Hannah John-Kamen will be Dr. Sophie Hart in SAS: RED NOTICE, a film based on the 2012 novel by Andy McNab, about Sergeant Tom Buckingham (Sam Heughan), who plans to propose marriage once he and his girlfriend arrive in Paris. (Dr. Hart seems to be a re-named version of Dr. Delphine Prideux, Buckingham’s girlfriend in the book.) His plans are delayed when the train taking them from London to Paris is hijacked by The Black Swans, a group of mercenaries led by Laslo Antonov, whose plan is to blow up the Channel Tunnel. (Ruby Rose is a character named Grace, and one synopsis of the film says that the group seizing the train is let by someone called Grace Lewis.) Noel Clarke (DR.WHO’s Mickey Smith) is also in the cast. Filmed in London, Paris, and Budapest, SAS: RED NOTICE will be released by Sky Cinema in the UK sometime next year.

Kelly McCormack (Zephyr Vos) is Darren, an aspiring musician who uses a paid-dating website to find rich older men to fund her work. in an as yet untitled film that was originally called “Sugar Daddy”. McCormack, who wrote the story, told Etan Vlessing of The Hollywood Reporter: “This is not a rise to fame story. It’s the story of a young woman’s rise to self. I wrote this film as a love letter to the dark ages, when things were less clear, and the power I wanted, I was giving away to get by.” Aaron Ashmore, Tony Nappo (Joseph Sciano in “One Blood”), and Rob Stewart (Khlyen) are also in the cast. Specifics about the story are in short supply. Kieren MacMillan tweeted on 12 March: “Two days ago, I was on a feature film set watching @kelmccormack and @ColmFeore slaying the scene in which they perform the song I wrote for them. Not gonna lie: I’m still on Cloud 9.” Directed by Wendy Morgan, the untitled project is currently filming in Toronto.

Danka Scepanovic (Carleen in “Kiss Kiss, Bye Bye“) appears as a night porter in Lone Scherfig‘s latest film THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS, which stars Zoe Kazan as Clara, a young mother with two somewhat damaged sons (Jack Fulton and Finlay Wojtak-Hissong) who flee their home in Buffalo, New York and head for Manhattan in an attempt to escape the boys’ abusive father (Esben Smed), who is also a cop. Other major characters are Alice (Andrea Riseborough), an ER nurse who runs a therapy group; John (Jay Baruchel), a lawyer with low self-esteem; and Marc (Tahar Rahim), who operates the Russian restaurant that serves as a focal point for the characters’ interaction.

Sherfig described the film to Annika Pham of Nordic Film and TV Fond: “Little by little, you get involved in people’s lives, dramas, but the synergy is a feeling of hope and warmth towards the characters. Each personal story as it develops turns into one bigger story. It’s really about the kindness of strangers, how people you don’t know can become your most important ally. I liked the idea of watching people and letting the characters find each other and getting to know each other when you, as an audience, get to know them. It’s not only about falling in love, how it feels to fall in love, but also how you fall into friendship.” The film had its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival last February. A clip is available on YouTube.

Emily Piggford (Yoki in “A Scanner, Darkly“) will be Wendy Ohata in WARIGAMI, a ten-part series set in ancient Japan in a poor village that is constantly being invaded by bandits. One day, a mage takes pity on the villagers and casts a spell allowing them to make weapons from paper to defend themselves. Wendy, who lives in the village, discovers that she is a kami-jin (a descendant of an ancient people with this ability). She also discovers that another kami-jin warrior named Sadako Teramoto (Miho Suzuki) is hunting her for unknown reasons. Wendy’s twin brother Vincent is played by Kai Bradbury, and Hiro Kanagawa is also in the cast. (Both Bradbury and Kanagawa appeared in ALTERED CARBON.) WARIGAMI will air on CW SEED in the US, and on CBC GEM in Canada, later this year. A trailer is available on YouTube.







