Malcolm McDowell & Alex Hassell To Star In ‘Dog & Bull'; Essential Film Group Boards Crime Thriller Ahead Of EFM
Written and directed by James Marquand (Dead Man's Cards), the feature from Blackwater Pictures also stars Sinead Cusack (Napoleon), Lara Peake (How to Have Sex), Francis Magee (Layer Cake), Bobby Schofield (Cherry) and Paul Barber (The Full Monty). Tiernan Handy is producing along with Kevin Harvey, Simon Marriott and Antoine Dixon-Bellot, and Essential has boarded for worldwide sales.
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Per the synopsis, Dog & Bull is billed as 'a dark, hard-boiled crime-thriller, with black comedy undertones, in which legendary actor McDowell stars as a fugitive criminal hiding out as a pub landlord who questions his identity when he gets discovered by a psychotic hitman (Hassell), who is also his biggest fan.'
McDowell grew up as the son of a publican, who ran a pub called the Bull and Dog in Lancashire, England. He's known for the likes of The Raging Moon, Caligula, Blue Thunder, Mr. Magoo, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, The Artist and Bombshell. Since 2022, he has starred in Canadian sitcom Son of a Critch.
Hassell is riding high off of Disney+'s soapy 1980s-set drama Rivals. He's also had roles in Suburbicon, The Miniaturist, The Boys, Cowboy Bebop, His Dark Materials and Locked In.
Essential Film Group's James Norrie said, 'Dog & Bull is a masterful re-invention of the British crime thriller, and the chemistry between the legendary Malcolm McDowell and superstar in the making Alex Hassell is nothing short of electric. We can't wait for audiences to see it'.
'I am excited to be bringing a chainsaw wielding Malcolm McDowell to cinema screens, showing he is still ready for some 'ultra violence,'' said Kevin Harvey, while Tiernan Hanby added, 'Essential Film Group are the perfect partner for this film — they have the exact mix of creative spark and commercial understanding to help shape and position the best version of the film.'
Blackwater is also producing the upcoming untitled Jimmy White biopic starring Ray Winstone and Anuerin Barnard, along with Heavyweight, which stars Jordan Bolger, Nicholas Pinnock and Jason Isaacs and releases later this year.
Hassell is represented by United Agents, Gersh and Sol22. McDowell is represented by Chris Roe Management.
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