“A United Kingdom” has taken in more than $6 million at the international box office since its U.K. premiere in November, but actor-producer David Oyelowo’s passion project faces its first real test in the U.S. this weekend. After opening in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles last week, generating a promising $70,000, the historical drama expands to 45 theaters on Friday. Fox Searchlight Pictures bought the North American theatrical distributions rights to the film out of the Toronto International Film Festival, and is expected to make an aggressive national push to hundreds of theaters.
Read More: ‘A United Kingdom’ Review: David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike Bring Historical Love Story to Satisfying Life – Tiff Review
Directed by British filmmaker Amma Asante, the movie is based on Susan Williams’ book “Colour Bar,” which tells the story of Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana’s marriage to Ruth Williams, a white woman from London,...
Read More: ‘A United Kingdom’ Review: David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike Bring Historical Love Story to Satisfying Life – Tiff Review
Directed by British filmmaker Amma Asante, the movie is based on Susan Williams’ book “Colour Bar,” which tells the story of Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana’s marriage to Ruth Williams, a white woman from London,...
- 2/17/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Some stories are too good to be true — and some are so fantastical that they can only be based on reality.
Such is the case with the true story of African prince Seretse Khama and English clerk Ruth Williams, the interracial couple whose simple wish to live together as man and wife in Seretse’s native Botswana led to a decades-long bitter fight between his family and the British Empire that ended in that African country’s independence from Britain.
Now, almost 70 years since Seretse and Ruth first met in the summer of 1947, their epic triumph over prejudice and injustice...
Such is the case with the true story of African prince Seretse Khama and English clerk Ruth Williams, the interracial couple whose simple wish to live together as man and wife in Seretse’s native Botswana led to a decades-long bitter fight between his family and the British Empire that ended in that African country’s independence from Britain.
Now, almost 70 years since Seretse and Ruth first met in the summer of 1947, their epic triumph over prejudice and injustice...
- 2/10/2017
- by Ale Russian
- PEOPLE.com
A United Kingdom and Belle director Amma Asante; "I love the idea that things aren't always what they seem." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The day before the red carpet Us Premiere at The Paris Theatre in New York, Amma Asante, the director of A United Kingdom, which stars David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike with Laura Carmichael, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Jessica Oyelowo, Terry Pheto, Abena
Ayivor, Vusi Kunene, Jack Davenport and Tom Felton, sat down with me for a conversation. Screenwriter Guy Hibbert, production designer Simon Bowles, costume designer Anushia Nieradzik, The Color Bar by Susan Williams, setting up the meeting of Ruth Williams and Seretse Khama, sisterhood, the importance of a speech, Brighton Rock with Richard Attenborough, and her next film Where Hands Touch with Amandla Stenberg and George MacKay were touched upon.
Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) and Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo)
The private obstructions for Ruth (Rosamund Pike) and Seretse (David Oyelowo...
The day before the red carpet Us Premiere at The Paris Theatre in New York, Amma Asante, the director of A United Kingdom, which stars David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike with Laura Carmichael, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Jessica Oyelowo, Terry Pheto, Abena
Ayivor, Vusi Kunene, Jack Davenport and Tom Felton, sat down with me for a conversation. Screenwriter Guy Hibbert, production designer Simon Bowles, costume designer Anushia Nieradzik, The Color Bar by Susan Williams, setting up the meeting of Ruth Williams and Seretse Khama, sisterhood, the importance of a speech, Brighton Rock with Richard Attenborough, and her next film Where Hands Touch with Amandla Stenberg and George MacKay were touched upon.
Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) and Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo)
The private obstructions for Ruth (Rosamund Pike) and Seretse (David Oyelowo...
- 2/10/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
David Oyelowo, born in England to Nigerian parents, is an actor of blazing talent and rare grace. On screen, he's stirring and soulful as Martin Luther King in Selma; on HBO, he's chilling and heart-piercing as a war vet coming apart in Nightingale; on stage, doing Shakespeare, he's miraculous at capturing the stature and tragic weakness of the Moor in Othello. So to say that Oyelowo is giving one of his best and most electrifying performances in A United Kingdom – that means something. He's set the bar high.
Based on...
Based on...
- 2/9/2017
- Rollingstone.com
We've got some royal drama for you. And we're not talking about The Crown. David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike star in the upcoming A United Kingdom. The film follows the international controversy surrounding King Seretse Khama of Botswana (Oyelowo) marrying Ruth Williams (Pike), a white woman from London, in late 1940s. "The amazing thing about Seretse and Ruth's story is that even though there is a political element to it, the bulk of what we are truly discussing is the power of love," Oyelowo says a video featurette exclusively released to E! News. The movie is based on Susan Williams' 2006 book Colour Bar: The Triumph of Seretse Khama and His Nation. In one scene,...
- 1/26/2017
- E! Online
Fox Searchlight has released a new trailer for A United Kingdom, and it offers a closer look at David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike's international romance.
Written by Guy Hibbert and adapted from Susan Williams' book Colour Bar, Amma Asante's historical drama tells the story of Seretse Khama (Oyelowo), a member of the royal family in Bechuanaland, a former English colony in Africa that would become Botswana. He shocked the world when he married white British bank clerk Ruth Williams (Pike) in 1948, when interracial marriage was illegal.
"Father will hate him on sight — he's cleverer than him, and he's black," Pike is...
Written by Guy Hibbert and adapted from Susan Williams' book Colour Bar, Amma Asante's historical drama tells the story of Seretse Khama (Oyelowo), a member of the royal family in Bechuanaland, a former English colony in Africa that would become Botswana. He shocked the world when he married white British bank clerk Ruth Williams (Pike) in 1948, when interracial marriage was illegal.
"Father will hate him on sight — he's cleverer than him, and he's black," Pike is...
- 12/7/2016
- by Ashley Lee
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director Amma Asante follows up the excellent Belle with another terrific drama...
Amma Asante is no stranger when it comes to mixing the personal and political. As with her second feature, 2013’s Austenesque period piece Belle, Asante dusts off and illuminates another historic humanist story, earnestly transporting it to a global platform with a vividly crafted Hollywood sheen. A 1947 post-war London sees insurance clerk Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) and imminent heir of Bechuanaland (modern day Botswana) Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo) daringly lock eyes in amongst a swirl of tepid jazz music and smoke at a local missionary society dance. Their connection is instant and intimate yet also exceedingly dangerous.
See related Shane Black: a career retrospective Zack Snyder interview: Batman V Superman
Adapted from Susan Williams’ novel Colour Bar, A United Kingdom initially rushes the whirlwind yearlong courtship which is interspersed with fractured familial relations (on both sides) and vulgar societal racism.
Amma Asante is no stranger when it comes to mixing the personal and political. As with her second feature, 2013’s Austenesque period piece Belle, Asante dusts off and illuminates another historic humanist story, earnestly transporting it to a global platform with a vividly crafted Hollywood sheen. A 1947 post-war London sees insurance clerk Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) and imminent heir of Bechuanaland (modern day Botswana) Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo) daringly lock eyes in amongst a swirl of tepid jazz music and smoke at a local missionary society dance. Their connection is instant and intimate yet also exceedingly dangerous.
See related Shane Black: a career retrospective Zack Snyder interview: Batman V Superman
Adapted from Susan Williams’ novel Colour Bar, A United Kingdom initially rushes the whirlwind yearlong courtship which is interspersed with fractured familial relations (on both sides) and vulgar societal racism.
- 11/24/2016
- Den of Geek
If Amma Asante’s newest historical romance “A United Kingdom” — like her breakout “Belle,” the film is based on a true story and rooted in real emotion — is hamstrung by anything, it’s the necessity of Guy Hibbert’s script (based on Susan Williams’ book, “Color Bar”) to zip over the early, blooming days of the film’s central love story and buckle down on the tough stuff. Asante’s film, unlike other, more “traditional” Hollywood love stories, isn’t interested in the joys of falling in love so much as the ability to stay in love against heartbreaking odds.
The result is a rich, stirring look at one of modern society’s most enduring — and yes, inspirational — marriages, underpinned by political machinations that remain all too relevant.
Picking up in 1947, with the world still jarred by the events or World War II and exhilarated that they are finally over,...
The result is a rich, stirring look at one of modern society’s most enduring — and yes, inspirational — marriages, underpinned by political machinations that remain all too relevant.
Picking up in 1947, with the world still jarred by the events or World War II and exhilarated that they are finally over,...
- 9/10/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Drama starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike to receive European premiere at Lff.
The 60th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 5-16) will open with director Amma Asante’s (Belle) drama A United Kingdom, starring David Oyelowo (Selma) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl).
The film will receive its European premiere at the festival on Wednesday Oct 5, marking the second consecutive year that London has opened with a film from a female director following last year’s opener Suffragette.
Cast and filmmakers are expected to attend the screening, which will be cinecast across the UK.
Set in the late 1940s, the true story centres on Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana (Oyelowo), who caused an international stir when he married white British office worker Ruth Williams (Pike).
Screenplay comes from Guy Hibbert (Eye In The Sky), based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams. Other cast includes Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton ([link...
The 60th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 5-16) will open with director Amma Asante’s (Belle) drama A United Kingdom, starring David Oyelowo (Selma) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl).
The film will receive its European premiere at the festival on Wednesday Oct 5, marking the second consecutive year that London has opened with a film from a female director following last year’s opener Suffragette.
Cast and filmmakers are expected to attend the screening, which will be cinecast across the UK.
Set in the late 1940s, the true story centres on Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana (Oyelowo), who caused an international stir when he married white British office worker Ruth Williams (Pike).
Screenplay comes from Guy Hibbert (Eye In The Sky), based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams. Other cast includes Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton ([link...
- 6/21/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Drama starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike to receive European premiere at Lff.
The 60th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 5-16) will open with director Amma Asante’s (Belle) drama A United Kingdom, starring David Oyelowo (Selma) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl).
The film will receive its European premiere at the festival on Wednesday Oct 5, marking the second consecutive year that London has opened with a film from a female director following last year’s opener Suffragette.
Cast and filmmakers are expected to attend the screening, which will be cinecast across the UK.
The story centres on Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana (Oyelowo), who causes an international stir when he marries a white woman (Pike) from London in the late 1940s.
Screenplay comes from Guy Hibbert (Eye In The Sky), based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams. Other cast includes Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Arnold Oceng ([link...
The 60th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 5-16) will open with director Amma Asante’s (Belle) drama A United Kingdom, starring David Oyelowo (Selma) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl).
The film will receive its European premiere at the festival on Wednesday Oct 5, marking the second consecutive year that London has opened with a film from a female director following last year’s opener Suffragette.
Cast and filmmakers are expected to attend the screening, which will be cinecast across the UK.
The story centres on Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana (Oyelowo), who causes an international stir when he marries a white woman (Pike) from London in the late 1940s.
Screenplay comes from Guy Hibbert (Eye In The Sky), based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams. Other cast includes Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Arnold Oceng ([link...
- 6/21/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Amma Asante’s A United Kingdom, starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike, will open the 60th BFI London Film Festival. The film tells the true story of Seretse Khama, King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker he married in 1947 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British and South African governments. Guy Hibbert (Eye in the Sky) wrote the script, based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams, and exec…...
- 6/21/2016
- Deadline
Documentary festival announces winners.
Cameraperson, a documentary about the career of cinematographer Kirsten Johnson, has won the grand jury award at Sheffield Doc/Fest (June 10-15).
Johnson, who also directs the film, is the Us cinematographer behind Laura Poitras’ Oscar-winning Edward Snowden doc Citizenfour and Kirby Dick’s The Invisible War among many others.
The award, supported by Screen International and Broadcast, comes with a cash prize of £2,000 ($2,800).
The jury described the film as “a work that´s both expansive and intimate, formally ambitious and morally humble”.
“Though this filmmaker has travelled the world to tell others stories, her real...
Cameraperson, a documentary about the career of cinematographer Kirsten Johnson, has won the grand jury award at Sheffield Doc/Fest (June 10-15).
Johnson, who also directs the film, is the Us cinematographer behind Laura Poitras’ Oscar-winning Edward Snowden doc Citizenfour and Kirby Dick’s The Invisible War among many others.
The award, supported by Screen International and Broadcast, comes with a cash prize of £2,000 ($2,800).
The jury described the film as “a work that´s both expansive and intimate, formally ambitious and morally humble”.
“Though this filmmaker has travelled the world to tell others stories, her real...
- 6/14/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
An artist has been given a £20,000 grant for a new project to study attitudes towards female bottoms in different cultures. Sue Williams will use the grant to make a series of moulds of women's bottoms, including her own, for the piece, Western Mail reports. Williams said: "The project is taking on the issues around the bottom and how it is viewed in contemporary culture and by the (more)...
- 6/30/2009
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
Billie Jean King has broken down barriers for 40 years. Her long-ago victory over Bobby Riggs in that famous Battle of the Sexes tennis match was The Moment in American gender relations. Now she's written LifeTime Media's "Pressure Is a Privilege: Lessons I've Learned From Life and the Battle of the Sexes." The foreword's by Holly Hunter who, in 2001, played Billie Jean in the TV movie "When Billie Beat Bobby."
"This is my eighth book," she told me, "but the first in 20 years and my first time...
"This is my eighth book," she told me, "but the first in 20 years and my first time...
- 8/5/2008
- by By CINDY ADAMS
- NYPost.com
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