There used to be other producers like them in that way, but now there are damn few.”Ĭhris Hanley said, “We’re spending all our energy here in Cannes on our efforts for ‘Second Coming.’ ” The Hanleys were involved in “Spun,” whose director, Jonas Akerlund, will helm “Coming” from an original screenplay by author Irvine Welsh.Īmong their many active film projects, Martin Amis’ “London Fields,” starring Amber Heard and featuring Johnny Depp, will be ready for the fall festival season. Its subtle logic and frank and tender mischief have somehow left me with the feeling of having witnessed a wake and christening combined-and I’m so very glad I attended.As one veteran distributor who worked with them observed in Cannes this week, “Chris and Roberta will do anything for their movies. 'This tale’s ratio of wit to wildness is positively golden. Simon Rich, author of New Teeth and Ant Farm The result is a timelessly entertaining tale that readers will find inspiring and irresistible.' McDonell has the rare ability to combine irony with empathy and deliver satire with grace. Nick McDonell has dreamed up an ingenious mythology for his animals and he portrays them with the charm of Milne or Carroll. “ The Council of Animals is a delightful fable full of wit and wisdom. Thought-provoking, captivating, funny, instructive: this is a book for readers who have ever yearned for a little extrahuman wisdom and cheer.” The Council of Animals has the feel of a fable, both a romp with sweetly goofy animal characters and a serious and clear-eyed story about the real world and its dangers.

“McDonell's clever, lively prose and snappy pacing propels readers onward. Tabbutt’s drawings of the animals add to the whimsy and interest of the tale by McDonell (An Expensive Education The Bodies in Person), which readers of all ages will enjoy.

As an anthropomorphic folktale, The Council of Animals is concise, clever, and wonderfully conceived.'īoth wildly imaginative and surprisingly funny, with (mostly) endearing characters, this thinly veiled metaphor offers what feels like an appropriate outcome.

The echoes of Animal Farm are many, but here, the main target of social critique is far larger than totalitarianism.

An Expensive Education by Nick McDonell