Tracy O’Riordan – Damian Lewis

5 Transformative Sports Films Based on True Stories

On August 29, 2023August 29, 2023 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Dream Horse: Community and Togetherness

by Shahnaz Mahmud | Sundance Institute | August 29, 2023

Major moments in sports history remain long in the memories of fans. But, often it’s the off-the-field narratives — the behind-the-scenes stories of how those major moments came to be — that are transformative, with the power to change how we live our lives for the better.

Enter the sports film based on a true story.

When we follow the lives of athletes and their true personal stories as told through the narrative lens, their resonance is amplified. These are deeply human stories, ones that reach into our everyday lives.

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Dream Horse Wins Two BAFTA Cymru Awards

On October 10, 2022 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Actor and Sound

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | October 10, 2022

The winners of the 31st BAFTA Cymru Awards were announced on October 9, 2022 at a special ceremony at St David’s Hall in Cardiff, hosted by TV presenter Alex Jones. The Awards honour excellence and celebrate talent across film and television in Wales. Dream Horse won two awards that evening: Owen Teale won the award for Actor and the film won in the Sound category. The film also had nominations for Feature Television/Film, Make-Up and Hair, Photography and Lighting: Fiction. Congratulations to Owen and the sound team!

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Dream Horse Leads BAFTA Cymru 2022 Nominations

On September 7, 2022October 8, 2022 By Gingersnap Comments Off

BAFTA Cymru: Wales

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | September 7, 2022

Dream Horse starring Damian Lewis is leading this year’s Bafta Cymru Awards with five nominations. Actor Owen Teale has been nominated for his role as Brian, the husband of Ms. Vokes, played Toni Collette. The film also has nominations for Feature Television/Film, Make-Up and Hair, Photography and Lighting: Fiction, and Sound. Dream Horse tells the story of Dream Alliance, the horse that won the Welsh Grand National in 2009 after being raised on allotment near Blackwood by Jan Vokes.

BAFTA Cymru Awards honor excellence and celebrate talent across film and television in Wales, and returns with an in-person ceremony in Cardiff for the first time in two years due to the pandemic. The ceremony will be hosted by Alex Jones at St. David’s Hall on Sunday, October 9, 2022. The ceremony will be available to watch live on BAFTA’s YouTube channel here.

Source: BAFTA.org
Secondary Source: BBC News

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Stream Dream Horse On Hulu

On May 24, 2022 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Dream Horse Streaming on Hulu

by Gingersnap | Hulu | May 24, 2022

Dream Horse starring Damian Lewis and Toni Collette is now available to stream on Hulu with a premium subscription. For more information, visit Hulu here.

The film tells the inspiring true story of a small town bartender who decides to breed a racehorse. The community chips in their small earnings and the investment pays off as he becomes a beacon of hope in their struggling town.

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The 10 Best Sports Movies Released In 2021, According To IMDb

On December 29, 2021 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Dream Horse

by Matt Paulsen | Screen Rant | December 29, 2021

With 2021 coming to a close, sports fans have a number of great movies to watch and enjoy that were released this year, ranked here by IMDb. Audiences have started racing back into theaters thanks to Spider-Man and the other holiday releases. One of those releases is American Underdog. The Kurt Warner story is just one of many sports movies that have been released this year. While the box office is filled with superheroes, action and a lot of CGI, sports movies are often overlooked.

They may not have lit up the box office, but fans of the genre still have a number of great options to seek out and enjoy over the holiday break and beyond. After all, everybody loves a good underdog story.

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The 13 Best Comedy Movies Of 2021 Ranked

On December 6, 2021December 12, 2021 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Dream Horse

by Liam Gaughan | Slash Film | December 6, 2021

2021 was certainly an unpredictable year for comedy films. Not only were film productions and releases affected by the COVID-19 crisis, but for many, it’s hard to laugh in the face of an ongoing pandemic.

As such, the comedy films of 2021 were an interesting batch that covered many different genres. Some of the biggest hits of the year were action-comedies that seamlessly combined thrills and laughs; while films like “Red Notice,” “The Suicide Squad,” and “Nobody” have more serious elements, there’s certainly a large amount of comedy in both. After a challenging year, audiences enjoyed these humorous crowd pleasers.

In addition, the prominence of streaming services and simultaneous distribution strategies has allowed many smaller and independent films to gain a larger audience. Between Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+, and Shudder, film fans have more freedom than ever to explore a wide range of comedic films. It’s been particularly interesting to see how indie artists have responded to the pandemic with innovative projects, and many of 2021’s comedy films are expected to be major awards contenders.

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Dream Horse On Digital Now

On August 27, 2021May 24, 2022 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Download and Keep Now

by Warner Brothers UK | Twitter | August 27. 2021

Saddle up for an unmissable true story! Dream Horse starring Damian Lewis and Toni Collette is on digital media now. For more information, visit Warner Brothers UK here. The website has links to the movie on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Sky Store, and more.

The film is also available for preorder on DVD and Blu-ray. If you fancy getting yourself a copy, you can do so here. The film will be released on disc on September 13th of this very year. However, Amazon UK DVD/Blu-Ray states release is December 31, 2021. Or, order your copy directly from Warner Brothers UK shop here. Use the code WELCOME for 10% discount.

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Memories of Damian Lewis and Toni Collette Filming Dream Horse in Blaenavon

On June 8, 2021October 7, 2021 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Memories of When Hollywood Came to Blaenavon

by Tom Moody | South Wales Argus | June 8, 2021

Picture: Katrina Maving

Viewers from Blaenavon might just recognise some local landmarks, or even themselves.

Dream Horse follows Jan Vokes, from Cefn Fforest, who brought together a syndicate of local people to breed a foal, named Dream Alliance, raising him on an allotment and going on to win the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow Racecourse in 2009.

Filming took place in Blaenavon in May 2019, with many residents taking up the call to appear as extras in the film.

Following the release of the film, a number of residents have shared their memories of being involved in the production. Here are just a few.

Continue reading Memories of Damian Lewis and Toni Collette Filming Dream Horse in Blaenavon

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Dream Horse Coming to DVD and Blu-Ray

On June 7, 2021June 9, 2021 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Pre-Order Now

by Simon Brew| Film Stories | June 7, 2021

We reported earlier here that Dream Horse will be available on Video on Demand (VoD) in the US on Friday, July 11, 2021. Film Stories reports the new live action family film is getting a physical disc release in September as well.

Good new live action family movies are hardly in bountiful supply, and thus it feels like a treat at the moment to have two of them playing in cinemas. One of those films is Disney’s Cruella, but the one that shouldn’t be allowed to fly under the metaphorical radar is Dream Horse.

Starring Toni Collette, Damian Lewis and Owen Teague, it tells the real life story of a woman who persuades a bunch of her friends and fellow villagers in Wales to chip in for a race horse. And whilst the movie itself probably goes where you expect it too, it’s all done really rather well.

The film is currently playing in UK cinemas, but it’s also gone up for preorder on DVD and Blu-ray. If you fancy getting yourself a copy, you can do so here. The film will be released on disc on September 13th of this very year. However, Amazon UK DVD/Blu-Ray states release is December 31, 2021. Or, pre-order your copy directly from Warner Brothers UK shop here.

Continue reading Dream Horse Coming to DVD and Blu-Ray

Dream Horse Print Media Review

Dream Horse Soundtrack

On June 6, 2021June 6, 2021 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

by Gingersnap | YouTube Music | June 6, 2021

Dream Horse has 23 songs from the original motion picture soundtrack, with a total of 46 minutes listening time. All music is by Benjamin Woodgates. You can listen to the playlist in one of these libraries here:

Don’t forget to listen to track 4, ‘The Hwyl!’

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Dream Horse: The Welsh Filming Locations

On June 4, 2021June 4, 2021 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Filmed Almost Entirely in Wales at Some Fantastic Locations

by Kathryn Williams | Wales Online | June 4, 2021

Welsh-made film Dream Horse is in cinemas and tells the tale of champion racehorse Dream Alliance, who was raised by a Cefn Fforest syndicate. Dream Horse stars Toni Collette and Owen Teale as Jan and Brian Vokes, the animal-loving Cefn Fforest couple who, with Howard Davies and a syndicate of locals, bred and owned the Welsh Grand National winner.

Davies is played by Billions star Damian Lewis, who talks about his fiercely proud Welsh roots, here.

The film is shot almost entirely in Wales, using local people as extras, and filmmakers built a brand new allotment here just for the movie.

Here’s more about the locations used in Dream Horse:

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Dream Horse Review by The Guardian, Part 2

On June 3, 2021June 4, 2021 By Gingersnap Comments Off

True Story of a Welsh Village That Bought a Racehorse is a Winner!

by Peter Bradshaw | The Guardian | June 3, 2021

****4 Stars ****

Yes, it’s schmaltzy, very schmaltzy, but with strong performances by Toni Collette and Damian Lewis the odds are that you’ll love it.

Six years ago I found myself gripped by the overwhelmingly likable documentary Dark Horse, which told the amazing true story of Janet Vokes, a former whippet breeder and pigeon fancier from the depressed Welsh village of Cefn Fforest who organised a community syndicate to buy a racehorse. The drinkers at Jan’s local chipped in a weekly £10 sub and their horse, symbolically called Dream Alliance, wound up winning the Welsh Grand National, basically making it the Seabiscuit of the valleys.

I predicted at the time that this would be remade as a fiction feature with Imelda Staunton as Jan and Jim Broadbent as her hangdog husband Brian. Well, actually it’s Toni Collette and Owen Teale, with Damian Lewis playing Howard Davies, the local tax accountant and breezy man-of-the-world whose dangerously addictive love of horseracing inspires Jan. The resulting movie may be a bit schmaltzy – actually, a lot schmaltzy – but I couldn’t help enjoying it: like Chariots of Fire, only with horses. That comparison, however, may be down to Chariots cast member Nicholas Farrell here playing the shrewd professional trainer Philip Hobbs.

Continue reading Dream Horse Review by The Guardian, Part 2