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Focus Features has acquired the rights to Elsinore, a biopic of actor Ian Charleson that stars Andrew Scott alongside Academy Award winner Olivia Colman. The studio won a fierce bidding fight and is now positioning the film as a fall festival and awards contender.
Focus Features wins bidding battle for prestige biopic
Industry sources say Focus Features secured U.S. and multiple international territories after a competitive auction. The studio is targeting a festival launch this autumn to begin the film’s awards push.
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- Festival programmers from Venice, Telluride, Toronto and New York are reportedly watching the title.
- No premiere location has been finalized yet.
- People who have screened the film praise the lead performance and overall production.
A life on stage: what the film covers
Written by Stephen Beresford and directed by Simon Stone, Elsinore focuses on the last months of Ian Charleson’s life. Charleson is best known for playing Olympic runner Eric Liddell in the Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire.
The drama follows Charleson as he takes on Hamlet at London’s National Theatre while privately fighting an AIDS diagnosis. He died in January 1990, weeks after that run ended.
Star power and on-screen roles
Andrew Scott headlines as Ian Charleson and also serves as a producer. He arrives fresh from high-profile work that kept industry attention on him this year.
Principal cast members
- Olivia Colman — plays the physician who cared for Charleson during his illness.
- Billie Piper
- Johnny Flynn
- Luke Thompson
- Monica Dolan
- Juliet Stevenson
- Joe Locke
- Adeel Akhtar
- Matthew Beard
- David Dawson as Derek Jarman
- Kadiff Kirwan, Dickie Beau and Peter Mullan
Production companies and creative team
The project was financed and produced by a coalition of companies, including StudioCanal, LD Entertainment, Lucky Red and Magnolia Mae Films. Producers include Andrea Occhipinti and Gaby Tana, alongside Pete Shilaimon, Mickey Liddell, Stefano Massenzi and Carolyn Marks Blackwood.
Simon Stone directed on location across the U.K. The cinematographer is Mike Eley and the editor is Valerio Bonelli.
How Elsinore strengthens Focus Features’ fall lineup
The acquisition adds a theater-centered awards drama to a diverse slate. Focus has had a strong year, with a breakout horror hit that became its highest-grossing film.
- Upcoming Focus titles include a new Sense and Sensibility starring Daisy Edgar-Jones.
- Robert Eggers’ gothic horror Werwulf is on the roster.
- Paul Greengrass’ The Uprising, starring Andrew Garfield and Jamie Bell, is also planned for release.
Elsinore gives the studio a more intimate, performance-driven contender to pair with its starrier projects.
Deal details and representation
Focus declined to comment publicly on the acquisition. Sources say CAA Media Finance brokered the deal with Focus.
Andrew Scott is represented by United Agents, CAA and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
