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The quest to develop IVF plays out in predictable and thoroughly heartwarming fashion in Ben Taylor’s Netflix film. Here’s our Joy review.

Picture the scene: James Norton, looking less like Happy Valley’s rotten ruffian Tommy Lee Royce and more like an overenthusiastic biology postgrad, is desperate to convince a colleague of his revolutionary idea. What if, he posits with the scientific professionalism of a vaguely northern labrador, we could fertilise an egg outside the womb? What if we could produce an embryo in, to pick a piece of lab equipment entirely at random, a test tube?

The colleague isn’t convinced. “We’ll unite them all against us”, Bill Nighy’s character reminds him. The church, the medical establishment, the media. But Doctor Marley & Me has his trump card. “We’ll have the mothers”, he whispers. The score swells; Nighy’s eyes twinkle; history is made.

If...

Exclusive: Thomasin McKenzie says that because of her youthful appearance — she’s 24 — it has been “a bit of a struggle” to play her own age or older, but those worries are banished with her latest role. In the wonderful movie Joy, she delivers a remarkable portrait of Jean Purdy, one of the founding pioneers of human in vitro fertilization therapy, commonly known as IVF.

If gynecologist Dr. Patrick Steptoe and physiologist Robert Edwards are regarded as the “fathers” of IVF, then Purdy, a nurse and embryologist, is its godmother.

It’s a spot-on perfect part for the New Zealander who starred in Jojo Rabbit, Last Night in Soho and The Power of the Dog, and she shines brilliantly as Purdy alongside Bill Nighy as Steptoe and James Norton as Edwards, who later was knighted for his services to medical research.

Joy has its would premiere screening at the BFI London...

Every birth is extraordinary in its own way. But that was never more true than in the case of Louise Joy Brown, the first “test-tube baby.” Born in 1978, Louise’s extraordinary birth was the result of a decade of work by surgeons, scientists, and embryologists.

Directed by Ben Taylor (Sex Education), and co-created by Jack Thorne and Rachel Mason, Joy tells the remarkable story of those hardworking men and women — and how their work paved the way for the the advent of in vitro fertilization (IVF).

You can check out the trailer for Joy above, and read on to learn more.

Joy tells the remarkable true story behind the birth of Louise Joy Brown in 1978, the world’s first “test-tube baby,” and the tireless 10-year journey to make it possible. The film is told through the perspective of Jean Purdy, a young nurse and embryologist who joined forces with...

Alec Baldwin’s lawyers alleged a “stunning abuse of prosecutorial power” in the “Rust” case on Tuesday, arguing that a favorable plea offer was withdrawn last fall due to a misunderstanding about Baldwin’s role in a documentary about the case.

Baldwin is facing a trial in July in Santa Fe, N.M., on a felony charge of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. If convicted, he faces up to 18 months in prison.

Last October, prosecutors offered him a misdemeanor plea that would carry no jail time. But prosecutor Kari Morrissey said in a recent filing that she rescinded that offer after learning that Baldwin had “commissioned his own documentary” about Hutchins’ death, and was pressuring witnesses in the case to participate.

Concerned that Baldwin’s conduct would cause ongoing harm the victims and their families, she withdraw the offer and decided to seek a felony indictment.

Story Syndicate has begun production on a feature-length documentary on the life and work of Haylna Hutchins. The film will detail both her work as a cinematographer and her death on the set of the low-budget western “Rust.” Emmy nominee Rachel Mason (“Circus of Books”) will direct the film, which has the approval and backing of Hutchins’ widower Matt Hutchins. Julee Metz is producing.

The current untitled documentary will have exclusive access to Hutchins’ personal and professional archives. It will detail her early life living on a Soviet naval base and then in Kyiv, Ukraine and eventually chronicle her rise to professional prominence as one of the indie film scenes’ most sought-after cinematographers. It will, of course, deal with the on-set calamity which saw Hutchins being fatally injured while shooting “Rust,” a Alec Baldwin-led indie, as well as the fallout from that tragedy and attempts to complete the film.

A documentary about “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who died in October 2021 after a prop gun held by Alec Baldwin went off during the film’s production, is in the works from Story Syndicate.

The feature-length doc, which will explore Hutchins’ life and work, has been fully authorized by her husband, Matt Hutchins. Rachel Mason, who was Emmy nominated for her work on the documentary “Circus of Books” in 2020, is set to direct. Julee Metz will serve as a producer for Story Syndicate.

According to a press release, the film will have exclusive access to Hutchins’ professional and personal archives and “will paint a powerful portrait of Hutchins’ journey from her youth living on a remote Soviet naval base and then in Kyiv, Ukraine, to becoming one of independent film’s most in-demand cinematographers. The documentary will be a celebration of and tribute to Hutchins’ craft while exploring the circumstances on the set of ‘Rust,...

Late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins will be the center of an upcoming documentary from Story Syndicate.

Hutchins died on the set of the Western film “Rust” in October 2021. Her widower, Matt Hutchins, supports the new documentary, helmed by Emmy-nominated director Rachel Mason (“Circus of Books”). Julee Metz is producing for Story Syndicate.

The yet-untitled documentary will feature Hutchins’ never-before-seen personal archives to capture her childhood on a remote Soviet naval base to her adolescence in Kyiv, Ukraine. The celebration of and tribute to Hutchins’ craft will also examine circumstances on the set of “Rust,” the Alec Baldwin-led indie film on which Hutchins was fatally injured, and the emotional journey of those involved in the completion of the film.

Hutchins’ credits prior to “Rust” included “The Mad Hatter,” “Darlin’,” and “Blindfire.”

“Halyna was on the cusp of making a lasting mark on cinema,” director Mason said, via Deadline. “As a filmmaker,...

Exclusive: Story Syndicate has launched production on a feature documentary exploring the life and work of celebrated cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and her untimely death on the New Mexico set of Rust. Emmy nominee Rachel Mason (Circus of Books) is helming the feature, which has the full backing of the late Dp’s husband, Matt Hutchins, with Julee Metz producing for Story Syndicate.

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The untitled documentary being made with exclusive access to Hutchins’ personal and professional archives will paint a powerful portrait of her...

Fox has put into development two British adaptations – remakes of crime drama Silent Witness and off-beat comedy This Country — with significant commitments.

The network has handed a script plus penalty to Silent Witness to star The Fighter’s Melissa Leo, who will exec produce alongside Outlander writer Joy Blake and Kim and Eric Tannenbaum, and a put pilot commitment to This Country from Sex and the City writer and producer Jenny Bicks and Bridesmaids director Paul Feig.

Both shows come via Lionsgate’s deal with BBC Studios, which has already seen NBC hand a put pilot commitment to an adaptation of Channel 4 comedy Home and CBS develop a remake of BBC comedy Ghosts.

Silent Witness (left) is a long-running British crime legal drama. Created by Nigel McCrery, it has aired on the British public broadcaster since 1996 with 22 seasons. It follows two determined women with conflicting methodologies and their team...

Fox Entertainment has set up a pair of projects with Lionsgate and BBC Studio — one drama and one comedy.

Oscar winner Melissa Leo will star in the drama project, “Silent Witness,” which has received a script commitment with a penalty attached at the broadcaster.

Based on the BBC format, “Silent Witness” follows two determined women with conflicting methodologies and their team while working for the Chief Medical Examiner in the shadow of a major departmental scandal involving corruption at the highest levels. With external biased pressures from all sides, they must use their scientific expertise to unravel clues in mysterious deaths while maintaining complete independence.

Leo will executive produce in addition to starring. Joy Blake will write and executive produce. Kim and Eric Tannenbaum of The Tannenbaum Company will also executive produce along with Angie Stephenson of BBC Studios. Jason Wang of The Tannenbaum Company will co-executive produce.

The comedy project,...