Dev in a ‘modern take’ on Copperfield
Dev Patel is set to star in The Personal History of David Copperfield, a reworking of Charles Dickens’ novel from The Thick of It creator, Armando Iannucci. According to Variety, Patel will take the lead in the film, which “will offer a modern take on Dickens’ title character as he navigates a chaotic world to find his elusive place within it”. Iannucci will direct, from a screenplay co-written with his long-time writing partner, Simon Blackwell. “[Iannucci] is a Dickens aficionado, so he wants it to be very authentic but it will have his own sensitivity,” BBC Films’ Christine langan said of the project when it was first announced in 2015.
Patel, who rose to prominence in Danny Boyle’s 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, was last seen in the 2016 drama lion, the true-life story of a young man’s cross-continental attempt to reunite with his family, for which he won the best supporting actor award at last year’s Baftas. He is next set to star in Hotel Mumbai, an account of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. However, that film is currently in production limbo, due to its rights being owned by the troubled Weinstein Company.
Iannucci recently directed The Death of Stalin, a darkly comic account of the political manoeuvring that followed the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in 1953. The film, nominated for two awards at Baftas, had its Russian distribution certificate withdrawn by the country’s culture ministry.
Black Panther is a box office hit!
Marvel superhero film Black Panther has enjoyed the biggest opening day of 2018 so far at the UK and Irish box office. Ryan Coogler’s hotly anticipated film, which features an almost entirely black cast, pulled in £2.67m on its opening day on February 13, Disney said, delivering the highest-grossing single day at the UK box office this year. This bests the opening days of fellow Marvel Studios offerings Thor: Ragnarok and Doctor Strange, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
The superhero film, which Coogler co-wrote with Joe Robert Cole, had already outsold Captain America: Civil War to become Marvel’s most preordered film in its first 24 hours after release.
In Black Panther, T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman, returns home as king to a fictional African nation known as Wakanda, but finds his rule challenged by a long-time adversary in a conflict that has global consequences. The film, which was shot in Atlanta, the US, and Busan, South Korea, features established actors such as Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, lupita Nyong’o and rising stars Danai Gurira, letitia Wright and Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya. Rapper Kendrick lamar produced and curated the soundtrack to the Marvel movie. The film has received a rapturous reception from both critics and cinemagoers, enjoying a 98 per cent fresh rating on reviews website, Rotten Tomatoes.
Tokyo to build 350-m wooden tower
A skyscraper set to be built in Tokyo will become the world’s tallest to be made of wood. The Japanese wood products company Sumitomo Forestry Co is proposing to build a 350-metre, 70-floor tower to commemorate its 350th anniversary in 2041. Japan’s Government has long advertised the advantages of wooden buildings, and in 2010 passed a law requiring it be used for all public buildings of three storeys or fewer.
Sumitomo Forestry said the new building, known as the W350 Project, was an example of “urban development that is kind for humans”, with more highrise architecture made of wood and covered with greenery “making over cities as forests”.
The new building will be predominantly wooden, with just 10 per cent steel. Its internal framework of columns, beams, and braces — made of a hybrid of the two materials — will take account of Japan’s high rate of seismic activity. The Tokyo-based architecture firm Nikken Sekkei contributed to the design. The interior structure, with 455,000 sqm of floor space, will be made entirely of wood. Renderings show light-filled apartments, offices, and shops.