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JJ Abrams, musicals moving from stage to screen, Derek Owusu

JJ Abrams on directing The Rise of Skywalker, the epic conclusion of the 42-year Star Wars saga, and Derek Owusu talks about his debut novel That Reminds Me.

JJ Abrams on overcoming his initial qualms about directing The Rise of Skywalker, the epic conclusion of the 42 year Star Wars saga. A huge juggling act, the film must satisfy fans, financiers and critics while tying up the many themes and plotlines of its eight predecessors. How did he do it?

The long awaited film of Cats starring national treasures Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen has been slammed by the critics, even getting zero stars in The Telegraph. Cats is a musical that has strayed from stage to screen; others wander off in the opposite direction. The critics Matt Wolff and Sarah Crompton tease out what works in the theatre but not on screen, and on film but not live on stage.

Writer, poet and podcaster Derek Owusu talks about his coming of age debut novel That Reminds Me, one of the first books to be published by Merky Books, the publishing house launched by Stormzy in partnership with Penguin Random House.

Presenter: John Wilson
Producer: Hilary Dunn

Available now

28 minutes

JJ Abrams

JJ Abrams

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is out now, certificate 12A.

Images: Main image above: J.J. Abrams and John Wilson

Image to the left: Daisy Riley as Rey in

Image credit: (c) ILM and 2019 Lucasfilm Ltd

Musicals moving from stage to screen

Musicals moving from stage to screen

is in UK cinemas now, certificate U.

Image: Dame Judi Dench as Old Deuteronomy in Cats

Image credit: 2019 Universal Pictures

Derek Owusu

Derek Owusu

by Derek Owusu is out now in hardback, and as an audio download and eBook.

Image: Derek Owusu

Image credit: Josima Senior

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  • Fri 20 Dec 2019 19:15

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