On a recent morning in Cannes, Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan sat over coffee at the Hotel Martinez and recalled a phone call he received nearly 60 years ago, not long after he’d made a splash on the British folk scene. On the other end of the line was a rising screenwriter and director called Ken Loach. “He said he was making his first feature…and would I help him with the music?” Donovan told Variety.
The film, a kitchen sink drama called “Poor Cow,” based on a novel by British playwright and author Neil Dunn, tells the story of a working-class single mother leading a hard-luck life in the slums of London. It’s a movie that set the tone for the type of social drama that propelled Loach throughout a remarkable, prolific career.
This week at the Cannes Film Festival, Loach will bow what he says will be his final film,...
The film, a kitchen sink drama called “Poor Cow,” based on a novel by British playwright and author Neil Dunn, tells the story of a working-class single mother leading a hard-luck life in the slums of London. It’s a movie that set the tone for the type of social drama that propelled Loach throughout a remarkable, prolific career.
This week at the Cannes Film Festival, Loach will bow what he says will be his final film,...
- 5/23/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Filipina acting and singing star Lovi Poe has launched her own production company called C’est Lovi Productions.
The company will have a special focus on showcasing Filipino stories and artists in the international marketplace and already has projects on the boil.
They include Lady Luck, written by Los Angeles-based duo Geordie Kieffer and Mitch Toler, in which Poe is set to star. U.K. director Niall Johnson (White Noise) is attached to direct. The feature is currently in pre-production.
Other projects in development include the psychological thriller Alyssa to which Filipino filmmaker Jerrold Tarog is attached to write and direct. Tarog’s past credits include the 2016 Philippine-American war drama Heneral Luna and Netflix acquisition Gogo: The Boy General.
Montgomery Blencowe will partner with Poe as an executive of the company.
Poe is the daughter of late Filipino acting legend Fernando Poe Jr has built a flourishing career in her own right.
The company will have a special focus on showcasing Filipino stories and artists in the international marketplace and already has projects on the boil.
They include Lady Luck, written by Los Angeles-based duo Geordie Kieffer and Mitch Toler, in which Poe is set to star. U.K. director Niall Johnson (White Noise) is attached to direct. The feature is currently in pre-production.
Other projects in development include the psychological thriller Alyssa to which Filipino filmmaker Jerrold Tarog is attached to write and direct. Tarog’s past credits include the 2016 Philippine-American war drama Heneral Luna and Netflix acquisition Gogo: The Boy General.
Montgomery Blencowe will partner with Poe as an executive of the company.
Poe is the daughter of late Filipino acting legend Fernando Poe Jr has built a flourishing career in her own right.
- 8/4/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow and Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Charlotte Hope (Game Of Thrones), Charlie Creed-Miles (Giri/Haji), Plan B/Ben Drew (Harry Brown) and Sadie Frost (Waiting For Anya) are among cast to join UK biopic The Chelsea Cowboy.
As we revealed, Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike), Poppy Delevingne (Riviera) and Filipina actress and singer Lovi Poe (Malaya) are leading cast.
The film will chart the rise and fall of underworld hard-man turned actor John Bindon, who despite a successful acting career and passionate romantic liaisons with members of high society, even royalty, was unable to leave his criminal past behind.
Also joining cast are Charley Palmer Rothwell (Dunkirk) as James Fox, Tamer Hassan (Layer Cake) as Salim, Warren Brown (Luther) as Priddle and Sadie Newman (Holmes & Watson) as Nina.
Hope will play Sandra, Creed Miles is Sir John Hodge, Ben Drew will be Roy Dennis and Frost plays Cissy Bindon.
Leon Butler (100 Streets) has scripted and produces,...
As we revealed, Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike), Poppy Delevingne (Riviera) and Filipina actress and singer Lovi Poe (Malaya) are leading cast.
The film will chart the rise and fall of underworld hard-man turned actor John Bindon, who despite a successful acting career and passionate romantic liaisons with members of high society, even royalty, was unable to leave his criminal past behind.
Also joining cast are Charley Palmer Rothwell (Dunkirk) as James Fox, Tamer Hassan (Layer Cake) as Salim, Warren Brown (Luther) as Priddle and Sadie Newman (Holmes & Watson) as Nina.
Hope will play Sandra, Creed Miles is Sir John Hodge, Ben Drew will be Roy Dennis and Frost plays Cissy Bindon.
Leon Butler (100 Streets) has scripted and produces,...
- 9/15/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Filipina actress and singer Lovi Poe (Malaya) is joining Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike) and Poppy Delevingne (Riviera) in director Ben Cookson’s The Chelsea Cowboy, based on the life of actor, gangster and lothario John Bindon.
In her biggest English-language movie role to date, Poe will play British blues singer Dana Gillespie who employed Bindon as security and also provided him with access to the high life, most notably the island of Mustique where he met Princess Margaret. The charismatic Gillespie was well known for her close personal ties to leading singers and actors. A recent biography notes that her lovers included David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Michael Caine, Jimmy Page, Keith Moon and Sean Connery.
The Chelsea Cowboy charts the rise and fall of underworld hard-man turned actor Bindon, who despite a successful acting career and passionate romantic liaisons with members of high society, was unable to leave his criminal past behind.
In her biggest English-language movie role to date, Poe will play British blues singer Dana Gillespie who employed Bindon as security and also provided him with access to the high life, most notably the island of Mustique where he met Princess Margaret. The charismatic Gillespie was well known for her close personal ties to leading singers and actors. A recent biography notes that her lovers included David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Michael Caine, Jimmy Page, Keith Moon and Sean Connery.
The Chelsea Cowboy charts the rise and fall of underworld hard-man turned actor Bindon, who despite a successful acting career and passionate romantic liaisons with members of high society, was unable to leave his criminal past behind.
- 8/24/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Poppy Delevingne (Riviera) is to co-star opposite Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike) in biopic The Chelsea Cowboy, based on the life of actor, gangster and lothario John Bindon.
Suicide Squad and Hobbs & Shaw star Idris Elba has boarded the production as executive producer.
Delevingne will play the role of aristocrat, model, actress and original It girl Lady Victoria Hodge, who provided Bindon with access to the high life the working class boy craved. The glamorous couple endured a thirteen-year tumultuous relationship that defined Bindon’s life and serves as the backbone of the story.
UK outfit Moviehouse is repping world sales on the film at Cannes. Ben Cookson (Waiting for Anya) will direct.
Bindon was spotted in a London pub by Ken Loach who asked him to star in his film Poor Cow in 1967 and went on to play a violent mobster alongside Mick Jagger in Performance (1970) and a London...
Suicide Squad and Hobbs & Shaw star Idris Elba has boarded the production as executive producer.
Delevingne will play the role of aristocrat, model, actress and original It girl Lady Victoria Hodge, who provided Bindon with access to the high life the working class boy craved. The glamorous couple endured a thirteen-year tumultuous relationship that defined Bindon’s life and serves as the backbone of the story.
UK outfit Moviehouse is repping world sales on the film at Cannes. Ben Cookson (Waiting for Anya) will direct.
Bindon was spotted in a London pub by Ken Loach who asked him to star in his film Poor Cow in 1967 and went on to play a violent mobster alongside Mick Jagger in Performance (1970) and a London...
- 7/8/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Magic Mike and I Am Number Four star Alex Pettyfer is attached to star in The Chelsea Cowboy, based on the colorful life of Brit actor, tough guy and lothario, John Bindon.
The project will chart the rise and fall of underworld hard-man turned actor Bindon, who despite a successful acting career and passionate romantic liaisons with various socialites, was unable to leave his criminal past behind.
Ben Cookson (Waiting For Anya) is directing. World sales are being handled by Moviehouse Entertainment which is introducing the title to buyers at this week’s virtual European Film Market.
Bindon was frequently in trouble as a youth for getting into fights and spent time in borstal. He was spotted in a London pub by Ken Loach who asked him to star in his film Poor Cow in 1967 and went on to play a violent mobster alongside Mick Jagger in Performance (1970) and...
The project will chart the rise and fall of underworld hard-man turned actor Bindon, who despite a successful acting career and passionate romantic liaisons with various socialites, was unable to leave his criminal past behind.
Ben Cookson (Waiting For Anya) is directing. World sales are being handled by Moviehouse Entertainment which is introducing the title to buyers at this week’s virtual European Film Market.
Bindon was frequently in trouble as a youth for getting into fights and spent time in borstal. He was spotted in a London pub by Ken Loach who asked him to star in his film Poor Cow in 1967 and went on to play a violent mobster alongside Mick Jagger in Performance (1970) and...
- 3/4/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Ken Loach's Poor Cow is showing on Mubi starting January 9, 2021 in the United Kingdom in the series First Films First.An aesthetic of Swinging London is established only to have its seams split in Poor Cow, Ken Loach’s first feature film from 1967. Donovan’s melancholic soundtrack is spiked with bright British Invasion b-sides, London’s industrial neighborhoods filmed in pop-art palettes, and Joy, played by Carol White, is lucent blonde with a fringe and bouffant. Halfway into the film, dressed in a mod-print floral housecoat, Joy finds her bouffant hair-piece destroyed, unhelpfully washed by her toddler as she overslept. The deflated hair-piece which Joy despairingly “can’t go out without!” and cost her “five and eleven” demarks Joy’s status in the narrative; a single, working-class mother with no way to get by but her looks. It...
- 1/19/2021
- MUBI
Kate Beckinsale may be from the UK, but you wouldn.t know it from her IMDb page. Unlike everyone else with a British accent, since hitting it big she.s mostly avoided their national obsession by being one of the few Brit actresses not to play some sort of princess or queen. That may be about to change. Ok! claims she.s .lined up. to play Princess Margaret in The Princess and the Gangster, a movie about the royal.s love affair with notorious gangster John Bindon. They allegedly met on a Caribbean getaway in 1968 and the press went nuts with tales of wild sex, though Princess Margaret denied meeting him. Ok! claims the movie is being written by Louis Mellis, the mind behind Ray Winstone.s Sexy Beast. This story has actually been told before, in a 2009 BBC TV movie of the same name. Not surprising, given the British...
- 2/8/2010
- cinemablend.com
Kate Beckinsale has reportedly been lined up to play Princess Margaret in a new film. Sexy Beast writer Louis Mellis is working on the film, about the Princess's alleged affair with John Bindon, a gangster and actor she met on the Caribbean island of Mustique. Ok! claims that producer Patrick Milling Smith has now suggested that Beckinsale could play the Princess. Terence Doyle, editor of British Film Magazine, said: "It's got all the ingredients for a fun (more)...
- 2/7/2010
- by By Catriona Wightman
- Digital Spy
Smuggler Films has tapped screenwriter Louis Mellis to write “The Princess’ Gangster,” the incredible true story of the affair between England’s Princess Margaret and gangster-turned-film-tough-guy John Bindon in the 1960’s, one of several rumored affairs the royal family member supposedly engaged in throughout her controversial life. Mellis has worked on both the award-winning “Sexy Beast,” which starred Sir Ben Kingsley and Ray Winstone, as well as the upcoming “44 Inch Chest,” which also stars Winstone. Smuggler was formed last year by producer John Hart and video/commercial producers Milling Smith and Brian Carmody. They are also in development of a big-screen adaptation of “The White Tiger”, the novel from [...]...
- 2/2/2010
- by Costa Koutsoutis
- ShockYa
Louis Mellis has been hired by Smuggler Films to write the script for The Princess' Gangster, a movie detailing the true-life affair between Princess Margaret and the gangster-turned-movie-tough-guy John Bindon in the late '60s.
Channel 4 has already done a short expose about the affair between Margaret and Bindon - The Princess And The Gangster - which aired last year.
The Sexy Beast and 44 Inch Chest scribe has been described by Smuggler's Patrick Milling Smith as the perfect man for the job: "We needed someone who could give us an authentic voice, because Bindon, who could break your legs but who was also a mini-celebrity, was a force of nature. He was a real raconteur and full-on entertainer. There aren't many people who can inhabit characters like that and make then amusing, but Louis definitely can."
Meanwhile, Smuggler Films is also developing a screen adaptation of Aravind Adiga's novel The White Tiger.
Channel 4 has already done a short expose about the affair between Margaret and Bindon - The Princess And The Gangster - which aired last year.
The Sexy Beast and 44 Inch Chest scribe has been described by Smuggler's Patrick Milling Smith as the perfect man for the job: "We needed someone who could give us an authentic voice, because Bindon, who could break your legs but who was also a mini-celebrity, was a force of nature. He was a real raconteur and full-on entertainer. There aren't many people who can inhabit characters like that and make then amusing, but Louis definitely can."
Meanwhile, Smuggler Films is also developing a screen adaptation of Aravind Adiga's novel The White Tiger.
- 2/2/2010
- Screenrush
Louis Mellis, scriptwriter of Sexy Beast and this year’s 44 Inch Chest, has been signed by Smuggle Films to write The Princess’ Gangster. The story of gangster-movie-star John Bindon, the flick will detail Bindon’s affair with Princess Margaret back in the 1960s. Yes, that really happened. Smuggler Films executive Patrick Milling Smith said this about hiring Mellis: “We needed someone who could give us an authentic voice, because Bindon, who could break your legs but who was also a mini-celebrity, was a...
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- 2/2/2010
- by Josh Winning
- TotalFilm
What do you get when you cross Sexy Beast with The Queen? Something like The Princess' Gangster, a new film being written by Louis Mellis, co-screenwriter of the former film as well as the recently released testosterone fest 44-Inch Chest. The plot involves the still-alleged alleged affair between Queen Elizabeth's little sister, Princess Margaret, and gangster-turned-actor John Bindon (Quadrophenia). The Hollywood Reporter, which treats the story as being completely true (and it was certainly likely), notes that Mellis was hired for the gig due to his reputation for writing very tough yet very amusing characters.
If it did really occur, the romance between the royal figure and the flamboyant thug was short lived, taking place during a few weeks in the Caribbean at some point in the mid 1970s. After her marriage to Lord Snowdon fell apart, Margaret was something of a party animal and supposedly slept with a number of famous people,...
If it did really occur, the romance between the royal figure and the flamboyant thug was short lived, taking place during a few weeks in the Caribbean at some point in the mid 1970s. After her marriage to Lord Snowdon fell apart, Margaret was something of a party animal and supposedly slept with a number of famous people,...
- 2/1/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
- Cinematical
British writer Louis Mellis is making a strong comeback. He wrote the indie gangster hit Sexy Beast back in 2000 as well as Blueberry in 2004. It wasn't until last year that he returned again, writing the 44 Inch Chest script. Now THR is reporting that Mellis has been hired by Smuggler Films to write the screenplay for The Princess' Gangster. The film concerns the true story of Princess Margaret's affair with the gangster-turned-movie-tough-guy John Bindon in the late '60s. Interestingly, Guardian (via The Playlist) mentions that French director Jacques Audiard (of Un Prophete most recently) could possibly be directing this. Smuggler Films exec Patrick Milling Smith about choosing Mellis: "We needed someone who could give us an authentic voice, because Bindon, who could break your legs but who was also a mini-celebrity, was a force of nature. He was a real raconteur and full-on entertainer. There aren't many people who...
- 2/1/2010
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Louis Mellis, one half of the writing team behind Sexy Beast and 44 Inch Chest (currently in limited release in the Us) has been tapped to write The Princess' Gangster, about the reported affair between Princess Margaret, younger sister of England's Queen Elizabeth II, and charismatic actor/tough guy John Bindon. It was tabloid stuff decades ago when Bindon claimed to have slept with the Princess, who had already been linked to a couple of other affairs. So Mellis would be working with a story of royalty, gangsters, tabloid fame and the movie business? Sounds like a perfect fit. THR has details about Mellis being hired to work on The Princess' Gangster, but doesn't offer too much more info. Fortunately there's plenty of stuff out there about Bindon. After doing an early '60s stint in Borstal, Bindon scored parts in films like Poor Cow (the movie with Terence Stamp that...
- 2/1/2010
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
Louis Mellis ("Sexy Beast," "44 Inch Chest") will pen "The Princess' Gangster" for Smuggler Films reports Reuters.
The film deals with the true story of Princess Margaret's affair with late 60's gangster-turned-movie star John Bindon. The man was a brutal gangster who was also a mini-celebrity.
John Hart, Brian Carmody and Patrick Milling Smith will produce. Smuggler is also developing a screen adaptation of Aravind Adiga's novel "The White Tiger."...
The film deals with the true story of Princess Margaret's affair with late 60's gangster-turned-movie star John Bindon. The man was a brutal gangster who was also a mini-celebrity.
John Hart, Brian Carmody and Patrick Milling Smith will produce. Smuggler is also developing a screen adaptation of Aravind Adiga's novel "The White Tiger."...
- 2/1/2010
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Sexy Beast writer Louis Mellis has been tapped to pen a movie about Princess Margaret's affair with gangster John Bindon. The Princess' Gangster centres on the tryst between Queen Elizabeth II's younger sister and the gangster-turned-actor in the late '60s, says The Hollywood Reporter. Bindon appeared in 13 films between 1967 and 1979, including Inspector Clouseau, Barry Lyndon and Quadrophenia. He died in 1993 at the age of 50. Mellis, who also co-wrote (more)...
- 2/1/2010
- by By Simon Reynolds
- Digital Spy
It was announced today that renowned screenwriter and playwright Louis Mellis ( Sexy Beast , 44 Inch Chest , Gangster No. 1 ), has signed on to pen The Princess' Gangster for Smuggler Films. The Princess' Gangster tells the true story of notorious gangster turned movie tough guy John Bindon and his scandalous relationship with high-living Princess Margaret in the late 1960s. Smuggler Films' Patrick Milling Smith, Brian Carmody and John N. Hart ( Revolutionary Road , You Can Count on Me , Boys Don't Cry , Proof ) will produce. The film will be financed by a new media fund assembled by Smuggler Films. Mellis, whose upcoming projects include The Take for Fox comments, "I'm very much looking forward to exploring this particular period in recent history when classes and...
- 2/1/2010
- Comingsoon.net
Louis Mellis, the writer behind Sexy Beast and 44 Inch Chest, is set to tackle royalty in his next project, The Princess' Gangster. It's based on the true story of Princess Margaret's* alleged affair with notorious gangster John Bindon in the late 1960s.Bindon was a bit of a wide boy, serving time in a Borstal institution for possession of ammunition as a young man, but then spotted by Ken Loach and introduced to films, where he went on to appear opposite Mick Jagger in Performance and for Stanley Kubrick in Barry Lyndon. He then started dating the daughter of a Baron, who took him on holiday to Mustique, where he is said to have had it off with the Princess (she was apparently Not Amused at the stories in the press to that effect, and denied it). Bindon also had affairs with Playboy bunny Serena Williams (no, not that...
- 2/1/2010
- EmpireOnline
Smuggler Films has tapped screenwriter Louis Mellis to write "The Princess' Gangster."
"Gangster" concerns the true story of Princess Margaret's affair with the gangster-turned-movie-tough-guy John Bindon in the late '60s.
Patrick Milling Smith, one of Smuggler's three principals, said that Mellis' dossier -- which includes such tough-talking crime tales as "Sexy Beast" and the current "44 Inch Chest" -- made him the perfect match for the material.
"We needed someone who could give us an authentic voice, because Bindon, who could break your legs but who was also a mini-celebrity, was a force of nature. He was a real raconteur and full-on entertainer. There aren't many people who can inhabit characters like that and make then amusing, but Louis definitely can."
Smuggler -- which was formed last year by producer John Hart, formerly of Hart-Sharp, and Milling Smith and Brian Carmody, video and commercial producers under their Smuggler...
"Gangster" concerns the true story of Princess Margaret's affair with the gangster-turned-movie-tough-guy John Bindon in the late '60s.
Patrick Milling Smith, one of Smuggler's three principals, said that Mellis' dossier -- which includes such tough-talking crime tales as "Sexy Beast" and the current "44 Inch Chest" -- made him the perfect match for the material.
"We needed someone who could give us an authentic voice, because Bindon, who could break your legs but who was also a mini-celebrity, was a force of nature. He was a real raconteur and full-on entertainer. There aren't many people who can inhabit characters like that and make then amusing, but Louis definitely can."
Smuggler -- which was formed last year by producer John Hart, formerly of Hart-Sharp, and Milling Smith and Brian Carmody, video and commercial producers under their Smuggler...
- 1/31/2010
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
44 Inch Chest stars Deadwood's Ian McShane alongside a who's-who of British beefcake, but who would make John Patterson's dream team of UK movie hard men?
I have to admit I like the look of 44 Inch Chest, and particularly its wall-to-wall cast of British hard men: Ray Winstone, Ian McShane, Steven Berkoff and John Hurt.
John Hurt, you say, a British tough guy? Well, it's all about stunt-casting here; almost every major piece of casting works because somewhere in each actor's back catalogue is at least one meaty outing as a nasty piece of work brandishing a gun. For Hurt it was Stephen Frears's mid-80s Spanish revenger's road-movie The Hit.
Ian McShane is actually a two-stage piece of stunt casting. When he was cast as the ambi-sexual crime lord in Sexy Beast, the film-makers were referencing his role as Richard Burton's gangland catamite in Villain (1971), and...
I have to admit I like the look of 44 Inch Chest, and particularly its wall-to-wall cast of British hard men: Ray Winstone, Ian McShane, Steven Berkoff and John Hurt.
John Hurt, you say, a British tough guy? Well, it's all about stunt-casting here; almost every major piece of casting works because somewhere in each actor's back catalogue is at least one meaty outing as a nasty piece of work brandishing a gun. For Hurt it was Stephen Frears's mid-80s Spanish revenger's road-movie The Hit.
Ian McShane is actually a two-stage piece of stunt casting. When he was cast as the ambi-sexual crime lord in Sexy Beast, the film-makers were referencing his role as Richard Burton's gangland catamite in Villain (1971), and...
- 1/9/2010
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
ITV drama Whitechapel held on to a decent chunk of its audience on Monday, with over 7 million viewers tuning in. The three-parter, about a serial killer replicating the Jack The Ripper murders, began last week with more than 8 million. This week the second episode was seen by 7.14m (28.3%), a comfortable winner in the 9pm slot. BBC One's Who Do You Think You Are? - this week featuring Fiona Bruce - had a respectable 5.83m (23.2%) over the same period. Channel 4 documentary The Princess and The Gangster, recounting Princess Margaret's association with notorious '70s criminal John Bindon, had 1.73m (6.9%), while BBC Two crime drama Moses Jones picked up just 1.22m (4.8%). Five's screening of Steven Seagal actioner Today You Die averaged 1.12m (5.2%) between 9pm and 10.55pm. The latest University Challenge semi was seen by (more)...
- 2/11/2009
- by By Neil Wilkes
- Digital Spy
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