This year saw Marvel try their hand at the spy genre with the pale John le Carré pastiche that was "Secret Invasion." A lot went wrong with the show, to the point that it became yet another nail in what may or may not be the McU's coffin. Meanwhile, Daniel Craig's 007 has completed his transformation from a grounded, layered character to whatever he was during that divisive James Bond film "No Time To Die." "Slow Horses," on the other hand, is spying done right.
The main draw of the Apple TV+ show is undoubtedly Gary Oldman's performance as Jackson Lamb, the slovenly, sarcastic head of Slough House, home to a band of misfit screw-up sleuths banished from MI5 headquarters. Now in its third season, "Slow Horses" has benefitted hugely not just from its excellent source material — Mick Herron's "Slough House" series of novels — but from Oldman's presence.
The main draw of the Apple TV+ show is undoubtedly Gary Oldman's performance as Jackson Lamb, the slovenly, sarcastic head of Slough House, home to a band of misfit screw-up sleuths banished from MI5 headquarters. Now in its third season, "Slow Horses" has benefitted hugely not just from its excellent source material — Mick Herron's "Slough House" series of novels — but from Oldman's presence.
- 12/18/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Gary Oldman’s Role in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy When Gary Oldman stepped into the shoes of George Smiley in ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’, he not only filled the large footprints left by Alec Guinness, but also revitalized a classic spy narrative for a modern audience. We’ve never seen Oldman like this before, and he’s simply stunning: his soliloquy about his only meeting with his counterpart, the Soviet super-spy Karla, is so engrossing you forget to breathe. Alec Guinness immortalised Smiley in the 1970s TV version of this story, yet Oldman is easily his equal, a critic once remarked. This portrayal...
- 12/6/2023
- by Steve Delikson
- TVovermind.com
Jobs can suck. If you’re past 25, you’ve probably had one that left you feeling like a three-legged whippet abandoned at the pound. Maybe everything was grand, and then there was a regime change, and the new boss won’t talk to you. Then you get demoted after getting blamed for something that was really Dilbert No. 8’s fault. Your sense of self-worth nosedives, and you must seek out a therapist who is not in your network. You wander the streets looking up “gaslighting” on your phone and wondering if it is you who sucks.
This is pretty much the setup for Apple TV+’s “Slow Horses” which begins its delightfully grim third season on Wednesday. Ok, there’s a lot of intrigue and gunfire, but at its core it is the tale of precariously employed worker drones making their way through a broken workplace led by a flatulent...
This is pretty much the setup for Apple TV+’s “Slow Horses” which begins its delightfully grim third season on Wednesday. Ok, there’s a lot of intrigue and gunfire, but at its core it is the tale of precariously employed worker drones making their way through a broken workplace led by a flatulent...
- 11/29/2023
- by Stephen Rodrick
- Variety Film + TV
John le Carré’s famous spy character George Smiley hasn’t retired quite yet. Nick Harkaway, le Carré’s son, is writing a new Smiley novel that will publish globally in fall 2024.
Smiley was known for his depiction as the archetypal British secret agent of the 20th century through novels such as The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smiley’s People. From his debut in 1961 to his most recent outing in 2017, Smiley novels have sold more than 30 million copies across formats.
The book will explore the decade of Smiley’s life in between the final scenes of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and the start of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The polite and self-deprecating character works for the shadowy British intelligence agency ‘The Circus’ and is considered a foil to the showier James Bond.
Penguin Random House’s label Viking will publish the new,...
Smiley was known for his depiction as the archetypal British secret agent of the 20th century through novels such as The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smiley’s People. From his debut in 1961 to his most recent outing in 2017, Smiley novels have sold more than 30 million copies across formats.
The book will explore the decade of Smiley’s life in between the final scenes of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and the start of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The polite and self-deprecating character works for the shadowy British intelligence agency ‘The Circus’ and is considered a foil to the showier James Bond.
Penguin Random House’s label Viking will publish the new,...
- 11/10/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: The first call Stephen Garrett made after acquiring the rights to suspense-fuelled book Culprits: The Heist Was Just the Beginning was to writer and director J Blakeson, who he hailed as “the real deal.”
Blakeson “has seen every crime movie and thriller. You can’t catch him out really,” Garrett pronounced sagely. He was ideal, then, to write and direct the TV adaptation of the multi-layered, heart-stopping anthology, edited by Richard Brewer and Gary Phillips.
The result is Culprits, an eight-part thriller starring Nathan Stewart-Jarrett in a career-changing role, and Gemma Arterton, about the maelstrom that swirls after a gang of ruthless thieves pull off an ingenious heist.
Disney+ streams Culprits in the UK and Ireland on November 8 and in the U.S. on December 8 on Hulu. Garrett is executive producer, as are showrunner, writer and director Blakeson, and Johanna Devereaux. It’s produced by Morenike Williams.
The two men had met 14 years ago,...
Blakeson “has seen every crime movie and thriller. You can’t catch him out really,” Garrett pronounced sagely. He was ideal, then, to write and direct the TV adaptation of the multi-layered, heart-stopping anthology, edited by Richard Brewer and Gary Phillips.
The result is Culprits, an eight-part thriller starring Nathan Stewart-Jarrett in a career-changing role, and Gemma Arterton, about the maelstrom that swirls after a gang of ruthless thieves pull off an ingenious heist.
Disney+ streams Culprits in the UK and Ireland on November 8 and in the U.S. on December 8 on Hulu. Garrett is executive producer, as are showrunner, writer and director Blakeson, and Johanna Devereaux. It’s produced by Morenike Williams.
The two men had met 14 years ago,...
- 11/3/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Under the non de plume John Le Carre, David Cornwall penned a series of best-selling spy novels including “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” ‘The Little Drummer Girl’’ and “The Russia House,” that are cerebral, unadorned, gritty. The antitheist of Ian Fleming’s suave James Bond. In fact, his most popular character George Smiley just blended into the crowd: “Obscurity was his nature, as well as his profession,” Cornwall described him in “A Murder of Quality.” “The byways of espionage are not populated by the brash and colorful adventure of fiction. A man who, like Smiley, had lived and worked for years among his country’s enemies learns only one prayer; that he may never, never be noticed. Assimilation is his highest aim.”
Before his death at the age of 89 in in December, 2020, Cornwall sat down for a rare interview with award-winning documentarian Errol Morris...
Before his death at the age of 89 in in December, 2020, Cornwall sat down for a rare interview with award-winning documentarian Errol Morris...
- 10/23/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
In 2016, John le Carré published a memoir called “The Pigeon Tunnel,” which the late spy novelist — who died in late 2020 — claims had been the working title of nearly all his books at some point. For le Carré, the term describes the passage through which naive birds of sport were forced from their nests, only to emerge as targets for marksmen waiting with rifles poised at a hotel in Monte Carlo. That’s just one of several metaphors Le Carré uses to communicate his cynical worldview in a playful portrait from Errol Morris, whose career-long interest in truth and delusion fits his subject so well, the whole film ultimately feels like a bit of a ploy.
For starters, there was no such person as John le Carré, a pseudonym adopted by David Cornwell, an Oxford-educated ex-spy who turned to literature to process the absurdity of England’s so-called “intelligence” industry, which Cornwell slyly dubbed “the Circus.
For starters, there was no such person as John le Carré, a pseudonym adopted by David Cornwell, an Oxford-educated ex-spy who turned to literature to process the absurdity of England’s so-called “intelligence” industry, which Cornwell slyly dubbed “the Circus.
- 10/20/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
You’ve no doubt heard of John le Carré––at least for the film adaptations of his novels, among them The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, A Most Wanted Man, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Before his death in 2020, the prolific and wildly successful author (real name: David Cornwell) sat down with Errol Morris to discuss his career, his childhood, and the nature of truth. The result is The Pigeon Tunnel, adapted from le Carré’s 2016 memoir of the same name. Revolving entirely around interviews with Cornwell, The Pigeon Tunnel proves a worthy watch for the novelist’s fans. It’s also too shallow to really captivate a layperson.
That’s not to say Cornwell is a trifling subject. He speaks like a writer, conjuring delightful phrases out of thin air. At the start he describes Morris’s filmmaking style thusly: “Sometimes you’re a spectral figure, sometimes you’re God,...
That’s not to say Cornwell is a trifling subject. He speaks like a writer, conjuring delightful phrases out of thin air. At the start he describes Morris’s filmmaking style thusly: “Sometimes you’re a spectral figure, sometimes you’re God,...
- 10/2/2023
- by Lena Wilson
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: David Cornwell, the British spy better known to the world under his pen name John le Carré, reveals secrets of his extraordinary life in a documentary directed by nonfiction filmmaking legend Errol Morris.
The Pigeon Tunnel, from Apple Original Films and The Ink Factory (The Night Manager), is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on October 20.
Following a career in Britain’s MI5 and MI6 in the 1950s and ‘60s, Cornwell became the mega-bestselling author of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Night Manager and The Constant Gardener, all of which were successfully adapted by Hollywood. His fictional creation George Smiley, the veteran intelligence officer who appears in many of those books, has been played on screen by James Mason, Alec Guinness, Denholm Elliott, and Gary Oldman.
“Set against the turbulent backdrop of the Cold War leading into present day, the film...
The Pigeon Tunnel, from Apple Original Films and The Ink Factory (The Night Manager), is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on October 20.
Following a career in Britain’s MI5 and MI6 in the 1950s and ‘60s, Cornwell became the mega-bestselling author of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Night Manager and The Constant Gardener, all of which were successfully adapted by Hollywood. His fictional creation George Smiley, the veteran intelligence officer who appears in many of those books, has been played on screen by James Mason, Alec Guinness, Denholm Elliott, and Gary Oldman.
“Set against the turbulent backdrop of the Cold War leading into present day, the film...
- 7/24/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
This article contains spoilers
Secret Invasion is not the first time the MCU has dipped its toe into the spy genre; Captain America: The Winter Soldier has been a fan favorite among MCU films since it was released in 2014. But Secret Invasion, a show following not superheroes (Rhodey aside), but human spies and aliens posing as humans, embraces the spy genre more than anything we’ve seen yet. With Russia back in the bad guy role, the show draws on the best spy dramas of the Cold War, and with London featuring quite heavily in its story and the British Prime Minister having a major role, a lot of those dramas are British spy classics.
The best known British spy dramas are, of course, the James Bond novels and the films inspired by them. Author Ian Fleming had worked for the British Naval Intelligence Division in World War Two, so...
Secret Invasion is not the first time the MCU has dipped its toe into the spy genre; Captain America: The Winter Soldier has been a fan favorite among MCU films since it was released in 2014. But Secret Invasion, a show following not superheroes (Rhodey aside), but human spies and aliens posing as humans, embraces the spy genre more than anything we’ve seen yet. With Russia back in the bad guy role, the show draws on the best spy dramas of the Cold War, and with London featuring quite heavily in its story and the British Prime Minister having a major role, a lot of those dramas are British spy classics.
The best known British spy dramas are, of course, the James Bond novels and the films inspired by them. Author Ian Fleming had worked for the British Naval Intelligence Division in World War Two, so...
- 7/3/2023
- by Kirsten Howard
- Den of Geek
A version of this story about Gary Oldman and “Slow Horses” first ran in the drama issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
Here is how the world was introduced to Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb, distinguished British spy: He is asleep on the couch in his office, a wreck of a room littered with half-drunk bottles of booze, overflowing ashtrays and the remains of several fast-food take-out meals. The camera pulls in, rests a beat on his holey-socked feet, and then: He rips a fart so uproarious, it jolts him upright, yanking him out of his slumber.
This is not the suave world of British spies epitomized by James Bond and John le Carré’s George Smiley (who Oldman played in 2011’s “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”). This is “Slow Horses,” Apple TV+’s viciously funny espionage thriller about MI5 agents sent to a purgatorial outpost called Slough House, where they...
Here is how the world was introduced to Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb, distinguished British spy: He is asleep on the couch in his office, a wreck of a room littered with half-drunk bottles of booze, overflowing ashtrays and the remains of several fast-food take-out meals. The camera pulls in, rests a beat on his holey-socked feet, and then: He rips a fart so uproarious, it jolts him upright, yanking him out of his slumber.
This is not the suave world of British spies epitomized by James Bond and John le Carré’s George Smiley (who Oldman played in 2011’s “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”). This is “Slow Horses,” Apple TV+’s viciously funny espionage thriller about MI5 agents sent to a purgatorial outpost called Slough House, where they...
- 6/16/2023
- by Missy Schwartz
- The Wrap
John le Carre’s George Smiley would have spotted the tail immediately. He would have noticed the man with an earpiece far to his left move in lockstep with the chap to his right.
The early rather odd conversation with the bloke in the white shirt, exposing chest hair, who identified himself as “head of security” would have put him on his guard and seen it for what it was: a warning.
Let me back up a bit.
Snowy-haired Michel, the head doorman at Eden-Roc, greeted me when I arrived for the Air Mail-Warner Bros. Party hosted by Graydon Carter, founder and co-editor of newsletter Air Mail, and David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery.
David Zaslav chatting to a guest at the Air Mail-Warner Bros Party.Photo Bamigboye/Deadline
Guests are finishing dinner, we’re here for the after-party.
The place sure looks swell. There’s a...
The early rather odd conversation with the bloke in the white shirt, exposing chest hair, who identified himself as “head of security” would have put him on his guard and seen it for what it was: a warning.
Let me back up a bit.
Snowy-haired Michel, the head doorman at Eden-Roc, greeted me when I arrived for the Air Mail-Warner Bros. Party hosted by Graydon Carter, founder and co-editor of newsletter Air Mail, and David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery.
David Zaslav chatting to a guest at the Air Mail-Warner Bros Party.Photo Bamigboye/Deadline
Guests are finishing dinner, we’re here for the after-party.
The place sure looks swell. There’s a...
- 5/24/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
These days he's known as one of the finest actors in the industry for his almost unmatched versatility and range. Gary Oldman is frequently unrecognizable from role to role. Not only has he built a respected career as a result, but back in the mid-80s — before his appearances in the Harry Potter franchise or Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy — Oldman was coming off an acclaimed run in the theater and was yet to make his name in the film industry.
Having starred in 1982's "Remembrance," the actor wouldn't appear in another film until 1986 when he had to be talked into playing Sid Vicious. By his own admission, Oldman had little to no interest in the Sex Pistols bassist (or punk in general), but was convinced by director Alex Cox to take on the lead role in his retelling of Vicious' dysfunctional relationship with Nancy Spungen. Almost 30 years later,...
Having starred in 1982's "Remembrance," the actor wouldn't appear in another film until 1986 when he had to be talked into playing Sid Vicious. By his own admission, Oldman had little to no interest in the Sex Pistols bassist (or punk in general), but was convinced by director Alex Cox to take on the lead role in his retelling of Vicious' dysfunctional relationship with Nancy Spungen. Almost 30 years later,...
- 3/4/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Actor and Oscar winner Gary Oldman has starred in a wide range of memorable films. But perhaps one of his most unforgettable roles in the film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy might have briefly been his most unpleasant.
How Gary Oldman was cast in ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ Gary Oldman | Ivan Romano/Getty Images
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was based on the 1970s novel of the same name and directed by Tomas Alfredson. The 2011 film is also set around the 1970s, and saw Gary Oldman playing veteran MI6 agent George Smiley. The veteran is brought out of retirement by MI6 to sniff out a potential mole they suspect has infiltrated their organization.
Alfredson was interested in Oldman in the main role after having a difficult time imagining other actors for the part. According to Oldman, Alfredson was almost completely discouraged from casting the role before Oldman’s name was brought up.
How Gary Oldman was cast in ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ Gary Oldman | Ivan Romano/Getty Images
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was based on the 1970s novel of the same name and directed by Tomas Alfredson. The 2011 film is also set around the 1970s, and saw Gary Oldman playing veteran MI6 agent George Smiley. The veteran is brought out of retirement by MI6 to sniff out a potential mole they suspect has infiltrated their organization.
Alfredson was interested in Oldman in the main role after having a difficult time imagining other actors for the part. According to Oldman, Alfredson was almost completely discouraged from casting the role before Oldman’s name was brought up.
- 2/18/2023
- by Antonio Stallings
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Gary Oldman is one of the greatest film actors of all time. His versatility is so established now that there are internet memes about his uncanny ability to just simply vanish into a role. No other actor could convincingly play real-life figures as diverse as Lee Harvey Oswald and Winston Churchill, let alone such contrasting literary characters as Dracula and George Smiley. It's this versatility that has led to his success and longevity as an actor; he can play the hero, the villain, a supporting role, or a mere cameo, and never gives a part anything less than his all, whether he's playing Beethoven or a CGI peacock.
It's true that he displayed a propensity for playing villains in outlandish science fiction romps like "The Fifth Element," popcorn actioners like "Air Force One," or serial killer thrillers like "Hannibal." However, more recently he has received long overdue recognition for his...
It's true that he displayed a propensity for playing villains in outlandish science fiction romps like "The Fifth Element," popcorn actioners like "Air Force One," or serial killer thrillers like "Hannibal." However, more recently he has received long overdue recognition for his...
- 2/12/2023
- by Nick Bartlett
- Slash Film
I’ve watched a lot of TV this year. I wake up in the morning, brew a pot of coffee, and sit down to watch television until my eyes go square in their sockets. It’s a quotidian world of ticking time bombs, raunchy rutting, and liberally littered laughs.
The following 10 shows represent my favourites from the past 12 months. Some were watched for work and some were watched for pleasure, but all were immensely enjoyable. In a year dominated by two blockbuster fantasy shows – HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon and Amazon’s Tolkien epic The Rings of Power – the work I enjoyed most erred on the side of the irreverent. Funny, cynical, moving, thrilling; there’s a little of everything on this list.
But before we get into it, I think it’s important to recognise my biases: competently assembled though many of these shows are,...
The following 10 shows represent my favourites from the past 12 months. Some were watched for work and some were watched for pleasure, but all were immensely enjoyable. In a year dominated by two blockbuster fantasy shows – HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon and Amazon’s Tolkien epic The Rings of Power – the work I enjoyed most erred on the side of the irreverent. Funny, cynical, moving, thrilling; there’s a little of everything on this list.
But before we get into it, I think it’s important to recognise my biases: competently assembled though many of these shows are,...
- 12/24/2022
- by Nick Hilton
- The Independent - TV
I’ve watched a lot of TV this year. I wake up in the morning, brew a pot of coffee, and sit down to watch television until my eyes go square in their sockets. It’s a quotidian world of ticking time bombs, raunchy rutting, and liberally littered laughs.
The following 10 shows represent my favourites from the past 12 months. Some were watched for work and some were watched for pleasure, but all were immensely enjoyable. In a year dominated by two blockbuster fantasy shows – HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon and Amazon’s Tolkien epic The Rings of Power – the work I enjoyed most erred on the side of the irreverent. Funny, cynical, moving, thrilling; there’s a little of everything on this list.
But before we get into it, I think it’s important to recognise my biases: competently assembled though many of these shows are,...
The following 10 shows represent my favourites from the past 12 months. Some were watched for work and some were watched for pleasure, but all were immensely enjoyable. In a year dominated by two blockbuster fantasy shows – HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon and Amazon’s Tolkien epic The Rings of Power – the work I enjoyed most erred on the side of the irreverent. Funny, cynical, moving, thrilling; there’s a little of everything on this list.
But before we get into it, I think it’s important to recognise my biases: competently assembled though many of these shows are,...
- 12/24/2022
- by Nick Hilton
- The Independent - TV
Hollywood legend Gary Oldman has found “great joy” in playing the Falstaffian and flatulent British espionage operative Jackson Lamb in the Apple TV+ series “Slow Horses”, which has just launched Season Two.
The “Harry Potter” star also confirmed he will play the role of former US President Harry Truman in one scene in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer”, reports Deadline.
Lank-haired Lamb plays the operative in charge of a host of lost causes exiled out of harm’s way to Slough House where they wind up defending the realm from harm. Lamb looks shambolic in a shabby raincoat, weather-proofed by beer stains and slops of Kung-pao chicken, and yet you can never underestimate him.
“I don’t know how nice Jackson is really,” he told Deadline. “I think that rather than seeking a career in the spy world, the spy world finds you. And so he is loyal and has a...
The “Harry Potter” star also confirmed he will play the role of former US President Harry Truman in one scene in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer”, reports Deadline.
Lank-haired Lamb plays the operative in charge of a host of lost causes exiled out of harm’s way to Slough House where they wind up defending the realm from harm. Lamb looks shambolic in a shabby raincoat, weather-proofed by beer stains and slops of Kung-pao chicken, and yet you can never underestimate him.
“I don’t know how nice Jackson is really,” he told Deadline. “I think that rather than seeking a career in the spy world, the spy world finds you. And so he is loyal and has a...
- 12/18/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Exclusive: Gary Oldman has found “great joy” in playing the Falstaffian, flatulent-sharing, British espionage operative Jackson Lamb in Apple TV+’s Slow Horses, which has just launched season two. Meanwhile, the Harry Potter star confirmed he will play Harry Truman in one scene in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
Lank-haired Lamb plays the operative in charge of a host of lost causes exiled out of harms way to Slough House where they wind up defending the realm from harm.
Lamb looks shambolic in shabby raincoat, weather-proofed by beer stains and slops of Kung-pao chicken, and yet you can never underestimate him.
”I don’t know how nice Jackson is really,” he tells Deadline. “I think that rather than seeking a career in the spy world, the spy world finds you. And so he is loyal and has a very strong sort of moral compass and is in a very questionable career...
Lank-haired Lamb plays the operative in charge of a host of lost causes exiled out of harms way to Slough House where they wind up defending the realm from harm.
Lamb looks shambolic in shabby raincoat, weather-proofed by beer stains and slops of Kung-pao chicken, and yet you can never underestimate him.
”I don’t know how nice Jackson is really,” he tells Deadline. “I think that rather than seeking a career in the spy world, the spy world finds you. And so he is loyal and has a very strong sort of moral compass and is in a very questionable career...
- 12/17/2022
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
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