David Duchovny and cast of The Estate on playing ‘fast and loose’ with serious topics, and not taking a position
Is there still a space on screens for films that make light of incredibly serious topics, just for a laugh?
Well, the cast of a new Sky film seem to think so.
There are referrals to depictions of sexual assault further into this article.
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The Estate is a comedy caper, which sees a warring family, most of whom hate each other, try to win the vast inheritance of their dying relative – through any means possible.
It features X-Files legend David Duchovny and Scary Movie star Anna Faris, as well as Rosemary DeWitt (Rachael Getting Married) and Toni Collette (Sixth Sense).
In the film, one part sees our leading cast attempt to get an old man to sexually assault their teenage relative by flashing her, in an effort to stop him marrying their aunt and claiming her inheritance, while another scene features one of the cousins force their husband to sleep with her wealthy family member, to try and, let’s say, cheer her up.
Duchovny, who plays Richard (or Dick, as he constantly refers to himself as while trying to sleep with his on-screen cousin – seriously) told Backstage, the TV and film podcast from Sky News, that not every film has to have a political message, or censor itself.
David Duchovny, Danny Vinson and Toni Collette in The Estate. Pic: Signature Entertainment/Sky
“I think it’s nice to play a little fast and loose with things that people maybe sometimes take too seriously for good reason,” he explains.
“It’s not trying to get people to not take serious issues seriously, but it is for that two hours or whatever, it is not taking those things seriously.
“It’s not a position paper on how one should live one’s life.”
He adds: “I think the problem is these days, every movie is treated like it’s a position paper.
“It’s never been the case for me… If a movie has good politics, it doesn’t make it a good movie – it just makes it a movie with good politics.
“So this is a good movie with bad politics, let’s say.”
Duchovny, Collette and Anna Faris (right). Pic: Signature Entertainment/Sky
Faris adds she has been “part of a lot of offensive things”, perhaps referring to projects like Scary Movie and The Dictator (though offence is often a subjective idea…)
“I’m like numb. I can’t even gauge anything any more. That’s why you can’t offend me.”
Australian actress Toni Collette told Backstage that “funny is funny”.
“If something’s funny, it’s going to appeal to you.”
After apologising to Faris for her take on the difference between US and UK comedy (she thinks American comedies are sometimes too forced), she says about The Estate’s vulgarity: “It’s naturally bubbling up out of these circumstances that the characters are going through.”
In fact, the comedy is one of the key reasons why the cast decided to take on the project, with Duchovny telling Backstage: “I thought it was pretty profane and funny and just kind of reminded me of comedies from 10 or 15 years ago that I was missing.”
Rosemarie DeWitt agreed, saying: “It was profane and you (David) made it more so, which is amazing that you were able to do that… it was a no-brainer – and it was funny on the page, which is always a really good start.”
DeWitt also revealed that her co-star Collette was also her agent – another very obvious draw to her doing the film.
Kathleen Turner (centre) also stars in the comedy. Pic: Signature Entertainment/Sky
Regaling their time on set, Faris told Backstage it was one of her favourite filming experiences, because “we were laughing all the time”.
“We were playing in a way that I wasn’t able to on Mom (the long-running show that she starred in) and… it just felt so good.”
Collette added it was “amazing to see all of these brilliant actors cracking themselves up, like enjoying it so much that they’re cracking themselves up as they’re trying to deliver lines”.
“So just really enjoying it. To enjoy something that much is important, I think, in life in general.”
The Estate is now available on Sky Cinema and NOW – hear our review in this week’s Backstage podcast.
A woman who was charged with selling Friends star Matthew Parry the dose of the drug that killed him has agreed to plead guilty.
Jasveen Sangha, known as the “Ketamine Queen”, is the fifth and final defendant to strike a plea deal with prosecutors, avoiding a trial that was set to take place in September.
The 42-year-old agreed to plead guilty to five federal criminal charges, including providing the Ketamine that led to Perry’s death, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
She agreed to plead guilty to five federal criminal charges, including providing the Ketamine that led to Perry’s death, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
Prosecutors had cast Sangha, a dual US and UK national, as a prolific drug dealer known to her customers as the “Ketamine Queen”, often using the term in court documents and even including it in the official name of the case.
Actor Matthew Perry in 2015. File pic: Reuters
She agreed to plead guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.
Sangha will officially change her plea to guilty at an upcoming hearing, where sentencing will be scheduled, prosecutors said.
Dr. Mark Chavez, a physician from San Diego, who is charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s fatal overdose. Pic: AP
She is facing up to 45 years in prison.
Sangha and a doctor named Salvador Plasencia, who signed his own plea deal in June, had been the primary targets of the investigation.
Three other defendants – Mark Chavez, who it was claimed bought the drug from Sangha, Kenneth Iwamasa, and Erik Flemin – agreed to plead guilty last year in exchange for their cooperation, which included statements implicating Sangha and Plasencia.
Friends became one of the most popular TV shows in the world in the 1990s and 2000s
Prosecutors allege Chavez funnelled ketamine to Plasencia, securing some of the drug from a wholesale distributor through a fraudulent prescription.
In one instance, prosecutors allege that Plasencia “charged Perry $2,000 (£1,500) a vial that cost Dr Chavez approximately $12 (£9)”.
Perry died in his home in October 2023, aged 54, after getting ketamine from his regular doctor for treatment of depression, which is an increasingly common use for the surgical anaesthetic.
The actor was taking ketamine six to eight times a day before he died, according to court documents.
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An Ozzy Osbourne documentary has disappeared from the BBC’s schedule without explanation.
The film was billed by producers as “a moving and inspirational account” of the last chapter of the metal legend’s life.
It was meant to air at 9pm on Monday on BBC One – as well as be available on iPlayer – but an episode of Fake Or Fortune? has replaced it.
Sky News has contacted the BBC for comment on why the programme, called Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, has been pulled.
The project was filmed over three years as Ozzy and his family returned to the UK, and was initially conceived as a series entitled Home to Roost.
However, as the singer’s health got worse it morphed into a one-off.
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Sharon Osbourne pays emotional tribute to Ozzy
The BBC reported the show would reveal the “extraordinary rollercoaster” of the Osbournes’ lives as Ozzy tries “heroically” to get fit enough to perform again.
It’s said to feature “unique and intimate access” to the family, including Ozzy’s children, Jack and Kelly, who appeared in the reality series that made them household names in the early 2000s.
The Black Sabbath frontman, who had Parkinson’s disease, died last month – just a few weeks after his final all-star gig at Birmingham’s Villa Park.
Fans packed the city centre and chanted his name when his hearse passed through on 30 July.
His wife, Sharon, was in tears as she got out to see the mass of flowers left for him at “Sabbath Bridge”.
The New York Times said his death certificate gave the cause as cardiac arrest, but the family hasn’t commented.
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