Latest news with #TheOneandOnlyHerbMcGwyerPlaysWallisIsland
RTÉ News
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Carey Mulligan 'checked by medic' during freezing Welsh summer filming
A medic was called on set to assess if The Ballad of Wallis Island star Carey Mulligan and the cast were not getting too cold while they filmed the movie in coastal Wales during the summer, the director has said. Watch: The trailer for The Ballad of Wallis Island In the upcoming comedy-drama, Mulligan - who is married to singer Marcus Mumford - plays one half of a disbanded folk duo opposite Plebs star Tom Basden as her ex-boyfriend. The movie, which has had critical acclaim in the US, sees a fan - portrayed by comedian Tim Key - pay for them to reunite and perform a gig on an island, called Wallis. At the gala screening at the Ham Yard Hotel, London, on Wednesday, director James Griffiths told the PA news agency: "Tom especially was going blue through most of the takes. "I think there was a medic going in, and you too, right [Carey]? We had a medic sort of checking your temperature for the cold stuff. It was freezing." When asked if it was filmed during the summer, Oscar-nominated actress Mulligan said: "It's Wales." Basden, who co-wrote the film with Key, said the rural location, believed to be in and around Pembrokeshire, was "beautiful and it was unpredictable, weather-wise, and it was challenging". Key said: "We shot the short film [version] 18 years ago, and we're kind of very eager to get back to Wales. Feels like it's a big part of the film. Weirdly." Mulligan also recalled that the filming over a few weeks felt like a "summer camp together". London-born Mulligan, whose mother is originally from Llandeilo, Wales, also said: "I had such a little baby when we were filming, it's just attached to all these, like, gorgeous memories of my baby being little. "And you guys were all around, and everyone was cuddling her, and we were all sort of together for a bit. So it's very precious to me." The original short film, The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island, was nominated for a 2008 BAFTA short film prize, and saw Key and Basden in the main roles and Griffiths directing. Mulligan has been nominated three times for the Best Actress Oscar, for the coming-of-age hit An Education, revenge thriller Promising Young Woman, and the biopic Maestro. In April 2012, Mulligan married Mumford - lead singer of Mumford & Sons - and the couple now have three children. She has previously appeared on soundtracks released for movies she has starred in, including Maestro, Inside Llewyn Davis, about a fictional folk singer, and the period drama .
Observer
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Observer
British film ‘Ballad of Wallis Island' builds story of human bonds
For producer, actor, writer and composer Tom Basden, the British comedy film "The Ballad of Wallis Island' leans into the complexities of relationships rather than high-risk action scenes or life-threatening situations. "There were never going to be massive stakes, murders, and car chases kind of thing, but I think we sort of knew tonally the kind of film we wanted it to be,' he told Reuters. "We're confident that people will really invest in that story," Basden added. "The Ballad of Wallis Island,' distributed by Focus Features, arrived in theaters on March 28. The film's origins date back to 2007 when comedy duo, Tim Key, who is known for working with British comedy personality Alan Partridge, and Tom Basden, who starred in the series, "After Life,' wrote, produced and starred in the short film "The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island,' which "The Ballad of Wallis Island' is based on. The short went on to be nominated for a BAFTA and won the best British short at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Both the short and feature film have the same plot, following aging folk singer Herb McGwyer, portrayed by Tom Basden, who gets paid an enormous sum of money to play a one-off gig on a remote Welsh island. However, when Herb arrives at the gig, he discovers that he's only performing for one man, a lottery winner named Charles, played by Tim Key. The difference between the short and the feature film is that Carey Mulligan is in the feature as McGwyer's ex-girlfriend and former musical partner Nell Mortimer, adding a different layer of interpersonal relations. The film focuses on the bond between Herb and Charles. "Maybe in some films it's really clear what you want to happen to the two people,' Key said. "In our one it's more generally, I really want him (Herb) to like me, as a people pleaser,' he added. Music is a major part of the film, as Charles continuously plays hits from McGwyer Mortimer. Basden wrote all the songs of the fictional folk band. "It's really important that you believe that throughout the film that this is a musician, and these are musicians, and that was all his compositions,' Key said.—Reuters
Express Tribune
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Ballad of Wallis Island' strikes quiet chord
For producer, actor, writer and composer Tom Basden, the British comedy film The Ballad of Wallis Island leans into the complexities of relationships rather than high-risk action scenes or life-threatening situations. "There were never going to be massive stakes, murders, and car chases kind of thing, but I think we sort of knew tonally the kind of film we wanted it to be," he told Reuters. The Ballad of Wallis Island, distributed by Focus Features, arrived in theaters on March 28. The film's origins date back to 2007 when comedy duo, Tim Key, who is known for working with British comedy personality Alan Partridge, and Tom Basden, who starred in the series After Life, wrote, produced and starred in the short film The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island, which The Ballad of Wallis Island is based on. The short went on to be nominated for a BAFTA and won the best British short at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Both the short and feature film have the same plot, following aging folk singer Herb McGwyer, portrayed by Tom Basden, who gets paid an enormous sum of money to play a one-off gig on a remote Welsh island. However, when Herb arrives at the gig, he discovers that he's only performing for one man, a lottery winner named Charles, played by Tim Key. The difference between the short and the feature film is that Carey Mulligan is in the feature as McGwyer's ex-girlfriend and former musical partner Nell Mortimer, adding a different layer of interpersonal relations. The film focuses on the bond between Herb and Charles. Music is a major part of the film, as Charles continuously plays hits from McGwyer Mortimer. Basden wrote all the songs of the fictional folk band. "It's really important that you believe that throughout the film that this is a musician, and these are musicians, and that was all his compositions," Key said. Reuters
CBC
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Tim Key says Carey Mulligan was the key to unlocking The Ballad of Wallis Island as a feature film
Back in 2007, while writing comedy sketches together, Tim Key and Tom Basden came up with an idea for a short film, The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island. It follows a lottery winner named Charles who hires a jaded folk singer, Herb McGwyer, to perform for him on his private island. Now, 18 years later, that short has been adapted into a feature film, The Ballad of Wallis Island, starring Key, Basden and Carey Mulligan. In an interview with Q 's Tom Power, Key says he and Basden never planned to turn their "small idea" into a full-length movie, but they couldn't stop thinking about it. "Ultimately, I think, we just needed one final piece in the jigsaw which unlocked it as a feature film," Key says. "I guess that was when we came up with the idea of the folk musician in the story was part of a folk duo that no longer played together — and it was his girlfriend." WATCH | Official trailer for The Ballad of Wallis Island: Expanding on their original premise, Key and Basden created a new character named Nell Mortimer, played by Mulligan. The Ballad of Wallis Island sees Charles using his money to reunite his favourite group of all time, the folk rock duo McGwyer Mortimer, who've been acrimoniously separated for years. Key says Mulligan was at the top of their list to play Nell. "We wanted her because she's just an incredibly nice presence on screen and very human. In a film where other people are having a lot of problems, she's playing quite a together person, but a very kind of compassionate person. I mean, she just put so much of Carey Mulligan into the way she played it." While Key had never met Mulligan, he did have her email address from an unrelated project. She replied immediately saying that she'd love to read the script. "We just got lucky that she knew who we were," he says. "She'd watched stuff and listened to stuff that me and Tom had done for, like, a decade, but you just don't know that until you reach out to someone. And we may have reached out to someone different, or Carey may not have had any idea who we were, in which case you don't get that person to be in your movie. But I think, so luckily, we were pushing against one of the doors which was slightly ajar." The Ballad of Wallis Island hits theatres across Canada on April 11.
Reuters
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
British film ‘Ballad of Wallis Island' builds story of human bonds
LOS ANGELES, April 8 (Reuters) - For producer, actor, writer and composer Tom Basden, the British comedy film 'The Ballad of Wallis Island' leans into the complexities of relationships rather than high-risk action scenes or life-threatening situations. "There were never going to be massive stakes, murders, and car chases kind of thing, but I think we sort of knew tonally the kind of film we wanted it to be,' he told Reuters. here. 'We're confident that people will really invest in that story," Basden added. 'The Ballad of Wallis Island,' distributed by Focus Features, arrived in theaters on March 28. The film's origins date back to 2007 when comedy duo, Tim Key, who is known for working with British comedy personality Alan Partridge, and Tom Basden, who starred in the series, 'After Life,' wrote, produced and starred in the short film 'The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island,' which 'The Ballad of Wallis Island' is based on. The short went on to be nominated for a BAFTA and won the best British short at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Both the short and feature film have the same plot, following aging folk singer Herb McGwyer, portrayed by Tom Basden, who gets paid an enormous sum of money to play a one-off gig on a remote Welsh island. However, when Herb arrives at the gig, he discovers that he's only performing for one man, a lottery winner named Charles, played by Tim Key. The difference between the short and the feature film is that Carey Mulligan is in the feature as McGwyer's ex-girlfriend and former musical partner Nell Mortimer, adding a different layer of interpersonal relations. The film focuses on the bond between Herb and Charles. "Maybe in some films it's really clear what you want to happen to the two people,' Key said. 'In our one it's more generally, I really want him (Herb) to like me, as a people pleaser,' he added. Music is a major part of the film, as Charles continuously plays hits from McGwyer Mortimer. Basden wrote all the songs of the fictional folk band. "It's really important that you believe that throughout the film that this is a musician, and these are musicians, and that was all his compositions,' Key said.
