It seems making a movie is a family affair for Pierce Brosnan. The 71-year-old took to Instagram to share a photo from the set of his upcoming film, The Thursday Murder Club, and the actor was surrounded by living 'legends'—including his 90-year-old mother, Mary May Smith. In the pic, Mary May is at the center of a lineup including Brosnan and his co-stars, Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren, and Celia Imrie. Commenters thought the actor's mom fit right in with the acting icons. "A magnificent lineup of legends, including your lovely mom! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️," wrote one fan. "What a beautiful shot! So lovely to see your wonderful mum May!" raved another commenter.
Brosnan also shared a second photo from the film set featuring a pair of similarly notable visitors: Steven Spielberg and Richard Osman, who wrote the novel (of the same name) that The Thursday Murder Club is based on. "The Thursday Murder Club … look who dropped in to see us all on set the other day ! None other than the great man himself Mr Steven Spielberg and the also great Mr Richard Osman. What a wonderful way to spend the summer of 2024- gratitude abounds," Brosnan captioned his post. Spielberg's company Amblin is producing The Thursday Murder Club, which is being directed by Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire). The movie tells the story of a group of friends living in a retirement home who find themselves solving a murder. The cast also includes David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, and Richard E. Grant.
Richard Osman has joked that he felt like a competition winner after Steven Spielberg visited the set of Netflix feature The Thursday Murder Club. Amblin is producing the adaptation of Osman’s bestselling series of murder mystery novels, and the project has assembled a stacked cast. Spielberg and Osman were pictured with Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, who star as friends in a retirement home who gather to solve murders for fun, but find themselves caught in a real case.
Filming got underway in June on the buzzy crime-comedy from writer-director Chris Columbus. Producers are Jennifer Todd and Columbus. Executive producers are Holly Bario, Jeb Brody, Eleanor Columbus, and Jo Burn. Osman is known to millions in the UK as the presenter of BBC game show Richard Osman’s House of Games and spent years as quizmaster on daytime quiz Pointless. In industry circles, he is known for a long association with Endemol UK (now part of Banijay UK), rising to Creative Director at the Big Brother company before leaving in 2020.
The film is the latest to be produced as part of Netflix and Amblin’s film partnership, which also includes the upcoming Carry-On starring Jason Bateman and Taron Egerton.
Being surrounded by acting royalty would leave most star-struck. But for Mary May Smith it's just another day as Pierce Brosnan's mother. The 90-year-old was again a guest of honour on Brosnan's latest film sets – with the actor making up for lost time after a childhood apart. Brosnan, 71, shared a picture on social media of Ms Smith smiling in a beige jumper and matching trousers alongside his veteran co-stars Sir Ben Kingsley, 80, Dame Helen Mirren, 79, and Celia Imrie, 72.
The star-studded cast has been brought together for The Thursday Murder Club, which is being produced by Steven Spielberg, and is based on the 2020 novel of the same name by Richard Osman. Brosnan has previously revealed that he only formed a close relationship with his mother in his adult years. His father left when he was an infant and he was raised by his grandparents in Ireland as Ms Smith, a retired nurse, worked in England to provide for the family and was only able to return to see him once a year. The pair have spent decades making up for lost time with Ms Smith attending various red carpet events and movie sets. The Netflix film has no set release date as yet.
