Michaela Coel & Benedict Cumberbatch Donate As Sam Mendes’ UK Theater Fund Swells To $2M
Tom Grater International Film ReporterThree weeks after filmmaker Sam Mendes teamed up with Netflix to launch a $620K (£500K) fund to support the UK’s embattled theater workers, the pot has swollen to $2M (£1.6M) and counting.Prominent figures to contribute include the estate of the late Peter Saunders and Lady Saunders, the UK theater impresario behind The Mousetrap, which joins Netflix as the headline supporter. The Mackintosh Foundation, Eileen Davidson Productions, Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, and Linbury Trust have also donated.Individuals to have given money include Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter, Imelda Staunton, Eddie Redmayne, Sonia Friedman, Caro Newling, Colin Firth, Hugh Bonneville, and Tom Hiddleston.