In today’s film news roundup, Steve Coogan will receive the Charlie Chaplin award, Aaron Eckhart and Marisa Coughlan get cast and Swiss thriller “The Innocent” gets a US release.
AWARD
Steve Coogan has been selected as the recipient of the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles.
He joins previously announced honoree Jane Fonda, who will receive the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film, and Jackie Chan, who will receive the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment. The awards will be presented on Oct. 25 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
“Throughout his three-decade career, Coogan has mastered the art of making people laugh and continues to entertain audiences with his brilliant portrayal of comedic characters. His most popular creation – the politically incorrect media personality, Alan Partridge – garnered him worldwide recognition as one of the greatest TV characters,” said BAFTA Los Angeles CEO, Chantal Rickards.
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For his work in TV and film, Coogan has won seven BAFTA Awards and seven British Comedy Awards. Most recently, he won the BAFTA for Male Performance in a Comedy Program for “Alan Partridge’s Scissored Isle” in 2017. This year, he was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor for his role in “Stan & Ollie,” starring opposite John C. Reilly.
CASTINGS
Aaron Eckhart has joined writer/director Dito Montiel’s latest production “Afterward” for producer and sales agent Cineville International, Variety has learned exclusively.
Production is set for the fall. He’ll be playing a father struggling with the death of his daughter who sets out on a quest for truth and justice against corruption and small-town politics.
Producers include Thomas D. Adelman, Elizabeth Gast Napolitano, Frederic Demey and Carl Colpaert.
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Marisa Coughlan has been cast in Bella Thorne’s crime drama “Southland,” which has begun production in Oklahoma with Joshua Caldwell directing from his own script.
The story follows two young lovers who rob their way across the southland, posting their exploits to social media and gaining fame and followers along the way. The film also stars Jake Manley (“The Order”), Amber Riley (“Glee”) and Michael Sirow.
Coughlan has credits on “Super Troopers” and “Space Station 76“ and has sold several projects in the last few TV development seasons, including CW’s “Dorian”; the comedy “Lost and Found,” which went to pilot at ABC; the Fox comedy “Pushing” and “That’s Wonderful” at CBS. She’s repped by Thruline Entertainment.
ACQUISITION
Greenwich Entertainment has bought North American distribution rights to the thriller “The Innocent,” directed by the Swiss-German filmmaker Simon Jaquemet (“Chrieg” aka “War”).
The film premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and Greenwich’s theatrical release will be early next year. “The Innocent” had its US premiere at the 2019 San Francisco International Film Festival and recently played at the Seattle International Film Festival.
The story centers on a devout Christian woman who questions her faith and her own lucidity after she is visited by her ex-convict former lover, widely believed to be dead. Swiss actress Judith Hofman plays a scientist who comes into conflict with the woman’s family and her church once the encounters with her ex-lover are interpreted as demonic possession.