Sky Movies have released several new Blithe Spirit featurettes to promote the film’s upcoming premiere on their channel.
We sat down with Isla Fisher on the set of new Sky Original film #BlitheSpirit. Find out how she prepared for the role of Ruth Condomine, including perfecting a British accent, and why she fell in love with the language of the 1930’s (We still love the dancing senorita emoji, though).
Continue reading The Making of “Blithe Spirit” – Isla Fisher
The January 4th issue of People magazine has a short feature on Isla, in which she talks about Godmothered, Blithe Spirit, her husband, and working in comedy. It also has a beautiful previously unseen photo from one of her 2019 photoshoots. Find the scans in our Gallery, and pick up a copy if you can!
Here’s a new, short trailer for the upcoming release of Blithe Spirit on Sky Movies in the UK.
Blithe Spirit is a riotous reimagining of Noël Coward’s classic comedy, about love that just won’t die… Best-selling crime novelist Charles (Dan Stevens) is struggling with catastrophic writer’s block and a stressful deadline for his first screenplay. In cinemas and on Sky Cinema 15 January. #SkyCinema #BlitheSpirit
His picture-perfect second wife Ruth (Isla Fisher) is doing her best to keep him focussed in the hope of fulfilling her dream of heading to Hollywood. Charles’ desperate search for inspiration leads him to invite Madame Arcati (Judi Dench), a medium recently exposed as a fraud, to perform a séance in their home. They all get more than they bargained for when Arcati accidentally summons the spirit of his deceased first wife: the fiery and jealous Elvira (Leslie Mann) who embarks on a mission to kill Charles so she can spend eternity with him which leads to an increasingly comical and deadly love triangle.
Isla featured on the cover of The Daily Telegraph (UK)’s Magazine supplement yesterday, with a brand new photoshoot and interview! The interview and photoshoot were initially conducted at the start of the year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Isla’s movie Blithe Spirit being pushed back, the publication of the feature was delayed, and the interview was re-done last month. It’s a really good interview – Isla talks about Blithe Spirit, why she pulled out of Guilty Party, how she’s handling the pandemic, her family and not talking about her kids publicly, some of her interests (collecting old tea sets), how she feels about aging, Marge In Charge, and her screenwriting. It’s also a beautiful photoshoot – which you can see in high quality in our Gallery. If anyone can help us out with scans from the magazine please get in touch!
Isla Fisher: ‘In the middle of the night, I have those “I can’t quite breathe” moments’
The star of a new film adaptation of Blithe Spirit talks about life with Sacha Baron Cohen and having to cancel work due to Covid worriesIn a low-key bakery not far from the Hollywood home she shares with her British actor/comedian husband Sacha Baron Cohen and their three young children, Isla Fisher is telling me about her latest role in a new film adaptation of Blithe Spirit, one of Noël Coward’s best-loved plays.
‘I was so nervous,’ she confesses, dipping a buttered baguette into a bowl of chicken soup. ‘Being an Australian in a British period drama! I was working with my dialect coach and I just thought, “If I get this accent wrong, I’m going to be in so much trouble.”’
It’s an unseasonably cold day when we meet – prior to the pandemic – and wrapped up in a brown coat complementing her trademark long red hair, wearing minimal make-up, she looks a decade younger than her 44 years. Having made an enviable career starring in popular Hollywood comedies – from playing the obsessive Gloria in Wedding Crashers (2005) to the lead role of Becky Bloomwood in Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) – her facial expressions and deadpan humour have got her where she is today. And they’re front and centre in Blithe Spirit.
Directed by Edward Hall (son of former National Theatre director Sir Peter), this lively adaptation of the 1941 comedy classic tells the story of a crime novelist (Dan Stevens) visiting an eccentric mystic, Madame Arcati (Judi Dench), in search of inspiration. She then accidentally summons the spirit of his first wife (Leslie Mann), who becomes embroiled in a hilarious love triangle with his current wife (played by Fisher). ‘Judi Dench is the greatest living actress on the planet and I was in a scene with her. I mean, that’s pretty amazing.’
Read full interview
A new US trailer for Blithe Spirit was released this week, ahead of its US release in cinemas and VOD on February 19th. (This is the same as the trailer released earlier this year, but is being marketed for the US release.)
Sky to release Blithe Spirit in cinemas and on Sky Cinema from 15 January
Sky today [Nov 20th] announces the acquisition of Blithe Spirit from STUDIOCANAL UK. The film will be released in cinemas and on Sky Cinema on 15 January across the UK and Ireland.
Blithe Spirit, based on the play by Noël Coward, stars Academy Award® and BAFTA winner Judi Dench (Skyfall, Victoria & Abdul) alongside Dan Stevens (Beauty & The Beast, Legion), Leslie Mann (Blockers, The Comedian), and Isla Fisher (Greed, Nocturnal Animals).
Sarah Wright, Director of Sky Cinema and Acquisitions at Sky UK & Ireland, commented: “2021 is going to be a big year for original film at Sky and what better way to kick it off than with Blithe Spirit? Based on the Noël Coward production, this sparkling comedy is full of fun, frolics and an all-star cast. A great way to banish the January blues!”
Blithe Spirit is a riotous reimagining of Noël Coward’s classic comedy, about love that just won’t die… Best-selling crime novelist Charles (Dan Stevens) is struggling with catastrophic writer’s block and a stressful deadline for his first screenplay. His picture-perfect second wife Ruth (Isla Fisher) is doing her best to keep him focussed in the hope of fulfilling her dream of heading to Hollywood. Charles’ desperate search for inspiration leads him to invite Madame Arcati (Judi Dench), a medium recently exposed as a fraud, to perform a séance in their home. They all get more than they bargained for when Arcati accidentally summons the spirit of his deceased first wife: the fiery and jealous Elvira (Leslie Mann) who embarks on a mission to kill Charles so she can spend eternity with him which leads to an increasingly comical and deadly love triangle.
Directed by Edward Hall (Downton Abbey, Spooks) and adapted by Nick Moorcroft and Meg Leonard (Finding Your Feet, Fisherman’s Friends) and Piers Ashworth (Fisherman’s Friends).
Blithe Spirit, a Sky Original will be released in cinemas and on Sky Cinema from 15 January. The film will also be available on streaming service NOW TV via the Sky Cinema Pass.
(Sky)
Blithe Spirit received its world premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 8th, and although there could be no red carpet due to the pandemic, Isla and the director Ed Parker took part in a virtual Q&A to promote the film – our first official sighting of Isla since the start of the year! Isla talked about what she liked about the film, bringing some “modern fun” to the story, how she understood her character, spiritualism and seance’s, and “otherworldly things” happening on set. Have a watch below, and find screencaptures in our Gallery:
