Shooting Is Underway On The British Historical Comedy SEIZE THEM! With Aimee Lou Wood And Nicola Coughlan Amongst The Lead Cast

SHOOTING IS UNDERWAY ON THE BRITISH HISTORICAL COMEDY SEIZE THEM!

LEAD CAST ANNOUNCED AS AIMEE LOU WOOD, LOLLY ADEFOPE, NICOLA COUGHLAN WITH NICK FROST & JESSICA HYNES

Principal photography begins today on the historical comedy, SEIZE THEM! Directed by Curtis Vowell (Baby Done, Fantail), SEIZE THEM! is written by Andy Riley (‘Veep’, Ron's Gone Wrong) and is produced by Damian Jones (Absolutely Fabulous The Movie, The Lady in the Van) and Matthew James Wilkinson (Days of the Bagnold Summer, Yesterday). Executive produced by Nigel Green, Jack Webb, Sophie Meyer, Paul Grindey and Andy Riley; the film is financed by Entertainment Film Distributors who are also releasing the film in the UK and Ireland.

BAFTA winner, Aimee Lou Wood (’Sex Education’, Living), leads a cast featuring the very best in comic British talent; Lolly Adefope (‘Shrill’, ‘Ghosts’, ‘This Time with Alan Partridge’), Nicola Coughlan (‘Bridgerton’, ‘Derry Girls’), Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, The World’s End, Paul) and Jessica Hynes (‘W1A’, ‘Spaced’).

SEIZE THEM! is a female led comedy set in dark ages Britain that is funny, tender and outrageous. Queen Dagan (Aimee Lou Wood) is master of all she surveys, with an ego to match - until she’s toppled by a revolution led by the charismatic Humble Joan (Nicola Coughlan). The Queen becomes a fugitive in her own land, a hefty bounty on her head. With the help of Shulmay (Lolly Adefope), a former servant with a lot of secrets - and Bobik (Nick Frost), a shit-shoveller who wants more out of life - Queen Dagan must face every conceivable hardship and danger as she embarks on a voyage to win back her throne. She also has to face up to the very worst parts of herself. Can she become Queen again? And can she become a better person while she does it? And what if she has to choose?

Producer Damian Jones says of the project “We are very excited to be working with the funniest young actresses around today in Aimee, Lolly and Nicola as well as the epic Nick Frost and Jess Hynes. Backed by one of the best distributors in the UK in Nigel Green and EFD we feel privileged to be bringing this project to the big screen.”

Nick Frost adds “The chance to shoot in Wales, the land of my Fathers, with Aimee and Lolly saying the terrific words, out loud, that Andy Riley has written, was a sweet temptation I found hard to resist.”

SEIZE THEM! Will shoot over 6 weeks in Kent and Wales.

Aimee Lou Wood (Credit Matt Holyoak) / Nick Frost (Credit Pal Hansen) / Nicola Coughlan (Credit Campbell Addy ℅ Netflix)

AIMEE LOU WOOD
Having graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2017, Aimee Lou Wood has worked extensively on television, film and theatre ever since. Aimee’s breakout role in Netflix’s ‘Sex Education’ garnered her a BAFTA for Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme in 2018 and instantly cemented her as one to watch.

Aimee’s film debut arrived with her role In The Electrical Life of Louis Wain directed by Will Sharpe. Most recently she stars opposite Bill Nighy in the highly anticipated Living which created buzz at Sundance in 2022.

Aimee has appeared on stage at the National Theatre in London and Steppenwolf in Chicago amongst others in productions that include ‘People, Places, & Things’, ‘Scuttlers’, ‘Vinegar Tom’ and the role of Sonya in ‘Uncle Vanya’ at the Pinter theatre.

LOLLY ADEFOPE
Lolly Adefope is an award-winning character comedian and one of the most exciting comedy actors to emerge from the UK in recent years. Her extensive broadcast credits include ‘Shrill’, ‘Miracle Workers’, ‘Ghosts’, ‘This Time With Alan Partridge', ‘Loaded’, ‘Damned' and ‘Taskmaster’. Lolly starred in her own self written short, Sorry, and wrote and starred in Lolly Adefope’s Christmas - which was nominated for a Broadcast Digital Award. Lolly co-stars in the feature films: The Spy Who Dumped Me and Mission: Impossible – Fallout and has written for The Guardian, WePresent and Feminists Don't Wear Pink. She was included in The ELLE List’s 2019 50 Game-Changers of Now; and The Evening Standard’s 2019 and 2018 Progress 1000.

NICK FROST
Nick is an actor, writer, and producer. He started his career in the acclaimed British comedy, ‘Spaced’, working alongside best friend Simon Pegg. The pair went on to star in The Cornetto Trilogy of movies directed by Edgar Wright – Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End – before going on to write and star in Paul, the alien adventure comedy that became an international box office hit. Nick also brought a Thompson Twin to life in Stephen Spielberg and Peter Jackson’s The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. Nick’s many film credits include Richard Curtis’ The Boat That Rocked, Joe Cornish’s Attack The Block and Stephen Merchant’s Fighting With My Family. Recent international TV roles include ‘Into the Badlands’ (AMC), ‘Why Women Kill’ (CBS), ‘The Nevers’ (HBO) and ‘Truth Seekers' (Amazon Prime) which he also served as an Executive Producer and lead Writer.

JESSICA HYNES
Jessica Hynes has worked extensively in television, film and theatre as both a writer and performer. Her television credits include ‘Roald and Beatrix’ (Sky1), ‘Years and Years’ (BBC) for which she won a Northern RTS Award, ‘There She Goes’ (BBC) where she won the RTS Awards for Female Best Performance and a BAFTA for Female Performance in a Comedy Programme, ‘The Royle Family’ (BBC), ‘Spaced’ (CH4) which she won 2 Comedy Awards for, ‘Doctor Who’ (BBC), ‘Cider with Rosie’ (BBC), ‘Hooten and the Lady’ (Sky), ‘Skins’ (CH4), ‘The Hour’ (BBC), ‘Moone Boy’ (CH4), ‘Blandings’ (BBC), ‘One Night’ (BBC) and ‘Twenty Twelve’ - the London Olympics centered satire, which gathered a huge cult following, TV Bafta nominations and its own brilliant spin off ‘W1A’ for which Jessica won a Bafta for. Jessica also wrote and starred in ‘Up The Women’ (BBC) for two series. Her film credits include Shaun Of The Dead, Bridget Jones; The Edge of Reason, Son of Rambow, Harry Potter, Pudsey The Dog, Paddington, Swallows & Amazons, Bridget Jones’S Baby, and Paddington 2. Her directorial debut The Fight was nominated for a BIFA award and won a Welsh Bafta for Cinematography, which she also starred in. Her theatre credits include ‘Far Away’ (Donmar Warehouse), ‘The Norman Conquests’ (Old Vic), for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for the Broadway transfer and the production won a Tony for Best Revival and ‘The Night Heron’, for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award (Royal Court).

NICOLA COUGHLAN
Nicola is most recognised for playing Penelope Featherington/Lady Whistledown in one of Netflix’s biggest series, ‘Bridgerton’, inspired by Julia Quinn’s bestselling novels. ‘Bridgerton’ was watched by a record 82 million households around the world in its first 28 days. ‘Bridgerton’ was nominated for a SAG Award in the ‘Best Television Series – Drama’ category. Nicola’s reveal as Lady Whistledown was nominated for the Virgin Media Must-See Moment Award at the 2021 BAFTA TV Awards. Nicola will reprise her role in the highly anticipated second series, coming to Netflix this month. ‘Bridgerton’ has also been renewed for a third and fourth series.

Nicola is also well-known for her role in the award-winning hit comedy series, ‘Derry Girls’, set in Derry, Northern Ireland in the 1990s during the end of The Troubles. Nicola plays fan favourite, Clare Devlin. Her bold performance in this role has helped gain both her and the show international recognition. The show was nominated for ‘Best Scripted Comedy’ at both the 2019 and 2020 BAFTA TV Awards.  ‘Derry Girls’ won ‘Best Comedy’ at The Broadcast Awards 2019, ‘Best Scripted Comedy’ at the Royal Television Society Awards 2019, ‘Best Comedy’ at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2019 and ‘Best Comedy’ at the Irish Film and Television Awards 2018. ‘Derry Girls’ series two launched with a consolidated audience of 3.2m viewers for episode one, making it Channel 4’s biggest UK comedy launch episode for 15 years. In Northern Ireland, the series two launch has been the most watched programme across all channels since series one. The third and final series will return this Spring.

Nicola’s theatre credits include THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE at the Donmar Warehouse and JESS AND JOE FOREVER at The Old Vic, the Orange Tree Theatre and Edinburgh International Festival.

DIRECTOR - CURTIS VOWELL
Curtis Vowell is a Cook Island Maori filmmaker from New Zealand. His debut feature, Fantail was nominated for 8 New Zealand Film Awards including Best Director and Best Film and screened at a number of international festivals, premiering at Rotterdam and winning a People’s Choice award at Melbourne International Film Festival. His second feature with Taika Waititi’s Piki Films, Baby Done stars Rose Matafeo and Matthew Lewis and won over audiences both at home and overseas last year.  Curtis also directs commercials and local drama.

WRITER - ANDY RILEY
Andy Riley is an Emmy-winning writer whose work includes many of the most loved British comedy shows. Credits include ‘Veep’, ‘Black Books’, ‘The Armando Iannucci Shows’, ‘Smack the Pony’, 'Year of the Rabbit' and ‘Little Britain'.

Andy’s feature credits number Ron’s Gone Wrong, Gnomeo & Juliet, Horrible Histories: The Movie, and The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists. He is the author/cartoonist of the Bunny Suicides books, which have sold over a million copies around the world.

About Entertainment Film Distributors
Entertainment Film Distributors is a leading UK independent distributor. The company was founded in 1978 and distributes a wide range of product as well as having built a significant film library. The company’s releases have garnered over 150 Academy, BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards encompassing a diverse range of films from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to The Inbetweeners films, as well as multiple films from acclaimed directors such as Martin Scorsese and Ang Lee. Recent releases include Lion, Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, Hereditary, Midsommar, The Farewell, Fisherman’s Friends, The Green Knight, C’mon C’mon and Dog. Upcoming releases include Alex Garland’s Men starring Jessie Buckley, George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, Fisherman’s Friends 2: One and All and Michael Gracey’s Better Man.

About DAMIAN JONES / DJ FILMS
DAMIAN JONES is one of Britain’s most prolific independent film producers. A career that spans over fifty feature films, he has collaborated with prestige directing talent and cast to create critical and commercial films including the Oscar winning The Iron Lady (Phyllida Lloyd), Lady In The Van (Nick Hytner), Belle (Amma Asante), Welcome to Sarajevo (Michael Winterbottom), Millions (Danny Boyle), Goodbye Christopher Robin (Simon Curtis), Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (Matt Whitecross), The History Boys (Nick Hytner), Dad’s Army (Oliver Parker), Kidulthood & Adulthood and Absolutely Fabulous The Movie (Mandie Fletcher). Other film credits include M.J.Delaney’s Powder Room, Gregg Araki’s Splendor, Regan Hall’s Fast Girls, and Vondie Curtis-Hall’s Gridlock’d. Most recent productions and releases include Michael Winterbottom’s Greed, Argyris Papadimitropoulos’s Monday, Romola Garai’s Amulet, Rapman’s Blue Story, and Catherine Tate’s This Nan’s Life. He is currently in post on Rupert Majendie’s Brian & Charles with Focus Features and Raine Ann Miller’s Rye Lane with Searchlight/BBc/BFI and Tom George’s See How They Run also with Serachlight. Also, currently in post for Pathe is Richard Eyre’s Allejulah and Eddie Steinbergs I Used To Be Famous for Netflix. He is currently shooting the comedy Seize Them for Entertainment Film Distributors directed by Curts Vowell and written by Andy Riley.

About MATTHEW JAMES WILKINSON/STIGMA FILMS - PRODUCER
Producer Matthew James Wilkinson previously worked as a Development Executive at Working Title Films. His company Stigma Films has produced fourteen features to date.

Titles in 2021 were a Sky Original feature, Last Train to Christmas, starring Michael Sheen and Nathalie Emmanuel and Stigma’s BFI-backed ghost story-horror, The Power, for Brit List writer/director Corinna Faith, was released on Shudder in the US and UK. Films coming out in 2022 include Choose or Die starring Asa Butterfield, Iola Evans & Eddie Marsan via Netflix, WWII thriller, Burial and sci-fi title Sentinel which are both being sold by Altitude Film Sales. Heist musical, The Score, starring Johnny Flynn, Will Poulter and Naomi Ackie had its World Premiere at Tallinn’s Black Nights Festival in 2021 and will also be released this year.

He previously produced, Yesterday, for Working Title Films/Universal, written by Richard Curtis and directed by Danny Boyle. Romola Garai’s feature debut, Amulet, exec-produced by Damian Jones, premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2020.  Simon Bird’s feature debut, Days of The Bagnold Summer, had its World Premiere at Locarno, and played the London Film Festival.  Gerard Johnson’s black comedy, Muscle had its World Premiere at the London Film Festival, and was also nominated for a BIFA, for the ‘Discovery Award’.

Other titles include, contained thriller, Kaleidoscope, which launched at the Edinburgh Film Festival, winning Anne Reid the ‘Best Actress Award’. Comedy/horror, Double Date, was selected for Karlovy Vary, and went on to play FrightFest UK, winning Writer/Actor Danny Morgan the ‘Genre Rising Star Award’. It won the ‘Best Film’ prize at Strasbourg.  Floor 9.5, a horror/chiller for Fox/Ryan Murphy (exec), which aired on US TV, to great acclaim, as part of the Mars/Skittle ‘Halloween’ season of shorts.

About SOPHIE MEYER - EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Sophie Meyer is reprising her role as creative Executive Producer, overseeing the development and production of Seize Them! for Damian Jones’ DJ Films, following a successful collaboration as Executive Producer for him on Rye Lane for Searchlight, BBC and BFI.  Sophie has over 25 years’ experience in development for various UK producers and was previously head of development for 10 years at Ealing Studios with credits including Dorian Gray, St Trinian’s and Easy Virtue.