DreamWorks Pictures to Begin Principal Photography on '1917'

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Starring George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, with Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch

Distributed by Universal Pictures, 1917 Arrives in Theaters on December 25, 2019

London, England, March 29, 2019 — DreamWorks Pictures and Universal Pictures announced today that principal photography will commence on 1917, written and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Sam Mendes, on April 1, 2019.

The film follows two young British soldiers (Captain Fantastic’s George MacKay; Game of Thrones’ Dean-Charles Chapman) on a single day at the height of World War I.

Joining MacKay and Chapman are Mark Strong (The Imitation Game, Zero Dark Thirty), Andrew Scott (Spectre, Sherlock), Richard Madden (BBC’s Bodyguard, Cinderella), Daniel Mays (Fisherman’s Friends, Rogue One), Adrian Scarborough (The Madness of King George, Christopher Robin), Jamie Parker (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Nabhaan Rizwan (Informer), Claire Duburcq, with Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, the Bridget Jones franchise) and Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game, Doctor Strange).

Mendes, who will direct and wrote the screenplay with Krysty Wilson-Cairns (Penny Dreadful) produces the film with Pippa Harris (Revolutionary Road, Away We Go)—his partner at Neal Street Productions—along with Jayne-Ann Tenggren (Spectre, the upcoming The Rhythm Section) and Callum McDougall (Mary Poppins Returns, Skyfall). Co-producing is Michael Lerman. The film will begin principal photography next week, shooting on location in England and Scotland.

The creative team helping to bring this story to the screen includes cinematographer Roger Deakins (Blade Runner 2049, Skyfall); production designer Dennis Gassner (Bugsy, Road to Perdition); costume designer Jacqueline Durran (Anna Karenina, Darkest Hour); editor Lee Smith (Dunkirk, The Dark Knight); and composer Thomas Newman, who has created the scores for six previous Mendes films, including Skyfall, Road to Perdition and American Beauty.

The film is being produced by Neal Street Productions for DreamWorks Pictures and Universal Pictures, and will be released by Universal Pictures domestically on December 25. Universal and Amblin Partners will distribute the film internationally, with eOne distributing on behalf of Amblin in the U.K.

1917 marks a reunion for Mendes and DreamWorks Pictures. The British director made his first feature, American Beauty, under the DreamWorks label, followed by two other productions—Road to Perdition and Revolutionary Road.

About DreamWorks Pictures
DreamWorks Pictures is a production label of Amblin Partners, a film and television production company led by Steven Spielberg, that develops and produces films using the Amblin Entertainment, DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Media banners and includes Amblin Television, a longtime leader in quality programming. The company’s recent releases include Green Book, which won three Academy Awards including Best Picture and has currently grossed more than $275m worldwide. The company’s investment partners include Participant Media, Reliance Entertainment, Entertainment One (eOne), Alibaba Pictures and Universal Pictures.

About Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios. Universal Studios is part of NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience.  NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.

About Neal Street Productions
Neal Street Productions is run by Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Caro Newling, and Nicolas Brown and has been successfully producing award-winning film, TV and theatre for the past 15 years.

Neal Street’s diverse film and television slate includes the hugely successful Call the Midwife for the BBC, which has just begun filming its ninth series; John Logan’s Penny Dreadful and the upcoming Penny Dreadful: City of Angels for Showtime; the award-winning The Hollow Crown for the BBC; two series of Britannia for Sky/Amazon, and the contemporary thriller Informer for BBC/Amazon. Neal Street’s film projects have included Revolutionary Road for Paramount and DreamWorks, Things We Lost in the Fire for DreamWorks, and Jarhead for Universal.

In the theatre, current productions include The Lehman Trilogy which transfers to the Park Avenue Armory Theatre in New York this month, and to the West End in Spring 2019, and Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman, which is currently performing at the Jacobs Theatre on Broadway.

Neal Street Productions is an All3Media company, All3Media is owned jointly between Discovery Communications and Liberty Global.

 

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