Jonny Sweet's first movie begins filming, starring Olivia Colman
- Comedy writer and actor Jonny Sweet has written his first film, Wicked Little Letters, starring Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley
- Filming has begun on the period crime comedy, which is based on a real-life poison pen scandal in the seaside town of Littlehampton in the 1920s
- Sweet has also signed a deal to write two crime novels, with publisher Faber comparing his style to PG Wodehouse, Evelyn Waugh and Patricia Highsmith
Filming has begun on Jonny Sweet's first movie, starring Olivia Colman.
Former Edinburgh Comedy Award best newcomer Sweet, who is also about to publish his debut crime novel, has written the screenplay for Wicked Little Letters, which reunites Colman with Jessie Buckley, after the pair were both Oscar-nominated for their roles in The Lost Daughter earlier this year.
Shooting now in Sussex and directed by Thea Sharrock (The Beautiful Game), the comedy is based on a true story.
Peep Show star Colman plays pious Edith Swan, who has little in common with fiery Rose Gooding (Fargo's Buckley), aside from them being neighbours in the seaside town of Littlehampton in the 1920s.
One day, Edith and others in the town start receiving scandalous letters written with foul language as eccentric as it is obscene, and the finger of suspicion immediately falls on Rose. As Rose stands to lose her freedom and the custody of her daughter, and outrageous letters continue to blight the town, police officer Gladys Moss begins to suspect something is amiss. Together with a group of resourceful women, Gladys endeavours to solve the mystery, liberate Rose, and catch the real culprit.
Further casting for the feature has yet to be revealed. It is being produced by STUDIOCANAL (Johnny English, Paddington) with Blueprint (The Banshees Of Inisherin, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) and Colman's South Of The River Pictures (Landscapers).
"Wicked Little Letters is a divine comedy with a profoundly moving core" said Sharrock. "Hilarious, witty, joyous and based on a true story as relevant today as it was 100 years ago. Watching this film will be like hitting your funny bone; when the tears of pain and laughter are impossible to separate. Olivia Colman is hilarious, brilliant and brave. In the part of Edith, she will continue to show her extraordinary dexterity as an actor with her unique ability to make us fall in love with her.
"In Jessie Buckley we have cast the actress everybody wants to see; her ferociously strong energy will explode the character of Rose onto our screens. Following The Lost Daughter our film reunites two of the world's most exciting, accessible, fun and wild actresses."
Colman and fellow producer Ed Sinclair added: "Here at South Of The River, we could not be happier to be sitting alongside STUDIOCANAL and Blueprint in bringing this amazing true story to life. Wicked Little Letters is as hilarious as it is unexpected with beautifully and affectionately drawn characters across the board. Jonny Sweet's script had us hooked from page one. He has a superb eye for ridiculousness and pomposity in his characters, and his background as a stand-up comic lends a real zing to his writing.
"We are thrilled to have Thea Sharrock on board to direct, a filmmaker who will allow our script and characters to fly. In Wicked Little Letters there's a compelling and modern sensibility bubbling below the recognisable and highly cinematic surface of post-First World War England, which ultimately delivers a satisfying and relevant dramatic gut-punch."
Sweet, who is about to appear in Robert Popper's sitcom I Hate You on Channel 4, and whose other acting credits include 2017 tech millionaire comedy Loaded on the same channel, in which he starred alongside Nick Helm, Lolly Adefope, Jim Howick and Samuel Anderson, previously created the 2015 BBC Three sitcom Together, in which he and Cara Theobold played a twenty-something couple at the start of their relationship.
He also co-wrote and starred in Sky One's 2011 sitcom Chickens, about conscientious objectors during World War I, with his sometime sketchmates and fellow former Cambridge Footlights Joe Thomas and Simon Bird.
The comic, who runs production company People Person Pictures with Bird, has also just signed a deal with Faber to publish two crime novels.
The synopsis for the first, Ring The Bone, states: "Meet Edward Jevons, a man living life in a world he can't afford and to which he doesn't belong. His ability to camouflage himself among his friends has seen him sort-of-comfortably through university, the only damage being a horribly unrequited love for one of his two best friends. Now, those same skills threaten to erase him totally, so when Edward is pushed too far his instinctive, deferential people-pleasing begins to morph into something with unspeakable violence at its core. Are there limits to what he will do for his friends? Are there limits to what he will do to them?
"Deliciously dark and utterly compulsive, Jonny Sweet's crime debut signifies the arrival of an extraordinary new talent. The perfect contemporary country house novel, it is for anyone who has ever suffered the deep pang of social anxiety from being at the party but not in it."
Faber associate publisher Louisa Joyner said: "This book is such an incredible blend of emotional truth, humour and deep, grizzly wit. It fizzes, and sits comfortably in a tradition that embraces Wodehouse, Waugh and Highsmith, but with a splash more gore. Jonny's work deserves enormous levels of critical and commercial success, for this and for his books to come. I'm thrilled to bits he's chosen Faber as his publisher."