The Mercy
| The Mercy | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | James Marsh |
| Produced by |
Graham Broadbent Scott Z. Burns Peter Czernin Nicolas Mauvernay Jacques Perrin |
| Written by | Scott Z. Burns |
| Starring |
Colin Firth Rachel Weisz David Thewlis Ken Stott Jonathan Bailey |
| Music by | Jóhann Jóhannsson |
| Cinematography | Éric Gautier |
| Edited by | Jinx Godfrey |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | StudioCanal (UK) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Mercy is an upcoming British biographical drama film, directed by James Marsh and written by Scott Z. Burns. It is based on the true story of the disastrous attempt by the amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst to complete the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in 1968 and his subsequent attempts to cover up his failure. The film stars Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz, David Thewlis, Ken Stott, and Jonathan Bailey. Principal photography began in the UK on 20 May 2015.
Cast
- Colin Firth as Donald Crowhurst, an amateur sailor/yacht-racer.[1]
- Rachel Weisz as Clare Crowhurst, Crowhurst's wife.[2]
- David Thewlis as Rodney Hallworth, Crowhurst's press agent.[3]
- Ken Stott as Stanley Best, Crowhurst's sponsor.[3]
- Jonathan Bailey as Wheeler, a BBC reporter.[4]
- Adrian Schiller as Elliot
- Oliver Maltman as Dennis Herbstein
- Kit Connor as Roger Crowhurst
- Eleanor Stagg as Rachel Crowhurst
- Geoff Bladon as Arthur Bladon, town mayor
Production
The project was first announced by The Daily Mail in October 2013, as a biopic about yacht-racer Donald Crowhurst, who gave misleading reports of his position in the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race which implied that he had sailed around the world[5] when he had actually remained in the Atlantic.[6] Scott Z. Burns wrote the screenplay; Colin Firth was reported to be considering portraying Crowhurst and Kate Winslet the role of his wife, Clare.[6] On 27 January 2015 it was announced that James Marsh would direct the film, which StudioCanal, Blueprint Pictures, and BBC Films would produce. StudioCanal and BBC would finance the film which had been developed by Christine Langan.[1] StudioCanal would handle the international sales at the European Film Market and would also distribute the film in the UK, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.[1] The producers would be Peter Czernin, Graham Broadbent, and Burns, with Nicolas Mauvernay and Jacques Perrin of Galatée Films.[1] On 31 March 2015 Rachel Weisz was reported to be in discussions to play Clare.[2] On 20 May 2015 Weisz was confirmed as Clare, and David Thewlis, Ken Stott and Jonathan Bailey joined the cast.[3] Bailey's casting was confirmed by Deadline on 27 May 2015.[4]
Filming
Principal photography on the film began on location on 20 May 2015 in the United Kingdom.[3] In early June 2015 filming was underway in Teignmouth, Devon,[7][8] and in mid-June, the production was spotted filming in Dorset.[9] By late July, filming had moved to Malta,[10] where some scenes were planned to be shot in the water tanks at Mediterranean Film Studios in Kalkara.[10][11]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Hopewell, John (January 27, 2015). "Colin Firth, James Marsh Team on Donald Crowhurst Story". variety.com. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
- 1 2 Jaafar, Ali (March 31, 2015). "Rachel Weisz In Talks To Star Opposite Colin Firth In Donald Crowhurst Biopic". deadline.com. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 Rosser, Michael (May 20, 2015). "Colin Firth's Donald Crowhurst film begins shoot". screendaily.com. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
- 1 2 Pedersen, Erik (May 27, 2015). "Brittany Ishibashi Kicks Up 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2′; Jonathan Bailey Joins Donald Crowhurst Pic". deadline.com. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
- ↑ Nicholas TOmalin and Ron Hall "The strange last voyage of Donald Crowhurst"
- 1 2 "Colin Firth and 'sea widow' Kate Winslet hit choppy waters in new film". dailymail.co.uk. October 31, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
- ↑ "Rachel Weisz shows off her sixties style in tartan miniskirt as she shoots scenes with Colin Firth for big screen Donald Crowhurst biopic on Devon coast". dailymail.co.uk. June 3, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
- ↑ "PICTURES: Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz on a Teignmouth film set". westernmorningnews.co.uk. June 2, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
- ↑ "Don't look down! Colin Firth shows off his stunt man skills as he climbs a mast while filming biopic about ill-fated sailor Donald Crowhurst". dailymail.co.uk. June 16, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
- 1 2 "Colin Firth's latest film begins shooting in Malta". timesofmalta.com. July 24, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
- ↑ "Colin Firth Shoots Donald Crowhurst Film in Malta". filmneweurope.com. July 27, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
External links
- The Mercy at the Internet Movie Database
- Companion book 'Desperate Voyage: Donald Crowhurst, The London Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, and the Tragedy of Teignmouth Electron' by Edward Renehan, published August 2016.