A movie about the making of one of British horror cinema’s most celebrated films is on the way. Nicholas Denton (Talamasca: The Secret Order, Dangerous Liaisons), Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey, Paddington), and Tim Downie (Outlander, Baldur’s Gate 3) have joined the cast of Tragedy Man: The Making of Michael Reeves, an upcoming folk horror feature centered on the troubled production of the 1968 classic Witchfinder General.
As reported by Variety, Denton will portray filmmaker Michael Reeves, Downie will play legendary horror actor Vincent Price, and Bonneville will take on the role of British producer and distributor Tony Tenser. The film explores the turbulent relationship between Reeves and Price during the making of Witchfinder General, a collaboration that resulted in one of Price’s most acclaimed performances and Reeves’ final feature film. Reeves died in 1969 at just 25 years old.
Set in 1960s London and the haunted countryside of East Anglia, Tragedy Man follows the young Reeves as he stakes his burgeoning career on Witchfinder General. When his financiers bring in Price to play the lead, Reeves strongly objects. He sees the veteran actor’s theatrical approach as everything he wants to move away from as a filmmaker. Price, meanwhile, is wrestling with his own fears of becoming obsolete as Hollywood undergoes a period of change.
The project is being produced by U.K.-based Sceadwe Films and CrossBorder Films. Production is expected to begin in late November, with CrossBorder Films handling international sales and presenting the film to buyers at the American Film Market in Los Angeles.
Michael Ellis, whose visual effects credits include the Enola Holmes films, Cloverfield, and The Bourne Legacy, is making his feature directorial debut with Tragedy Man. The screenplay is based on an unpublished short story by Richard Sheppard, a writer and film historian specializing in horror cinema. Sheppard adapted the story with Justin Stanley, who co-founded Sceadwe Films and previously co-wrote the thriller Black Butterfly.
Released in 1968, Witchfinder General starred Price as Matthew Hopkins, a 17th-century witch hunter who travels through England torturing and executing people accused of witchcraft.
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