Hollywood’s Richards in Cannes to launch crypto-crisis drama

HOLLYWOOD actor Denise Richards comes to Cannes with a new drama series, Paper Empire, along with its creator, writer and director — and unexpected co-star — Robert Gillings.

Paper Empire claims to be the first-ever series to take on the future of crypto currency; in Gillings’ words, it “follows crypto into its dark universe”.

The show has an all-Star cast including Richards, Robert Davi, Anne Archer, Steve Guttenberg, Robert Knepper, Cuba Gooding Jr, Richard Grieco, Carol Alt, Wesley Snipes and Kelsey Grammer — and director Gillings, who stepped in at the last minute to play the character Noir after an actor had to withdraw.

Speaking to the MIPTV Magazine, Richards said that pretty much all of the shooting schedule had been dic- tated by the pandemic. “We started it pre-COVID and we’d stop and start over quite a period of time and mostly we didn’t have scripts, we only got individual pages of our scenes with no continuity. But I loved working with this cast — and Robert Davi, it was great working with him. We had so much fun together and the chemistry was great.”

Richards plays Bentley Fintch, wife of Laurence Fintch — played by Davi, who believes himself to be the world’s financial saviour but whose digital technology spirals out of control bringing about a global financial armageddon. And while the project began some three years ago, the subject of the series has turned out to be highly pertinent given recent global financial events. “I cannot believe that, yes!” Richards said. “I don’t really follow that stuff but recently with everything that’s going on, that coincidence — that’s amazing.” At press time the COVID-hit series was still going through chang -