Latest news with #TheMirrorandtheLight
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Peter Straughan breaks down the power plays and personal tragedy in ‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light'
Few screenwriters working today are as adept at exploring the ins and outs of power—who has it, who wants it, and who will do anything to get it — as Conclave Oscar winner Peter Straughan. After picking up the Academy Award, he returned with another twisty, intricate tale of men plotting behind one another's backs with Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, the second and final adaptation of Hilary Mantel's historical novels that just finished airing on PBS Masterpiece. "Hilary's very accurate," Straughan tells Gold Derby over Zoom. "All the externals are accurate. And then, her great gift was to make the internals come to life." More from GoldDerby The surprising scene that the 'Andor' cinematographer loved the most Clancy Brown, Joel McHale, and more actors who self-submitted at this year's Emmys 'Cross' star Aldis Hodge on building an aspirational hero - who's not a superhero Mantel's beloved novels cast a fresh look upon the court of Henry VIII, in particular his advisor and confidant, Thomas Cromwell. And though Straughan had to condense Mantel's Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies into a single season, The Mirror and the Light gets a full six episodes. And Straughan relished the challenge of distilling a nearly 800-page book into six hours of TV. "It's a huge novel, but I would give anything, any day, to have books like that to adapt," he says. "The material is so great. It's full of things you can use for drama: incredible scenes, great dialogue. The task was, of all the TV dramas you could make out of this, which one do you want to make?"Ultimately, Straughan focused on the ways in which Cromwell is unable to extricate himself from Henry VIII's seductive — and dangerous — inner circle, despite more than a few opportunities. And one of the great gifts of The Mirror and the Light is getting to see Damian Lewis and Mark Rylance return as Henry and Cromwell, playing their sometimes fraternal, sometimes fractious relationship for all its worth. "It gives you tremendous confidence when you're working with actors of that caliber," Straughan says. 'It makes you feel like you can do a lot of things that might make you nervous otherwise. When you're nervous about a scene, you put a lot more scaffolding in to make sure everything's clear. When you've got someone like Mark or Damian, you can [write] it with fewer touches, because you know they're gonna fill it all in with their faces, with their eyes." Those moments are among the most memorable — not just because of the performances, but because of Straughan's unerring eye for the telling detail and his pitch-perfect selection of what will work onscreen from Mantel's book. Think of Henry VIII's disappointed eagerness with Cromwell's reaction to his fancy dress costume, or Anne Boleyn's heartbreaking trembling in the moments before her execution, which opens the series. In this version, the executioner makes a noise behind Anne, which she turns towards, still blindfolded. And in the span of that moment, he steps back to her other side and slices off her head. The moment is unnerving, a stark reminder of the very real life-and-death stakes at play in Henry's court. There's another remarkable moment in that scene that Straughan also pulled from the book and singles out: 'She puts her hand up, and Cromwell says, 'Put your hand down. Put your hand down, because he'll cut through the hand.' Which is a horrible detail, but it always gets to me.' And though casual history buffs know that Cromwell, too, will end up on the executioner's block, Straughan's scripts have a level of immediacy that allows us to forget. 'We all know death's at the end of the journey. Always. The important thing is how does it happen?' Straughan says. 'And the thing that was so interesting with Cromwell's story was it's not very linear. It wasn't a slow decline. It was more like he was holding onto a balloon, then he goes higher and higher and you get scared for him. But I do think it's amazing that I felt myself, when I was watching it, that even though you know how it's gonna end, there's a bit of, like, Anne in the end of the first season, who still hopes somehow she's gonna be saved.' Best of GoldDerby 'Cross' star Aldis Hodge on building an aspirational hero — who's not a superhero Jonathan Pryce on the 'great responsibility' of playing a character with dementia in 'Slow Horses' 'Feel good about not conforming': Christina Ricci reflects on her iconic roles, from Wednesday Addams to Misty Quigley Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Damian Lewis on returning to ‘Wolf Hall': ‘Who doesn't want to play Henry VIII?'
'We could have all just said, 'Nah, I don't want to do it,'' Damian Lewis tells Gold Derby about returning to the Tudor court for Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light. 'But the experience in the first series [Wolf Hall] was so enjoyable — and anyway, who doesn't want to play Henry VIII?' Especially the way screenwriter Peter Straughan writes the king, by way of author Hilary Mantel's original trilogy. This Henry VIII is feckless and petulant, terrifying and sometimes touchingly vulnerable. But Lewis ensures that we never forget this is a man who could (and did) easily send close friends, confidantes, and wives to their executions. Or at the very least, years of imprisonment. More from GoldDerby The surprising scene that the 'Andor' cinematographer loved the most Clancy Brown, Joel McHale, and more actors who self-submitted at this year's Emmys 'Cross' star Aldis Hodge on building an aspirational hero - who's not a superhero 'He wants to go out, he wants to have a good time,' Lewis says. 'He wants to be with his guys and he wants to be loved, clearly.' Throughout The Mirror and the Light, Lewis makes Henry's sometimes delusional attempts at romance and courtship both misguided and moving. 'I think he really wants to love the woman that he's with and try to woo each of them with songs, poetry,' Lewis says. 'That moment of him coming in [disguised to meet fourth wife Anne of Cleves], the theatricality of that. There's something sweet about him. If that comes across then I'm pleased.' Lewis chuckles a bit and amends himself, 'Sweet in a murderous kind of way.' Jeff Spicer/BAFTA/Getty Images That ever-present threat Henry poses to everyone around him in The Mirror and the Light makes even a casual exchange with friend and advisor Thomas Cromwell fraught. And in Mark Rylance's Cromwell, Lewis has an ideal foil. ' He's the best kind of actor,' Lewis says. 'It's not pre-choreographed. It's not pre-programmed. He comes in ready in the moment to listen and respond to what you do. And I hope I did the same for him. Our scenes in this series in particular are chess scenes, really from the get go. In fact, we even have a scene over a chess board at one point. ... Working with Mark is fabulous. He's unbelievably skilled. He's Sir Mark Rylance for a reason, probably.' One of the most hypnotic aspects of Lewis' performance as Henry VIII is seeing the ways in which he takes pleasure. There's the Henry who thrives on attention, who loves a feast or a revelry. But there is also the Henry who takes delight in seeing others, and eventually especially Cromwell, unsettled. That Henry increasingly comes to the fore as his health deteriorates and he's unable to enjoy the outdoors life he previously did. The physicality of Lewis' performance is remarkably subtle, ending in the Henry that feels most familiar to how history remembers him. After debating spending the season in a fat suit, the team decided to focus more when to introduce his pronounced limp and begin the season with Henry's weight gain. The first episode picks up where Wolf Hall left off 10 years ago. "It's a slightly odd sort of psychological state to be,' Lewis says. 'Everybody knows that we're starting [with] the same day as the last series finished. But at the same time, in the hinterland of everyone's mind, it's 10 years later. We played on that and said, 'Right now's the time to create the expanded, overweight Henry. 'I actually started wearing no makeup, just so I could look as old as Henry,' Lewis adds with a laugh. 'It turned out I looked as old as Henry. They just didn't have to make me up. Who knew? I've never been so insulted.' Best of GoldDerby Tina Fey on 'The Four Seasons': 'It was a challenge to be restrained about where we put jokes' 'The best job I ever had': 'From 'Supernatural' to 'The Boys,' Eric Kripke talks his biggest hits — and miss (ahem, 'Tarzan') 'Cross' star Aldis Hodge on building an aspirational hero — who's not a superhero Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Wolf Hall' Director: Why a U.K. Streaming Levy Isn't a Tariff (Guest Column)
On April 15, The Hollywood Reporter published an article, citing observers, that asserted that a U.K. streamers' tax, long advocated by programme-makers in Britain and recently endorsed by a U.K. parliamentary committee, will never in fact come to pass. It would be seen as a tariff by the White House and, with a wider trade deal in the offing, the U.K. government would never risk annoying its long-time ally in that way. This argument would be compelling were it not for one caveat. The streamers' levy is not a tariff. In 2023, I shot The Mirror and the Light for Masterpiece and the BBC, completing the work we began a decade before on Wolf Hall – winner of a Golden Globe, several BAFTAs and 8 Emmy nominations. If we were to attempt to make The Mirror and the Light in 2025, we would not succeed. Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which altered the national debate in the U.K. on a key issue, has left its makers significantly in debt. The producer has said there would be no point trying to develop it for ITV now — because the public service broadcasters can no longer afford to produce high-end drama in the U.K. Attracted by our tax breaks, the streamers now make multiple drama series in Britain. With their deep pockets, they have driven up production costs across the board in our industry, pricing our own, home-grown broadcasters out of their own market. More from The Hollywood Reporter Pope Francis, First Latin American Pontiff, Dies at 88 'The Crown' Actress Olivia Williams Opens Up About Why She'll Never Be Cancer-Free 60 Sheep, 8 Camels, 100 Goats: 'Nawi' Shows Child Marriage Through the Eyes of a Gifted Girl in Kenya PSB high-end drama production fell by 25 percent last year, to its lowest level since 2019. The parliamentary committee believes a streamers' levy would reverse this, providing a production fund which would turn contraction into growth and allow the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 back into the game. Except that no one thinks the U.K. government will be brave enough to poke the Trump tiger. If a U.S. manufacturer attempts to sell its goods in China, it currently attracts a 125 percent tariff. That money goes straight to the Chinese government. It goes without saying that the U.S. importer can't claim any of that money back to offset the cost of manufacture. But a Netflix or Amazon or Disney+ would be able to claim a contribution towards its production costs from the proposed 5 percent levy fund — on one condition, that the programme is a co-production with a U.K. public service broadcaster. When the streamers first appeared in the U.K., they were eager to co-produce. Over time, that appetite has dwindled almost to nothing. As is well known, the streamers want to own the whole IP, contributing to the funding woes of the BBC, ITV and C4. The levy fund would also re-invigorate the co-production market. To access the new pot of money, the streamers would need to work with the local broadcasters, making it a win-win. A new pot of production finance, and a chance for the PSBs to once again collaborate creatively with the planet's leading producers. The streamers are perhaps the ultimate manifestation of a free market in television. They have made some extraordinary, mould-breaking programmes — turning high-end TV drama into the medium of choice for 'A-List' talent, partially usurping the feature film and breaking the unhealthy, snobbish divide been theatrical and television filmmaking. But an unintended consequence of this explosion of creativity has been the 'elbowing aside' of the U.K.'s public service broadcasters, which make programmes that wouldn't necessarily appeal to the streamers' international audience. These broadcasters represent a 100-year tradition of programme-making in the U.K., a tradition the British audience will not thank us for jettisoning. The 5 percent levy would address this market failure at a stroke. It would force the streamers to still further up their game as they are once again required to compete with broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV and C4. And it isn't a tariff – as the streamers' themselves could claim their own funds back when in co-production with a local broadcasters. No other solution put forward adequately addresses the acute problem faced right now in high-end TV in the U.K., most now accept that. The only real question remaining is whether the U.K. government will have the guts to implement it. Writer/Director Peter Kosminsky is a veteran of public service broadcasting in the U.K. — a winner of seven BAFTA Awards, a Peabody and a Golden Globe. Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
New York Times
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
What It Was Like to Edit the ‘Wolf Hall' Books
Last summer, when The Times released its list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, one of the authors with multiple titles on that list was Hilary Mantel, who died in 2022. Those novels were 'Wolf Hall' and 'Bring Up the Bodies,' the first two in a trilogy of novels about Thomas Cromwell, the all-purpose fixer and adviser to King Henry VIII. Those books were also adapted into a 2015 television series starring Mark Rylance as Cromwell and Damien Lewis as King Henry. It's now a decade later and the third book in Mantel's series, 'The Mirror and the Light,' has also been adapted for the small screen. Its finale airs on Sunday, April 27. Joining the host Gilbert Cruz on this week's episode is Mantel's former editor Nicholas Pearson. Pearson currently serves as the publishing director of John Murray Press in Britain, but he previously worked for more than two decades at the publisher Fourth Estate, where he had the opportunity to work with Mantel on her 'Wolf Hall' trilogy. He describes what it was like to encounter those books for the first time, and to work with a great author on a groundbreaking masterpiece of historical fiction. We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, and about the Book Review's podcast in general. You can send them to books@
Forbes
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Mantel's‘Wolf Hall,' With Stars Rylance And Lewis, Returns To PBS
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 04: (L to R) Joss Porter, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Kate Phillips, Damian Lewis, Will Tudor and Charlie Rowe attend a photocall for "Wolf Hall: The Mirror And The Light" at BFI Southbank on November 4, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage) Academy Award winner Mark Rylance is returning in his BAFTA-winning role of Thomas Cromwell, with Emmy Award winner Damian Lewis returning as King Henry VIII, alongside Academy Award nominee Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey, Kate Phillips as Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour, and Lilit Lesser as Princess Mary, the daughter of Henry and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. New cast members are Harriet Walter as Lady Margaret Pole and Timothy Spall as the Duke of Norfolk Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light traces the final four years of Cromwell's life, completing his journey from self-made man to the most feared, influential figure of his time. Masterpiece described Cromwell 'as complex as he is unforgettable: a politician and a fixer, a diplomat and a father, a man who both defied and defined his age.' Series director Peter Kosminsky said, 'The Mirror and the Light picks up exactly where Wolf Hall ended, with the execution of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn. I'm overjoyed to be able to reunite the extraordinary cast we were lucky enough to assemble for Wolf Hall, led by the brilliant Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis, with the original creative team of Gavin Finney (director of photography), Pat Campbell (designer) and Joanna Eatwell (costume designer). We are all determined to complete what we started, and to honor the final novel written by one of the greatest literary figures of our age, Hilary Mantel.' Colin Callender, CEO of Playground Entertainment, a producer of the series, said, 'Following the success of the BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning original television adaptation of the first two books in Hilary Mantel's acclaimed Wolf Hall trilogy, we are thrilled and honored that, nine years later, we have been able reunite Peter Kosminsky and his brilliant team, in front of and behind the camera, to bring Thomas Cromwell 's final chapter to the screen. Intimate, thrilling, and deeply moving, The Mirror and the Light shines a fresh light on the politics of power and the personal price paid by those who wield it. Cromwell's story is as contemporary as ever, a story of loyalty and betrayal that just happens to be about people 500 years ago.' In an interview with Callendar said Kosminsky had collected 'extensive notes' from conversations he had with Mantel about the new series before her death in 2022. 'We are honoring her approach to the story,' he explained. He said the sequel was shot entirely on location, in various Tudor castles and stately homes all over England, where the sequel's story actually really took place. He said the sequel 'is really about a man who's looking back at the decisions he's made, assessing the things he thinks he did right and things he may have done wrong. It's a story that everyone can relate to. It's about where is your life going? That's the sort of emotional journey everyone of us goes through at some point in our lives.'
