STUDIOCANAL, SUNNYMARCH, SHOEBOX, AMAZON & FILM4 today announce that principal photography will commence on LOUIS WAIN mid-August 2019 shooting in London and starring Academy-Award nominee Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game, Patrick Melrose, Avengers: Endgame) & BAFTA Film & Television nominee Claire Foy (The Crown, First Man, The Girl in the Spider’s Web). Also starring will be Andrea Riseborough (Birdman) and Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).

Directed by BAFTA nominated Will Sharpe (Channel 4’s critically acclaimed Flowers) and written by Sharpe & Simon Stephenson. Producing are Guy Heeley (Locke, Denial) and Adam Ackland (Patrick Melrose) with Ed Clarke & Leah Clarke.

Benedict Cumberbatch to star as British artist Louis Wain in the extraordinary true story of a brilliant man inspired by both his love of the world and the love of his life Emily played by Claire Foy, famous for his distinctive paintings of cats that inspired hearts and minds around the world. Louis Wain is a loveable inspirational hero with a courageous and infectious spirit, who saw the world in a unique and delightful way throughout his long life full of adventure, continually inspiring people to do the same.

Benedict Cumberbatch said “I am thrilled by the prospect of playing the courageous, playful spirit that is Louis Wain and to be producing such a special film. I have admired Will’s work for several years through Flowers and from the moment we first met, knew he was the perfect person to bring Louis’ inspirational and odyssean story to life. Together we plan to bring audiences a sincerely uplifting, playful, thought provoking tale of resilience, creativity and the enduring power of love”

Will Sharpe said "I feel very excited to be working on this story about the little known but unique and inspiring Louis Wain. Benedict, Claire, Andrea, Toby - it’s a dream cast and we have a fantastic team behind the camera too. It’s going to be a real pleasure to build this world with such a wonderful group of people"

Produced by Sunnymarch and Shoebox Films and financed by STUDIOCANAL & Film4. STUDIOCANAL will release in their territories UK, France, Germany, Australia/NZ selling worldwide. AMAZON will release in the USA.

UTA, Independent Film Group alongside STUDIOCANAL negotiated the deal.

ENDS

About STUDIOCANAL

STUDIOCANAL, a 100% affiliate of CANAL+ Group held by Vivendi, is Europe’s leader in production, distribution and international sales of feature films and TV series, operating directly in all three major European markets - France, the United Kingdom and Germany - as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

STUDIOCANAL owns one of the most important film libraries in the world, boasting more than 6,000 titles from 60 countries. Spanning 100 years of film history, this vast and unique catalogue includes among others the iconic Terminator 2, Rambo, Breathless, Mulholland Drive, The Pianist and Belle de jour.

STUDIOCANAL has fully-financed box office hits Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Paddington 1 and 2, The Commuter and Shaun The Sheep. Upcoming films backed by STUDIOCANAL include Marjane Satrapi’s Radioactive featuring Rosamund Pike, The Secret Garden produced by David Heyman starring Colin Firth, Aardman Studios’ stop-motion Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon.

STUDIOCANAL is actively developing and distributing high-end TV series through its network of award-winning European production companies, including TANDEM in Germany (Take Two) and the UK’s RED Production Company (Years and Years). STUDIOCANAL is also an associate of Danish-based SAM Productions founded by Søren Sveistrup and Adam Price (Ride Upon The Storm) as well as of UK-based GUILTY PARTY PICTURES; Benedict Cumberbatch’s production company SUNNYMARCH TV (Patrick Melrose); URBAN MYTH FILMS (War of the Worlds) and Spain’s BAMBÚ PRODUCCIONES (Instinto). In 2018, STUDIOCANAL launched a new label in France, STUDIOCANAL ORIGINAL (Mouche).