Special Correspondents

Special Correspondents is an upcoming British-Canadian satirical comedy film, written and directed by Ricky Gervais. The film is a remake of the 2009 French comedy of the same name, and stars Gervais, Eric Bana, Vera Farmiga, Kelly Macdonald, Kevin Pollak, Benjamin Bratt, America Ferrera, and Raúl Castillo. The film is set for release on Netflix worldwide on 29 April 2016.

Cast

Production

Pre-production

In late October 2014, it was reported that Ricky Gervais would be directing a remake of the French comedy Envoyés très spéciaux, titled Special Correspondents (the French film's English translation), from his own screenplay. It was also announced that Eric Bana and Gervais would star in the film as a struggling radio journalist and his sidekick, respectively. In early May, it was reported that Kevin Pollak would have a supporting role in the film. On 27 May, it was revealed that Benjamin Bratt had been cast in the role of Bana's nemesis. On 30 May, Kelly Macdonald was reported to have joined the cast of the film. The following day, Vera Farmiga tweeted her involvement in the project; she was later confirmed to be portraying the role of Gervais' ruthless wife.Raúl Castillo was reported to have joined the cast on 3 June. A picture of the complete cast was revealed by TheWrap on 5 June, confirming the casting of America Ferrera.

Ricky Gervais

Ricky Dene Gervais (/dʒərˈveɪz/; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, director, producer, writer and former pop singer and manager.

Gervais worked initially in the music industry, attempting a career as a pop star in the 1980s as the singer of the new wave act Seona Dancing and working as the manager of the then-unknown band Suede before turning to comedy. Gervais appeared on The 11 O'Clock Show on Channel 4 between 1998 and 2000. In 2000, he was given a Channel 4 talk show, Meet Ricky Gervais, and then achieved greater mainstream fame a year later with his BBC television series The Office. It was followed by Extras in 2005. He co-wrote and co-directed both series with Stephen Merchant. In addition to writing and directing the shows, he played the lead roles of David Brent in The Office and Andy Millman in Extras. He will reprise his role as Brent in the upcoming comedy film Life on the Road.

He has also starred in the Hollywood films Ghost Town, and Muppets Most Wanted, and wrote, directed and starred in The Invention of Lying and the upcoming Special Correspondents. He has performed on four stand-up comedy tours and written the Flanimals book series. Gervais also starred with Merchant and Karl Pilkington in the podcast The Ricky Gervais Show, which has spawned various spin-offs starring Pilkington and produced by Gervais and Merchant. He hosted the Golden Globe Awards in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2016.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana (born Eric Banadinović; 9 August 1968) is an Australian actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biographical crime film Chopper (2000). After a decade of roles in Australian TV shows and films, Bana gained Hollywood's attention for his performance in the war film Black Hawk Down (2001) and by playing the lead role as Hulk/Bruce Banner in the Ang Lee-directed Marvel Comics film Hulk (2003) with Jennifer Connelly. He has since played Hector in the movie Troy (2004), the lead in Steven Spielberg's historical drama and political thriller Munich (2005), and the villain Nero in the science-fiction film Star Trek (2009). In 2013, he played Lt. Cmdr. Erik S. Kristensen in the war film Lone Survivor and in the following year he played police sergeant Ralph Sarchie in the horror film Deliver Us from Evil.

An accomplished dramatic actor and comedian, he received Australia's highest film and television awards for his performances in Chopper, Full Frontal and Romulus, My Father. Bana has performed across a wide spectrum of leading roles in a variety of low-budget and major studio films, ranging from romantic comedies and drama to science fiction and action thrillers.

Vera Farmiga

Vera Ann Farmiga (/fɑːrˈmiːɡə/; born August 6, 1973) is an American actress and producer. She began her career on the stage, making her Broadway debut in the play Taking Sides (1996). Farmiga made her television debut in the Fox fantasy adventure series Roar (1997), and her feature film debut in the drama-thriller Return to Paradise (1998).

Farmiga's breakout role came in 2004, when she was cast as a mother harboring a secret drug habit in the independent drama film Down to the Bone. Her film career continued, with Farmiga co-starring in the political thriller The Manchurian Candidate (2004), the neo-noir crime drama The Departed (2006), the historical drama The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008), and the political drama Nothing But the Truth (2008). She gained more critical acclaim for her performance as businesswoman Alex Goran in the 2009 comedy-drama Up in the Air, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress.