The
Long Firm
A
four-part drama for ´óÏó´«Ã½ TWO based on Jake Arnott's critically acclaimed
novel
"Brilliant…Arnott's
great achievement is making his grisly hero so darn likeable, even
when he's at his ugliest." The Times
"The
evocation of Sixties London is brilliantly done and the powerful,
stylish writing hooks the reader from the first page."
Mail on Sunday
The
dark underbelly of '60s London is brought into sharp focus in Joe
Penhall's adaptation of Jake Arnott's critically-acclaimed novel
The Long Firm.
Cool,
stylish and sexy, Penhall's four-part drama for ´óÏó´«Ã½ TWO captures
the colourful and seedy side of the criminal underworld and tells
the story of Harry Starks, played by Mark Strong, as seen through
the eyes of four characters that come into his orbit - a Tory Lord,
an actress, a lowlife speed dealer and an academic.
Starks
is a charismatic nightclub owner, racketeer, porn king and Judy
Garland fan who makes and loses his fortune in '60s Soho.
Starks
is no regular gangster – he's an intelligent, vulnerable and
complex man who yearns for something more than the rough and tumble
of criminal life. Everyone that he encounters is changed forever
by the experience.
Jane
Tranter, Controller of Drama Commissioning says: "The Long
Firm is one of a number of bold and sophisticated dramas on ´óÏó´«Ã½
TWO next year alongside Hawking and Gunpowder, Treason and Plot.
"Joe
Penhall's stylish adaptation encapsulates the gritty realism of
'60s London, providing a colourful insight into a little-known world
of corruption, sleaze and mobster excess."
Strong
supporting cast includes Sir Derek Jacobi as Lord Teddy Thursby,
a cash-strapped politician whose introduction to Harry Starks through
an associate is a match made in heaven.
Starks
uses the peer's impressive name to give credibility to his shady
dealings, while Thursby gets to slum it with the lowlifes and indulge
his taste for young men away from the disapproving gaze of his wife.
Fading
movie star Ruby Ryder (Lena Headey) is just the kind of person Starks
likes to have at his club. Down on her luck, she agrees to help
him out and choreograph his strippers, and even give acting lessons
to Starks' toyboy Tommy (Joe Absolom).
But
she soon learns that you never get something for nothing.
Phil
Daniels is Jimmy, a petty criminal and general lowlife who gets
caught up in Harry's world. He is on a quest to find out the truth
about a young murdered rent boy.
Shaun
Dingwall plays Lenny, a young lecturer and radical criminologist
who becomes enthralled by Starks when he teaches him in prison,
ending up following him to an explosive dénouement on the
Costa Del Crime.
George
Costigan plays bent copper Detective Sergeant Mooney.
Currently
filming in London until March 2004, The Long Firm is directed by
Bille Eltringham (Kid In The Corner, This Is Not A Love Song) and
written by the 2001 Evening Standard Award & Olivier Award winner
Joe Penhall (Blue/Orange).
The
producer is Liza Marshall (The Sins, Eroica) and the executive producers
are Hilary Salmon, Laura Mackie and David Bernath for ´óÏó´«Ã½ America.
Joe
Penhall's script of Enduring Love (working title) is directed by
Roger Michell and is due for cinematic release next year.
In
addition, his powerful, award-winning West End play, Blue/Orange,
is to be re-imagined for the small screen on ´óÏó´«Ã½ FOUR next year,
in a new adaptation directed by Penhall himself.
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