other recent credits include playing the famous French author in “Colette,” and Joan Clarke in “The Imitation Game” opposite Benedict Cumberbatch. This would mark her first series since 2011’s “Neverland” and before that the “Doctor Zhivago” ITV adaptation from 2002.
She is repped United Agents, CAA, Narrative and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.
| share this post | like this post 234 |
Feb. 19 2020 |
Keira Knightley said her new film “Misbehaviour”, the true story of how the Women’s Liberation Movement disrupted the 1970 Miss World competition, felt relevant at a time when people were still fighting for equal treatment.
Knightley, 34, plays a member of the Women’s Liberation Movement, which storms the stage of the London theater where the beauty pageant was being held. That year Miss Grenada won, the first time a black competitor had taken the crown.
The themes of feminism and racism appealed to the actress, she said, as they had ongoing resonance in a world where equality still felt a long way off.
“What I loved about this film was that conversation because it felt so very relevant to what we’re still talking about today,” Knightley told Reuters in an interview.
Back in 1970, Miss World was the most-watched TV show on the planet with more than 100 million viewers, meaning the protest created quite a stir. Misbehaviour opens in British cinemas on March 13, starring Greg Kinnear as pageant host Bob Hope, the comedian, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Miss Grenada.
Knightley is even more conscious of women’s rights and related issues like the #MeToo movement which calls out sexual misconduct across the entertainment, politics and business industries, because she is raising two young daughters.
“With social media…I do completely worry about that with my kids and I worry about the kind of images that they’re going to be bombarded by,” she said.
But Knightly believes progress has been made and the film pays tribute to the women who helped achieve that.
“I think you have to honor and mark the women that created that great progress before us,” she said.
| share this post | like this post 230 |
