Adam Deacon wrote Sumotherhood to counter ‘scary stuff’ written about him in the press
Adam Deacon says he wrote his latest film – Sumotherhood – as a way to “take ownership” of some of the “scary stuff” written about him in the press following his breakdown.
The 40-year-old Hackney-born actor and rapper says it was important for him to put some of his own mental health issues into the movie, which he wrote, directed and stars in.
Pic: Paramount Pictures
He told Sky News: “I felt like not only was it quite therapeutic for me to get it out of my system, but also take some ownership in what was written about me, because there was so much stuff in the press that can be quite scary for someone to read.
“I felt like if I don’t take it that serious, then, you know, people reading it don’t have to take it that serious. And I want people to understand that you can go through a mental health breakdown, and you can recover. It’s just like a broken leg – you break, a leg heals. It’s like your mind, your mind heals.”
Deacon’s rise to fame was swift, starring in 2006 movie Kidulthood, followed by Adulthood two years later – both written by and starring Noel Clarke.
Deacon went on to pick up BAFTA’s rising star award in 2012 – ahead of Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Hemsworth and Chris O’Dowd.
But Deacon’s upward trajectory was stopped in its tracks following mental health struggles, culminating in two breakdowns and a bi-polar diagnosis.
‘More needs to be done to break the stigma’
Deacon now hopes the film will help tackle the “stigma around mental health”, which he says is still an issue.
“I faced that [stigma] myself. And I know a lot of young men have come up to me and told me about their own issues… I think things are changing. I think the way the media talk about mental health now was a lot different when I went through my breakdown. But I think more needs to be done and hopefully this film will just start a little conversation going, especially for young men out there watching it.”
Intertwined with his illness, a very public row with Clarke – who Deacon claimed was sabotaging his career – led to a restraining order against Deacon in 2015.
Clarke has since been the subject of multiple bullying and sexual misconduct claims following an investigation by the Guardian newspaper. Clarke has never been charged with any offence and strongly denies the allegations made against him.
Now, with those events years behind him, Deacon sees Sumotherhood as his calling card to the industry he loves.
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“For me, it was it was a struggle letting the industry know that I’m cool. I feel better. I’m in a good place. And I think that’s why I made the film as well, to kind of prove myself to the industry, to let people know, ‘Look, I’ve been in this industry since I was 12 years old, and I just want to work. I just want to act and I want to direct and I love what I do’. So, it feels like a second chance.”
‘I added lines… and people laughed’
It was in fact his first film, playing troubled teen Jay in Kidulthood, that first led him to the idea of creating a parody of the gritty London-set gang drama that made his name.
“I think Jay in Kidulthood was written quite aggressive and quite obnoxious a lot of the time. And so, I added a few lines and when it came out and I went to the cinema to watch it, I realised the comedy lines I added had an effect and people were laughing.”
It was then he decided he had to write a full comedy of the drama, resulting in his directorial debut, Anuvahood in 2011. Now 12 years later, Sumotherhood follows.
Inspired by Brett Ratner’s 1998 action-comedy Rush Hour and the work of Guy Richie, the film has a British feel with an American flavour.
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Sumotherhood has numerous star cameos throughout
Pop star ‘shows off’ acting skills
Plus, more cameos than you can shake a stick at.
Appearances include Ed Sheeran, Lethal Bizzle, Jennifer Saunders, Denise Van Outen, Linda Robson and Jeremy Corbyn.
Jazzie Zonzolo, who co-wrote and stars in the movie alongside Deacon, says the support was “crazy,” and has particular praise for Shape Of You singer Ed Sheeran.
Zonzolo explains: “Let me tell you about Ed Sheeran. Ed Sheeran is a real professional. He invited us to his house to rehearse and he was not letting us go home. He just kept going, and he literally came on set, knew his lines like he was amazing.”
Heaping on more praise, Deacon says Sheeran was a “perfectionist”, who showed “professionalism” and “creativity” throughout the shoot.
Plus, he says fans will get to see a whole different side to the squeaky clean pop star: “He’s a proper actor in this film. I think a lot of his work in the past was him playing himself. And I feel like this is an opportunity for the world to see Ed in a way they’ve never seen him before and for him to really show off his acting skills.”
Sumotherhood is in cinemas now.
Taylor Swift has announced her 12th studio album during an appearance on her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s podcast.
The pop megastar, appearing on New Heights, did not say when the record, titled The Life Of A Showgirl, will be released.
Fans can pre-order the album in various formats now and Swift’s website says physical copies will be shipped by 13 October.
Pic: New Heights
On Monday, Taylor Nation – an official branch of the singer’s marketing team – teased the release on TikTok with a slideshow of 12 images alongside the caption: “Thinking about when she said ‘See you next era…'”
Swift is seen wearing orange in every picture.
A special limited vinyl edition of the album will be released in “Portofino orange glitter”, according to a pre-order page on her site. A special cassette edition is also available for pre-order.
Taylor Swift’s website features The Life of a Showgirl pre-order options. Pic: Reuters
A brief clip from the New Heights podcast, hosted by Swift’s NFL star boyfriend, Travis Kelce and his brother Jason, a former NFL player, was posted on Instagram early on Tuesday.
The video showed Swift pulling a copy of the album from a briefcase with the cover blurred.
The full podcast episode will be released at 11pm on Tuesday, UK time.
Swift is living up to her reputation as pop’s hardest-working star
You might think that after pulling off the highest-grossing tour in history, all while writing and releasing an unexpected record-breaking double album at the same time, Taylor Swift would be happy to take a little break.
But no. The singer-songwriter has announced her 12th album, her sixth in six years.
Since her self-titled debut in 2006, the longest period Swifties have had to wait is just three years, between 2014’s 1989 and 2017’s Reputation; the period in which the star took time out following her public feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
Over the past few years, Swift has also re-recorded and re-released four of her early albums in a (now resolved) battle over the rights to her master recordings.
With the new announcement, she’s living up to her reputation as the hardest-working star in pop.
Album number 12 is titled The Life Of A Showgirl, hinting at inspiration drawn from spending the best part of two years on the road – and perhaps a return to pop after embracing folk and her more gothic side.
Fans are now eagerly waiting to find out what Swift’s new era will bring.
New Heights had previously teased Swift’s appearance by posting an orange image on social media with a mysterious silhouette, which many correctly identified as the pop star.
The Life Of A Showgirl follows Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, released last year during her record-breaking Eras tour, which generated more than $2.2bn (£1.6bn) across two years and five continents, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time.
Read more about Taylor Swift:
Swift’s final London show was the ‘best’
The impact of the ‘excruciating’ Era’s tour
Her new chart record
It marks her first release since she took back control over her entire back catalogue from private equity firm Shamrock Capital for an undisclosed amount.
In an effort to regain control over her music in recent years, Swift has been re-recording and releasing her first six albums. The move was prompted by Hybe America CEO Scooter Braun’s purchase and sale of her early catalogue.
Some of the ‘Taylor’s Version’ releases have included new songs as well as Easter eggs and visuals to offer a deeper understanding of her work.
The four re-recorded albums released so far have been massive commercial and cultural successes, each one entering the Billboard 200 US album chart at number one, helping her become the woman with the most number one albums in history.
Harry and Meghan have signed a new “multi-year, first-look deal” with Netflix, following the deal they struck with the streaming giant five years ago.
Described by the Sussexes as “extending their creative partnership”, while the news quashes rumours the relationship might not be renewed, it would appear to be a less prestigious deal than their first.
With Love, Meghan, has a second season out later this month. Pic: Jake Rosenberg/Netflix
As a “first-look deal” rather than an overall deal, the entertainment giant will be able to say yes or no to their content before anyone else, but they will not be under an obligation to stream it.
Several US outlets have suggested it is a downgrade from the Sussexes’ previous contract, which saw the streaming giant pay for exclusive rights for the content and was thought to be worth more than $100m (£74m).
British PR expert Mark Borkowski described the deal as a “downgrade” and suggested Netflix was “pivoting away” from Harry and Meghan.
Read more: Some call the deal a demotion – but the company still sees them as a power couple
Harry and Meghan set up their media company, Archewell Productions, after quitting as senior working royals in 2020.
Their partnership with Netflix had promised documentaries, docuseries, feature films, scripted shows and children’s television, but has so far only delivered documentaries and docuseries.
These include Harry & Meghan, a six-part series about their departure from the royal household, which is Netflix’s fifth most popular series of all time, and most recently, the lifestyle show With Love, Meghan, which is the streamer’s most-watched culinary show since its release earlier this year.
Speaking about the new deal, Meghan said: “We’re proud to extend our partnership with Netflix and expand our work together to include the As ever brand.”
As ever is Meghan’s lifestyle brand, launched in 2024, and rebranded this year, selling products including jams, shortbread and wine.
Meghan went on: “My husband and I feel inspired by our partners who work closely with us and our Archewell Productions team to create thoughtful content across genres that resonates globally and celebrates our shared vision.”
(R-L) Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Mindy Kaling. Pic: Netflix
Netflix’s chief content officer Bela Bajaria called the Sussexes “influential voices” and said their stories “resonate with audiences everywhere”.
New output includes the second season of With Love Meghan later this month, and a Christmas special in December.
Archewell Productions is also working on a documentary about orphaned children in Uganda’s Masaka region, an area heavily hit by the HIV/AIDS crisis, titled Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within, and is developing a feature adaptation of the bestselling romantic novel by Carley Fortune, Meet Me At The Lake.
It comes as Harry has cut ties with his Sentebale charity but has said he still intends to do what he can to help young people in Lesotho, Botswana and Southern Africa.
Entertainment
Some call the Sussexes’ Netflix deal a demotion – but the company still sees them as a power couple
While we’re all desperate to know what this new deal is really worth in dollars and pounds, one thing I can tell you for certain is that Prince Harry and Meghan want us to know they’re delighted that Netflix again wanted to get a deal done.
“Absolutely over the moon” is how it was described to me.
But they’ll also be aware of the attention it’ll attract as we all try to pick apart what it means.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Pic: Jake Rosenberg/Netflix
Firstly because of that ongoing fascination in how they’re making money since stepping away from royal life and losing financial support from the King, but also because of the recent reports that Netflix were intending to cut ties.
Yes this is a different type of deal from their original one in 2020. Some have argued that a “first look deal” looks like a demotion from what they previously signed up to.
With no real clarity on how much their original deal was worth, and no numbers being publicly thrown around this time, that is hard to judge.
But talking to those who know something about these kinds of deals you do get a sense it could potentially be more lucrative than it looks on face value.
With first look deals, yes there is often financial commitments from the likes of Netflix to get that first exclusive look at projects and first refusal.
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Harry claims: War of words continues
But there could be other significant monetary incentives for the Sussexes to sign.
For example, when the Obamas signed a first look deal with Netflix, the streaming service agreed to pay the operational costs for their production company “Higher Ground”.
Could it be that Netflix are also now covering the costs of Archewell Productions?
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It’s stating the obvious to say that Harry and Meghan continue to divide opinions, some wanting to watch their programmes from a place of respect and fondness, others as a reason to grumble about them.
But signing on this latest dotted line shows Netflix still sees them as a power couple, who attract significant attention and are worthy of investment, whatever that really adds up to.
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