{"id":716082,"date":"2026-07-28T21:20:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T21:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/716082\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T21:20:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T21:20:16","slug":"mike-leigh-tender-loving-care-is-most-likely-my-last-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/716082\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Leigh: ‘Tender Loving Care’ Is Most Likely My Last Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"

British filmmaker Mike Leigh<\/a>, one of the few directors to have won both the Venice Golden Lion and the Cannes Palme d\u2019Or, told IndieWire that his upcoming feature, \u201cTender Loving Care<\/a>,\u201d may be his final film<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a recent Golden Globes-hosted London roundtable, Leigh, 83, reflected on his filmmaking career and the challenges facing independent cinema. Last week, the Bleecker Street release also announced its Canadian premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival<\/a>, making a Telluride bow likely.<\/p>\n

The filmmaker has previously spoken about having myositis \u2014 a disease where the immune system attacks the muscles \u2014 which has significantly affected his mobility. He believes making another film would be \u201cvery difficult\u201d and is \u201cnot going to be possible,\u201d given the physical challenges he now faces.<\/p>\n

\"Andrew<\/a> \"LETTY<\/a> <\/p>\n

When asked if \u201cTender Loving Care\u201d would indeed be his last film, Leigh said, \u201cAbsolutely. I think very likely, yes. I mean, I know the girls don\u2019t like to hear me say that, but I think that is the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cI was lucky in making this last film \u2014 people were very helpful. You\u2019ll see when I get up that my two friends all helped me to stand up. So I probably can\u2019t do much more. And doing a play is even more physically demanding, strangely enough, than making a film, because on a film you can be moved around.\u201d<\/p>\n

When preparing \u201cTender Loving Care,\u201d securing financing was one of the biggest challenges for producer Georgina Lowe, particularly because Leigh\u2019s films are known for their improvisational creative process. \u201cWhat\u2019s awful is that the people who have the real funds and the real resources don\u2019t really encourage. They don\u2019t sow the seeds and reap the harvest,\u201d said Lowe.<\/p>\n

Leigh said he was fortunate to have worked with the BBC decades ago, when he was given almost complete creative freedom, something he believes is very different from the current landscape. \u201cWhen we make these films, there is no script to start with. Apart from the historical films, we can\u2019t really tell anybody what it\u2019s about. We can\u2019t discuss anything. Just give us the money.\u201d<\/p>\n

While remaining committed to preserving his auteur voice, Leigh also said that securing support for independent films is becoming increasingly difficult. For him, this is not simply about working without a script or avoiding discussions about casting; it also means ensuring that financiers do not interfere with the creative process. \u201cFilmmaking is no different from other independent artistic practices, such as photography or literature.\u201d Should investors make suggestions that compromise the independence of his work, he said he would \u201cwalk away and not do the project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leigh does not work from a conventional screenplay<\/a> in which every scene is fully written in advance. Instead, he typically spends months rehearsing with his actors, aiming to uncover the \u201cessence\u201d of the film rather than merely its \u201csurface.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s realism, not naturalism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"'Tender\u2018Tender Loving Care\u2019Bleecker Street<\/p>\n

He traced the origins of this approach back to the early 1960s, when he moved to London after growing up in Manchester and immersed himself in both Hollywood and British cinema. \u201cI discovered world cinema, which was an absolute mind-blower. One of the first things that really struck me was \u2018Shadows.\u2019 That sparked a lot of other things that were happening in the theater, and in the zeitgeist of the early 1960s, with happenings and all kinds of improvisational practices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having originally trained as an actor, Leigh said he understood the importance of helping performers remain fully immersed in their characters on set. During rehearsals, he develops characters inspired by real people, encouraging actors to make choices that heighten and distill their performances. The result, he said, is \u201csolid, three-dimensional, and efficient,\u201d because actors rarely forget their lines during shooting. He believes the process is ultimately about arriving at something classical and precise through a long and organic journey. Creativity, for him, is something to follow and respond to as it reveals itself. \u201cThe important thing, in the end, is what\u2019s on the screen. That\u2019s all that matters,\u201d Leigh said.<\/p>\n

Alongside Paul Jesson and Kate O\u2019Flynn, \u201cTender Loving Care\u201d also stars Marion Bailey, one of Leigh\u2019s longtime collaborators, whose credits include \u201cMeantime,\u201d \u201cAll or Nothing,\u201d \u201cVera Drake,\u201d \u201cMr. Turner,\u201d and \u201cPeterloo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bailey\u2019s relationship with Leigh began in the late 1970s after she was recommended for Adrian Shergold\u2019s play \u201cThe Connection.\u201d Their first collaboration was the stage production \u201cGoose-Pimples\u201d in 1981, which began as a theatrical project in London\u2019s West End. Since then, she has reunited with Leigh on numerous films, developing characters through his distinctive improvisational process. Bailey said the method \u201chasn\u2019t fundamentally altered\u201d since it first began.<\/p>\n

When asked about the future of classical acting, Bailey said the outlook was \u201cfairly bleak.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think in this country, we\u2019ve never taken as much pride in the arts as France has.\u201d<\/p>\n

She pointed to her daughter, Alice Bailey Johnson, who also appears in \u201cTender Loving Care,\u201d saying she still feels \u201cheartened\u201d by seeing young people determined to make things happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to be too negative because, as I say, there are all sorts of wonderfully talented people with great heart, spirit and ability, and I wish them well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTender Loving Care\u201d is set for a December 4 release date from Bleecker Street following its fall festival run.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"British filmmaker Mike Leigh, one of the few directors to have won both the Venice Golden Lion and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":716083,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[96,2332,59,2580,58179,237060,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-716082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-film","tag-gb","tag-interviews","tag-mike-leigh","tag-tender-loving-care","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}