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:: FILMMAKER'S STATEMENT

"Peggy" is a heroic journey about an extraordinary woman making it, against all the odds, in the patriarchal world of twentieth century music. It wrestles with universal themes about the nature of success, the quality of life and the responsibilities of friendship.

A tragic-drama that has a triumphant ending with a bittersweet twist, the screenplay reveals three main stories, each with a clear narrative question. The present-tense story set in 1967 poses the question: can and should Peggy's friends save her if it means severely compromising her quality of life? The second narrative question is: will Peggy succeed in her career? (This story covers the period from 1937 to the 1967). The third story covers a similar period and asks: will Peggy establish a successful relationship?

The question faced by the three protagonists in the top story, Yehudi, Anais and John is a universally engaging one. They face a dilemma, namely, what would you do if your closest friend were dying; yet to save her could mean condemning her to a future of total dependence, incapacitation and loss of the very faculties that sustain her life as an artist? It is a question of conscience built around the compelling scenario of Peggy's life-threatening brain tumour. Everyone has a stake in this story.

Situated in a fascinating and definitive part of the twentieth-century, the issues in Peggy's life are as alive and relevant today as they were then. The milieu of a bohemian artistic world of Europe and America in the 1940-60's is totally absorbing as was the struggle for independence, artistic freedom and the definition of an artistic identity beyond national borders. The screenplay works around the topics of art, sex and money where the strengths reside in Peggy's relationships with Stanley, Anais and Yehudi.

In the bio-pic tradition of "La Vie en Rose", "Hilary and Jackie", "Shine", or "Walk the Line" the screenplay reads as an inspirational and powerful dramatisation of an extraordinary artist's life. While the soundtrack and visuals will emphasise this intensity, this is a character-driven story with a heart-wrenching countdown toward Peggy's possible demise.

PEGGY

	2008-2009
	Biographical Drama
	120 mins COL 35mm

Director

Kevin Lucas more...

Writers

Kevin Lucas and John Wregg

Producers

Aanya Whitehead, Avril MacRory, Kevin Lucas, Sue Milliken

The most celebrated woman composer of her time is dying. When she slips into a coma her closest friends, Yehudi Menuhin and Anais Nin, are divided about what to do.

Peggy is a historic biopic set in Europe and America between 1937-1967 telling the inspiring and heroic story of the most important woman composer of her time, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, a brilliant, witty, pipe-smoking, dynamic woman and musical pioneer who forged a formidable career in Europe and North America in the mid-twentieth century. Among her many firsts, Peggy was the first woman to be commissioned to write an opera in the USA. Tragically, in 1967, at the height of her career, she is suddenly struck down blind with a severe brain tumour and given five days to live. Married to the emotionally complex, elegant and appraised English composer Stanley Bate, their close-knit group of friends included world-famous impresario Yehudi Menuhin and literary intrigue Anais Nin. The story presents a wonderful ensemble of exceptional characters in a passionate tale of love, betrayal, art and sex.

PEGGY is a story driven by a woman's amazing struggle to survive and succeed in a career and milieu that is traditionally reserved for men, namely classical music in the mid-twentieth century. It wrestles with key themes of the responsibility of friendship, the nature of success, the power of music and the nature of creativity. It is a very strong narrative about art, music and intelligence. Given the film scenario is biographical in nature, a large percentage of the characters have been drawn from real historical figures (all whom have now passed away) of varying degrees of public recognition. The development journey of almost a decade, inclusive of research and screenplay development has helped create characters that are fully-fleshed roles offering key dramatic value that serve this powerfully dramatic story.

Executive Producers

Michael O'Sullivan, Olivier French

Director of Photography

Kim Batterham ACS

(The Widower, Shotgun Wedding, DP 2nd Unit Master & Commander)

Production Designer

Michael Howells

(Strange Fish, An Ideal Husband, Nanny McPhee)

Costume Designer

Sandy Powell

(The Aviator, Gangs of New York, Shakespeare in Love)

Make-up Designer

Peter King

(King Kong, Lord of the Rings, Quills)

Editor

John Scott

(Sexy Beast, Little Fish, Basic Instinct 2)

Conductor - Opera

Simone Young

(Musical Director Hamburg Opera, Guest Conductor Royal Opera Covent Garden)

Musical Director/Arranger - Film Score

Nick Ingman

(Finding Neverland, Shakespeare in Love, Cold Mountain)

Sound Designer

Craig Carter

(Rabbit Proof Fence, The Quiet American, Beyond Thunderdome)

Script Editor

Paul Thompson

Assoc Professor and Head of Film Acting and Directing NYU (U.S.A)

Casting Directors

Sarah Trevis (U.K), Jerry Wolff - Big Bad Wolff Entertainment (U.S.A)

Script Consultants

Judith Weston, Linda Aronson, Lesley Megahey

Studio and Production Services

Pinewood Studios (U.K), Gatteo Films (Czk Rep)

Completion Guarantors

Film Finances Ltd (U.K)

Accounting & Certification Services

Tenon Group (U.K)

Legal Services

Marshalls and Dent (AU)

Developed with the Assistance of Film Victoria, the South Australian Film Corporation and the Australian Film Commission through the GDI scheme.