UK independent production company Genesius Pictures has made its television debut with a host of projects, to complement its solid film slate.
“Shetland” writer David Keane is developing the “The Messenger” series, which is based on the bestselling Greek detective novels by Anne Zorodi. Genesius also picked the rights to Neil Jordan’s groundbreaking 1986 film “Mona Lisa,” starring Bob Hoskins, Kathy Tyson and Michael Caine. Emerging actress/writer Isis Davis (“Killing Eve”) is developing for television, adapting it by taking the female protagonist from the movie and making it her story.
On the film front, Late Summer, novelist Talitha Stevenson made his directorial debut in rural Cornwall during World War II, about a middle-aged search for love, scheduled to be filmed in late summer. It stars Emily Watson and Adeuel Akinoway-Agbaji. Directed by Kevin MacDonald, The Iceman will begin principal photography in the first quarter of 2023, including a timeline in the Netherlands and a yet-to-be-determined snowy location. Joseph Finn will star in Wim Hoff, a prolific and older athlete who is best known for his aerobic exercises that focus on breathing in frigid temperatures called the Wim Hoff Method.
Also in the works is “The Radleys”, based on Matt Haig’s bestselling novel about a seemingly normal family with a deadly secret. Euros Lyn will be out in early 2023 after he finished the second season of Netflix with the song Heartstopper.
Genesius developed a warm working relationship with actress and writer Katy Brand, who wrote “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”, which featured a fantastic festival including Sundance, Berlin, Sydney and Tribeca playdates. The company is developing two more projects with Brand. “Libby and Joanne Hit the Road” is a female road trip movie, which will be shot in Australia. The film will be a co-production with The Reset Collective, an Australian development, production and distribution company set up by Genesius and Mark Gooder, sales firm Alison Thompson, Cornerstone Films and distribution executive Lisa Garner. A comedy movie about “cancellation culture” titled “Paloma Strong Gets Canceled” is also being developed with the brand.
Meanwhile, Genesius’ immediate focus is on the UK and Ireland theatrical release of “Leo Grande,” which opens across 200 screens on June 17, a day and date on Hulu in the US. The film, directed by Sophie Hyde, starring Oscar and BAFTA-winning Lionsgate UK was acquired by Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack and sold widely worldwide. Thompson plays Nancy Stokes, a retired teacher and widow who craves some adventure, human communication, and good sex, which is stolen from her stable but meaningless marriage. To make things right, she enlisted the services of Leo Grande, a sex worker in his early twenties.
says Debbie Gray, Managing Director of Genesius diverse. “I just hope that for women who are very thirsty for content that represents themselves, their challenges, their fun, etc., this is a movie that every woman wants to go to and see, as well as every man.”
Gray says that in “Leo Grande,” Nancy’s character breaks and defies all boundaries, and through this rite of passage, she realizes that she can have desires, pleasures, and emotional change. “I think I’m somewhat gay in the sense that what I’m striving for is telling stories and reaching people from different backgrounds who might not have had the confidence to break through those boundaries,” Gray says.
Good luck to you, Leo Grande.
Nick Wall
It was quite a boundary-breaking journey for Gray, who comes from a working-class background. Gray entered the industry after training as a lawyer and specializing in business and legal affairs, representing producers, actors and talent, which enabled her to gain insight into the commercial side of the business. She produced a pilot for a children’s television program and stints with UK broadcasters BBC and ITV followed.
Gray left ITV when director Elaine Constantin asked her to produce “Northern Soul” (2014), the thriller of two friends who open their horizons by discovering black American soul music. “We had a lot of closed doors in our face, and I think that’s partly because we were two women from a background that probably wasn’t an appropriate fit,” Gray says.
The film earned a BAFTA Award nomination. During production, Gray met Julian Glick, one of the film’s main financiers. They did well and after the film’s critical and commercial success, they made Genesius Pictures. Films produced by the company include “The More You Ignore Me” (2018), which deals with mental health, and “Mrs Lowry & Son” (2019), which depicts the relationship between famed British artist L.S. Lowry and his mother Elizabeth, with whom he lived until her death.
Gray says a lot of the films she’s made reflect some of the struggles that come from being vulnerable. Despite its successes, challenges remain. “I love making independent films, and I’m in favor of it, but it’s not easy,” Gray says. “Being a woman, you run into some hurdles, and it’s an industry where it’s hard to break through, if you’re not from a certain background.”
“I think it’s changing, and I hope it changes quickly,” Gray adds.
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