We have secured the options on the first two books in the DI Wilkin's Mysteries - written by Simon Mason, with a view to developing them into a returning TV series with international appeal.
Ryan Wilkins grew up on a trailer park in Oxford, a member of what many people would call the criminal classes. As a young Detective Inspector, he’s lost none of his disgust with privileged elites – or his objectionable manners. But he notices things; they stick to his eyes. His professional partner, DI Ray Wilkins, of affluent Nigerian-London heritage, is an impeccably groomed, smooth-talking graduate of Balliol College, Oxford. You wouldn’t think they would get on. They don’t. But when a young woman is found strangled at Barnabas Hall, they’re forced to.
‘As great a contribution to the noble British genre of detective fiction as any writer for decades’ Stephen Fry
Corestar Media has acquired the dramatic rights to the story of Mavis Eccleston, who was accused of murder after entering into a suicide pact with her terminally ill husband. ‘Goodnight Darling’ tells the story of the couple’s 60-year-old love affair and the agonising decision they both took to end their lives together when Dennis was in terrible pain from cancer. It follows 79-year-old Mavis’s murder charge and trial, at which she was unanimously found not guilty, and her family’s campaign for a change in the law.
The project was brought to Corestar by actor and producer Tom Brittney, who will serve as Executive Producer. Tom said, “When I first met Mavis and her family, I was heartbroken at their horrific ordeal. I’m honoured that the Ecclestons have allowed us to tell their story, and to share with a wider audience, in the hope that reform is brought about so that no one ever has to endure the pain that Mavis and their family faced”.
We are working with Andrea Gibb (Miss Austen & Mayflies) on the adaptation of Julie Myerson's The Stopped Heart. A thrilling psychological ghost story, aimed to deliver horror and heart in equal measure. When we first meet our central character Mary, she is full of hope that her new life in the picture-perfect cottage in rural England will heal the recent traumatic events experienced in London. Events which we slowly begin to realise are every parent’s worst nightmare – their daughters have been brutally murdered.
However, their new house has secrets of its own, and the viewer travels through multiple timelines to unearth the story of how a predator infiltrates a house in the 1800s to devastating effect and how that incident now in turn helps to heal Mary.
Paul is an acclaimed writer and Bafta-winning director. His body of work includes multi-award-winning feature films and prime-time television programming for the BBC, ITV, and Disney+.
Paul’s TV credits include Murdered By My Boyfriend, the BAFTA-winning drama series Broadchurch (series 3) for ITV, Murdered For Being Different for BBC Studios, Strangers for ITV and Amazon Studios, and A Confession for ITV, written by Bafta winner Jeff Pope. Following this, Paul delivered "The Walk In" for ITV Studios, starring Stephen Graham, as well as "Archie," the Cary Grant biopic, starring Jason Isaacs, for ITV.
Most recently, Paul directed Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes for Disney+.
Beginning his career in post-production, Richard has worked in all areas of the sector, from advertising to award-winning TV drama and feature film. Following his tenure as CEO of Molinare post-production in London, Richard left to develop and produce several feature films, including The Messenger, starring Robert Sheehan and Lily Cole, which premiered in competition at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Since co-founding Corestar, he has been responsible for securing funding from both private finance and broadcaster development deals, as well as corporate governance. He has also helped shape the ongoing development slate and vision for the company.
Richard is the proud recipient of the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain Olwen Wymark Theatre Encouragement Award, for his work in championing and supporting writing talent, something Corestar Media is incredibly passionate about.
Ken set up Steel Mill Pictures with Paul in 2005 and has produced all of the company’s films, as well as the dark-comedy Filth, based on the Irvine Welsh novel. Ken also executive-produced the award-winning documentary All This Mayhem. In 2015, he produced the critically acclaimed The Eichmann Show, which premiered on BBC Two. Following this, he was the lead executive producer for the coming-of-age comedy Adult Life Skills, starring Jodie Whittaker.
Ken has also served as a consultant and mentor for iFeatures and Creative England, MicroSchool/Microwave, Film London, and the National Film & Television School. Ken was part of the first BFI-led UK film industry delegation on a trade mission to Beijing, to explore opportunities for building creative and business partnerships between the UK and China.
Ross has been working in Television Drama since 2001 and has extensive experience in both production and development – producing, story-lining and script editing major primetime drama series for the BBC, ITV and C4. He has worked on Paul Abbott’s No Offence, EastEnders, Waterloo Road, Coronation Street, and Holby City. Following this, projects include the reboot of All Creatures Great and Small for Playground Entertainment and LAGOS, an international thriller set in the world of Afrobeat, for UMG/Archery Pictures.
In 2012, Ross received a scholarship from Fremantle to undertake the Warner Bros MA TV Fiction Writing at Glasgow University and graduated with distinction. He continues to act as a mentor on this world-renowned course and prides himself on fostering and nurturing new talent, while also building on his extensive network of established TV writers.
Kirsti has worked for Corestar Media since its inception, she is the executive assistant to the founding directors and is a key element in both the running of the office and the Company in general. Prior to this, she worked for Verizon as a project manager and then PA to the Vice President of International IT & Security EMEA & Asia Pacific.
Kirsti took a career break after the birth of her second child and returned to work in 2014, working for an independent production company. In her spare time, she has been Chair of Governors at a local school for 10 years.
