Yahoo Finance ‘Heavyweight’: Christopher M. Anthony Fight Film Starts Principal Photography In London; Stars Nicholas Pinnock, Jason Issacs, And Jordan Bolger
EXCLUSIVE: Production is underway on Blackwater Pictures and Silver Milk Production’s feature film, Heavyweight, on location in London. Written and directed by Christopher M. Anthony, the film stars Nicholas Pinnock (Top Boy, Marcella and For Life) & Jordan Bolger (Peaky Blinders, The Woman King) lead the cast. Additional cast includes Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter series, Death of Stalin), Rob Malone (Vikings), Barry Aird (Fortitude, Top Boy), Joplin Sibtain (Andor) Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica, Marcella), Nabil Elouahabi (Top Boy, The Night Of), Blake Harrison (The Inbetweeners, World on Fire), Sienna Guillory (Resident Evil, The Meg 2) and Osy Ikhile (Black Mirror).
The film focuses on the mental state of the fighter and his cornermen backstage before the fight, drawing the audience in with the pressure of the ever-ticking clock as fight time approaches. Derek – the Heavyweight – is ninety minutes away from the most important fight of his life, but a series of obstacles, both internal and external cause him to lose faith in himself. As he struggles with his own past and the relationships of those close to him, he begins to question whether he will even make it to the ring. As his team works hard to show him that he deserves to be there, Derek realizes that he must cut ties to the heavy weight that is holding him back and that he alone, must fight his greatest opponent – himself
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Heavyweight is being co-produced by Blackwater Pictures and Silver Milk Productions, in collaboration with BAFA nominated Producer, Tiernan Hanby, with full financing by Blackwater.
“Heavyweight marks the directorial debut of Nigerian-Lebanese filmmaker, Christopher M. Anthony. A veteran of the film industry, his career spans over two decades from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone through to Marvel Studios’ latest release The Marvels, and including Disney’s Oscar and BAFTA winning The Jungle Book. An early pioneer of Visual Effects, Christopher’s experiences carried him into Special Effects, Virtual Production, Pre-visualisation and both Stunt rigging and performing where he was able to develop new techniques and design ever more complex sequences from major motion pictures.”
Christopher comments: “Heavyweight has been a passion project for many years, one of the good things born out of pandemic. I believe it’s a film that will make people feel something and that’s all we can ever ask of art. The incredible ensemble cast came together with a theatrical approach to rehearsals that allowed us to explore the finely nuanced subtext upon which the story rests. Heavyweight exists within a very real world, privy to few.”
Production includes BAFTA award winner Chas Appeti (Director of Photography-Jungle), Aimee Meek (Production Designer-Boiling Point), Lauren Miller (Costume designer-Supacell, Top Boy) and casting by Harkin & Toth Casting (I May Destroy You).
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