Sally Phillips to Star in ‘How to Please a Woman’ Australian Comedy Drama (EXCLUSIVE)
Patrick Frater
Sally Phillips is to star in 'How to Please a Woman', an Australian comedy drama about sex, empowerment and aging.
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Variety
Sally Phillips, the British actor known for her role in all three Bridget Jones movies, will head the cast of Australian comedy drama film “How to Please a Woman.”

Pitched as a warmhearted look at sexuality and vulnerability at all stages of life, the film casts Phillips as a 50-something woman who has the inspired idea of launching an all-male house-cleaning service. But she must ask herself questions when the business grows out of control.

Production starts next week in Perth, West Australia, under the direction of Renee Webster, whose previous directing credits include Australian Broadcasting Corporation series “The Heights” and “Itch.” Webster also penned the screenplay.

The completed film will be released in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. International sales are handled by Germany’s Beta Cinema.

Erik Thomson, who recently appeared in “The Furnace” and next appears in “Blueback,” is set as the male lead. Other cast include Alexander England (“Danger Close,” “Alien: Covenant”), Caroline Brazier (“Three Summers,” “Rake”), Tasma Walton (“Mystery Road,” “Cleverman”), Roz Hammond (“Harrow,” “The Heights”) Cameron Daddo (“Home and Away,” “Filthy Rich and Homeless”) and New Zealand’s Josh Thomson (“The New Adventures of Monkey”).

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“This (is a) more-than-funny liberation story for women who have been afraid to ask for what they want – at home, at work and in the bedroom,” said Phillips, whose other film credits include “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” and the upcoming “Higher Ground” and who also stared in U.K. TV series “Smack the Pony.” “It’s exciting that intimate female tales like this one are now being developed, financed and brought to the screen.”

Production is by Tania Chambers of Feisty Dame Productions (“Kill Me Three Times,” “A Few Less Men”) and Judi Levine of Such Much Films (“The Sessions,” “Falling for Figaro”). Executive producers are Deanne Weir (“Babyteeth”), Roxana McMallan (“Hildegarde”), Olivia Humphrey, Adrian and Michela Fini and Pam and Julius Colman.

The project received major production investment from federal body Screen Australia in association with West Australian state initiatives Screenwest and Lotterywest. Development was also supported through Screen Australia’s Gender Matters program.