KATE WINSLET HEADS STAR-STUDDED CAST AT ST MARY’S UNIVERSITY
EXCLUSIVE
Part of St.Mary’s University in Waldegrave Road was transformed into a Cheltenham hospital for Kate Winslet’s film debut as a director, Teddington Town can reveal.
The Netflix film, called Goodbye June, is based on a screenplay by Ms Winslet’s son Joe Anders, 21, and she is joined in the cast line up by Timothy Spall, Helen Mirren, Toni Collette, Johnny Flynn and Andrea Riseborough.
The car park was packed full of film and location trucks and the roadside front of the University was turned into the ‘hospital’ entrance and a sign could be seen reading: Princess Mary Hospital Cheltenham, Main Entrance.
According to reports before filming started the storyline was described as “a contemporary fictional drama about a fractured group of siblings who pull together under sudden and trying circumstances.”
Oscar-winning Ms Winslet will be taking on both directing duties and co-starring in the new film and she could be clearly seen behind the camera in her director’s role.
She was also seen giving a welcome hug to fellow actor Timothy Spall as well giving directions to Toni Collette.
She’s best known for iconic roles in movies like Titanic and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, with more recent credits including Ammonite, Lee, The Regime, and Avatar: The Way of Water. She won an Oscar for her role in The Reader in 2009 and two Emmys for her role in the TV series Mare of Eastown.
This will be her first project with Netflix. There is no projected date for broadcast and it’s understood more filming may take place locally.
Asked about why she has not directed before despite encouragement, she has said: “So many people will say to me on film sets ‘why aren’t you directing?’ and I’ll go ‘no, no, no, please don’t say it. Stop saying it. Why does everyone keep saying it?’,” Kate said.
“People say it to me often and I know why I haven’t done it: because it’s a very long time, and it’s a huge commitment, and I have always had a family. I had Mia when I was 25 years old and so there’s just no way I would have ever been able to do it.
“But the more I’m not doing it now, with the need to change the culture, the more I feel like I’m actually letting down other women by not doing it. I’m really starting to feel that in quite a loud way.”