The story of Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, a heroine of French literature, focuses on her early struggles. KEIRA KNIGHTLEY

NOTED

No one ever made a good movie about writing. Scribbling or tapping away at keys does not a gripping drama make. It’s the life of the scribe that matters: scandal, strife, experience. An Ernest Hemingway biopic would be unwatchable if it weren’t for the constant drinking and occasional plane crashes.

Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, the French woman of letters and Nobel nominee, crammed in about as much as Hemingway, her career spanning the charmed peak of La Belle Époque to the end of World War II. With Keira Knightley in the titular role, Colette charts her earlier years, from prim country girl to dedicated libertine.

During the film’s unpromising opening, she’s plucked from her idyll by handsome suitor Henry Gauthier-Villars (Dominic West), better known to Parisian society as “Willy”: a muckraker and connoisseur of popular filth, for whom the truth is something that always needs to be sexed up.

He introduces Colette to the city’s voluptuous charms: a demure Louisiana belle (Eleanor Tomlinson), saucy vaudeville acts, the transgender pioneer Mathilde de Morny (Denise Gough). But he turns out to be both adoring and manipulative. He publishes one of Colette’s novels under his own name, takes the credit for creating the semi-innocent, semi-Sapphic schoolgirl character of Claudine and bows alone for the applause of an enraptured audience. We’re in similar territory to the recent Glenn Close movie The Wife, or the rumours about Vladimir Nabokov and F Scott Fitzgerald.

Willy is no outright villain, though. His love for Colette is genuine, although selfish, earnest but blind. He’s a product of a scandalous age. And it’s here that Knightley, so familiar with these bodice-ripping period pieces, truly excels. She plays Colette with an irrepressible sense of dignity: rather than condone her husband’s philandering, she demands honesty. Rather than churning out Claudine novels, she runs off to the theatre.

Single Ladies, Don’t Despair on Valentine’s Day 2019! From Rochester to Darcy, Here Are Hot Literary Heroes to Lust Over

It’s Valentine’s Day 2019. Honestly, do you really need this intimation from us? Nope. Look around you, everyone is gripped by Valentine’s Day fever. Markets are flooded with greeting cards, flower bouquets and soft toys. People are buying roses and heart-shaped balloons for their loved ones. 

And if you’re single and feeling depressed by this ‘love is in the air’ atmosphere, it’s totally okay. It’s not your fault. But all said and done, I cannot let you beautiful single ladies aka my virtual gal pals feel miserable the entire day. It’s time to celebrate Valentine’s Day with the most desirable men alive. I am taking you on a joyride where you are going to meet the hottest characters ever in books (yes, books) who will set your heart on fire. Happy Galentine's as well as Valentine’s Day!!

Edward Rochester

Does not boast of a handsome face. Has a crazy wife locked up in his mansion’s attic. He is also moody, arrogant, cynical and jaded. That’s Charlotte Brontë’s hero (read: anti-hero) from Jane Eyre – Edward Rochester. Despite a long list of shortcomings, Mr Rochester sweeps the novel’s young heroine, Jane (as well as readers) off her feet. The brooding, difficult and secretive master of Thornfield Hall is not your ideal man. In fact, this Byronic hero is far from perfect. But despite all odds, you cannot stop from falling in love with him. Watch this "There Is No Debt" clip from 2011 movie Jane Eyre based on Bronte’s novel. It starred the very talented Michael Fassbender as Mr Rochester and wonderful Mia Wasikowska as Jane.

Fitzwilliam Darcy or Mr Darcy
Is it just me or has everyone been in search of their Mr Darcy (full name: Fitzwilliam Darcy)? The hero of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is your quintessential archetype of the aloof romantic hero. His pride makes the novel’s protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet outrightly reject his marriage proposal, and she declares him to be ‘the last man in the world’ she could ever be prevailed upon to marry! Ouch. Despite his pride and her prejudice, they continue to be drawn to each other. Jane Austen’s most favourite work has been adapted on many occasions, and you can relive Elizabeth and Mr Darcy’s chemistry with this short clip from 2005-film Pride and Prejudice. It starred Keira Knightley Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Here's a clip from Pride and Prejudice:

LY FESTIVALS EVENTS Rashmi Mishra Feb 14, 2019 01:50 PM IST

Keira Knightley Is Terrified Of Benedict Cumberbatch's Fans: 'They Might Come After Me'

FASHION AND STYLE



While appearing on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," actress Keira Knightley opened up about Benedict Cumberbatch's overzealous fans. She co-starred with Cumberbatch in films such as "The Imitation Game" and "Atonement."

"You got to work with Benedict Cumberbatch," Meyers said. "You've really seen the explosion of how ladies have lost their minds."

"The Cumberb----es," Knightley responded, referring to Cumberbatch's hoard of female fans. Other names for the obsessed admirers include Cumbercookies and CumberCollective.

"They've become a thing!" Meyers responded.

"It's terrifying," Knightley said. "I mean, they're lovely. I feel terrified saying they're terrifying cause they might come after me."

The 29-year-old actress then changed her tone a bit, praising the fans.

"They're very artistic! They paint pictures of him. You go to premieres and there's these amazing paintings of Ben looking Ben-like ... (They're) a very hysterical, artistic type."

Knightley went on to describe an awkward interaction with Cumberbatch's fans at an event.

"I actually had a really embarrassing moment at the London premiere, because — they really do — they scream more than I've ever heard for anyone else, but I had a publicist with me and she went, 'You know, go sign some autographs,'" Knightley said. "I went over there and went 'Oh yeah, of course, of course, no problem!' And they were like, 'Oh no, we don't want you. We're just here for Ben.'"

Read more: http://www.fashionnstyle.com/articles/32254/20141120/keira-knightley-terrified-of-benedict-cumberbatchs-fans-2014-imitation-game-actress-says-they-might-come-after-me.htm#ixzz3JiIR9yCV

Benedict Cumberbatch, James Righton's Wife Film 'The Imitation Game' Period Drama [PHOTOS and video)

Photo : REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni)

FASHION AND STYLE
By FashionnStyle Reporter , FashionnStyle Reporter   |   Sep 25, 2013 02:38 PM EDT

Keira Knightley is filming her new movie "The Imitation Game" with Benedict Cumberbatch in London, which has James Righton's wife and the "Sherlock" actor starring in the World War II period drama.

 

Following her wedding to new husband and Klaxons keyboardist, the actress is busy working on her latest movie with her "Atonement" co-star Cumberbatch.

The British stars were spotted in their characters' 1930s style costumes on set in London for the upcoming movie, The Daily Mail reported.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.fashionnstyle.com/articles/11692/20130925/keira-knightley-movies-benedict-cumberbatch-james-rightons-wife-film-the-imitation-game-period-drama-photos.htm

Keira Knightley talks about playing Anna Karenina (HUFFINGTON POST)

 

http://videos.huffingtonpost.com/entertainment/Keira-Knightley-Talks-Playing-Anna-Karenina-517502934

Michelle Dockery goes Non-Stop with Neeson Michelle Dockery has landed another Hollywood role (MSN)

Michelle Dockery is set for Hollywood, following reports she has joined thriller Non-Stop.

The Downton Abbey actress, best known for playing Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV1 period drama, could be making her third major big-screen debut in the airplane drama alongside Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore, reported Variety.

It would be the 30-year-old British star's third biggest film role to date, following her appearances in Joe Wright's Anna Karenina opposite Keira Knightley and Ruth Wilson, and in Hanna with Saoirse Ronan.

There is no word about what characters Michelle or Julianne would play.

read more: http://movies.uk.msn.com/news/dockery-goes-non-stop-with-neeson-1

Keira Knightley, Judy Garland: Hollywood costumes to go on display at Victoria & Albert Museum Sarah Shaffi Wednesday, October 10, 2012 (YOUR CANTERBURY CO)

Judy Garland's costume from The Wizard of Oz will be on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Picture: MGM/The Kobal Collection

Keira Knightley is seen with the dress she wore in the film Anna Karenina, which goes on display in the Hollywood Costume exhibition at the V&A. Picture: Ian West/PA Wire

Hollywood Costume will gather together more than 100 of the most iconic costumes designed for unforgettable cinema characters over a century of film-making.

Among the costumes on show will be Dorothy’s blue and white gingham pinafore dress designed by Adrian from The Wizard of Oz from 1939, Scarlett O’Hara’s green ‘curtain’ dress designed by Walter Plunkett for Gone with the Wind from 1939, and the ‘little black dress’ designed by Hubert De Givenchy for Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s from 1961.

Costumes from more recent Hollywood releases, including Consolata Boyle’s clothing for Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady and Keira Knightley’s costumes from Anna Karenina, will also be on display.

READ MORE: http://www.yourcanterbury.co.uk/home/hollywood_costumes_to_go_on_display_at_victoria_albert_museum_1_1651275

'Anna Karenina' (2012) Movie Review BY: BRAD BREVET (ROPE OF SILICON)

I love Joe Wright's work. Outside of The Soloist he's delivered three amazing films in Pride and Prejudice, Atonement and Hanna, but I'm sorry, Anna Karenina is an example of directorial masturbation at its most damaging. This film comes across as a self-indulgent "art" picture lacking heart, soul and any semblance of emotion. It, and it's characters, are empty vessels I'd prefer I never spend time with ever again.

Oh, there's Keira Knightley, looking radiant as she dresses in her evening's best. That's Jude Law and is his hair thinning on top? There's Aaron Johnson and boy does he look dapper, but what's with the mustache? And look, Matthew Macfadyen is cornering the market on becoming the next Jim Broadbent.

I should add a note right here, Macfadyen is one of Anna Karenina's only highlights and the Broadbent comparison is meant as a positive. Macfadyen is a joy to watch on the big screen just as much as is the star of Topsy-Turvy.

All our stars are dressed to the nines and the set decoration is lovely, but that's where we reach our first major roadblock, and where Wright appears to want us to focus most of our attention. You see, Anna Karenina was predominantly shot all in one location, the front of the house, upstairs, down and backstage of a dilapidated theatre. Backdrops will glide into the rafters, the stage lights will provide a luscious amber glow and doors will fall from the ceiling only to be opened seconds later. It's wonderfully unique, but it is also wasted, tedious and perplexing at the same time.


READ MORE: http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/anna-karenina-2012-movie-review/

Anna Karenina Review - IRISH TIMES

Climb on board for a gorgeous, risky take on the classic Russian novel, writes DONALD CLARKE

IT IS, WE TRUST, not giving too much away to say that Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina has a great deal to do with trains. That vehicle offers us an irresistible metaphor for Joe Wright’s risky, gorgeous, unsentimental take on the most psychologically alert of 19th-century novels. If you chose to climb on board, you will be carried along at enjoyable pace. If you fail to make it into the carriage, you will feel furious, excluded and confused. In short, the picture is set to divide opinion.


For all the archness on display, this Anna Karenina feels as emotionally sincere as any previous adaptation. It helps that Wright has cast the film with such care and imagination. Keira Knightley, always at her best for this director, doesn’t have the greatest range – the two octaves run from fragile to neurotic – but, when safely within those confines, she is capable of eating the screen raw.

Knightley does very nicely as the Russian enigma, wife to a boring technocrat, who embarks on a ruinous affair with a glamorous but insubstantial army officer and brings social Armageddon crashing round her ears.


It says something about the odd progress of Jude Law’s career that, rather than appearing as Vronsky, the suave lover, he finds himself excelling as Anna’s flawed, oily, unattractive husband. One of the year’s key cinematic images will surely turn out to involve Alexei Karenin’s near-religious cradling of a rudimentary reusable prophylactic.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is callow as Vronsky. Matthew Macfadyen’s is hilariously bluff as Anna’s brother. Purists may argue that Domhnall Gleeson is a little slight to play Levin (an unmistakable version of the young Tolstoy) but our busiest actor makes a touchingly fleshy naïf of the idealistic young landowner. Far from being a stray subplot, Levin’s adventures form the moral spine of Tolstoy’s panoramic story.

READ MORE: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2012/0907/1224323678366.html

Keira Knightley shines on red carpet at Anna Karenina world premiere (TELEGRAPH)

Stars including Keira Knightley and Jude Law attend the premiere of Anna Karenina, an epic adaptation of Tolstoy's stirring tale of love and marriage in imperial Russia.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buRSmT9gw20

Anna Karenina, Les Miserables: Adaptations Of Classic Novels Go Head To Head (FEMALE FIRST)

Since the announcement that the popular texts Les Miserables and Anna Karenina are being remade for the big screen later this year, there has been much hype and speculation as to whether they will live up to the original versions.

With both trailers recently released, revealing glittering A-List casts, critics have predicted this year’s Oscar battles will be between that of the classic remakes.

Les Miserables has revealed an enviable cast including Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe. Not to be outdone, Anna Karenina features a sordid love triangle starring Keira Knightley, Jude Law and Aaron Johnson.


However, it seems that in the case of this production, having a big name doesn’t always translate into casting success following the news that Taylor Swift narrowly missed out on her choice part as Eponnie to relatively unknown Samantha Barks.

As we eagerly await the release of both classic tales and speculate about the final films, it’s also got us thinking about how some of our favourite stories have transformed over the years.

So we’ve decided to take a look back at our favourite adaptations of popular classic stories and the constant revitalisation of their tales to suit a fresh audience.

Take a look at our top 5 re-makes as we compare some of the best oldies to the most unforgettable newbies and the stars that made them.


READ MORE: http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/movies/Les+Miserables-245556.html

Keira Knightley promises 'theatrical' Anna (INDEPENDENT IE)

Keira Knightley has revealed that Joe Wright's adaptation of Anna Karenina is set to be "a very different take" on the Russian classic.

The actress plays the title role in the film, which is set for release later this year.

Speaking in Los Angeles at the world premiere of her latest film, Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World, the actress admitted Anna Karenina was an ambitious project to tackle.

"It's absolutely not an easy book to adapt," she said. "But I think Tom Stoppard did an extraordinary job with the adaptation.

"It's a very different take on it, it's very theatrical, I'm very excited about it."

READ MORE http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/film-cinema/keira-promises-theatrical-anna-3145808.html

Pride and Prejudice in TWO MINUTES!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkm5XsUPbvg&feature=player_embedded

'Love Actually' sequel wanted by Universal president Published Sunday, May 13 2012, 1:19pm EDT | By Tom Eames (DIGITAL SPY)

Universal Pictures president Eddie Cunningham has stated his interest in a Love Actually sequel.

He revealed that he would greenlight a follow-up to the 2003 romantic comedy from director Richard Curtis if he were interested.


The Christmas-themed film starred the likes of Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson and Colin Firth in an ensemble comedy-drama, which has since inspired a collection of similar movies including Valentine's Day and He's Just Not That Into You.

"I think there should be a Love Actually 2. I'd give it a green light," he told the Daily Mail.

READ MORE:  http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a381386/love-actually-sequel-wanted-by-universal-president.html

Black is back: Keira and Helen show off their dark side in Gothic ensembles (Hello Magazine)

11 JANUARY 2012

Fashion insiders are predicting a surge of colour for the coming season. But if the A-list's ensembles on Tuesday night were anything to go by, black is back.

British actress Keira Knightley stepped out in New York in a black ruched velvet Nina Ricci dress with pretty lace detailing that embellished the front.

She teamed the Gothic ensemble with opaque tights and heavy black heels at the National Board of Review Awards ceremony.

Also stepping over to the dark side were Helen Mirren, Rooney Mara and Stacy Keibler.

Helen, 66, flaunted her impressive physique in a long black velvet gown boasting a sheer panel adorned with velvet flowers.

And Rooney, who picked up the award for breakthrough performance for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, wore a simple LBD that she spiced up with glittering silver slingbacks.

George Clooney’s girl Stacy, meanwhile, chose an embellished Marchesa gown in the midnight colour as she accompanied her man.

Other famous faces at the event were Tilda Swinton, who won Best Actress for her performance in We Need To Talk About Kevin, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts and Chloe Moretz.


http://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/gallery/201201116948/national-board-fashion/1/#12

Kristen Stewart Is Offered Role In Live-Action Version of Akira, as well as Keira Knightley

By Kevin Coll • November 15, 2011 • 0 Comments

 

Akira offers Kristen Stewart a role in the film

Kristen Stewart has been offered the lead female role in Akira. Twitch reports that the Twilight actress has been been offered a role in the film being directed by Jaume Collet-Sera. She would star alongside the already attached Garrett Hedlund, Helena Bonham Carter and Gary Oldman. Keira Knightley and Ezra Miller have also been offered roles, with Knightley also offered the role of Kei and Miller offered the role of Kaneda. The film is in the adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo’s classic manga. If she accepts the role then she would play Kei, “a young medium who becomes the love interest for Kaneda (Hedlund)”

The film depicts a dystopian Neo-Tokyo in 2019. The plot focuses on biker Tetsuo Shima and his psychic powers and the biker gang member Shotaro Kaneda, who tries to prevent Tetsuo from releasing the dangerous psychic Akira.

Kristin Stewart looks really good as a different kind of Snow White in the Snow White and the Huntsman film and she has reached acclaim outside the Twilight films with movies like Meet the Rileys, Adventureland and The Runaways. I think she is a solid actress and not knowing anything about Akira, I think she would be good in the film in that role. I am excited to see this movie considering I do not know much about it or the series it seems like a very interesting plot. I just hope it has a great script.

Fused Film

Anna Karenina will immortalize me: Tannishtha Chatterjee

The Times of India


It was nothing short of a fairytale trip to London this time for Tannishtha Chatterjee. A call from Joe Wright to star in his adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and then being in the august company of stars like Keira Knightley and Jude Law - it was truly a lifetime experience for the actor who is now back in Mumbai.

Says Tannishtha, "I had met Joe earlier when he wanted to do "Indian Summer". Joe remembered me from those days. I'm overwhelmed by the respect that he has for an artiste's talent and that's why he called me up when he found that there was a character whom I could portray in his adaptation."

While working with Keira and Jude was quite an experience, the actor is contract-bound not to reveal any details about her on-screen or off screen interactions with the stars. "Not just the stars, this film has such an impressive crew. There are so many Oscar and BAFTA winners in the unit and it's a huge learning experience for me. Tom Stoppard, who has written the screenplay of this movie, had won an Oscar for "Shakespeare in Love" and has BAFTA nominations too. The movie's costume designer, Jacqueline Durran, had won the BAFTA for "Vera Drake". When you get to work with such people, you grow so much."

So, has she recorded the lullaby that Anoushka Shankar has composed for the movie? "Oh! Yes. Anoushka is such a wonderful person. She wrote the lyrics herself. The lyrics are in Bengali and I know it will come as a bit of a surprise to many who are wondering how they will fit into an English movie based on a Tolstoy classic set in the 19th century. For the global audience, the Bengali lyrics will give a sweet feel. Instead of going into the specifics of the language, it's the softness of Anoushka's composition that will appeal to everyone. Anoushka is good fun to work with and I met Joe and Anoushka's son, Zubin, on the sets too."

When she was in London, Tannishhtha met her "Brick Lane" director - Sarah Gavron. "Sarah and I were discussing about doing "AK". She explained to me the difference between doing "AK" and any other project. Every movie is very important for an actor but doing an adaptation of a classic and that too one written by Tolstoy in a landmark in an actor's career."

Even a century later when people talk about the many on-screen adaptations of "AK", there will be a mention of this Joe Wright film along with the others including the one with Greta Garbo. "When I think that I am a part of an adaptation of a classic, I feel privileged. That's the beauty of a classic - "AK" will immortalize me," she says.

Right now, Tannishtha is busy filming a number of projects. There is Aditya Bhattacharya's movie titled "Bombay's Most Wanted" and a film with Sunny Deol titled "I love NY". "It's a crazy schedule for me now. I was shooting in Mumbai when I had to leave for London. I came back and didn't even have time to get over my jetlag before I resumed shooting in here."

While the London leg of Tannishtha's shooting of "AK" is over, she will be joining the unit in January. "I am looking forward to shooting with Joe again. It's amazing how Joe's vision has total clarity and the way he decides on camera movement and blocking. Before we go on the sets, he
gives out a list of shots that we have to shoot. This sense of discipline is something any actor would love to imbibe. I am no exception," she signs off.

MATTHEW MACFADYEN - ANNA KARENINA

Film stars to get all steamy at railway location

2:00pm Saturday 15th October 2011

By Andrew Ffrench HERLADSERIES


STEAM train enthusiasts travel to Didcot railway centre from across the globe and now the ‘Russians’ are coming.

A new blockbuster film version of Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel Anna Karenina is being filmed at the heritage railway centre next to Didcot Parkway station.

The Working Title production will star Keira Knightley as Anna, a married woman who has an affair with a younger soldier, while Jude Law has won the role of her husband, Aleksei Karenin.

Film crews arrived at the centre earlier this week and the actors are expected to start shooting steamy scenes early next month.

It is the second time leading stage and screen actor Law has starred in a movie featuring scenes shot at the centre.

Last year, he visited with Robert Downey Jr to film the Warner Brothers sequel to the 2009 Sherlock Holmes movie.

Security is now tight at the centre, as film crews are reluctant to allow members of the public to see filming, although the centre will remain open to visitors at weekends.

Centre manager Roger Orchard said: “I’m really looking forward to seeing Jude Law again – he seemed quite down to earth and a very nice chap.

“We are expecting him and Keira Knightley and the other actors to arrive early next month and they will be here for about 10 days, but the film crew will remain here until early December.

“Every time we get a big budget movie here our reputation as a film location grows in Hollywood and this brings in thousands of pounds a year for us at a relatively quiet time of year for the centre.

“And the film crews bring a financial boost to the town as well because they bring business to B&Bs, cafés and restaurants.”

Mr Orchard added that set builders were recreating a snowy Russian railway scene that would feature emotional arrivals and departures.

Oscar-winning dramatist Tom Stoppard has written the script and Atonement director Joe Wright is directing the movie.

Some scenes will also be shot in Russia and the film is due in cinemas next year.

Other well-known British actors in the film, set in late 19th century Russia, include Matthew Macfadyen and Kelly Macdonald.

A spokesman for Working Title Films said: “We can confirm that filming for Anna Karenina has now started.”

The centre, which opened in 1967, still has an original engine shed and is often used for platform shots which double as Paddington Station in London.

During the past 25 years, there have been more than 100 visits from film crews.

A £125,000 fundraising drive was recently completed by the centre so it could sign a 50-year lease with Network Rail, which will allow long-term expansion plans on the site to go ahead


Many thanks to @SANDIGEE57

CONCERNED KEIRA KNIGHTLEY’S SPANKING NEW EXPERIENCE

Thursday September 15,2011

BRITISH beauty Keira Knightley has revealed her top tip for surviving awkward scenes when filming – and it involves vodka.

Actress Keira Knightley admitted she was concerned about a scene in her new film A Dangerous Method where she is spanked by her co-star Michael Fassbender.

“I thought the script was fascinating but I read that scene and went, ‘I don’t think that I can do that,'” she tells the Hollywood Reporter.

But the 26-year-old actress decided to bite the bullet and take a drop of Dutch courage to give her some confidence. “I had a couple of shots of vodka beforehand and then a couple of glasses of champagne as a celebration of never having to do that again.”

Acting sounds rather fun all of a sudden…

Anna Karenina begins filming un UK and eventually Russia

We Are Movie Geeks

Posted by Michelle McCue in General News


LONDON, October 3rd, 2011 - Working Title Films has commenced production on Joe Wright’s epic love story Anna Karenina, adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel by Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love). The film will shoot in the U.K. and Russia. Focus Features will distribute the movie domestically, and Universal Pictures International (UPI) will distribute the movie internationally.

Anna Karenina marks Mr. Wright’s fourth film with Working Title, following the award-winning box office successes Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, and The Soloist. The film is produced by Working Title co-chairs Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner and reunites them with Paul Webster, all three of whom produced Mr. Wright’s first two films Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, released domestically by Focus and internationally by UPI. Also for Focus, Mr. Wright recently directed the hit adventure thriller Hanna.
Keira Knightley, Academy Award-nominated for Pride & Prejudice, will star as Anna Karenina in her third collaboration with Mr. Wright. Ms. Knightley stars opposite two-time Academy Award nominee Jude Law, as Anna’s husband Aleksei Karenin; and Aaron Johnson (Nowhere Boy), as Count Vronsky. Rounding out the cast are Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire), Matthew Macfadyen (Pride & Prejudice), Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Alicia Vikander (The Seventh Son), two-time Academy Award nominee Emily Watson, Olivia Williams (Hanna), and Ruth Wilson (Luther).

Also reteaming with Mr. Wright on Anna Karenina are Academy Award-winning composer Dario Marianelli, twice-Academy Award-nominated costume designer Jacqueline Durran, three-time Academy Award-nominated production designer Sarah Greenwood, and Academy Award-nominated director of photography Seamus McGarvey. Melanie Ann Oliver (Focus’ Jane Eyre) is the editor. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui is the choreographer on the movie.
The story unfolds in its original late-19th-century Russia high-society setting and powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart, from the passion between adulterers to the bond between a mother and her children. As Anna (Ms. Knightley) questions her happiness, change comes to her family, friends, and community.
Working Title Films, co-chaired by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner since 1992, is one of the world’s leading film production companies. Founded in 1983, Working Title has made nearly 100 films that have grossed over $4.5 billion worldwide. Its films have won 6 Academy Awards, 26 BAFTA Awards, and prestigious prizes at the Cannes and Berlin International Film Festivals. In addition to Anna Karenina, the current release slate includes Tomas Alfredson’s thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, and Tom Hardy; Baltasar Kormákur’s Contraband, starring Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale; Rowan Atkinson in Johnny English Reborn, directed by Oliver Parker; and Ken Kwapis’ Big Miracle, starring Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski.
Universal Pictures markets and distributes films internationally through Universal Pictures International (UPI), which officially began doing business on January 1, 2007. In the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland, Benelux, Russia, Australia, Mexico and France, UPI directly markets and distributes movies through our local offices, creating campaigns and release strategies that respond to the culture and market behavior of those territories. In other parts of the world, Universal distributes through Paramount’s local offices as it transitions out of the formerly shared UIP model. In some smaller territories we continue to work through UIP on theatrical distribution.
Focus Features and Focus Features International (www.focusfeatures.com) comprise a singular global company. This worldwide studio makes original and daring films that challenge the mainstream to embrace and enjoy voices and visions from around the world that deliver global commercial success. The company operates as Focus Features in North America, and as Focus Features International (FFI) in the rest of the world.
In addition to Anna Karenina, and Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy, current and upcoming Focus releases include John Madden’s hit espionage thriller The Debt, starring Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, and Jessica Chastain; writer/director Dee Rees’ contemporary drama Pariah, which world-premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival; Being Flynn, written and directed by Paul Weitz and starring two-time Academy Award winner Robert De Niro and Paul Dano; Lorene Scafaria’s pre-apocalyptic comedic romance Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley; Moonrise Kingdom, the new feature from Wes Anderson, starring Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and Jason Schwartzman; Sam Fell and Chris Butler’s ParaNorman, the new 3D stop-motion comedy thriller from animation company LAIKA; and the historical tale Hyde Park on Hudson, directed by Roger Michell and starring Academy Award nominees Bill Murray and Laura Linney