Taron Egerton, who won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Elton John in Rocketman, has lined up his first post-lockdown screen role
Taron Egerton, who won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Elton John in Rocketman, has lined up his first post-lockdown screen role.
The 30-year-old will portray Henk Rogers, the Dutch-born, Hawaii-based video game entrepreneur (he’s now an environmental philanthropist) who, towards the end of the Cold War, in the late 1980s, became embroiled in a high-stakes legal battle involving a Soviet computer programming agency, and software companies controlled by the late Robert Maxwell and his son Kevin.
At the heart of the dispute was Tetris, the addictive console game created by Alexey Pajitnov, a Russian programmer, which Nintendo loaded onto its Game Boy devices.
After many skirmishes with the Maxwells and other parties, Rogers managed to secure the intellectual property rights to Tetris for himself — and for Pajitnov.
Up until that point, the Russian had not seen a penny of the tens of millions of pounds raked in by the simple game he’d designed.
The film, titled Tetris, is being directed by Jon S. Baird, who made the recent Stan & Ollie, and backed by producers led by Matthew Vaughn and Leonard Blavatnik.
Star names are being sought for the other major roles and it’s hoped that shooting will start in September, employing a full spectrum of safety procedures.
The 30-year-old will portray Henk Rogers, above, the Dutch-born, Hawaii-based video game entrepreneur
Rita gets an outdoor education
Willy Russell rejigs classic play for a clifftop debut
Stephen Tompkinson and Jessica Johnson are pictured above as Frank and Rita
Willy Russell has begun to rewrite his celebrated comedy Educating Rita, to enable it to be performed next month at the famous Minack Theatre, hewn into the Cornish cliffs and overlooking the sea.
Current rules for open-air performances dictate that shows must be staged without an interval.
Russell’s 1980 play — which originally starred Julie Walters in the title role — has a running time of two hours, plus a 15 to 20 minute break.
It stars Stephen Tompkinson as an alcoholic lecturer giving private English literature lessons to an earthy hairdresser taking an Open University course (Jessica Johnson),
‘Willy’s adapting his script to fit the rules,’ producer David Pugh told me. He secured a deal on Wednesday to remount what had been a 40th-anniversary touring production at the stunningly beautiful outdoor venue.
Russell’s likely to trim at least 15 minutes off his script. In addition, he’ll have to change stage cues for entrances and exits.
The playwright joked: ‘Someone said ‘What if it rains?’
‘I said: don’t worry. I’ll write in a line where Rita can say: ‘There’s water coming through your ceiling, Frank!’ That’ll do it.’
A new, more minimalist set is being designed for the two-week run, from August 18, at the theatre which juts out over Porthcurno Bay.
Russell’s likely to trim at least 15 minutes off his script. In addition, he’ll have to change stage cues for entrances and exits
‘We’ll have a pile of books supported by empty whisky bottles,’ Pugh said.
Director Max Roberts will rehearse Russell’s adaptation with Tompkinson and Johnson in Newcastle, where the actress and Roberts are based.
Pugh, meanwhile, was in the West Country, having just sealed the deal with the Minack’s management.
He said the 750-seat site would be scaled down to 250, to allow social distancing. Ticket prices will range from £10-£40; half price for children.
‘We’ve got to demonstrate we can do it,’ he told me, because in his view, the public are ‘starving’ from a lack of live theatre.
The 1983 film version of Educating Rita starred Julie Walters and Michael Caine.
Ralph Fiennes and Jodie Comer had, for a brief moment, toyed with the idea of starring in a revival at the Old Vic.
But that embryonic plan stalled because of scheduling and rights issues.
The 1983 film version of Educating Rita (pictured above) starred Julie Walters and Michael Caine