In spite of having a good pedigree (from the director of The Crying Game and starring Colin Farrell) Ondine didn't set the world on fire at it's Toronto premeier. Nevertheless the trailer below nicely sets up the tale of a fisherman who catches a mermaid and, providing it steers clear of whimsical naval-gaving, this could be worth the ticket price.
Ondine is released on 05 March 2010.
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Tuesday Trailers - Ondine
Joe Pesci
Happy Birthday to
Joe Pesci
67 today
The pint-sized Pesci (5 foot 4 inches) had a slow climb to the top, making his mark in low budget indies like The Death Collector before playing Robert De Niro's brother in Raging Bull, they have since worked together 5 more times. Pesci doesn't do much these days so I'm aching to see him return to cinemas in Love Ranch, as a brothel owner married to Helen Mirren.
Monday, 8 February 2010
Mary Steenburgen
Happy Birthday to
Mary Steenburgen
57 today
As a consummate character actress Mary has appeared in far more films that you think since her big break in Melvin and Howard. What I didn't know (until last night) is that Mary, and husband Ted Danson, are close personal friends of the Clinton's. You learn a new thing every day.
P.S. I'm still holding out that In The Electric Mist the film she made last year with Tommy Lee Jones and Peter Sarsgaard will get released but it went straight to DVD in the U.S. and it's coming close to a year since it premiered at the Berlinale 2009.
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Personal News (07/02/09)
It seems incredibly but I've not done a personal news story since way back in September. It's not that i haven't been trying to get work, it's just that I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere and I've not really had the opportunity to get involved.
We're now only two weeks away from resuming the Of Mice and Men tour, notices from the first half of the tour were positive so I'll be glad to get back into the regular work pattern. I would now link you to some reviews as published on the school websites, but I can't find one that mentions me by name (an actor almost simultaneously playing 3 roles is the closest I can find) so in a fit of pique you're not getting anything.
I've also managed to get a role in a short student film Dead Weight. It's not paid but it's a fun script, mainly revolving around physical comedy, so it should be a blast, and if it goes well may be a good addition to my library for when it comes to getting an agent. Filming is on Tuesday and Wednesday so I'll let you know next week how it's gone. As ever I hope to get a copy online.
Saturday, 6 February 2010
Film News (06/02/10)
You may or may not have heard but the biggest story of the week is the Oscar nominations. I don't want to retread my post on Wednesday, but I was thinking about the new voters, the latest inductees to the Academy and how they voted. What do you suppose Brendan Gleeson, Eddie Marsan, Jeffrey Wright, James Franco, Emily Blunt, Emile Hirsch, James McAvoy, Jane Lynch, Michael Cera, Paul Rudd, Hugh Jackman or Seth Rogen had at the top of their voting form? Humourous answers on a postcard to...
Away from that there's hasn't been much in the news, only a couple of small stories to get your teeth into, as well as some potentially interesting international production news.
Zachary Quinto, stardom and the George Gershwin Biopic
First up is the frankly bizarre news from Zachary Quinto that he may be ready to move on from the reinvigorated Star Trek franchise. I'll confess I haven't seen the latest installment, but from what I hear whilst Quinto was best of the best parts in it what Star Trek mostly proved was that this was a character based franchise and not actor based - losing William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelly didn't destroy the ratings, so there won't be much worry about the Heroes star moving on. However, I doubt it's a good idea for him. Does this look like he can't commit to long term projects? Or will it mean he retains more integrity than his Enterprise co-stars?
The project he appears to be moving on to is a Steven Spielberg helmed biopic of George Gershwin. Gershwin was a composer and musician, from Russian emigre heritage, who made a name for himself in the early Hollywood musicals of the 1930's and by sucessfully blending classical and jazz influences and appealing to both markets. His most famous works include "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess. Both of which has a prominant place in public conciousness. He also died tragically of a brain tumour, aged just 38. It's a baity role with a known director wso perhaps it's the right choice.
This is a famed caricature of George (right) with brother Ira Gershwin. Do you think Quinto could manage that look? And who would you cast as Ira?
Go past the link for the worst news you will read all week, and a pleasant surprise from Sweden.
The Lucky One
The cinematic rush to adapt the works of Nicholas Sparks continues unabated with the revelations that The Lucky One will be the next book to see the inside of cinemas. That in itself is not too bad, Sparks may be unashamedly romantic with The Notebook and A Walk to Remember being classic three hanky films and Dear John, which opened in the US yesterday appears to be getting solid reviews. The bad news is they've managed to find the worst possible person to direct it. Step forward Scott Hicks (The Boys are Back) who will no doubt attempt to wring every ouce of dramatic tension out of this story about a soldier who cheats death thanks to a photo of a beautiful girl he's never met.
Production News
And finally (I told you it was a quiet news week) I thought I'd start a new section on production news, which essentially will be tying up the fantastic rumours that we've covered with imdb's Production status. If a film moves into pre-production then I'll let you know. It's my way of keeping track of hat's coming - "Pre-production" being a much closer step to relaity that "annouced". Of course the film may never materialise. Until we see it opening weekend then there is no guarantee that the film will ever be released, but I like to think that this is a good sign.
Now most of the films which have entered the pre-production phase are pretty obvious big budget behemoths:
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: last got a mention in Runs-like-a-Gay back in August. Avctually they'd better get a move on with this, as it's due to come out in May 2011 and I can't imagine it'll be a simple post-production process...
The Next Batman sequel is also rumbling on, but with no villian casting news I guess it's still a long way away. This was last discussed in July.
As was Yellow Submarine, the Robert Zemeckis motion capture remake of The Beatles' oddball animation.
Bond 23, Hanna, The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Your Cheating Heart have all been in the news during January. (The last is the Ron Howard/Vince Vaughn collaboration.)
On the other hand I found out about Swedish picture Domen över död man purely by accident. I know nothing about it whatsoever - not even a plot description (although Domen means judgement and Dod means dead so taht may be an indication), however it's being directed by Jan Troell, the man behind Maria Larsson's Everlasting Moments (pictured below) and as that was one of my favourite films from 2009 I'm fairly confident in his next project.
Friday, 5 February 2010
Out this week (05/02/10)
Just three days after the Oscar nominations it's no surprise that this weeks top film managed to pick up some attention, even if it missed out on the big prize. More complex is the battle for audiences with 2 animated features both opening this week - I suspect Disney to take the box office crown. We also have a bit of a cathch up session as 4 films were quietly released last week without me spotting them - so if you're interested in Turkish cinema then skip to the end. Nevertheless ehe film of the week is still Invictus.
Asal
Effectively looking Bollywood actioner with Ajith Kumar as a one man army fighting to get to Sameera Reddy. Some nice stuntwork in the trailer but it may be one for the fans.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Astro Boy
Middling animated fabtasy about aelectronic boy with exception firepower created in the image of a scientist's lost son. A tiny bit like Pinnochio then. Personally I'm not sure why you'd give a replacement for your son laser vision and rocket launchers, but there you go. Starry voice cast (including Nic Cage, Charlize Theron and Samuel L. Jackson) is all it has to recommend it.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Holy Water
Irish comedy about a skiffle band who steal a bus load of viagra's. Much hilarity then ensues - not that you'd guess from the trailer which has it's fair share of silly car chases and jokes about middle aged couples refinding their sex drive.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Invictus
It may have missed out on a best picture nomination this week, to Sandra Bullock vehicle The Blind Side, but Clint Eastwood's recreation of the infamous Sprinbok Rugby World Cup win and it's South African political ramifications still look like a worthy film to view.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●○○○
The Island
Set within a remote monastic community Pavel Lounguine's sophomore picture shines a light on a dying religion (in this case the Russian Othodox Church) and how this can be shaken as one priest offers a faith-healing. It comes with fine pedigree 6 wins at the 2007 Nika Awards.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Malice in Wonderland
It's our first Danny Dyer movie of 2010 - there will be a few, don't worry. In this twisted version of Lewis Carroll's famous story he plays a Whitey, a taxi driver obsessed with being late. There are some nice touches - Tweedledum and Tweedledee are doormen and Wonderland is a big nightclub, but I'm personally waiting for Burton's take on it.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
The Princess and The Frog
Disney return to hand-drawn animation with this 20th century fairytale, set during the Jazz age in Louisiana. It's not as starry as this week Astro Boy - Anika Noni-Rose is the lead with Terrence Howard and Oprah Winfrey the only other names I really recognise - but the songs are great and the trailer mixes a family comic feel with suitably scary villians.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
Psych 9
Cliche filled thriller about a girl who (trailer voice) must confront her past to prevent a murder... Set in an abandoned insane Asylum with Cary Elwes as her shrink (so clearly he's also the killer). Avoid.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Tony
Tony (Frank Boyce) is a lonely mild mannered guy you could easier miss as you walk past him in central London. Unemployed, and largely unemployable he spends his days wanering through the markets and chatting to hookers. Until he flips and becomes a serial killer. Darkly comic this British film may be worth making the effort.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Youth in Revolt
It's box office performance in the States may have been abysmal but I really enjoyed the trailer for this Michael Cera vehicle. He stars as a late teen inventing a new persona in order to sleep with the girl of his dreams. Unfortunatly his imaginery doppelganger is both more irresistible and irresponsible than he is.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
And missed off from last week (29 January 2010):
A Bit of Tom Jones
Star-free Welsh comedy which seems to be developing as a cult hit according to imdb.com. The plot, such as it is, revolves around Tom Jones' stolen member and the apparent market for celebrity willies. So bizarre it might be worth a look.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Edjer Kapani
Turkish suspense thriller about a serial killer targeting peadophiles and the police who must stop him. The trailer looks more like a extended episode of CSI: Ankara but with an interesting plot and a couple of car chases.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Kutsal Damacana 2
Did anyone see Kutsal Damacana 1? I didn't think so... It's a comedy along the lines of a parody of Buffy the Vampire slayer with a highly trained group of priests (and nuns) fighting demons.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Yahsi Bati
And our final Turkish film - was there a festival or something?- is a comic western examining the culture clashes betwen to Turkish embassy officials towards the end of the last century and the wild west communities they encounter as they cross the states.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Oh, and to celebrate another Danny Dyer release here's my traditional semi naked picture of him:
Barbara Hershey
Happy Birthday to
Barbara Hershey
62 today
Barbara Hershey is a seriously talented actress, with a fascinating back catalgue, however somehow she isn't half as popular as she should be. Coming to audience attentions in the late 60's and early 70's, as much for her offscreen lifestyle as her acting technique, she came into her own in the 80's with high profile ventures such as The Right Stuff, The Natural and Beaches. She was also the first person to win 2 consecutive best actress awards at Cannes for Shy People and A World Apart. Next up is Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan which hopefully be a return to the public consciousness.
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
Film News - 2009 Oscar Nominations
Yesterday lunchtime the nominations for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards were announced. Some during a live presentation from Academy president Tom Sherak (nervy) and Anne Hathaway (giving one of her worst performances, but I liked the suit) and others as a press release afterwards.
I get a little grumpy about the artificial distincting between the big prizes and the techies. A wonderfully written script, with a career best acting performances and steady direction would be utterly rubbish (and probably completely ignored) if it was lit badly or the editing didn't help focus the attention. However I can see why the announcement is kept short and highlights the categories which bring in the punters.
There are plenty of websites that will offer indepth analysis of the nominations, many of which I am an ardent fan of. Awardsdaily provides a good starting block with witty and intelligent writing, Kris Tapley of In Contention also wasted no time in getting together with Anne Thompson and recording their reaction. Many of the blogs on the right will also have some interesting comments so please take a look.
For myself I have little to say, the biggest surprise today was that there were so few surprises. Anyone who regularly follows the progress of the precursers and the awards buzz will have have the final nominees as either predictions or as highly credible alternatives. Even the choices which were a little out of the blue like The Blind Side for best picture, The Secret of Kells for Animated picture and Maggie Gyllenhaal in the supporting actress category had a certain logic to them. I have yet to see any of these films so I have no positive or negative comments regarding their inclusion.
As ever I'm slightly saddened that my own choices weren't reflected - I'm still firmly behind Where the Wild Things Are even if the Academy completely forgot about it - at the same time I understand that one of the beauties about film is that you and I will always differ about what we think is better.
All our experiences of the film landscape in 2009 was different and therefore our own responses will be different. We can, and will, passionately put forward our own picks regardless of critical recognition, peer awards or box office success. In five years time when the dust has cleared and a thousand new stories have been told we will undoutably have forgotten about the intensity of the battle between James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow and instead each of us will be left with only moments of film that stick in our memories. I will be left with Maria Larsson taking her self portrait and Max starting a dirt fight - others will have IEDs and Home trees - none of us are wrong.
Saying that recognition from your industry colleagues is a wonderful thing, and the Oscars can have a huge beneficial effect of the carrers of the nominees. So it is with great pleasure and due humility that I offer my hearty congratulations everyone nominated today and, in the spirit of my second paragraph, to the entire film-making teams, from the Executives who bankrolled the budget to the caterers who kept the tea flowing, in all of these films:
Ajami
Avatar
The Blind Side
Bright Star
Burma VJ
Coco Before Chanel
Coraline
The Cove
Crazy Heart
District 9
An Education
El Secreto de Sus Ojus
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Food, Inc
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Il Divo
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
In the Loop
Inglorious Basterds
Invictus
Julie and Julia
The Last Station
The Lovely Bones
The Messenger
The Milk of Sorrow
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellseberg and the Pentagon Papers
Nine
Paris 36
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
A Serous Man
Sherlock Holmes
A Single Man
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Un Prophete
Up
Up in the Air
Which Way Home
The White Ribbon
The Young Victoria
And the Shorts
China's Unnatural Disaster: The tears of Sichuan Province
The Door
French Roast
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
The Lady and the Reaper
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death
Miracle Fish
Music by Prudence
The New Tenants
Rabbit a la Berlin
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Tuesday Trailers - Alice in Wonderland
Sometimes watching a trailer can really turn you off a film, it may have a nice cast, interesting concept and a strong word of mouth but a flat trailer will make you think twice. On the other hands some trailers gleeful play with your expectations. One of the later is Tom Burton's Alice in Wonderland which hits all the right notes for a mix of excitement and fun. It's also the first of my 20 for 2010 that i will see so I'm really hoping the trailer is an indication of the whole...
Alice in Wonderland opens on 05 March 2010.
Monday, 1 February 2010
Stuart Whitman
Happy Birthday to
Stuart Whitman
82 today
It is fair to say that whilst Whitman was a fine actor his talents off screen are far more interesting. For intance during his time with the Army he was Light-heavyweight boxer with 32 wins to his name and following his retirement from acting he's amassed a substantial fortune from wise investing. That's some range.
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