‘It felt liberating’: Laura Mvula on her ‘unfiltered’ Mercury Prize reaction and championing female artists
After this year’s Mercury Prize ceremony had wrapped up, Laura Mvula found herself in tears in a hotel room. Nominated for a rare third time – she has never released an album that hasn’t been shortlisted – the pressure had built up.
While Mvula never really went away, the ’80s pop-inspired Pink Noise was a return of sorts, released through Atlantic in July after she was unexpectedly dropped by former record label Sony early in 2017. A difficult period was followed by yet another when the pandemic hit, and suddenly an accolade that previously would simply have been the cherry on top of an exceptional career had become all-consuming.
On the night, the prestigious Mercury Prize went to Arlo Parks, for her debut album Collapsed In Sunbeams. “I get robbed. A lot,” Mvula tweeted afterwards, following it up with: “Mercury Prize can lose my number.” The next day, she shared a longer message on Instagram: “I really thought Pink Noise might’ve won last night… I needed it for several reasons too complex to dive into here. I don’t expect to be understood fully by the British public but try not to judge my pain… I’m just tired. Please buy the album if you can and come to a show. Many thanks. Love you.”
Mvula released her third album, Pink Noise, earlier in 2021. Pic: Danny Kasirye
A few weeks later, Mvula is feeling a lot more positive, her energy and infectious laugh lighting up a Zoom call. We are here to talk about National Album Day, for which she is an ambassador this year, and she is keen to praise the artists who have inspired her – everyone from Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and Des’ree to contemporaries such as Lianne La Havas, Little Simz and Nao, as well as the late Amy Winehouse and composer Errolyn Wallen.
She is also candid about how strongly she feels about her own record and the Mercury Prize. There is “no malice” towards Parks but she is honest about how missing out made her feel.
“I was so exhausted,” she begins. “I don’t just mean from the day, I mean from the moment I even thought about making a third record… I’d had two previous nominations so there was a sense of ‘third time round’. I allowed myself to get caught up in the noise, pardon the pun, of it all. That’s what I regret the most, is that for the first time I really started to make so many things matter to me that ordinarily have nothing to do with what I really care about.”
Mvula chuckles as she adds that she’s “mid-30s, still trying to make a living”, but it matters. It’s not often an artist is so candid about their own personal situation, but the way the industry treats female artists as they get older is no secret.
“It’s a weird thing to get used to high critical acclaim,” Mvula goes on. “There’s something bittersweet because it’s wonderful to be acknowledged as an artist who makes things people respect. That’s something I consider to be a high privilege and something I’m proud of. But at the same time, when it doesn’t necessarily translate to something tangible, that can be where it gets complicated. And [there’s a] need or desire to be visible and to have a growing audience, to not want to just have a legacy that is, ‘yes, we know of her, but oh, she never broke through’, or whatever the narratives are in my mind.”
Laura Mvula is an ambassador for National Album Day 2021. Pic: Danny Kasirye
Of the handful of artists who have been nominated three times or more, the classically trained musician is not in bad company when it comes to those who have not won: David Bowie, Coldplay, Laura Marling, Florence And The Machine, to name a few; Radiohead have a record five nominations, but no win. So clearly it speaks nothing of her talent; she won the equally prestigious Ivor Novello award for best album in 2017 – just months after being dropped by Sony – for the previous year’s The Dreaming Room, on which she collaborated with Nile Rodgers and reportedly had to turn down Prince.
But still, in that moment, it hurt. “I really yearned for it in a way that I wasn’t even ready for. When it went to Arlo, it was almost nothing to do with Arlo Parks and her music and Laura Mvula and her music, and all the other artists and the music, it became about something else.”
Pictured at the Mercury Music Prize shortlist launch earlier in 2021
She refers to recent comments made by Ed Sheeran about awards shows, which he described as “filled with resentment and hatred”. “There’s something really draining about the whole experience, and the win and the lose aspect,” Mvula admits. Her tweets after the Mercury Prize were tongue in cheek, she says, but came from a place of truth. “I guess, that was the real, unfiltered Laura. It was my rejection of all the pressure and all the nonsense and all the being pitted against one another… Here we are all desperately trying not to care. But somehow you end up caring so much.”
Back in the hotel room, Mvula’s friend and sister suggested she take her online posts down. “I just went to bed crying. I ignored them and I felt sort of more alone in that moment.” In the morning, they discussed a “pain” that many women will identify with. “We’re not supposed to say things that make us look not elegant and put together and demure and softly spoken, because anything else is just ugly,” says Mvula.
“I’m not going to lie: there was something very liberating about saying what I felt, knowing that I hold no malice in my heart at all towards Arlo or any other artists, but knowing I feel so passionately about what I do, and that me and the people who work so hard around me deserve some kind of break.” She shrugs. “That was it, really.”
The star says she has become more comfortable being ‘loud and noticed’. Pic: Danny Kasirye
She is sanguine about it all now. The reason the Mercury Prize matters is because it celebrates the album as an art-form, something Mvula feels passionately about. Pink Noise and its ’80s shoulder-padded aesthetic is a fun record, a shift from the more experimental, baroque soul of her first two albums. But making it did not come easily. “In the beginning… even making one song would have felt impossible at one stage,” she says, because she has to “really believe” in everything she puts out. But now it’s here, vibrant, unsubtle and a statement of intent, she couldn’t be more proud.
“I wasn’t always the most confident person, I didn’t always want to feel loud and be noticed or be seen or heard. In fact, the idea of being on a stage as a solo artist was something that used to freak me out. Pink Noise was my celebration of my life in its loud, bombastic, romantic, fragile glory.”
While the colour pink held lazy connotations and once felt “imposed” upon young girls growing up, now Mvula embraces it. “I wasn’t interested in wearing pink clothes and fluffy dresses because that supposedly fit some ideal or that meant I was beautiful and whatever,” she says. “And weirdly, I feel more beautiful [now] than ever.”
Along with artists including Kylie Minogue, Ray BLK and Sharleen Spiteri, Mvula is an ambassador for National Album Day 2021, which is this year shining a spotlight on female performers. “I think it’s so important to lift women up, and specifically in the arts and making albums because for decades there’s so many unsung heroines.”
When it comes to black, female artists especially there is “always so much work to be done” she says, in terms of making the opportunities available and visible. “But I’m encouraged because I do feel like we’re now living in a time where there’s much more awareness, much more dialogue, and there seems to be a widespread acknowledgement.
“My story began in music because I was taught I could do anything; there wasn’t a room I felt uncomfortable in, whether that was learning to play the violin and piano or putting a neo-soul band together when I was in my teens, or singing in an a cappella group with my auntie. At the time as a kid, I was not aware of how rich that plethora of different experiences was.”
Mvula is positive. “I think we’re living in exciting times,” she says. And that also applies to being able to perform live again after more than a year of venues being shut. So far this year she has performed at the Olympics Homecoming ceremony with Rodgers and played a sold-out show at Islington Assembly Hall, as well as at the Edinburgh Festival. A tour is planned and as well as Pink Noise, she also features on the soundtrack to “new-school Western” The Harder They Fall, starring Idris Elba.
“I now feel sort of ready to refocus on the next thing, which for me is performing and getting back on the road,” she says. “Trying to get that good feeling back that I think the pandemic stole from a lot of us who made lockdown albums. I think there’s a weird exhaustion that comes from that as well.”
It has been a challenging time, “dire for everyone”, she admits, but good things are on the horizon. “I was chatting with my accountant on text, and he was like, ‘yeah, man, it’s rough’, but he said we’re going to get back on the road and, you know, it’s not going to be so troublesome,” she laughs.
“We’re on the up and up, it’s just gradual. And I think that’s good because my God, am I now savouring everything. I do not miss a moment, you know, I really just drink it in. There is beauty in suffering, I think. That’s what I’ve been taking from this very trying time.”
Laura Mvula’s latest album, Pink Noise, is out now. National Album Day, celebrating women in music, takes place on Saturday 16 October with new albums, boxsets and classic reissues including: Amy Winehouse, Stevie Nicks, Solange, Donna Summer, HAIM, Eva Cassidy, Dido, Garbage, Roisin Murphy, Patti Smith and more
It’s been a rollercoaster year for Hollywood.
Movie fans flocked to the cinema in 2024, with Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, Despicable Me 4, Moana 2, Dune: Part Two, and Wicked dominating the worldwide box office.
Beetlejuice came out of retirement to entertain new audiences, while the likes of Alien: Romulus and Longlegs scared cinemagoers into parting with their cash.
However, the past few years have been tumultuous for the film industry.
After COVID all but wiped out trips to see a movie on the silver screen, studios are now having to contend with the cost of living crisis and audiences preferring to wait for digital releases.
There was even the double-whammy of industrial action waged by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA which shuttered production for months and led to delays in the release calendar.
In 2023, the successful simultaneous theatrical release of Barbie and Oppenheimer – two movies collectively known as Barbenheimer – hinted at a return to box office bonanzas previously witnessed pre-pandemic.
However, a number of movies that would normally reap billion-dollar rewards floundered in 2024 – including Madame Web and Joker: Folie à Deux.
Even Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was deemed a failure despite proving a hit with critics.
The simultaneous release of Wicked and Gladiator II – known as Glicked – failed to match the Barbenheimer buzz, with the musical going on to slay Ridley Scott’s sequel in ticket sales.
It may be back to business for Hollywood, but 2024 showed that it’s far from back to normal.
So, as we head into 2025, here are some of the movies that are aiming to entice audiences to the cinema this coming year.
Superman
The Man of Steel will be returning to the big screen this summer.
Starring David Corenswet (Pearl, Twisters) in the leading role, the film will explore Clark Kent/Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his adoptive human family in Smallville.
The movie boasts a stacked cast, with the likes of Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult (Juror #2) as Lex Luthor, and the always impressive Skyler Gisondo (Booksmart) as Jimmy Olsen.
Written and directed by James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad), expect large action sequences, a bouncing soundtrack, and witty one-liners.
As with his other movies, Gunn’s brother Sean (Gilmore Girls) is expected to make an appearance – this time round as businessman Maxwell Lord, a supervillain we previously saw portrayed by Pedro Pascal in Wonder Woman 1984.
Superman will be the first film in the new DC Universe (DCU) and will kickstart the franchise’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters phase.
DC Studios and Warner Bros Pictures will be banking on this to be a hit given Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash and Blue Beetle flopped at the box office.
One hurdle will be winning over Henry Cavill fans, who announced in 2022 he was returning as Superman only for the offer to be seemingly rescinded.
Cavill claimed he was told by bosses at DC Studios to announce his return, which was made prior to Gunn and producer Peter Safran taking charge of the company.
According to reports at the time, Cavill did not have an official deal in place to return as the superhero.
While most will be able to understand Gunn’s preference for a younger Superman, Corenswet will have to bring his A-game to win over any salty Cavill supporters.
Superman is scheduled for release in July.
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina
The John Wick franchise has been given a pulse-pounding spin-off.
Ana de Armas (The Gray Man, Knives Out) takes charge as Eve Macarro, an assassin-in-training who sets out to seek revenge against the people who killed her family.
Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro in Ballerina. Pic: Lionsgate
De Armas showcased her capable action skills when she lit up the screen as CIA agent Paloma in the James Bond movie No Time to Die.
She also gave us a taste of her driving, shooting and fighting abilities as CIA agent Dani Miranda in The Gray Man.
Going by the Ballerina trailer – where she launches herself through a window before taking on a flamethrower with a high-pressure water hose – fans are in for another wild ride.
The film – directed by Len Wiseman (Underworld, Live Free or Die Hard) – takes place between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4.
The man himself – Keanu Reeves – makes a cameo in the movie.
Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston and Lance Reddick (in his final screen appearance) also reprise their roles from the previous instalments.
Ballerina is scheduled for release in June.
Wicked: For Good
We’re off to see the wizard… again.
The much-loved Broadway and West End musical has been given the silver screen treatment.
The recently released Part One broke a number of box office records – including the highest grossing Broadway adaptation in global box office history (surpassing 2008’s Mamma Mia!) and biggest global opening for a non-sequel film in 2024.
The first instalment has already recouped its reported $150m budget, however Universal Pictures’ marketing blitz would not have come cheap and will most likely take a good chunk out of its profit.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in Wicked. Pic: Universal Pictures
For those that are yet to see the film, the story – based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel – features the characters from L Frank Baum’s 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 film adaptation starring Judy Garland.
Wicked takes place in the Land of Oz in the years surrounding Dorothy Gale’s arrival and tells the tale of how Elphaba Thropp, a young woman born with green skin, later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.
To avoid any major spoilers, the first film ended with Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo, and Glinda Upland, played by Ariana Grande, discovering Jeff Goldblum’s the Wizard of Oz was not as powerful or as wonderful as they first thought.
Pic: Universal Pictures
The second act will see the pair’s friendship being put to the test as they embrace their new respective identities as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good, as well as unveiling who the other characters truly are along the way.
The star-studded cast have already covered a number of the musical’s songs – including What Is This Feeling?, Dancing Through Life, Popular and Defying Gravity – but there’s still plenty more to come with For Good fully expected to be a showstopper.
Wicked: For Good is scheduled for release in November.
Jurassic World Rebirth
Famed producer Frank Marshall previously stated that the plot of Jurassic World Dominion would mark the “start of a new era” of the franchise in which humans have to co-exist with dinosaurs.
Rebirth takes place five years on from the events of the last movie, with the planet’s ecology proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs.
In this adventure, an expedition braves isolated equatorial regions to extract DNA from three colossal prehistoric creatures that are believed to be key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.
Jonathan Bailey and Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth. Pic: Universal Pictures
Scarlett Johansson leads the cast as skilled covert operation expert Zora Bennett.
The Avengers star rarely picks a bad movie and in this instalment she’s joined by Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey, who’s currently riding high as Fiyero Tigelaar in Wicked.
Mahershala Ali in Jurassic World Rebirth. Pic: Universal Pictures
Jurassic World Rebirth is scheduled for release in July.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Could this be Tom Cruise’s final mission as dogged IMF agent Ethan Hunt?
Following on from the events of Dead Reckoning Part One, Hunt and his team of operatives continue their race against time to take down rogue AI The Entity.
This eighth instalment in the Mission: Impossible film series is scheduled for release in May.
The Running Man
Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver filmmaker Edgar Wright is behind the camera for this remake of Stephen King’s hit novel.
Published in 1982 under the writer’s pen name Richard Bachman, the story is set in a dystopian US during the year 2025.
The 1987 cult classic starring Arnold Schwarzenegger revolved around a state-controlled game show in which convicted criminals could earn their “freedom” by escaping death at the hands of professional killers within an abandoned part of Los Angeles.
Wright’s movie will follow the book’s storyline more closely, in which the contestants take part in the reality show to win money and are chased across the globe by the murderous hunters.
Glen Powell is one of Hollywood’s hottest stars of the moment. Pic: PA
Glen Powell (Twisters, Anyone But You), one of Hollywood’s hottest actors at the moment, is playing protagonist Ben Richards.
Katy O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding) has been cast as one of the contestants being hunted for sport. She’s also set to appear in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, so this could potentially be the year we witness the birth of a new action star.
Josh Brolin (Dune) will put on a good show as the ruthless and narcissistic producer Dan Killian, while Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy) will frighten as lead hunter Evan McCone.
Filming began in the UK in November, with Powell spotted in Glasgow with his rescue dog Brisket.
The Running Man is scheduled for release in November.
Captain America: Brave New World
Following Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers’ retirement, Sam Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie, has taken up the mantle of Captain America.
This 35th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will see the Avenger caught up in the middle of an international incident.
Anthony Mackie as Captain America/Sam Wilson. Pic: Marvel Studios
Harrison Ford replaces William Hurt, who portrayed Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in the MCU from 2008 until 2021 before his death in 2022.
Harrison Ford as President Thaddeus Ross/Red Hulk. Pic: Marvel Studios
The character of Ross, a former army general and secretary of state, is now the US president and will also explode on to the screen as Red Hulk.
Whether friend or foe, there will be plenty of other formidable opponents for Wilson to take on – including Giancarlo Esposito’s (Breaking Bad) Seth Voelker/Sidewinder.
Captain America: Brave New World is scheduled for release in February.
Thunderbolts
A group of antiheroes – that we’ve seen in previous Marvel movies – have been recruited to go on missions for the American government.
(L-R) David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh and Wyatt Russell. Pic: Disney
This is the final film of phase five of the MCU, with the likes of Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes and David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian set to kick ass.
Thunderbolts is scheduled for release in May.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
One of Marvel’s most iconic superhero families is coming back to the big screen.
In a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic Earth, the Fantastic Four must protect their home from being devoured by the cosmic being Galactus, played by Ralph Ineson, and his enigmatic herald, the Silver Surfer, played by Julia Garner.
Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn, who recently appeared on screen together in Gladiator II, will reunite as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic and Johnny Storm/Human Torch respectively.
The Crown’s Vanessa Kirby is playing Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, while The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach has been cast as Ben Grimm/The Thing.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby. Pic: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney
Natasha Lyonne (Orange Is The New Black, Russian Doll) has been cast in an undisclosed role, with John Malkovich rumoured to be playing villain Ivan Kragoff/Red Ghost.
Additionally, former Iron Man Robert Downey Jr is expected to appear as Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom in a post-credits scene.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is scheduled for release in July.
M3GAN 2.0
The killer doll returns for a second helping, but not much is yet known about the horror sequel.
It could be like Terminator 2: Judgment Day, where a good M3GAN is sent to protect creator Gemma, played by Allison Williams, and niece Cady, played by Violet McGraw, from another artificially intelligent hostile toy.
M3GAN. Pic: Universal Pictures
Whatever the storyline, the first film was a hit due to its twisted sense of humour and creative kills, so fans should expect more of the same.
M3GAN 2.0 is scheduled for release in June, with spin-off SOULM8TE expected to follow in January 2026.
28 Years Later
The third instalment in the 28 Days Later film series reunites Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy with director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland.
Also co-written by Boyle, 28 Years Later sees the return of the rage virus and will follow a group of survivors as they navigate their way through a world ravaged by hordes of the infected.
28 Years Later is scheduled for release in June.
Michael
The life and career of Michael Jackson is being brought to the big screen by acclaimed director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer trilogy).
Written by John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator), the film will tell the tale of the King of Pop from his time with The Jackson 5 as a child to his final weeks before his death in 2009.
Given the timeline, it will be interesting how the filmmakers approach the highly publicised child sexual abuse allegations labelled against the American singer-songwriter.
Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson. Pic: Lionsgate/Kevin Mazur
Jackson is being played by his own nephew, Jaafar Jackson, alongside a cast that also includes Kat Graham (The Vampire Diaries) as Diana Ross and Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick) as entertainment lawyer John Branca.
Michael is scheduled for release in October.
F1
Brad Pitt will put pedal to the metal in this sports action drama.
Brad Pitt filming F1 at Silverstone in 2023. Pic: PA
The movie revolves around former Formula One driver Sonny Hayes, played by Pitt, who is tempted out of forced retirement caused by a crash to mentor rookie prodigy Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris, for the Apex Grand Prix team.
Pitt and Damson Idris. Pic: PA
F1 is scheduled for release in June.
Snow White
Walt Disney’s 1937 cartoon classic – based on the 1812 fairytale by the Brothers Grimm – has been given a live-action reimagining.
Rachel Zegler as Snow White. Pic: Disney
Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. Pic: Disney
Rachel Zegler (West Side Story) is playing the Disney princess, with Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) as the Evil Queen.
Snow White is scheduled for release in March.
Now You See Me 3
The plot of the third instalment in the heist-thriller series is yet to be unveiled, but will no doubt be packed with mind-bending illusions and surprising twists.
Mark Ruffalo (Dylan Rhodes), Jesse Eisenberg (J Daniel “Danny” Atlas), Woody Harrelson (Merritt McKinney), Dave Franco (Jack Wilder), Isla Fisher (Henley Reeves) and Lizzy Caplan (Lula May) are set to reprise their roles as the mischievous magicians.
Award-winner Rosamund Pike has joined the cast in an undisclosed role, with Ariana Greenblatt (Barbie, Avengers: Infinity War) also adding another potential hit to her filmography.
Now You See Me 3 is scheduled for release in November.
Predator: Badlands
Fans of the Predator series are in for a treat with not one, but two movies due to be released in 2025.
A currently untitled movie – written and directed by Dan Trachtenberg – was secretly shot and is due to be released ahead of Predator: Badlands.
Badlands, also written and directed by Trachtenberg, will be the ninth in the overall franchise.
Starring Elle Fanning (Super 8, Maleficent), the standalone movie will follow two sisters who, while traversing a wasteland, discover their horrifying past.
Predator: Badlands is scheduled for release in November.
How to Train Your Dragon
DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon has been given a live-action remake.
Mason Thames in How To Train Your Dragon. Pic: Universal Pictures
Loosely based on the 2003 novel by Cressida Cowell, the fantasy film follows the unlikely bond between Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, played by Mason Thames, and Toothless, a Night Fury dragon.
How to Train Your Dragon is scheduled to be released in June.
Lilo & Stitch
Walt Disney’s 2002 animated hit has been given a live-action/CGI makeover.
As with the cartoon, the film will revolve around the close bond between an orphaned Hawaiian girl and a dog-like extraterrestrial creature that has been engineered to be a force of destruction.
Lilo & Stitch is scheduled for release in May.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
Renee Zellweger is back as Bridget Jones in this fourth instalment of the popular film series.
This time round, Helen Fielding’s much-loved character is a widowed single mother.
As she juggles work and parenthood, there’s also a whole new sexual and cultural landscape to negotiate.
Colin Firth will appear in the film as Mark Darcy despite the character being killed off, and Hugh Grant returns as Daniel Cleaver.
Leo Woodall (The White Lotus, One Day) is a new addition as one of Jones’ new love interests.
Renee Zellweger and Leo Woodall in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. Pic: Universal Pictures
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is scheduled for release in February.
A Minecraft Movie
Minecraft is the best-selling video game in the world.
Whether that transfers into cinema ticket sales or becomes another box office bomb like last year’s Borderlands is yet to be seen.
The movie revolves around four misfits who are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination.
To get back home, they’ll have to master that world while embarking on a quest with an unexpected, expert crafter.
Comedian Jack Black and Aquaman himself Jason Momoa will be joined by Emma Myers (Wednesday), Danielle Brooks (Orange Is The New Black) and Sebastian Eugene Hansen (Just Mercy).
A Minecraft Movie is scheduled for release in April.
Freakier Friday
More than two decades on from the 2003 film Freaky Friday, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan have reunited for a sequel.
The story picks up years after Tess, played by Curtis, and Anna, played by Lohan, endured an identity crisis.
Anna now has a daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. As they navigate the myriad challenges that come when two families merge, Tess and Anna discover that lightning might indeed strike twice.
Freakier Friday is scheduled for release in August.
Tron: Ares
This is the third instalment in the Tron franchise.
The sci-fi will follow Ares, played by Jared Leto, a highly sophisticated programme that is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with AI beings.
Tron: Ares. Pic: Leah Gallo/Disney
Jeff Bridges will reprise his role from the previous films, with Greta Lee (Past Lives), Evan Peters (American Horror Story) and Gillian Anderson also set to appear.
Tron: Ares is scheduled for release in October.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
James Cameron’s third instalment in the Avatar film series is set for release just in time for award season.
The director has hinted that Fire and Ash – once again starring Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana – will be darker and more harrowing than Avatar and The Way of Water.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is scheduled for release in December.
Untitled I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel
I Know What You Did Last Summer is a much-loved 90s horror slasher celebrated in the same way as the likes of Scream and Urban Legend.
This currently untitled fourth film in the franchise began principal photography in Sydney before the turn of the year.
We know that Outer Banks star Madelyn Cline is one of the lead cast.
Jennifer Love Hewitt will reprise the role of Julie James from the first two films, with Freddie Prinze Jr also returning as Ray Bronson.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Sarah Michelle Gellar, who is married to Prinze Jr, played the character of Helen Shivers in the first film but was killed off.
However, she appears to have joined her husband on set and shared a behind-the-scenes snap jokingly teasing a Scooby-Doo reunion, another franchise the couple also co-starred in.
The film is scheduled for release in July.
NETFLIX FILMS WORTH KEEPING AN EYE ON
Back in Action
Cameron Diaz has ended her 11-year retirement by teaming up with Jamie Foxx in this action comedy.
Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz in Back in Action. Pic: John Wilson/Netflix
The pair play CIA spies who are pulled back into the world of espionage after their secret identities are exposed.
Back in Action is scheduled for release in January.
Frankenstein
Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro is behind the lens for this retelling of Mary Shelley’s 1818 gothic novel.
Oscar Isaac is playing Victor Frankenstein, with Hollywood heartthrob Jacob Elordi (Saltburn) taking the role of his monster.
Much-loved horror final girl Mia Goth (X film series) and Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds, Spectre) will also be in the movie.
An extra on the set of Frankenstein in Edinburgh. Pic: PA
Principal photography took place in Toronto, but parts of the film were also shot in Scotland.
Edinburgh’s Royal Mile was transformed into a market, with crews also setting up gallows in the capital’s Makars’ Court.
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Frankenstein is scheduled for release in 2025.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Daniel Craig will return as master detective Benoit Blanc.
This third instalment in the Knives Out film series boasts an ensemble cast that includes Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack and Thomas Haden Church.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is scheduled for release in 2025.
Entertainment
Harlan Coben: How the best-selling crime writer became a Netflix sensation – with the help of Richard Armitage
“If somebody tells you they don’t care how their show or book is received, they’re just flat out lying to you.”
Harlan Coben – one of the world’s most successful crime writers – doesn’t mince his words: “Every writer you’ve ever interviewed wants two things, better reviews and a bigger audience.”
The 62-year-old American author has published 37 books and sold more than 80 million copies in 46 languages since his debut nearly 35 years ago, and he is not too proud to admit he’s enjoying his success.
Coben tells Sky News: “It’s thrilling to know this many people are watching your shows or reading your books, to deny that is stupid and silly.”
Utterly binge-able, his tales of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary situations have found a home on Netflix, neatly curated as the Harlan Coben Collection.
With nine shows and counting, last year’s breakout hit Fool Me Once was Netflix’s most-watched series of 2024. His next adaptation, I Will Find You, was green lit earlier this year.
This year’s offering, Missing You, premiering on New Year’s Day, is likely to be met with similar enthusiasm.
Naturally, the arrival of each series sees Coben’s books shoot back up the charts.
At the start of the year, he simultaneously held the number one and number two spots on the UK paperback bestseller list, with Fool Me Once taking second place only to his newest release, I Will Find You.
He had worked with other streamers including Amazon, Apple and MGM International, and made his first film in France with Canal+, but it’s a truly global reach he is after.
With more than 280 million subscribers in over 290 countries, Netflix feels like a natural choice.
Coben signs copies of his book Hold Tight at the Paris Book Fair in 2009. Pic: AP
The Netflix ‘misnomer’
Coben’s TV deal with the streaming giant (signed in 2018 on a five-year basis and extended by four years in 2022) seems a sure step to that “bigger audience” he craves.
Widely reported to have been a 14-series deal, Coben says that’s wrong, clarifying: “Netflix and I just agreed to make a lot of shows together.”
He says the “misnomer” is down to the number of novels available when he signed the deal, with no specific number stipulated.
He has calculated there will be 12 shows either released or announced by the end of 2025 and hopes the end result will be “more than 14”.
Safe (2018) was the first Coben production, followed by The Stranger (2020), Stay Close (2022), Fool Me Once (2023) and now Missing You.
Meanwhile, Polish shows The Woods and Hold Tight premiered on Netflix in 2020 and 2022 respectively, while Spanish production The Innocent and French production Gone For Good both landed in 2021.
(L to R) Richard Armitage and Michelle Keegan in Fool Me Once. Pic: Netflix
A flat next door to Yoko Ono
One of the few American novelists to sell more books overseas than in his home country, Coben says a potential US production is also in discussion.
It’s all great exposure for an author already on many people’s bookshelves.
Reported to have been a multi-million-pound deal, Coben won’t talk money but insists his Netflix handshake hasn’t been a career game-changer.
He said: “My real life is – I don’t use the word dull – but it’s fairly ordinary. I have four kids that are now all grown. I’m first and foremost a father.
“I still live in the same place, so my everyday life hasn’t really changed much.”
London-born screenwriter Victoria Asare-Archer, lead writer on Missing You, got to witness Coben’s day-to-day firsthand, flying out to meet him in his Manhattan apartment – the Dakota building – famous for previously being the home of Beatle John Lennon.
Coben has a family house in his home state of New Jersey too, but as Asare-Archer says: “Not many people have a working flat which is next door to Yoko Ono.“
The screenwriter says she enjoyed dipping her toe into Coben’s “very interesting, glamorous life”, albeit “very briefly.”
And more glamour is in the works, with Coben co-writing a novel with Hollywood actress Reese Wetherspoon, which is due out next autumn.
Rosalind Elezar as Kat Donovan in Missing You. Pic: Netflix
‘ A tiny, tiny detail you might not have thought about’
Lead actress in his latest offering, Rosalind Eleazar, calls Coben “an extraordinary writer” and “wonderful human being”.
Playing DI Kat Donovan in Missing You, she said: “I could text him at any point if I had a query over Kat’s journey.”
Eleazar tells Sky News: “He’s just so good at creating dramas that are suspenseful. He takes you up the wrong avenue with all these twists and turns, but at the same time, his characters are relatable.”
One of the stars of Apple TV+ hit Slow Horses, by crime writer Mick Herron, Eleazar says she feels “lucky to have worked with two fantastic authors who are in the same genre, but at the opposite ends of the spectrum”.
For such esteemed writers to hand over their work to a team of TV folk, is of course a big deal.
Coben admits: “I have a lot of control and I have a lot of power. But when you’re used to being the novelist who has all of the power and all the say, it doesn’t seem like a lot.”
Describing Coben as “a great resource,” Asare-Archer explains: “He’s spent seven months looking at every detail about how to find that one fingerprint or one tiny detail… [He’d say things like] ‘If you change this, then page 69 will be harder to pull off,’ because of this tiny, tiny thing that you might not have thought about.”
Screenwriter Victoria Asare-Archer. Pic: Massimiliano Giorgeschi
‘If it wasn’t for him, I might not be a writer’
As for his skill as an author, she says: “Harlan’s a master at taking your hand leading you to the top of the roller coaster, making you feel safe. And then he pushes you off and sends you on this crazy journey.”
Long a fan of his work, she grew up reading Coben’s books: “I was a library kid, I spent all my time in the library… There’s an argument that if it wasn’t for him, maybe I wouldn’t be a writer.”
Set in an unnamed area in the north of England, and shot in Manchester, it was Asare-Archer’s job to transport the story from New York City to the UK.
Eleazar says while the show somehow felt like a “Manchester project” the universal subject matter meant “it could be put anywhere”.
Richard Armitage as Stagger in Missing You. Pic: Netflix
‘Our lucky underpants’
Of course, with the TV adaptations, there’s the Richard Armitage factor too.
The Leicester-born star has had roles in four of Coben’s projects, and the pair have become friends, even spending this Thanksgiving together at the author’s flat.
Eleazar calls Armitage “the veteran,” while Asare-Archer jokes: “I’m not sure you could have a set with him not being on it. I think he’s obligatory.”
Coben reveals Armitage’s repeat appearances “started off as a sort of a challenge” following his first gig in The Stranger, playing a family man who makes a shocking claim about his wife.
Buoyed by the warm reception, Netflix suggested Armitage return for Stay Closer, in a very different role, playing a loner with an unexpected past.
Always keen to “do something completely different” Coben says Armitage “calls himself, our ‘lucky underpants'”, adding “I wouldn’t quite go that far, but [I always think], ‘Can we find a role for Richard where you won’t think, ‘It’s the guy from the Stranger?'”
Coben meeting Queen Camilla at Hampton Court Palace this summer. Pic: PA
‘Always creating mysteries’
A writer himself (Armitage has one crime novel out, a second out next year), Asare-Archer says Armitage’s “great story brain” also made him invaluable on set.
She says: “At one point he pointed out just one tiny forensic detail in a scene he’s not even in, and it was like, ‘Damn, that’s a good point’… He was great to have a board.“
Back in 2006, Coben made a brief cameo appearance playing a bartender in his French adaptation Tell No One. Can we expect to see him in Missing You?
“Yes and no,” he teases.
“You pay attention, you’ll definitely see me in it. It’s how you see me that’s interesting.”
All five episodes of Missing You are streaming on Netflix now. Harlan Coben’s next book, Nobody’s Fool, is out in March.
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