London Fields (film)

London Fields
Teaser poster
Directed by Mathew Cullen
Produced by
Written by Roberta Hanley
Based on London Fields
by Martin Amis
Starring
Music by
Cinematography Guillermo Navarro
Production
company
Distributed by GVN Releasing
Release date
  • 20 September 2018 (2018-09-20) (Russia)
  • 26 October 2018 (2018-10-26) (United States)
Running time
 118 minutes
Country
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
Language English
Budget $8 million

London Fields is a 2018 mystery thriller film directed by Mathew Cullen and written by Roberta Hanley. It is based on the 1989 novel of the same name by Martin Amis. The film stars Billy Bob Thornton as Samson Young, a terminally ill writer who has suffered from writer's block for 20 years. The cast also includes Amber Heard, Jim Sturgess, Theo James, Johnny Depp, Cara Delevingne and Jaimie Alexander.

It was selected to be screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival,[1] but it was later pulled from the festival roster after director Mathew Cullen sued the film's producers, accusing them of fraud and using his name to promote a cut of the film he does not support.[2] After the producers reached a settlement with Heard, London Fields was released theatrically in Russia on 20 September 2018, and is set to be released in the United States on 26 October 2018.

Cast

Production

David Cronenberg was attached in 2001 to do a film adaptation of the book, and Amis wrote a draft of the script. However, Cronenberg left the film for A History of Violence and Eastern Promises. Other directors attached include David Mackenzie and Michael Winterbottom.[4][5] The film entered production with Mathew Cullen in September 2013 in London, England.

Announcing the start of filming, The Guardian's Ben Child observed, "It has languished in Hollywood purgatory for well over a decade while directors of the calibre of David Cronenberg, Michael Winterbottom and Shekhar Kapur have come and gone. But Martin Amis's most celebrated novel, London Fields, is finally due to begin shooting today in the British capital with a high-profile cast that includes Amber Heard, Billy Bob Thornton and Jim Sturgess". Child added, "Amis adaptations have something of a chequered history, with both Dead Babies and The Rachel Papers picking up critical brickbats upon release, and a proposed adaptation of 1985's Money starring Gary Oldman failing to materialise. With the novelist having been working on the London Fields screenplay since at least 2008, the fact that production has finally begun will presumably come as something of a relief for the 64-year-old writer. That it is being overseen by the director of Katy Perry's "California Gurls" video is something of an unusual last-minute twist in the tale".[6]

Soundtrack

The original score was composed and produced by Toydrum, Benson Taylor and Adam Barber,[7][8] and features music by Grinderman and London Grammar.[9][10]

Release

On 16 September 2015, it was reported that Lionsgate had acquired distribution rights to the film.[11] Noting the film's troubled screening history, The Daily Telegraph found that "Any big-screen adaptation of Martin Amis's London Fields – a novel long regarded as unadaptable – was expected to be controversial, though probably not in quite the way that has transpired". The paper's reviewer, Jane Mulkerrins, wrote: "Set in 1999 (though published a decade earlier), the story is narrated by Samson Young, a New York writer recently arrived in London with writer's block and a terminal disease, and played by an unusually limp Thornton. […] The timeline is messy and confusing, with glaringly anachronistic details such as a scene at the top of the Gherkin (opened in 2004). […] [Amber] Heard, who certainly has the requisite physical allure for the part, puts in a decent enough turn as the enigmatic Six but, like her on-screen character, can seemingly do nothing to prevent the brutal murder, either of herself, or of Amis's bestseller".[12]

The official trailer for London Fields debuted on 5 June 2018.[13] The film is set to be released theatrically in Russia on 20 September 2018.[14] It will be released in the United States on 26 October 2018, by GVN Releasing.[15]

In September 2015, the film was pulled from the Toronto International Film Festival, after Mathew Cullen filed a lawsuit against the film's producers, for fraud, failing to pay him, and taking away final cut.[16][17][18] The producers responded to the lawsuit stating : "The timing and the content of the director's lawsuit shows that it is a publicity stunt. The filing of Mathew Cullen's complaint violates the arbitration provisions of his own guild, the DGA. Sadly, Mathew can't deal with the fact that he does not control the final cut of the movie. He was given two deadlines to deliver a 'director's cut' and missed both deadlines. His guild has rules for withdrawing his name from the picture and he missed those deadlines. The production company will vigorously oppose the lawsuit."[19][20] In November 2015 the producers counterclaimed for breach of contract, saying they had terminated the director's formal editing rights period and notified the Directors Guild of America when the film was $2 million over budget and late for delivery. They accuse Cullen of violating both his agreement with them and DGA rules by working on a music video for Katy Perry during his time editing London Fields, and further that Cullen withheld promotional support and committed tortious interference by discouraging the film's stars from performing promotional and post-production services.[21] In April 2016, a judge allowed the case to proceed.[22]

In November 2016, a second lawsuit was filed by the producers suing Amber Heard for $10 million.[23][24] The lawsuit claims Heard and Cullen made unauthorised changes to the film's script and failed to finish voice-over work.[25] Heard countersued claiming the producers violated a nudity clause in her contract.[26] In September 2018, the producers reached a settlement with Heard.[27]

Reception

Critical reception

Writing in The Independent, Kaleem Aftab recalled that "Martin Amis adaptations have a habit of creating fury among directors; director William Marsh, who made Dead Babies in 2000, also complained of a cut going out without his sign-off", before adding that "The very parts of the film that the director Mathew Cullen is reportedly complaining about – archive images of the world in chaos, most notably scenes of the 2011 London riots – actually help lend gravitas to proceedings, which suffer from wooden acting and meandering pacing throughout". Overall, Aftab found that, "Most scenes lack pace, are performed badly and are accompanied by a running commentary of action we can see for ourselves. It's car-crash film-making. […] Of the characters it's only the uncredited Depp, the coolest guy in the room with his dapper dress sense and long sideburns, who comes away with any credit". He concluded, "There is also a marked contrast between the London seen in the archive footage and that shot by Cullen, whose locations look like bad theatre sets. It never feels real, although he might argue that that is the point. London Quicksand might have been a better title."[28]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Punter, Jennie (18 August 2015). "Sandra Bullock's 'Our Brand Is Crisis,' Robert Redford's 'Truth' to Premiere at Toronto". Variety. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  2. ↑ Kozicka, Patricia (17 September 2015). "'London Fields' pulled from TIFF after director sues producers". Global News. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  3. ↑ Child, Ben (30 October 2013). "Johnny Depp to cameo in adaption of Martin Amis's London Fields". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  4. ↑ Martin, Francesca (7 May 2008). "Amis ventures back to London Fields after 19 years for film adaptation". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  5. ↑ Matheou, Demetrios (29 August 2009). "Michael Winterbottom: Some lessons for the nation's movie industry". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  6. ↑ Child, Ben (10 September 2013). "London Fields film shoot gets under way". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Benson Taylor to Score 'London Fields'". Film Music Reporter. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  8. ↑ Hunter, Allan (15 September 2015). "'London Fields': Review". Screen International. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  9. ↑ Lowe, Kinsey (12 September 2015). "'London Fields' Clip: Dark Thriller Stars Amber Heard, Directed By Matthew Cullen – Toronto Film Festival". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  10. ↑ Barber, Adam. "London Fields".
  11. ↑ Fleming Jr., Mike (16 September 2015). "Lionsgate/Grindstone Lands 'London Fields' – Toronto". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  12. ↑ Mulkerrins, Jane (17 September 2015). "London Fields review: 'a cartoonish mess'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  13. ↑ Buchanan, Kyle (5 June 2018). "Watch the NSFW Trailer for the Controversial Amber Heard–Johnny Depp Movie London Fields". Vulture. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  14. ↑ "ЛОНДОНСКИЕ ПОЛЯ" [London Fiels]. Kino Expo (in Russian). Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  15. ↑ Sharf, Zack (5 September 2018). "Amber Heard and 'London Fields' Team End Controversial Legal Battle, Movie to Open After Three-Year Delay". IndieWire. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  16. ↑ Grater, Tom (16 September 2015). "'London Fields' director sues producers". Screen International. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  17. ↑ Cieply, Michael (15 September 2015). "'London Fields' Premiere in Toronto Troubled by Creative Rift". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  18. ↑ Johnson, Ted (16 September 2015). "'London Fields' Director Sues Producers for Fraud". Variety. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  19. ↑ Grater, Tom (17 September 2015). "'London Fields' pulled from TIFF over lawsuit". Screen International. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  20. ↑ Khatchatourian, Maane (17 September 2015). "'London Fields' Pulled From Toronto Amid Director's Lawsuit". Variety. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  21. ↑ Gardner, Eriq (19 November 2015). "'London Fields' Producers Allege Director Violated Contract". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  22. ↑ Cullins, Ashley (22 April 2016). "Judge Allows 'London Fields' Countersuit to Proceed". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  23. ↑ Pederson, Erik (21 November 2016). "Amber Heard Sued For $10M As 'London Fields' Flap Heats Up Again". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  24. ↑ Maddaus, Gene (21 November 2016). "'London Fields' Producers Sue Amber Heard for $10 Million". Variety. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  25. ↑ Gardner, Eriq (21 November 2016). "Amber Heard Sued Over Alleged Conspiracy to Undermine 'London Fields'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  26. ↑ "Amber Heard countersues producer of London Fields". Belfast Telegraph. 1 April 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  27. ↑ Maddus, Gene (5 September 2018). "'London Fields' Producers Reach Settlement With Amber Heard". Variety. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  28. ↑ Aftab, Kaleem (17 September 2015). "London Fields, Toronto Film Festival, review: Dystopian drama is no field day to watch". The Independent. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
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