Deadline’s Contenders Film: London event is back on October 11 and will feature many of this awards season’s hottest films.
As Contenders connoisseurs know, this is an exclusive Deadline event designed for voting guild members. Expect juicy teaser clips and lively panels packed with Oscar-winning creatives and producers who can take you to the heart of their projects.
Nine movies will be participating in the in-person-only event, which unspools in central London. To secure an invitation to the must-attend event, click here.
Netflix will be at the showcase with a quartet of buzzy projects. Director-producer Edward Berger, Oscar winner for All Quiet on the Western Front, actors Colin Farrell and Fala Chen, and DoP James Friend will be on hand to reveal the story behind Ballad of a Small Player, about a high-stakes gambler laying low in Macau who encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation.
Writer-director-producer Noah Baumbach, blue-chip producer David Heyman and legendary casting director Nina Gold will take audience behind the scenes of Jay Kelly, in which George Clooney plays a famous movie star who embarks on a journey of self-discovery alongside his devoted manager Ron (Adam Sandler).
Sundance hit Train Dreams, based on Denis Johnson’s acclaimed novella about a logger and railroad worker finding his way in the rapidly changing America of the early 20th century, will be represented by Clint Bentley (co-writer/director), stars Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones and Kerry Condon, as well as composer Bryce Dessner.
Writer-director-producer Rian Johnson, producer Ram Bergman and actor Josh O’Connor will be in town to present Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, which opens the London Film Festival a few days earlier. Daniel Craig and a host of stars return on screen as Benoit Blanc takes on his most dangerous case yet.
Apple will be at the event with Joseph Kosinski’s all-action sports drama F1: The Movie, starring Brad Pitt as a Formula One driver who comes out of retirement to mentor and team up with a younger driver (Damson Idris).
The streamer will also be on stage for a panel about Paul Greengrass’ The Lost Bus, in which a wayward school bus driver and a dedicated school teacher battle to save 22 children from a terrifying inferno. Rachael Tate (supervising sound editor), William Miller (re-recording mixer) and Charlie Noble (VFX supervisor) will be on hand.
Meanwhile, Amazon MGM Studios will have writer-director-producer Nia DaCosta on hand to discuss romance-drama Hedda, her adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s renowned stage drama. Also lighting up the panel will be acclaimed creatives Sean Bobbitt, BSC (director of photography), Lindsay Pugh (costume designer), Des Hamilton (casting director) and Hildur Guðnadóttir (composer).
The same studio will be showcasing timely Venice Film Festival drama After the Hunt. Julia Roberts plays a college professor who finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads when a star pupil levels an accusation against one of her colleagues and a dark secret from her own past threatens to come to light. In London will be director-producer Luca Guadagnino, writer Nora Garrett and casting director Jessica Ronane.
Universal’s anticipated musical Wicked: For Good, the second part to last year’s box office and awards hit Wicked, will be the subject of a panel featuring in-demand director Jon M. Chu. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande return on screen as Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, respectively.
For the first time, Deadline will also be showcasing a casting panel with acclaimed casting directors Lucy Bevan, Emily Brockmann, Jessica Ronane, Des Hamilton and Jo Harris talking about movies F1, After The Hunt and Hedda.
Contenders Film: London is produced in partnership with United for Business, Eyepetizer Eyewear and AV8 Group.