Armando Iannucci’s The Personal History of David Copperfield starts shooting

11/06/2018 - The Charles Dickens adaptation stars Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi, Ben Whishaw and Paul Whitehouse

Actor Dev Patel

Principal photography has commenced on location in the UK on Armando Iannucci’s The Personal History of David Copperfield [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. Written by Iannucci and fellow Academy Award nominee Simon Blackwell (In the Loop [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), it is a fresh and distinctive take on Charles Dickens’ semi-autobiographical masterpiece. The action is set in the 1840s and chronicles the life of the eponymous character as he tries to find his place in a chaotic world. From his unhappy childhood to the discovery of his gift as a storyteller and writer, David’s journey is by turns hilarious and tragic.

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Dev Patel (Lion [+see also:
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film profile], Slumdog Millionaire [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Danny Boyle
film profile]) stars as the title character, and is flanked by Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi, Ben Whishaw, Paul Whitehouse, Aneurin Barnard (Dunkirk [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Daisy May Cooper (This Country), Morfydd Clark (The Falling [+see also:
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interview: Carol Morley
film profile]),Benedict Wong (Avengers: Infinity War), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) Anthony Welsh (Fleabag) and Rosalind Eleazar (Howards End).

Kevin Loader (The Death of Stalin [+see also:
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trailer
film profile]) and Iannucci are producing the feature, which was developed with the USA's FilmNation Entertainment and is co-financed by FilmNation Entertainment and Film4. FilmNation Entertainment is handling international sales and co-repping US sales with UTA Independent Film Group. Lionsgate has the UK rights to the film.

The Personal History of David Copperfield reunites many of writer and broadcaster Iannucci’s long-term collaborators, including crew members who collaborated on his BIFA Award-winning The Death of Stalin as well as previous productions. They include casting director Sarah Crowe, production designer Cristina Casali, costume designer Suzie Harman, cinematographer Zac Nicholson and composer Chris Willis.

FilmNation’s current and upcoming slate includes Sebastián Lelio’s Disobedience [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], starring Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams and Alessandro Nivola; Richard Eyre’s The Children Act [+see also:
trailer
film profile], starring Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci and Fionn Whitehead; and Dan Fogelman’s Life Itself, featuring an all-star cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Samuel L Jackson, Olivia Wilde, Antonio Banderas and Annette Bening. The company is in post-production on Sebastián Lelio’s American remake of Gloria [+see also:
trailer
film profile], starring Julianne Moore.