Event helps directors of shorts playing in the sidebar make their feature debuts.
Cannes’ Critics Week has wrapped the ninth edition of its Next Step programme which helps short film directors from its past festival selections make the leap between short and feature films.
This year’s crop of aspiring filmmakers included Portugese director Sofia Bost, Mexican filmmaker Jorge Sistos Moreno, British filmmaker Joseph Pierce, Greek filmmakers Evi Kalogiropoulou and Manolis Mavris, and Chinese directors Lin Tu and Hao Zhao.
The group headed to France from December 3-9 with their feature film projects, first at the Moulin d’Andé residence...
Cannes’ Critics Week has wrapped the ninth edition of its Next Step programme which helps short film directors from its past festival selections make the leap between short and feature films.
This year’s crop of aspiring filmmakers included Portugese director Sofia Bost, Mexican filmmaker Jorge Sistos Moreno, British filmmaker Joseph Pierce, Greek filmmakers Evi Kalogiropoulou and Manolis Mavris, and Chinese directors Lin Tu and Hao Zhao.
The group headed to France from December 3-9 with their feature film projects, first at the Moulin d’Andé residence...
- 12/10/2022
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
If you love animated cinema but only have the chance to attend one film festival a year, then the Annecy International Animation Festival should definitely be at the top of the list, with the 2022 edition of the festival once again providing the highest possible standards in the art form. Containing a mixture of cutting-edge arthouse animation with the types of films that could precede Hollywood blockbusters, it delivered a great report on the current state of animation. And while the features, ranging from the new Minions movie to anime, might get all of the main coverage, the short film competition is often the best place to see how animation is being pushed forward, whether it’s the types of stories being told or the way that they are animated. As with last year, Dn scoured through the main competition films to provide you with ten shorts that you should definitely have on your radar.
- 6/20/2022
- by Redmond Bacon
- Directors Notes
An all-star cast has been assembled for the upcoming animated TV series centered on the Moomins, the central characters in a series of hugely popular Scandinavian children’s books,
Rosamund Pike, Taron Egerton, Kate Winslet, Warwick Davis, Matt Berry, Richard Ayoade, Will Self and Akiya Henry will lend their voices to Moominvalley, which is being produced by Finnish studio Gutsy Animations. Steve Box, formerly of Aardman and an Oscar winner for co-directing Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit with Nick Park, will helm.
The Moomins, created by Finnish illustrator Tove Jansson and first published in 1945 and now one...
Rosamund Pike, Taron Egerton, Kate Winslet, Warwick Davis, Matt Berry, Richard Ayoade, Will Self and Akiya Henry will lend their voices to Moominvalley, which is being produced by Finnish studio Gutsy Animations. Steve Box, formerly of Aardman and an Oscar winner for co-directing Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit with Nick Park, will helm.
The Moomins, created by Finnish illustrator Tove Jansson and first published in 1945 and now one...
- 9/11/2017
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Stars: Donatas Banionis, Natalya Bondarchuk, Anatoli Solonitsyn, Jüri Järvet | Written by Andrei Tarkovsky; Fridrikh Gorenshtein | Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
It’s Will Self’s favourite movie, it spawned a good remake which barely nudged the box office, and it has been described as the Soviet answer to 2001: A Space Odyssey. It combines the laid-back, character-based storytelling of the French New Wave with the trippy impulses of late-60s psychedelia. It is a true cult movie, one which played for decades in Soviet cinemas. But what is Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris actually like to watch? I hesitate to call it a blast – but I would call it beautiful, dense, mesmerising and moving.
On the surface, Kubrick’s 1968 film and Tarkovsky’s 1972 film couldn’t be more different in their approaches (something Tarkovsky himself was keen to point out). While 2001 looks proudly outward, Solaris delves inward, deeply and directly. But what...
It’s Will Self’s favourite movie, it spawned a good remake which barely nudged the box office, and it has been described as the Soviet answer to 2001: A Space Odyssey. It combines the laid-back, character-based storytelling of the French New Wave with the trippy impulses of late-60s psychedelia. It is a true cult movie, one which played for decades in Soviet cinemas. But what is Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris actually like to watch? I hesitate to call it a blast – but I would call it beautiful, dense, mesmerising and moving.
On the surface, Kubrick’s 1968 film and Tarkovsky’s 1972 film couldn’t be more different in their approaches (something Tarkovsky himself was keen to point out). While 2001 looks proudly outward, Solaris delves inward, deeply and directly. But what...
- 4/18/2017
- by Rupert Harvey
- Nerdly
Author: Competitions
On 9th February, Power of Film and Moving Image, a global platform and series of thought-proving discussions, exploring how the power of film and moving image can change the world, will be taking place at the Royal Institute. To celebrate, we have a pair of tickets to give away to 1 winner.
John Gordon (founder of Intelligence Squared, how to: Academy) and Finch & Partners Corporate Creative, the global strategic brand and content agency, are delighted to announce the launch of an international incentive Power Of Film And Moving Image. Designed as a global incentive to enact positive change, Power Of Film And Moving Image will be an annual cultural happening and digital platform to see, expose and explore the ever-growing power and influence of film and moving image to define the modern world and the way we think. Through a series of thought provoking discussions the project will identify...
On 9th February, Power of Film and Moving Image, a global platform and series of thought-proving discussions, exploring how the power of film and moving image can change the world, will be taking place at the Royal Institute. To celebrate, we have a pair of tickets to give away to 1 winner.
John Gordon (founder of Intelligence Squared, how to: Academy) and Finch & Partners Corporate Creative, the global strategic brand and content agency, are delighted to announce the launch of an international incentive Power Of Film And Moving Image. Designed as a global incentive to enact positive change, Power Of Film And Moving Image will be an annual cultural happening and digital platform to see, expose and explore the ever-growing power and influence of film and moving image to define the modern world and the way we think. Through a series of thought provoking discussions the project will identify...
- 1/20/2017
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The other day we got the surprise news that Michael Moore has a new movie coming out. Not only has he finished a brand new doc, but it was also shown to audiences this week. Michael Moore in Trumpland, based on the director’s one-man play, premiered this week, just three weeks before the November 8th presidential election. When will […]
The post Michael Moore Will Self-Distribute ‘Michael Moore in TrumpLand’ appeared first on /Film.
The post Michael Moore Will Self-Distribute ‘Michael Moore in TrumpLand’ appeared first on /Film.
- 10/21/2016
- by Jack Giroux
- Slash Film
How many days does a man have to take to acknowledge his Nobel Prize?
Apparently the answer isn’t blowing in the wind. The answer is five. Five days.
That’s how long it took for Bob Dylan to finally get around to addressing the fact that he won the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Not with words, or an official statement, though. No, whoever’s running Dylan’s social accounts addressed the win on his Facebook, and his website now contains the line “winner of the Nobel prize in literature” in reference to the release of a new book of his singer’s lyrics.
Apparently the answer isn’t blowing in the wind. The answer is five. Five days.
That’s how long it took for Bob Dylan to finally get around to addressing the fact that he won the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Not with words, or an official statement, though. No, whoever’s running Dylan’s social accounts addressed the win on his Facebook, and his website now contains the line “winner of the Nobel prize in literature” in reference to the release of a new book of his singer’s lyrics.
- 10/20/2016
- by alexheigl
- PEOPLE.com
★★★☆☆ The first words that come to your mind after seeing a film by Pedro Almodóvar are usually 'flamboyant', 'over-the-top', or perhaps 'fabulous'. His latest offering, showing at the 69th Cannes film festival, is more likely to have you thinking 'efficient', 'workman-like' and possibly the dreaded 'average'. It's as if Will Self suddenly wrote a Mills and Boon bodice ripper. Julieta is a lifelong mystery with shades of Hitchcock, and it is actually an improvement on his misjudged comedy I'm So Excited, but it has nothing on the excitement of his run in the late 1980s and early 90s.
- 5/22/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Victoria Coren Mitchell is taking a closer look at the history of bohemians for BBC Four.
Three-part documentary series How To Be Bohemian with Victoria Coren Mitchell will journey from 19th century Paris to '60s Soho and focus on influential bohemian figures like Oscar Wilde.
Stephen Fry, Grayson Perry, Will Self, A A Gill, John Cooper Clarke, Rev. Richard Coles, Maggi Hambling, Molly Parkin and performance artist Jonny Woo will all appear in the series.
Coren Mitchell said: "Bohemians confuse me tremendously. I don't know whether to find them exciting and inspiring, or annoying and threatening. Possibly all four at once. From these mixed feelings, I know I must be a bourgeois.
"But I've never been fully immersed in Bohemian circles before. I'll be interested to find out whether I end up running into their open-minded embrace, or running screaming away."
BBC Four's channel editor Cassian Harrison added:...
Three-part documentary series How To Be Bohemian with Victoria Coren Mitchell will journey from 19th century Paris to '60s Soho and focus on influential bohemian figures like Oscar Wilde.
Stephen Fry, Grayson Perry, Will Self, A A Gill, John Cooper Clarke, Rev. Richard Coles, Maggi Hambling, Molly Parkin and performance artist Jonny Woo will all appear in the series.
Coren Mitchell said: "Bohemians confuse me tremendously. I don't know whether to find them exciting and inspiring, or annoying and threatening. Possibly all four at once. From these mixed feelings, I know I must be a bourgeois.
"But I've never been fully immersed in Bohemian circles before. I'll be interested to find out whether I end up running into their open-minded embrace, or running screaming away."
BBC Four's channel editor Cassian Harrison added:...
- 4/29/2015
- Digital Spy
Mark Kermode on modern film criticism, critics of his own work, Michael Bay, Jason Statham and male oil wrestling.
The last time we spoke to Mark Kermode, he'd just launched his book about the state of movie criticism, Hatchet Job. Since then, he's embarked on a nationwide tour with the book, and undertaken dozens of Q&As with audiences about it.
And that, as Hatchet Job continues to thrive in paperback, is where we started...
I spoke to you just as you launched Hatchet Job, and in your words, since then you've "toured the arse off it". You've done Q&As with the people who've read your book, and who you wrote it for.
So what have you learned about what audiences feel regarding film critics, and where they sit in the world?
I think the most important thing was when I started writing it, I was, as you know,...
The last time we spoke to Mark Kermode, he'd just launched his book about the state of movie criticism, Hatchet Job. Since then, he's embarked on a nationwide tour with the book, and undertaken dozens of Q&As with audiences about it.
And that, as Hatchet Job continues to thrive in paperback, is where we started...
I spoke to you just as you launched Hatchet Job, and in your words, since then you've "toured the arse off it". You've done Q&As with the people who've read your book, and who you wrote it for.
So what have you learned about what audiences feel regarding film critics, and where they sit in the world?
I think the most important thing was when I started writing it, I was, as you know,...
- 1/28/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
It wrecks lives – but it has also inspired art from the poetry of Baudelaire to the music of Lou Reed. In Paris and Berlin, Andrew Hussey traces the path of heroin through modern culture
One of the easiest places to find heroin in Paris is in the streets in and around the Gare du Nord, a stone's throw away from the Eurostar terminal. I know about this place partly because I live in Paris and I am a frequent Eurostar traveller, and partly because this is where Google sent me when I typed in the request "Where to find heroin in Paris". Apparently the most popular spot for dealing is the rue Ambroise-Paré which contains a series of entrances to underground car parks where users can shoot up in relative privacy. The place permanently stinks of piss and is under constant police surveillance, as dealers and clients scurry back and forth between their hiding places.
One of the easiest places to find heroin in Paris is in the streets in and around the Gare du Nord, a stone's throw away from the Eurostar terminal. I know about this place partly because I live in Paris and I am a frequent Eurostar traveller, and partly because this is where Google sent me when I typed in the request "Where to find heroin in Paris". Apparently the most popular spot for dealing is the rue Ambroise-Paré which contains a series of entrances to underground car parks where users can shoot up in relative privacy. The place permanently stinks of piss and is under constant police surveillance, as dealers and clients scurry back and forth between their hiding places.
- 12/22/2013
- by Andrew Hussey
- The Guardian - Film News
The best movie culture writing from around the internet-o-sphere. Just leave a tab open for us, will ya? “A Critical Confusion” –Brad Stevens’ sharp take down of Will Self’s mirror-holding view on the extinction of criticism. Inside, inside baseball. “The Best Man Holiday and the Language of Expectations” — Linda Holmes laments the industry’s continual underestimation of films starring black ensembles and/or made by black filmmakers. It’s time to stop being surprised when they do well. “Here’s How Indie Movie Rental Stores Are Surviving the New Frontier” — Sean Axmaker at Indiewire adds Scarecrow Video to the list of profiles in courage against the backdrop of Blockbuster busting. “The Starving Games is the Worst Hunger Games Spoof Ever: A Liveblog” — Mike Ryan watches the new Friedberg and Seltzer so you don’t have to. I now challenge him to try doing this.
- 11/19/2013
- by Scott Beggs
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Review Simon Brew 31 Oct 2013 - 06:25
We take a look at Mark Kermode's latest book, Hatchet Job, where he takes issue with the modern movie critic....
I find myself in a nice, rare position with Mark Kermode's latest book, Hatchet Job. Ostensibly the third part of his four-part trilogy of 'radio voice' film titles (as opposed to his more academic tomes; a book on pop music's intersection with film is next), the conundrum for this site is that he says nice things about Den Of Geek in the book. As such, in the interests of transparency, I felt we should highlight that from the off. So whilst this is a review, and whilst this is impartial, it'd be remiss that you didn't know we come out of it rather well. If that bothers you, as the man himself might say, "other opinions are available". Will Self didn't like it,...
We take a look at Mark Kermode's latest book, Hatchet Job, where he takes issue with the modern movie critic....
I find myself in a nice, rare position with Mark Kermode's latest book, Hatchet Job. Ostensibly the third part of his four-part trilogy of 'radio voice' film titles (as opposed to his more academic tomes; a book on pop music's intersection with film is next), the conundrum for this site is that he says nice things about Den Of Geek in the book. As such, in the interests of transparency, I felt we should highlight that from the off. So whilst this is a review, and whilst this is impartial, it'd be remiss that you didn't know we come out of it rather well. If that bothers you, as the man himself might say, "other opinions are available". Will Self didn't like it,...
- 10/30/2013
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
As a pioneering arts, housing and older people project draws to a close, Laura Yates reflects on the true value of outreach
Working with the over-65s, technology and digital art – as I have for the past seven years – has proved to me that none of the cliches about older people are true. Knitting is a rare past-time unless it serves a purpose. There is no slowing down or giving up among this generation. Older people are web-streaming pioneers, digital story-tellers and filmmakers; spoon-players, VJs and social campaigners.
This autumn a new exhibition at Fact (Liverpool's Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) is taking a celebratory look at the life and times of one of the organisations best-loved projects: the pioneering community arts programme, tenantspin.
The project started life as part of a network Superchannels, webstreaming platforms for community conversations developed by the Danish artist collective Superflex in the late 1990s.
Working with the over-65s, technology and digital art – as I have for the past seven years – has proved to me that none of the cliches about older people are true. Knitting is a rare past-time unless it serves a purpose. There is no slowing down or giving up among this generation. Older people are web-streaming pioneers, digital story-tellers and filmmakers; spoon-players, VJs and social campaigners.
This autumn a new exhibition at Fact (Liverpool's Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) is taking a celebratory look at the life and times of one of the organisations best-loved projects: the pioneering community arts programme, tenantspin.
The project started life as part of a network Superchannels, webstreaming platforms for community conversations developed by the Danish artist collective Superflex in the late 1990s.
- 10/24/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Will Self on the role of the critic now the web has changed everything
I've seen Mark Kermode about the place over the years and he's always seemed to me to be a fairly good thing: a passionate film enthusiast with an affable blokeish manner who dishes out serviceable commentary on new releases, and involves himself in what we must, per the modern idiom, call "the film community". But until reading this book I'd never actually read any of his film criticism – at least not knowingly – and it certainly came as a surprise to discover with what high regard he holds his profession, even if in respect of his own output he is annoyingly self-deprecating. Throughout Hatchet Job, Kermode keeps up a steady stream of asides of the kind my mother used to call "don't‑mind-little-me"; either because he is indeed ever-so-'umble, or – more likely – he's self-aware enough to feel...
I've seen Mark Kermode about the place over the years and he's always seemed to me to be a fairly good thing: a passionate film enthusiast with an affable blokeish manner who dishes out serviceable commentary on new releases, and involves himself in what we must, per the modern idiom, call "the film community". But until reading this book I'd never actually read any of his film criticism – at least not knowingly – and it certainly came as a surprise to discover with what high regard he holds his profession, even if in respect of his own output he is annoyingly self-deprecating. Throughout Hatchet Job, Kermode keeps up a steady stream of asides of the kind my mother used to call "don't‑mind-little-me"; either because he is indeed ever-so-'umble, or – more likely – he's self-aware enough to feel...
- 10/9/2013
- by Will Self
- The Guardian - Film News
My Noir | Urban Wandering: Film And The London Landscape | Cambridge Film Festival | Encounters
My Noir, Manchester
Film noir's hard-boiled loners certainly suit late-night viewing, so what better way to start this celebration of double crosses and femmes fatales than a 24-hour "noirathon". Starting with Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (paired with an exhibition), the weekend marathon brings classics old and new, from Out Of The Past to Brick, ending somewhat aptly with The Big Sleep, plus special events such as writer Walter Mosley talking about the adaptation of his Devil In A Blue Dress (16 Oct).
Cornerhouse, Sat to 29 Dec
Urban Wandering: Film And The London Landscape, London
Like the capital itself, this promising season is sprawling, eclectic and difficult to get a handle on. It's a survey of the changes the city has experienced postwar, via a myriad of media, but above all, cinema. The guest list is a...
My Noir, Manchester
Film noir's hard-boiled loners certainly suit late-night viewing, so what better way to start this celebration of double crosses and femmes fatales than a 24-hour "noirathon". Starting with Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (paired with an exhibition), the weekend marathon brings classics old and new, from Out Of The Past to Brick, ending somewhat aptly with The Big Sleep, plus special events such as writer Walter Mosley talking about the adaptation of his Devil In A Blue Dress (16 Oct).
Cornerhouse, Sat to 29 Dec
Urban Wandering: Film And The London Landscape, London
Like the capital itself, this promising season is sprawling, eclectic and difficult to get a handle on. It's a survey of the changes the city has experienced postwar, via a myriad of media, but above all, cinema. The guest list is a...
- 9/14/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
When one of the world's greatest intellects happily admits to being seduced by fame, perhaps the rest of us should stop being so sniffy about it
• Watch the trailer for Hawking
• News: Eddie Redmayne to play Hawking in film biopic
Our celebrity culture rarely goes long unbemoaned: earlier this summer, Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring prompted another round of handwringing. According to the disgruntled, it was absurd that the likes of Paris Hilton should be famous. It was even more absurd that people should steal celebrities' knickers, and in doing so achieve notoriety of their own. Making a film about the ninnies involved was still more lamentable, and going to see it was almost as bad.
All the same, even those most aghast seemed unsurprised: no one can deny that obsession with stardom is rampant. Research has suggested that around 40% of adults expect to enjoy their 15 minutes of fame in some guise or other.
• Watch the trailer for Hawking
• News: Eddie Redmayne to play Hawking in film biopic
Our celebrity culture rarely goes long unbemoaned: earlier this summer, Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring prompted another round of handwringing. According to the disgruntled, it was absurd that the likes of Paris Hilton should be famous. It was even more absurd that people should steal celebrities' knickers, and in doing so achieve notoriety of their own. Making a film about the ninnies involved was still more lamentable, and going to see it was almost as bad.
All the same, even those most aghast seemed unsurprised: no one can deny that obsession with stardom is rampant. Research has suggested that around 40% of adults expect to enjoy their 15 minutes of fame in some guise or other.
- 8/16/2013
- by David Cox
- The Guardian - Film News
Sheffield Doc/Fest | Dunoon film festival | A Nos Amours | Seret – The London Israeli film and television festival
Sheffield Doc/Fest
Sheffield doesn't quite have the same ring as Cannes or Venice, but in documentary terms it's a fair comparison. This is a market and a meeting place for professionals, and guests this year include Walter Murch, Jonathan Franzen, Trevor McDonald and Captain Sensible, as well as just about every British documentarian you can think of. But this is also the place to see the latest in non-fiction film: 120 films, many of them premieres, on topics ranging from Pussy Riot to Uri Geller's CIA missions, Indonesian genocide, and Bradley Wiggins.
Various venues, Wed to 16 Jun
Dunoon film festival
Edinburgh and Glasgow festivals bring world cinema to Scotland, but this inaugural festival brings Scottish cinema to Scotland, and helps put a seaside town on the cultural map. There are some recent international releases,...
Sheffield Doc/Fest
Sheffield doesn't quite have the same ring as Cannes or Venice, but in documentary terms it's a fair comparison. This is a market and a meeting place for professionals, and guests this year include Walter Murch, Jonathan Franzen, Trevor McDonald and Captain Sensible, as well as just about every British documentarian you can think of. But this is also the place to see the latest in non-fiction film: 120 films, many of them premieres, on topics ranging from Pussy Riot to Uri Geller's CIA missions, Indonesian genocide, and Bradley Wiggins.
Various venues, Wed to 16 Jun
Dunoon film festival
Edinburgh and Glasgow festivals bring world cinema to Scotland, but this inaugural festival brings Scottish cinema to Scotland, and helps put a seaside town on the cultural map. There are some recent international releases,...
- 6/8/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
A documentary about the angriest old man of music, drummer Ginger Baker, who is filmed whacking the interviewer with his cane, can only be enthralling
A refreshing aspect of this film about Ginger Baker, the legendary 73-year-old rock and jazz drummer, and former smackhead given to smacking people in the head, is that it doesn't mention the phrase "national treasure". This status is traditionally conferred on England's ageing rebels whose cantankerous and reactionary tendencies are thought to be picturesque. However, it is perhaps worrying that the chief character witness for Baker, produced in the opening few minutes, is the hectoringly pop-eyed John Lydon, who recently distinguished himself by telling a woman interviewer: "When a man is talking, you do not interrupt."
Probably music's angriest old man, Baker gives the American journalist and film-maker Jay Bulger pure film gold – that Bulger uses at the beginning and end of his documentary – by...
A refreshing aspect of this film about Ginger Baker, the legendary 73-year-old rock and jazz drummer, and former smackhead given to smacking people in the head, is that it doesn't mention the phrase "national treasure". This status is traditionally conferred on England's ageing rebels whose cantankerous and reactionary tendencies are thought to be picturesque. However, it is perhaps worrying that the chief character witness for Baker, produced in the opening few minutes, is the hectoringly pop-eyed John Lydon, who recently distinguished himself by telling a woman interviewer: "When a man is talking, you do not interrupt."
Probably music's angriest old man, Baker gives the American journalist and film-maker Jay Bulger pure film gold – that Bulger uses at the beginning and end of his documentary – by...
- 5/16/2013
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Deaffest | Lars von Trier | Holmfirth Film festival | Trainspotting: The Reunion
Deaffest, Wolverhampton
Sadly, the UK's premier festival for the deaf lost its patron this year, the estimable Richard Griffiths. But before he died, the actor recorded an onstage interview at London's Savoy Theatre (which premieres here), during which he spoke, and signed, about his career, growing up with deaf parents and the future possibilities for deaf film-making. Those possibilities are further revealed in the film programme, which brings together deafness-related films from the UK and around the world, with awards up for grabs as well. Many of the stories, factual and fictional, use deafness to offer a fresh insight into everything from Islam to cage fighting, to exploring aspects of deaf culture and to laugh at hearing society's stupidity.
Light House, Fri to 19 May
Lars von Trier, London
What a boring place the movies would be without Von Trier.
Deaffest, Wolverhampton
Sadly, the UK's premier festival for the deaf lost its patron this year, the estimable Richard Griffiths. But before he died, the actor recorded an onstage interview at London's Savoy Theatre (which premieres here), during which he spoke, and signed, about his career, growing up with deaf parents and the future possibilities for deaf film-making. Those possibilities are further revealed in the film programme, which brings together deafness-related films from the UK and around the world, with awards up for grabs as well. Many of the stories, factual and fictional, use deafness to offer a fresh insight into everything from Islam to cage fighting, to exploring aspects of deaf culture and to laugh at hearing society's stupidity.
Light House, Fri to 19 May
Lars von Trier, London
What a boring place the movies would be without Von Trier.
- 5/11/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Bernardo Bertolucci, Jeanette Winterson and Paul Weller also among 75 public figures revealing favourite works
BBC Radio 4 is lining up 75 leading public figures, including film director Bernardo Bertolucci, singer Paul Weller and novelist Jeanette Winterson, to reveal their most treasured cultural influences for what the station claims will be one of the most comprehensive arts events broadcast.
The network has already confirmed 30 names for the project, Cultural Exchange, which will see individuals selecting a single item to talk about, with the choices ranging from the King James Bible to an obscure 1960s album.
It will feature every weekday on Front Row until the end of July.
Artist Tracey Emin will launch the series on 22 April with her insights into a Vermeer painting – Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid. She describes Vermeer as "one of the first feminists", pointing to the unusual and fascinating way he depicted women. "He showed that...
BBC Radio 4 is lining up 75 leading public figures, including film director Bernardo Bertolucci, singer Paul Weller and novelist Jeanette Winterson, to reveal their most treasured cultural influences for what the station claims will be one of the most comprehensive arts events broadcast.
The network has already confirmed 30 names for the project, Cultural Exchange, which will see individuals selecting a single item to talk about, with the choices ranging from the King James Bible to an obscure 1960s album.
It will feature every weekday on Front Row until the end of July.
Artist Tracey Emin will launch the series on 22 April with her insights into a Vermeer painting – Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid. She describes Vermeer as "one of the first feminists", pointing to the unusual and fascinating way he depicted women. "He showed that...
- 4/17/2013
- by Ben Dowell
- The Guardian - Film News
Actor Keith Allen talks about screaming popes, his daughter Lily – and the time he lived on a theatre stage
How did you get into acting?
I'd done performance art sporadically from about 1976 – very personal street things on my own. Acting seemed like a natural step from that. But I didn't really want to "be" anything: presenter, comic, actor. I just wanted to perform.
What was your big breakthrough?
I don't think I've ever broken through.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
A one-man show I did years ago called Whatever Happened to the AA Man's Salute. It was improvised, and ran for three or four weekends at the then Albany Empire in London. I was a squatter at the time, so I moved into the theatre and lived on the stage. I'd do the show right next to my bed.
Do you suffer for your art?
Yes – as...
How did you get into acting?
I'd done performance art sporadically from about 1976 – very personal street things on my own. Acting seemed like a natural step from that. But I didn't really want to "be" anything: presenter, comic, actor. I just wanted to perform.
What was your big breakthrough?
I don't think I've ever broken through.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
A one-man show I did years ago called Whatever Happened to the AA Man's Salute. It was improvised, and ran for three or four weekends at the then Albany Empire in London. I was a squatter at the time, so I moved into the theatre and lived on the stage. I'd do the show right next to my bed.
Do you suffer for your art?
Yes – as...
- 3/27/2013
- by Laura Barnett
- The Guardian - Film News
Bond movie wins film prize and BBC2's Twenty Twelve scoops comedy, while London 2012 cauldron takes visual arts gong
James Bond movie Skyfall, London Games comedy Twenty Twelve and the Olympic cauldron were among the winners at the 2013 South Bank Sky Arts awards.
The 23rd James Bond outing won the film prize at the awards ceremony, hosted by Lord Bragg in London at Tuesday lunchtime.
Continuing the Olympic theme, the visual arts award went to Thomas Heatherwick's London 2012 cauldron, while Twenty Twelve helped the BBC to a clean sweep in the TV categories, picking up the comedy prize.
Tom Stoppard's BBC2 adaptation of Ford Maddox Ford's Parade's End won the drama award, in an all-bbc shortlist also featuring Shakespeare adaptations The Hollow Crown and police thriller Line of Duty.
Tom Hiddleston picked up the Times breakthrough award for his acting in The Hollow Crown and films including War Horse and Avengers Assemble.
James Bond movie Skyfall, London Games comedy Twenty Twelve and the Olympic cauldron were among the winners at the 2013 South Bank Sky Arts awards.
The 23rd James Bond outing won the film prize at the awards ceremony, hosted by Lord Bragg in London at Tuesday lunchtime.
Continuing the Olympic theme, the visual arts award went to Thomas Heatherwick's London 2012 cauldron, while Twenty Twelve helped the BBC to a clean sweep in the TV categories, picking up the comedy prize.
Tom Stoppard's BBC2 adaptation of Ford Maddox Ford's Parade's End won the drama award, in an all-bbc shortlist also featuring Shakespeare adaptations The Hollow Crown and police thriller Line of Duty.
Tom Hiddleston picked up the Times breakthrough award for his acting in The Hollow Crown and films including War Horse and Avengers Assemble.
- 3/12/2013
- by Jason Deans
- The Guardian - Film News
Skyfall, Alan Partridge comedy Welcome to the Places of My Life, and the Olympic Velodrome are among the nominees for this year's South Bank Sky Arts Awards.
The awards, which are now in their 16th year, celebrate the best of British culture of the last 12 months and take place at the Dorchester Hotel on Tuesday, March 12. They will air on Sky Arts later in the week.
© BBC
[Left: Skyfall / Right: Alan Partridge]
Other nominees this year include music stars Jessie Ware and Plan B, writers Hilary Mantel and Will Self, and TV comedies Twenty Twelve and Hunderby.
Melvyn Bragg is editor and master of ceremonies at the event, which hands out accolades to visual art, theatre, opera, dance, comedy, classical music, pop, TV drama, literature and film.
"2012 was a remarkably fine year for British achievement, not least in British art, by British artists," said Bragg.
© Pete Mariner
© BBC
[Left: Jessie Ware / Right: Twenty Twelve]
"Arriving at this shortlist was a tough job for our judges.
The awards, which are now in their 16th year, celebrate the best of British culture of the last 12 months and take place at the Dorchester Hotel on Tuesday, March 12. They will air on Sky Arts later in the week.
© BBC
[Left: Skyfall / Right: Alan Partridge]
Other nominees this year include music stars Jessie Ware and Plan B, writers Hilary Mantel and Will Self, and TV comedies Twenty Twelve and Hunderby.
Melvyn Bragg is editor and master of ceremonies at the event, which hands out accolades to visual art, theatre, opera, dance, comedy, classical music, pop, TV drama, literature and film.
"2012 was a remarkably fine year for British achievement, not least in British art, by British artists," said Bragg.
© Pete Mariner
© BBC
[Left: Jessie Ware / Right: Twenty Twelve]
"Arriving at this shortlist was a tough job for our judges.
- 2/6/2013
- Digital Spy
Skyfall, Alan Partridge comedy Welcome to the Places of My Life, and the Olympic Velodrome are among the nominees for this year's South Bank Sky Arts Awards.
The awards, which are now in their 16th year, celebrate the best of British culture of the last 12 months and take place at the Dorchester Hotel on Tuesday, March 12. They will air on Sky Arts later in the week.
[Left: Skyfall / Right: Alan Partridge]
Other nominees this year include music stars Jessie Ware and Plan B, writers Hilary Mantel and Will Self, and TV comedies Twenty Twelve and Hunderby.
Melvyn Bragg is editor and master of ceremonies at the event, which hands out accolades to visual art, theatre, opera, dance, comedy, classical music, pop, TV drama, literature and film.
"2012 was a remarkably fine year for British achievement, not least in British art, by British artists," said Bragg.
[Left: Jessie Ware / Right: Twenty Twelve]
"Arriving at this shortlist was a tough job for our judges.
The awards, which are now in their 16th year, celebrate the best of British culture of the last 12 months and take place at the Dorchester Hotel on Tuesday, March 12. They will air on Sky Arts later in the week.
[Left: Skyfall / Right: Alan Partridge]
Other nominees this year include music stars Jessie Ware and Plan B, writers Hilary Mantel and Will Self, and TV comedies Twenty Twelve and Hunderby.
Melvyn Bragg is editor and master of ceremonies at the event, which hands out accolades to visual art, theatre, opera, dance, comedy, classical music, pop, TV drama, literature and film.
"2012 was a remarkably fine year for British achievement, not least in British art, by British artists," said Bragg.
[Left: Jessie Ware / Right: Twenty Twelve]
"Arriving at this shortlist was a tough job for our judges.
- 2/6/2013
- Digital Spy
The channels' director is proud about offering audiences something he believes they can't get anywhere else
James Hunt is thinking about Jon Hamm. In the bath. With Daniel Radcliffe. The Sky Arts channel director's interest is entirely professional, looking ahead to his adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's A Young Doctor's Notebook, in which the two men will star.
"For Sky Arts to attract Don Draper and Harry Potter in the same production, in the same bath even, it's a dream come true," says Hunt. "It shows not only the ambition of the channel, but the ambition Sky has in trying to attract the world's top talent."
Radcliffe and Hamm play the same doctor at different stages of his life in the four-part series, which begins on 6 December. The drama has been described by the Mad Men star as mixing "madness and the macabre", and it stands every chance of delivering Sky Arts' biggest-ever audience.
James Hunt is thinking about Jon Hamm. In the bath. With Daniel Radcliffe. The Sky Arts channel director's interest is entirely professional, looking ahead to his adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's A Young Doctor's Notebook, in which the two men will star.
"For Sky Arts to attract Don Draper and Harry Potter in the same production, in the same bath even, it's a dream come true," says Hunt. "It shows not only the ambition of the channel, but the ambition Sky has in trying to attract the world's top talent."
Radcliffe and Hamm play the same doctor at different stages of his life in the four-part series, which begins on 6 December. The drama has been described by the Mad Men star as mixing "madness and the macabre", and it stands every chance of delivering Sky Arts' biggest-ever audience.
- 11/26/2012
- by John Plunkett
- The Guardian - Film News
Remember when every new Bond film used to be a bit of a lark? Now things have got so gloomy that 007 can barely manage a flippant putdown. Is this new solemnity a sign of our times?
The rapture inspired by Skyfall in critics and public alike might have surprised Bond fans of the past. For the franchise's 23rd instalment lacks what some would have considered its quintessential ingredient.
What used to distinguish 007 from previous thriller heroes was his unique brand of ironic detachment. Ian Fleming's books demanded to be taken straight. The earlier films mocked their source material's vanity, as well as the thriller genre, love, death and Her Majesty's secret service. Their studied cheesiness mocked the mockery itself.
In Skyfall, Daniel Craig's Bond delivers a scattering of old-style quips, but the chronic flippancy from which they used to spring has disappeared. Indeed, the film's lack of larkiness...
The rapture inspired by Skyfall in critics and public alike might have surprised Bond fans of the past. For the franchise's 23rd instalment lacks what some would have considered its quintessential ingredient.
What used to distinguish 007 from previous thriller heroes was his unique brand of ironic detachment. Ian Fleming's books demanded to be taken straight. The earlier films mocked their source material's vanity, as well as the thriller genre, love, death and Her Majesty's secret service. Their studied cheesiness mocked the mockery itself.
In Skyfall, Daniel Craig's Bond delivers a scattering of old-style quips, but the chronic flippancy from which they used to spring has disappeared. Indeed, the film's lack of larkiness...
- 11/2/2012
- by David Cox
- The Guardian - Film News
Shark-poker Halle Berry deserves everything she gets in this oddly tiresome diving thriller
Will Self has hinted that his next novel is going to be Jaws without the shark. While we're waiting for that, here's Jaws without the excitement, or the humour. Halle Berry stars in this oddly tiresome thriller from director John Stockwell: she plays an open-water diver who once made documentaries with her sexy French boyfriend (Olivier Martinez) about swimming with sharks – and also teasing them, tweaking their fins and even poking them on the snout. It's an activity that appears to have zero educational or scientific purpose, and when the worst happens you can only think … well, duh? In the wake of what was the world's most predictable tragedy, and least worthy of sympathy, Berry demurely confines herself to dull whalewatching until a thrill-seeking businessman (Ralph Brown) offers her a lot of cash to help him...
Will Self has hinted that his next novel is going to be Jaws without the shark. While we're waiting for that, here's Jaws without the excitement, or the humour. Halle Berry stars in this oddly tiresome thriller from director John Stockwell: she plays an open-water diver who once made documentaries with her sexy French boyfriend (Olivier Martinez) about swimming with sharks – and also teasing them, tweaking their fins and even poking them on the snout. It's an activity that appears to have zero educational or scientific purpose, and when the worst happens you can only think … well, duh? In the wake of what was the world's most predictable tragedy, and least worthy of sympathy, Berry demurely confines herself to dull whalewatching until a thrill-seeking businessman (Ralph Brown) offers her a lot of cash to help him...
- 10/25/2012
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Shark-poker Halle Berry deserves everything she gets in this oddly tiresome diving thriller
Will Self has hinted that his next novel is going to be Jaws without the shark. While we're waiting for that, here's Jaws without the excitement, or the humour. Halle Berry stars in this oddly tiresome thriller from director John Stockwell: she plays an open-water diver who once made documentaries with her sexy French boyfriend (Olivier Martinez) about swimming with sharks – and also teasing them, tweaking their fins and even poking them on the snout. It's an activity that appears to have zero educational or scientific purpose, and when the worst happens you can only think … well, duh? In the wake of what was the world's most predictable tragedy, and least worthy of sympathy, Berry demurely confines herself to dull whalewatching until a thrill-seeking businessman (Ralph Brown) offers her a lot of cash to help him...
Will Self has hinted that his next novel is going to be Jaws without the shark. While we're waiting for that, here's Jaws without the excitement, or the humour. Halle Berry stars in this oddly tiresome thriller from director John Stockwell: she plays an open-water diver who once made documentaries with her sexy French boyfriend (Olivier Martinez) about swimming with sharks – and also teasing them, tweaking their fins and even poking them on the snout. It's an activity that appears to have zero educational or scientific purpose, and when the worst happens you can only think … well, duh? In the wake of what was the world's most predictable tragedy, and least worthy of sympathy, Berry demurely confines herself to dull whalewatching until a thrill-seeking businessman (Ralph Brown) offers her a lot of cash to help him...
- 10/25/2012
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The following is an introduction to a new edition of Anthony Burgess's "A Clockwork Orange" [W.W. Norton, $24.95] written by Andrew Biswell. The piece sheds light on the enduring legacy of the novel, and the various dystopian works that influenced Burgess's writing. Biswell also discusses Burgess's (often clever) responses to the novel's adaptation, and ideas for adaptations that never came to fruition:
In 1994, less than a year after Anthony Burgess had died at the age of seventy-six, BBC Scotland commissioned the novelist William Boyd to write a radio play in celebration of his life and work. This was broadcast during the Edinburgh Festival on 21 August 1994, along with a concert performance of Burgess’s music and a recording of his Glasgow Overture. The programme was called "An Airful of Burgess," with the actor John Sessions playing the parts of both Burgess and his fictional alter ego, the poet F. X. Enderby. On the same day,...
In 1994, less than a year after Anthony Burgess had died at the age of seventy-six, BBC Scotland commissioned the novelist William Boyd to write a radio play in celebration of his life and work. This was broadcast during the Edinburgh Festival on 21 August 1994, along with a concert performance of Burgess’s music and a recording of his Glasgow Overture. The programme was called "An Airful of Burgess," with the actor John Sessions playing the parts of both Burgess and his fictional alter ego, the poet F. X. Enderby. On the same day,...
- 9/25/2012
- by Madeleine Crum
- Huffington Post
All in all, this isn't a bad year for artist documentaries. The Drew Struzan film is out there somewhere, and now here's the trailer for For No Good Reason, chronicling the last decade-and-a-half in the life of gonzo cartoonist Ralph Steadman.Steadman's immediately recognisable, chaotic ink work has graced the pages of Rolling Stone, Private Eye, Punch, The New York Times, and countless books and ads. He used to illustrate Will Self's column in The Independent, but perhaps his most famous long-running collaborations are with William Burroughs and, especially, Hunter S Thompson. Johnny Depp's performance in Terry Gilliam's Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas is arguably as much based on Steadman's signature caricature of Thompson as it is on Thompson himself.Speaking of Depp, he's on-hand here to guide the audience through the World of Steadman. The doc examines Steadman's influences, and the impact he himself has made on the cultural landscape,...
- 9/14/2012
- EmpireOnline
Looking In Looking Out, London
Why are we really here? You know, here, like on the planet, alive, and all that? This philosophical festival should help figure it out, with mind-expanding films from Richard Linklater's wonderful animated odyssey Waking Life to Eraserhead and A Matter Of Life And Death, plus film-based talks and workshops. Will Self presents and argues for Tarkovsky's Mirror, the Guardian's Julian Baggini discusses the Coen brothers as moral philosophers, and Bidisha, Kira Cochrane and others discuss the women who co-founded Hollywood.
Conway Hall, Wed to 5 Jul
Anchorman Party, London
The announcement that legendary newsreader Ron Burgundy and his garishly polyester-clad cohorts will soon be returning to the airwaves and screens near us in Anchorman 2 seems to have prompted wild celebration in London's Bloomsbury area – or at least a good excuse for a party. And Will Ferrell's satire of 1970s news broadcasting has everything...
Why are we really here? You know, here, like on the planet, alive, and all that? This philosophical festival should help figure it out, with mind-expanding films from Richard Linklater's wonderful animated odyssey Waking Life to Eraserhead and A Matter Of Life And Death, plus film-based talks and workshops. Will Self presents and argues for Tarkovsky's Mirror, the Guardian's Julian Baggini discusses the Coen brothers as moral philosophers, and Bidisha, Kira Cochrane and others discuss the women who co-founded Hollywood.
Conway Hall, Wed to 5 Jul
Anchorman Party, London
The announcement that legendary newsreader Ron Burgundy and his garishly polyester-clad cohorts will soon be returning to the airwaves and screens near us in Anchorman 2 seems to have prompted wild celebration in London's Bloomsbury area – or at least a good excuse for a party. And Will Ferrell's satire of 1970s news broadcasting has everything...
- 6/22/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Partnership set to offer hundreds of hours of new and archived arts programming online, on mobile and on digital TV
John Peel's record collection, the first film by Ridley Scott and all 37 of Shakespeare's plays – each in a different language – are among the highlights of a new digital joint venture between the BBC and Arts Council England.
The Space, which went live on Tuesday, will offer hundreds of hours of arts programming online, on mobile, and on digital TV.
Alan Davey, the chief executive of Arts Council England, said it was an "extraordinary way of experiencing an exceptional summer of arts".
Davey said the arts world had "yet to fully realise the potential of bringing artistic creatives together with digital media and this is a real exploration. If we can get this right we can find new ways of connecting the arts to a wider audience".
For one of the project's collaborators,...
John Peel's record collection, the first film by Ridley Scott and all 37 of Shakespeare's plays – each in a different language – are among the highlights of a new digital joint venture between the BBC and Arts Council England.
The Space, which went live on Tuesday, will offer hundreds of hours of arts programming online, on mobile, and on digital TV.
Alan Davey, the chief executive of Arts Council England, said it was an "extraordinary way of experiencing an exceptional summer of arts".
Davey said the arts world had "yet to fully realise the potential of bringing artistic creatives together with digital media and this is a real exploration. If we can get this right we can find new ways of connecting the arts to a wider audience".
For one of the project's collaborators,...
- 5/1/2012
- by John Plunkett
- The Guardian - Film News
Sky Arts has unveiled its upcoming lineup of new comedy and drama series. David Tennant, Emma Thompson and Martin Shaw will star in a new collection of drama productions titled Playhouse Presents for the channel. Thompson will appear in a comedy drama about the 1982 event in which Michael Fagan broke into The Queen's bedchambers at Buckingham Palace. Tennant will star as an artist called Will in The Minor Character from Will Self, while Martin Shaw appears in City Hall, which focuses on a woman who becomes a viral hit after standing up to rioters and later becomes the mayor of London. Trevor Eve, Sheila Hancock and Gina McKee (more)...
- 2/23/2012
- by By Tom Eames
- Digital Spy
The author's The Rings of Saturn starts as travelogue and ends in melancholy and horror – a new film, Patience (After Sebald) captures its mood admirably
I came late to Wg Sebald, in the early summer of 2010, although I'd known of him for years. He was one of those surname-only authors whose works it seemed everyone else had read – or else he would crop up stuffily in the footnotes of a certain sort of book.
So until I heard Will Self praising his work on the Today programme, he was simply a name on my to-do list. A task, you might say. Someone to read in hospital, if and when the time came.
But something about Self's enthusiasm persuaded me to buy The Rings of Saturn that lunchtime. Billed as an account of several days spent walking the Suffolk coast – territory I have known and loved since childhood – it ought to...
I came late to Wg Sebald, in the early summer of 2010, although I'd known of him for years. He was one of those surname-only authors whose works it seemed everyone else had read – or else he would crop up stuffily in the footnotes of a certain sort of book.
So until I heard Will Self praising his work on the Today programme, he was simply a name on my to-do list. A task, you might say. Someone to read in hospital, if and when the time came.
But something about Self's enthusiasm persuaded me to buy The Rings of Saturn that lunchtime. Billed as an account of several days spent walking the Suffolk coast – territory I have known and loved since childhood – it ought to...
- 2/8/2012
- by David Newnham
- The Guardian - Film News
More Dickens and even more Shakespeare, but also new novels from Toni Morrison, Hilary Mantel, Zadie Smith, plus exciting new voices – 2012's literary highlights
January
10 Charles Dickens's The Mystery of Edwin Drood, starring Matthew Rhys and Tamzin Merchant, begins – and, unlike the book, ends – on BBC2.
13 Michael Morpurgo's much-loved children's novel War Horse, a long-running favourite at the National and on Broadway, gets the Hollywood treatment. A tearjerking saga about a young soldier and his horse – it was only a matter of time before it was Spielberged.
16 Ts Eliot prize. Despite withdrawals from the shortlist over objections to a hedge fund's sponsorship of the prize, the Eliot remains the UK's premier poetry award, and its eve-of-event reading is always a treat. This year's shortlist includes Daljit Nagra, Carol Ann Duffy and John Burnside.
20 Release of film of Coriolanus, an Orson Wellesian effort directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes,...
January
10 Charles Dickens's The Mystery of Edwin Drood, starring Matthew Rhys and Tamzin Merchant, begins – and, unlike the book, ends – on BBC2.
13 Michael Morpurgo's much-loved children's novel War Horse, a long-running favourite at the National and on Broadway, gets the Hollywood treatment. A tearjerking saga about a young soldier and his horse – it was only a matter of time before it was Spielberged.
16 Ts Eliot prize. Despite withdrawals from the shortlist over objections to a hedge fund's sponsorship of the prize, the Eliot remains the UK's premier poetry award, and its eve-of-event reading is always a treat. This year's shortlist includes Daljit Nagra, Carol Ann Duffy and John Burnside.
20 Release of film of Coriolanus, an Orson Wellesian effort directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes,...
- 1/6/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
The news of the BBC’s axing of Shooting Stars is incredibly sad for long-time fans of the surreal panel show fronted by Vic and Bob. While it’s probably fair to say that recent episodes were becoming a little stale, they were still punctuated by moments funnier than anything else on TV. If this is indeed the definitive end of the show, it’s a very sad day for fans of Vic and Bob’s unique style of comedy.
I’d also have to ask the BBC why Shooting Stars is the first show to go and not all the guff they shove out onto BBC Three….. But that’s another matter. We can only hope that with Shooting Stars being seen as redundant by the BBC, Vic and Bob will go onto bigger and better things and become inspired to do something a little different.
Join us as...
I’d also have to ask the BBC why Shooting Stars is the first show to go and not all the guff they shove out onto BBC Three….. But that’s another matter. We can only hope that with Shooting Stars being seen as redundant by the BBC, Vic and Bob will go onto bigger and better things and become inspired to do something a little different.
Join us as...
- 11/16/2011
- by Stephen Leigh
- Obsessed with Film
Vertigo is slated to publish the graphic novel adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The Swedish series has sold tens of millions of copies in dozens of languages. There are already Swedish movies based on the books, and the first of the American films is to be released later this year.
Why do we need a graphic novel?
The books are terrific. They take you inside the lives of computer hackers, crusading journalists and evil authority figures, with a glimpse of Swedish social mores and political intrigue. Larsson is an ardent feminist, a refreshing perspective on the bestseller lists.
I haven’t seen the movies, but people whose opinions I respect like them a lot. The American version is directed by David Fincher, of Fight Club and The Social Network.
Why do we need a graphic novel? What will it show us that we didn...
Why do we need a graphic novel?
The books are terrific. They take you inside the lives of computer hackers, crusading journalists and evil authority figures, with a glimpse of Swedish social mores and political intrigue. Larsson is an ardent feminist, a refreshing perspective on the bestseller lists.
I haven’t seen the movies, but people whose opinions I respect like them a lot. The American version is directed by David Fincher, of Fight Club and The Social Network.
Why do we need a graphic novel? What will it show us that we didn...
- 11/4/2011
- by Martha Thomases
- Comicmix.com
Carol Morley's bold drama-documentary about a young woman whose dead body lay undiscovered in a north London flat for three years is difficult to watch but unforgettable
The BFI London film festival is now in full swing, with a mouthwateringly juicy selection of movies, many of which have been extensively roadtested at other festivals, their reputations burnished and sellout status pretty much guaranteed. This week George Clooney is in town, an old friend of the Lff, to promote his movies The Ides of March and The Descendants, and to gladhand London's Bafta voters.
The Lff is certainly not short of glamorous titles, and yet I find myself broodingly preoccupied and even slightly obsessed with a sombre film from Britain. This is Carol Morley's horrifying, heartbreaking drama-documentary Dreams of a Life.
It has a real-life Eleanor Rigby tale to tell, and it asks powerful questions about community, sexual politics,...
The BFI London film festival is now in full swing, with a mouthwateringly juicy selection of movies, many of which have been extensively roadtested at other festivals, their reputations burnished and sellout status pretty much guaranteed. This week George Clooney is in town, an old friend of the Lff, to promote his movies The Ides of March and The Descendants, and to gladhand London's Bafta voters.
The Lff is certainly not short of glamorous titles, and yet I find myself broodingly preoccupied and even slightly obsessed with a sombre film from Britain. This is Carol Morley's horrifying, heartbreaking drama-documentary Dreams of a Life.
It has a real-life Eleanor Rigby tale to tell, and it asks powerful questions about community, sexual politics,...
- 10/20/2011
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Australia’s pay TV arts channel Studio has picked up more than 40 hours of programming at the Mipcom TV festival in France.
Studio is run by Sbs.
The programming includes four new series.
“We focused on securing Australian TV premieres of both documentaries and performances, to give viewers a meaningful and distinctive experience of arts and culture in all its forms,” Sbs Subscription TV Gm Sandra Bender said.
Highlights listed by Studio include:
In Confidence (24 x 60’)
Creative spirits such as Will Self, Dr Jonathan Miller, Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry face sociology professor Laurie Taylor in probing interviews about the defining elements of their lives.
(Associated-Rediffusion Television 2010/2011, distributed by Drg)
Auction (10 x 30’)
As all manner of art treasures go under the hammer in the world’s greatest auction houses, the cameras are on standby in London, Paris and New York.
(Colonial Pictures 2011, distributed by Drg)
Treasure Houses of Great Britain...
Studio is run by Sbs.
The programming includes four new series.
“We focused on securing Australian TV premieres of both documentaries and performances, to give viewers a meaningful and distinctive experience of arts and culture in all its forms,” Sbs Subscription TV Gm Sandra Bender said.
Highlights listed by Studio include:
In Confidence (24 x 60’)
Creative spirits such as Will Self, Dr Jonathan Miller, Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry face sociology professor Laurie Taylor in probing interviews about the defining elements of their lives.
(Associated-Rediffusion Television 2010/2011, distributed by Drg)
Auction (10 x 30’)
As all manner of art treasures go under the hammer in the world’s greatest auction houses, the cameras are on standby in London, Paris and New York.
(Colonial Pictures 2011, distributed by Drg)
Treasure Houses of Great Britain...
- 10/7/2011
- by Tim Burrowes
- Encore Magazine
More than just a hipster oasis in the heart of Brixton, this five-screen cinema does its best to serve the whole community with a blend of mainstream, arthouse and political fare
• Check out our Google map and flickr group
• Tell us where to go next
On location: The early 20th-century edifice of this lovely old institution sits on the corner of Coldharbour Lane and Brixton High Street. Its cafe and bar spill out on to the recently done-up Windrush Square, customers and idling locals mingling under its spotlit central tree. While there's little parking, it's a minute away from Brixton tube on the high street, and buses shuttle from along both Coldharbour and the high street all night. The newer half of the building, with its smoked-glass roofing, joins the building to the Brixton public library. The older, more ornate half, sits on the corner among the clubs and bars and fast-food joints,...
• Check out our Google map and flickr group
• Tell us where to go next
On location: The early 20th-century edifice of this lovely old institution sits on the corner of Coldharbour Lane and Brixton High Street. Its cafe and bar spill out on to the recently done-up Windrush Square, customers and idling locals mingling under its spotlit central tree. While there's little parking, it's a minute away from Brixton tube on the high street, and buses shuttle from along both Coldharbour and the high street all night. The newer half of the building, with its smoked-glass roofing, joins the building to the Brixton public library. The older, more ornate half, sits on the corner among the clubs and bars and fast-food joints,...
- 10/5/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
Here at WhatCulture we have something of a soft spot for Karl Pilkington, he is to philosophy what the first person who discovered milking a cow was to dairy farming – a sort of deviant, misguided sage. And his discoveries are no less profound – yes he stumbles blindly through a field of ignorance occasionally, but there are too many moments of revellation in his particular brand of naive unwillingness to accept universal truths that should have us all questioning our own established knowledge. We should follow the so-called round headed buffoon’s example and pick at every seam, because an infinite capacity to probing, even in the face of complete logic is the fundament of genius and invention.
But then, Karl is also a comedy genius – his timing in dropping his pearls of wisdom is legendary, and his capacity to find frustration in the most ridiculous places is somehow one of...
But then, Karl is also a comedy genius – his timing in dropping his pearls of wisdom is legendary, and his capacity to find frustration in the most ridiculous places is somehow one of...
- 9/23/2011
- by Simon Gallagher
- Obsessed with Film
In the past few years I've fallen in love with Mike Leigh's work. The first film of his I saw was 2004's Vera Drake, a dark and disturbing picture that doesn't necessarily represent the side of Leigh I love, but is nonetheless a powerful film. It wasn't until Happy-Go-Lucky in 2008 that I saw my second Leigh feature and the sheer lust for life that was exhibited in that film from Sally Hawkins' performance to Leigh's script won me over. Since then I've enjoyed Secrets and Lies, Topsy-Turvy, Another Year and now Naked as Criterion has upgraded their 2005 DVD edition to a beautiful Blu-ray transfer, that allows for Leigh's direction and script to shine along with powerful performances and Dick Pope's wonderful cinematography.
However, I won't be quick to recommend Naked as a blind buy. This film is an alt-Happy-Go-Lucky and hues closer to Vera Drake in its darker tone as Johnny,...
However, I won't be quick to recommend Naked as a blind buy. This film is an alt-Happy-Go-Lucky and hues closer to Vera Drake in its darker tone as Johnny,...
- 7/19/2011
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Chicago – Mike Leigh is now widely recognized as one of the best living directors, delivering yet another critically-acclaimed gem last year in the excellent “Another Year” (also recently-released on Blu-ray and DVD). Before “Secrets and Lies,” “Vera Drake,” and “Happy-Go-Lucky,” there was a searing, riveting howl at the moon known as “Naked,” the first film that really drew international attention to both Leigh and star David Thewlis. The film was recently given the upgrade treatment by Criterion, releasing it on Blu-ray for the first time.
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
A good way to draw international attention is to win prizes at Cannes and Leigh and Thewlis won Best Director and Best Actor in the Spring of 1993 at the festival on the Riviera. Leigh had a strong background in theatre and had made some notable television plays and a few feature films (including the highly-underrated “Life is Sweet”), but “Naked” really changed his trajectory.
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
A good way to draw international attention is to win prizes at Cannes and Leigh and Thewlis won Best Director and Best Actor in the Spring of 1993 at the festival on the Riviera. Leigh had a strong background in theatre and had made some notable television plays and a few feature films (including the highly-underrated “Life is Sweet”), but “Naked” really changed his trajectory.
- 7/19/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
©Fine Line Features/Courtesy Everett Collection “Naked,” David Thewlis, 1993.
A variety of new home video releases this week offer audiences their pick between pop entertainment and thought-provoking fare.
Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III (Warner Home Video) – As the first “Robot Chicken” release to arrive on Blu-ray, “Star Wars Episode III” offers a dubious historical benchmark for the long-running series. But as the latest in a seemingly endless spate of “Star Wars” send-ups, it also feels like the last gasp of fanboy pandering.
A variety of new home video releases this week offer audiences their pick between pop entertainment and thought-provoking fare.
Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III (Warner Home Video) – As the first “Robot Chicken” release to arrive on Blu-ray, “Star Wars Episode III” offers a dubious historical benchmark for the long-running series. But as the latest in a seemingly endless spate of “Star Wars” send-ups, it also feels like the last gasp of fanboy pandering.
- 7/14/2011
- by Todd Gilchrist
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011
Battle Beyond The Stars: 30th Anniversary Special Edition (1980)
Synopsis: Shad must scour the cosmos to recruit mercenaries from different planets and cultures, in order to save his peaceful home planet from the threat of the evil tyrant Sador, bent on dominating and enslaving the entire universe. Joining this “magnificent seven” of mercenaries are the deadly Gelt, carefree Cowboy, and the sexy Valkyrie Saint-Exmin. (courtesy of Blu-Ray.com)
Special Features: Audio commentary with producer Roger Corman and writer John Sayles; Audio commentary from production manager Gale Anne Hurd; The Man Who Would Be Shad featurette; Space Opera on a Shoestring featurette; Still gallery; Poster gallery; Theatrical trailer; Radio spot.
Brazil (1985)
Synopsis: In the future, a clerk at the all-powerful Ministry of Information sticks to his ideals and ends up crushed by the system in this half comedy, half...
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011
Battle Beyond The Stars: 30th Anniversary Special Edition (1980)
Synopsis: Shad must scour the cosmos to recruit mercenaries from different planets and cultures, in order to save his peaceful home planet from the threat of the evil tyrant Sador, bent on dominating and enslaving the entire universe. Joining this “magnificent seven” of mercenaries are the deadly Gelt, carefree Cowboy, and the sexy Valkyrie Saint-Exmin. (courtesy of Blu-Ray.com)
Special Features: Audio commentary with producer Roger Corman and writer John Sayles; Audio commentary from production manager Gale Anne Hurd; The Man Who Would Be Shad featurette; Space Opera on a Shoestring featurette; Still gallery; Poster gallery; Theatrical trailer; Radio spot.
Brazil (1985)
Synopsis: In the future, a clerk at the all-powerful Ministry of Information sticks to his ideals and ends up crushed by the system in this half comedy, half...
- 7/11/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Will Ramona have it out with Jill Zarin once and for all in a spectacular Moroccan spa?
After the May 26 episode of The Real Housewives of New York City, you would think Ramona Singer would do her best to stay out of trouble! While in Morocco, she has already managed to insult the staff who run the villa — not to mention agitating Countess LuAnn de Lesseps, who is co-hosting the trip with Sonja Morgan. But will she make things worse by confronting Jill Zarin over their issues?
In a short preview for the Jun. 2 episode, Alex McCord, who is known for her terrible timing, encourages Ramona to talk to Jill at the spa where the ladies have come to relax. Ramona and Jill have a lot of unresolved tension since Ramona’s wine incident at Jill’s anti-bullying event.
“You’re going to talk to Jill later, right?” Alex asks Ramona.
After the May 26 episode of The Real Housewives of New York City, you would think Ramona Singer would do her best to stay out of trouble! While in Morocco, she has already managed to insult the staff who run the villa — not to mention agitating Countess LuAnn de Lesseps, who is co-hosting the trip with Sonja Morgan. But will she make things worse by confronting Jill Zarin over their issues?
In a short preview for the Jun. 2 episode, Alex McCord, who is known for her terrible timing, encourages Ramona to talk to Jill at the spa where the ladies have come to relax. Ramona and Jill have a lot of unresolved tension since Ramona’s wine incident at Jill’s anti-bullying event.
“You’re going to talk to Jill later, right?” Alex asks Ramona.
- 6/2/2011
- by HL Intern
- HollywoodLife
Ramona had a total meltdown on the May 12 episode of The Real Housewives of New York City — but is calling Jill Zarin ‘evil’ going too far?
It looks like Real Housewives stars Ramona Singer and Sonja Morgan may need a lesson in party manners from Countess Luann de Lesseps! On last night’s episode of The Real Housewives of New York City, the ladies were back to normal – fighting, gossiping, and taking stabs at each other!
Sonja Morgan attempted to throw a Masquerade Ball but failed dismally — according to Jill Zarin.
“She doesn’t have to be throwing these unimportant parties,” Jill blasted. “If she does then she should do it like she wants to do it — not half-ass.”
Let’s be honest BFFs – Jill is right on this one. The “ball” looked more like a crowded cocktail party with people in ridiculous costumes. All the housewives seemed a bit uncomfortable.
It looks like Real Housewives stars Ramona Singer and Sonja Morgan may need a lesson in party manners from Countess Luann de Lesseps! On last night’s episode of The Real Housewives of New York City, the ladies were back to normal – fighting, gossiping, and taking stabs at each other!
Sonja Morgan attempted to throw a Masquerade Ball but failed dismally — according to Jill Zarin.
“She doesn’t have to be throwing these unimportant parties,” Jill blasted. “If she does then she should do it like she wants to do it — not half-ass.”
Let’s be honest BFFs – Jill is right on this one. The “ball” looked more like a crowded cocktail party with people in ridiculous costumes. All the housewives seemed a bit uncomfortable.
- 5/13/2011
- by HL Intern
- HollywoodLife
Sonja and LuAnn claim they didn’t get invitations — Cindy says she sent them. Who’s right? Oh, the drama!
Cindy Barshop starts out complaining about how her The Real Housewives of New York City co-star Ramona Singer is texting her asking about a party that she’s throwing in the Hamptons. But as Cindy begins to tell the story, Sonja Morgan and Countess LuAnn de Lesseps jump in asking where their invites are.
“I have to tell you this — Ramona texted me. She says to me basically, ‘Is this a kids party or an adult party?’” Cindy starts off.
“I’m wondering the same thing,” Sonja replies. “But I’m not going. I’m wondering is it kids or both? Did you send out an invite?”
Cindy says she did. “Where’s my invite?” Sonja quickly asks.
“Let me just tell you the story please,” Cindy continues on. “It’s a holiday weekend.
Cindy Barshop starts out complaining about how her The Real Housewives of New York City co-star Ramona Singer is texting her asking about a party that she’s throwing in the Hamptons. But as Cindy begins to tell the story, Sonja Morgan and Countess LuAnn de Lesseps jump in asking where their invites are.
“I have to tell you this — Ramona texted me. She says to me basically, ‘Is this a kids party or an adult party?’” Cindy starts off.
“I’m wondering the same thing,” Sonja replies. “But I’m not going. I’m wondering is it kids or both? Did you send out an invite?”
Cindy says she did. “Where’s my invite?” Sonja quickly asks.
“Let me just tell you the story please,” Cindy continues on. “It’s a holiday weekend.
- 4/28/2011
- by lindsey
- HollywoodLife
Greta Gerwig on her Fawlty Towers obsession, and a Will Self short story is set for the big screen
Greta's towering ambition
Actress Greta Gerwig as an offbeat charm. Once the queen of the "mumblecore" indie scene, she has now moved into the mainstream with appearances in the Natalie Portman/Ashton Kutcher rom-com No Strings Attached and, now, taking over the Liza Minnelli role as Arthur's love interest in the Russell Brand remake of Arthur.
Although neither of these films could claim comic greatness, Gerwig attributes her taste for comedy to growing up with the complete set of Fawlty Towers on VHS. "I didn't watch much American TV," she told me. "My dad had these Fawlty Towers tapes and I watched them over and over. When all my friends were quoting off American comedies, I couldn't really join in. I'd just say things like, 'He put Basil in the...
Greta's towering ambition
Actress Greta Gerwig as an offbeat charm. Once the queen of the "mumblecore" indie scene, she has now moved into the mainstream with appearances in the Natalie Portman/Ashton Kutcher rom-com No Strings Attached and, now, taking over the Liza Minnelli role as Arthur's love interest in the Russell Brand remake of Arthur.
Although neither of these films could claim comic greatness, Gerwig attributes her taste for comedy to growing up with the complete set of Fawlty Towers on VHS. "I didn't watch much American TV," she told me. "My dad had these Fawlty Towers tapes and I watched them over and over. When all my friends were quoting off American comedies, I couldn't really join in. I'd just say things like, 'He put Basil in the...
- 4/23/2011
- by Jason Solomons
- The Guardian - Film News
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