The Laureate

Harris Tulchin and Steve Norris join the team to produce The Laureate.

Tue, 7 Jun 2011 14:51:31 +0200

New York, (June 07, 2011) – Deya Productions, the company producing “The
Laureate”, a feature film about the writer and poet Robert Graves, announce today
two new producers joining the team. Harris Tulchin (To Sleep with Anger, The
Devil’s Double) will act as Executive Producer, and Steve Norris (Harry Brown, Me
and Orson Wells) will act as the UK producer joining Philip Moran and William
Nunez who will also direct.

The film will star Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings
Trilogy) as Robert Graves, alongside Imogen Poots (Cracks, Fright Night, Solitary
Man) as Laura Riding, and Kerry Condon (The Last Station, The Runway) as Nancy
Nicholson.

William Nunez says: “It’s fantastic to be joined by such experienced producers such
as Steve and Harris as we gear up for production. The Laureate is a very
sophisticated film and their knowledge and commitment will be invaluable.”

Steve Norris says: “When I first read The Laureate, I thought it was an incredibly
complex and interesting true story about a love triangle. The cast are just perfect to
portray these strong characters on the big screen and I’m delighted to be on board.”

About Harris Tulchin (Executive Producer)
Harris Tulchin has a long and distinguished career with experience in all phases of
film production, financing and distribution. He was executive producer of To Sleep
with Anger which won the special jury prize at Sundance in 1990, and was also one
of the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival. He is executive producer of
upcoming The Devil’s Double starring Dominic Cooper.

About Steve Norris (Producer)
Steve Norris has produced many films including Harry Brown starring Michael Caine
and Me and Orson Wells starring Zac Efron and Claire Danes. He is a former
Managing Director at Framestore, Europe’s largest visual effects company, and was
also a British film commissioner for 9 years until 2006, overseeing $4 billion of
international production into the UK.

Contact
Phil Moran +44 (0)845 2269404 philmoran@ffab.co.uk

BBC reports Aberystwyth film-maker to produce The Laureate

Tue, 8 Mar 2011 23:09:38 +0100

Aberystwyth, UK (February 17, 2011),

The BBC reported the involvement of Aberystwyth film-maker Phil Moran in producing The Laureate.

An article written by Roya Nikkah, Arts Correspondent of the Daily Telegraph appears in the Sunday Telegraph

Aberystwyth film-maker to produce £5m movie

Telegraph feature about Robert Graves and The Laureate

Tue, 8 Mar 2011 23:03:19 +0100

London, UK (February 13, 2011),

An article written by Roya Nikkah, Arts Correspondent of the Daily Telegraph appears in the Sunday Telegraph

Robert Graves film to show the writer in a racy new light

“With his moving war poetry and heavyweight historical novels, Robert Graves is remembered as one of the most serious and respected writers of the 20th century.

But a new film about the early life of the poet and novelist is set to challenge that legacy, depicting Graves as a sexually adventurous bohemian embroiled in scandal.

The Laureate will feature the Hollywood star Orlando Bloom as Graves, whose most famous works include I, Claudius and Poems About War.”

Laureate announces new cast, Orlando Bloom, Imogen Poots and Kerry Condon to star

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:33:03 +0100

Los Angeles, CA (January 21, 2011) – Media 8 Entertainment, a leading film entertainment company engaged in the production, financing, acquisition, and worldwide licensing of theatrical feature films, announced today that British leading man Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings Trilogy) attached himself to the William Nunez project “The Laureate,” alongside rising young actresses Imogen Poots (Cracks, Me and Orson Wells, Solitary Man) and Kerry Condon (The Last Station, The Runaway). William Nunez wrote and will direct the film, a sexy drama which tells the true story of a love triangle between famed young British poet and writer Robert Graves (Bloom), his wife Nancy (Condon), and the passionate young American writer Laura Riding (Poots). Media 8 Entertainment is handling worldwide sales for the film.
Set against the glamorous backdrop of Britain’s Roaring ‘20s, “The Laureate” tells the story of young British War Poet Robert Graves, who is married with four children when he meets and becomes romantically involved with Laura Riding, a beautiful writer from America studying at Oxford University. Defying the conventions of polite society, Riding soon moves in with Graves and his wife, living as a ménage a trois – but soon tensions and rivalries among the artistic threesome become so fraught that Graves becomes a suspect for attempted murder.
William Nunez: “At its core, The Laureate will be a study of intense relationships: what created them, what can undo them, what they encompass, what they can alter, and what they can’t. I want to probe deeply into the characters and through my understanding of them, my abilities to convey their passions to the screen and connect with the audience will be profound.”
Said Stewart Hall, President of Media 8 Entertainment, “This is a sexy and incredibly compelling true story. The love triangle and the publicity it generated have a very modern feeling to it, and this is a fantastic cast to bring it to life.”
Phillip Moran and Paul Myler are producing the film along with William Nunez. Media 8 will handle worldwide sales. CAA represents both Bloom and Poots while Condon is repped by ICM.

About William Nunez
William Nunez is a writer/director of award-winning commercials and short subjects now making feature films. He has directed over 100 commercials for clients such as Sony, Amtrak, the New York Institute of Photography, Adidas, Anhauser Busch, and Philippe Patek. As a television director, Mr. Nunez has won the prestigious Dupont and Peabody awards.

About Media 8 Entertainment
Media 8 Entertainment is a leading film entertainment company engaged in the production, financing, acquisition, and worldwide licensing of theatrical feature films in a variety of genres Media 8 Entertainment's previously produced and distributed the Academy Award®-winning “Monster,” the critically acclaimed “The Upside of Anger,” starring Joan Allen and Kevin Costner, and the action-drama “Running Scared” written and directed by Wayne Kramer and starring Paul Walker. Media 8’s current slate includes “Undying” starring Kurt Russell, “Breaking Point” starring Cung Le; “Dali”, starring Antonio Banderas and directed by Simon West; the sexy drama “Satisfaction” starring Academy Award® winner Sharon Stone and Carice van Houten, and recently acquired new titles including thriller “The Hunters” and the quirky comedy “Son of Morning” starring Heather Graham.

Laureate launches at Cannes. Dominic Cooper and Hayley Atwell to play Graves and Riding.

Fri, 14 May 2010 16:18:38 +0200

Deya Productions announce 'The Laureate'. With Dominic Cooper and Hayley Atwell attached.

Deya Productions commence production of The Laureate, a biographical feature film about the writer and poet Robert Graves, with Dominic Cooper as Graves and Hayley Atwell as his muse, Laura Riding.

Production will take place in the Fall of 2010 in the UK and Ireland, and will be directed by William Nunez who will also produce along with Phil Moran and Paul Myler.

Director William Nunez says:

"Dominic Cooper is one of the best actors of his generation, and his interpretation of Robert Graves will be nothing short of astonishing. I am very excited by the prospect of working with him. Hayley Atwell is the perfect femme fatale foil for Dominic, and are the fresh young cast I have been searching for."

William Nunez adds:

"The Laureate is a story of an intense and destructive need to be loved unconditionally. We plan to use a very young cast that will appeal to a younger audience while keeping the subject matter focused for all age groups."

Media 8 Entertainment of Los Angeles will handle worldwide sales for the project which makes its debut at this year's Cannes Marche du Film.

Set against the glamorous backdrop of Britain’s roaring ‘20s, The Laureate tells the story of young British war poet, Robert Graves, who is married with four children when he meets and becomes romantically involved with Laura Riding, a beautiful writer from America studying at Oxford University.
Defying the conventions of polite society, Riding soon moves in with Graves and his wife, living as a ménage a trios. Then, with the arrival of the strappingly handsome Irish poet Geoffrey Phibbs, the arrangement becomes a ménage a quatre.
But soon, tensions and rivalries among the artistic group become so fraught that Graves becomes a suspect for attempted murder.
Tired of the Victorian morals and British social structure that led to his war trauma, as well as the inhibitions imposed on his writing, Graves leaves England for good and settles with Riding on the Spanish island of Mallorca.
Before he leaves England, Graves publishes his famous war memoirs “GOODBYE TO ALL THAT” as well as his first successful volume of poems (which contains some of the finest love poetry of the 20th century).
Thus, despite shell shock and being shackled by those around him, Robert transforms himself into “A Laureate.”

ADDIONAL INFORMATION

WEBSITE
www.thelaureatemovie.com

DEYA PRODUCTIONS
Deya Productions is a subsidiary of UK firm Ffab:UK, US production company North End Pictures and Irish Firm Epos Films.

WILLIAM NUNEZ (PRODUCER, NORTH END PICTURES)
William is a writer/director of award winning commercials and short subjects now making feature films. Mr. Nunez is a principal of North End Pictures, a production company that has produced much of his work since 1989. They have recently entered the feature film business with the mission to produce in-house projects. Just a few of the projects that are North End’s slate include: Carnaval, False Impressions (The Las Meninas Caper), The Laureate, Chocolate World, Glorieta Pass, and River of Doubt. In all these film projects, Mr. Nunez is attached as director, coproducer or writer. In 2010, Mr. Nunez will direct CARNAVAL, which revolves around the battle of the sexes, and class set in the charged atmosphere of the yearly carnaval in Spain. He is also in post production on his documentary Chocolate World, a look at Nestle’s attempt to buy Hershey Foods and how the small town of Hershey, Pennsylvania fought back against the large global conglomerate. The film will be completed in spring of 2010. He will immediately follow that project with THE LAUREATE, a story based on the life of British poet Robert Graves. Mr. Nunez also wrote the screenplay.

As a television director for CNN, Mr. Nunez has directed major news stories from all over the world winning the prestigious Dupont and Peabody awards for directing coverage of Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Thailand, December 2004. Mr. Nunez has directed over 100 commercials for clients such as Sony, Amtrak, New York Institute of Photography, Adidas, Anhauser Busch, Crest Toothpaste, and Philippe Patek. Mr. Nunez also directed, wrote and co produced two award winning short subjects: FULL METAL RACKET and FEAR OF MAN. FMR won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes and FEAR OF MAN won the Golden Hugo at the Chicago Film Festival. Both films have been screened in 24 countries. His latest short film, the comedy AROUND THE WORLD IN 90 SECONDS, is currently being screened in film festivals around the world including the Rio de Janeiro Short Film Festival and Marbella Film Festival.

PHILIP MORAN (PRODUCER, FFAB:UK)
Phil has had a wide-ranging career as both a producer and an academic.
In 2003, he left his academic job as a physicist to set up his media company FFAB, which now has four full-time staff, as well as offices in the UK and Austria.
FFAB has broadcast credits from the US, Israel, Australia and many territories in Europe; and clients include the BBC and ITV.
In 2009, Phil won the Best Film and Best International Cinema awards at a Los Angeles film festival for his disturbing short 11 Missed Calls.

PAUL MYLER (PRODUCER-EPOS FILMS)
Since completing a Finance Degree at Trinity College, Dublin, Paul Myler’s career has spanned some five years in theatre and over twenty five years in the film industry as a co-producer and production accountant for more than 30 productions. He has worked with such directors Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan, Ron Howard, Anjelica Huston, Peter Howitt and Paul Greengrass, and with companies such as Hell’s Kitchen, Deep River, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros, Fox Searchlight, New Line, BBC and Granada TV. The numerous productions Paul has worked on include
‘Far and Away’, ‘In The Name Of The Father’, ‘Michael Collins’, ‘The Boxer’, ‘Agnes Brown’, ‘Bloody Sunday’ and ‘In America’, ‘The Honeymooners’, ‘Laws of Attraction’, ‘Cracks’ and many more. Through his company EPOS Films, Paul is currently developing and producing projects with Irish writers and directors while also providing financial and production support in Ireland for international co-productions.

Contact
William Nunez +1 212 275 7898 WillN97740@aol.com
Phil Moran +44 (0)845 2269404 philmoran@ffab.co.uk
Paul Myler +353 872569878 myler@eircom.net

The Laureate

Harris Tulchin and Steve Norris join the team to produce The Laureate.

BBC reports Aberystwyth film-maker to produce The Laureate

Telegraph feature about Robert Graves and The Laureate

Laureate announces new cast, Orlando Bloom, Imogen Poots and Kerry Condon to star

Laureate launches at Cannes. Dominic Cooper and Hayley Atwell to play Graves and Riding.

Laureate launches at Cannes. Dominic Cooper and Hayley Atwell to play Graves and Riding.