In the 1980s, Hollywood didn’t quite know what to do with Rutger Hauer. The actor broke out in a pretty major way following his acclaimed turn in Paul Verhoeven’s Soldier of Orange, paving the way for his American debut in the Sylvester Stallone thriller Nighthawks, where he played the villain Wulfgar. His performance as Roy Batty in Blade Runner blew people away, and for a while, it looked like he might become the next big Hollywood heartthrob, especially when he signed on to star in the epic adventure film Ladyhawke opposite Michelle Pfeiffer for Richard Donner.
But major stardom didn’t happen? Why? Perhaps it was because the movies of Hauer’s that did best at the box office were the ones where he played the villain, such as The Hitcher. He was so unforgettable as a bad guy that when he played a hero, such as in...
But major stardom didn’t happen? Why? Perhaps it was because the movies of Hauer’s that did best at the box office were the ones where he played the villain, such as The Hitcher. He was so unforgettable as a bad guy that when he played a hero, such as in...
- 2/18/2024
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
A few years ago, director Oliver Harper made a documentary called In Search of the Last Action Heroes, which was described as “a comprehensive retrospective of the ’80s and ’90s action film genre.” One of the people interviewed for that documentary was screenwriter Steven E. de Souza, who was a major contributor to the action genre in those decades, working on the likes of 48 Hrs., Commando, The Running Man, Die Hard, Die Hard 2, Hudson Hawk, Ricochet, Beverly Hills Cop III, and Street Fighter, among others… with one of the others being the much-maligned Sylvester Stallone comic book movie Judge Dredd. In a moment that didn’t make it into the final cut of In Search of the Last Action Heroes, de Souza discussed the issues that Judge Dredd ran into, including bad marketing and a struggle to secure an R rating. Harper has been kind enough to share that deleted scene online,...
- 6/20/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
This article contains spoilers for season 6 of Black Mirror.
The long-awaited return of Black Mirror has finally arrived, and with it a soundtrack of songs as varied as the stories this show tells. Season 6 features the return of an Irma Thomas classic, a Muse song known for its ties to the best baseball scene in cinema, Art Garfunkel’s emotional Watership Down tune, and so many others.
Here are all of the songs featured throughout this season of Black Mirror:
Episode 1 – Joan is Awful “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)” – Irma Thomas
The Irma Thomas song “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)” has become a sort of easter egg in Black Mirror, with the song appearing at least once per season. In the first episode of season six “Joan is Awful,” the song can be heard playing when Joan (Annie Murphy) first walks into the...
The long-awaited return of Black Mirror has finally arrived, and with it a soundtrack of songs as varied as the stories this show tells. Season 6 features the return of an Irma Thomas classic, a Muse song known for its ties to the best baseball scene in cinema, Art Garfunkel’s emotional Watership Down tune, and so many others.
Here are all of the songs featured throughout this season of Black Mirror:
Episode 1 – Joan is Awful “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)” – Irma Thomas
The Irma Thomas song “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)” has become a sort of easter egg in Black Mirror, with the song appearing at least once per season. In the first episode of season six “Joan is Awful,” the song can be heard playing when Joan (Annie Murphy) first walks into the...
- 6/16/2023
- by Brynnaarens
- Den of Geek
Wilko Johnson, a “Game of Thrones” actor and British rocker who served as the guitarist for Dr. Feelgood, has died. He was 75 years old.
According to Johnson’s official Facebook page, he died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Westcliff-on-Sea, England, on Monday. A cause of death was not disclosed.
“Thank you for respecting Wilko’s family’s privacy at this very sad time, and thank you all for having been such a tremendous support throughout Wilko’s incredible life,” the post added.
Also Read:
Mickey Kuhn, Last Surviving ‘Gone With the Wind’ Cast Member, Dies at 90
Born in 1947, Johnson grew up in Canvey Island and went on to study English at Newcastle University and work briefly as a school teacher.
In 1971, he formed the rock band Dr. Feelgood with a group of local friends, which performed across countless stages and venues in the United Kingdom throughout the mid-70s.
According to Johnson’s official Facebook page, he died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Westcliff-on-Sea, England, on Monday. A cause of death was not disclosed.
“Thank you for respecting Wilko’s family’s privacy at this very sad time, and thank you all for having been such a tremendous support throughout Wilko’s incredible life,” the post added.
Also Read:
Mickey Kuhn, Last Surviving ‘Gone With the Wind’ Cast Member, Dies at 90
Born in 1947, Johnson grew up in Canvey Island and went on to study English at Newcastle University and work briefly as a school teacher.
In 1971, he formed the rock band Dr. Feelgood with a group of local friends, which performed across countless stages and venues in the United Kingdom throughout the mid-70s.
- 11/23/2022
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
Click here to read the full article.
Wilko Johnson, the guitarist with British blues-rock band Dr. Feelgood who had an unexpected career renaissance after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, has died. He was 75.
A statement posted Wednesday on Johnson’s official social media accounts on behalf of his family said the musician died Monday evening at his home in southeast England.
Born John Wilkinson in 1947, Johnson was raised on Canvey Island, a marshy, industrial oil town in England’s River Thames estuary. He studied Anglo-Saxon literature at Newcastle University and worked as a schoolteacher before forming Dr. Feelgood with other local friends.
At a time of flamboyant glam and indulgent prog rock, they played a then-unfashionable brand of blues and R&b, dressed in cheap suits that made them look, Johnson said later, like “shoddy bank robbers.”
Johnson helped give Dr. Feelgood a dangerous edge with his choppy, relentless guitar...
Wilko Johnson, the guitarist with British blues-rock band Dr. Feelgood who had an unexpected career renaissance after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, has died. He was 75.
A statement posted Wednesday on Johnson’s official social media accounts on behalf of his family said the musician died Monday evening at his home in southeast England.
Born John Wilkinson in 1947, Johnson was raised on Canvey Island, a marshy, industrial oil town in England’s River Thames estuary. He studied Anglo-Saxon literature at Newcastle University and worked as a schoolteacher before forming Dr. Feelgood with other local friends.
At a time of flamboyant glam and indulgent prog rock, they played a then-unfashionable brand of blues and R&b, dressed in cheap suits that made them look, Johnson said later, like “shoddy bank robbers.”
Johnson helped give Dr. Feelgood a dangerous edge with his choppy, relentless guitar...
- 11/23/2022
- by Associated Press
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“There’s an arc to this obviously,” Venom: Let There Be Carnage filmmaker Andy Serkis explains about connecting Sony’s Spider-Man villain to the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“We weren’t thinking of individual movies, but thinking about eventually where it’s going to go,” says the motion capture actor-turned-director, whose box office credits exceed $12 billion worldwide, on today’s Hero Nation podcast.
“Take us a way down the line, but this leaves room for other explorations in the Venom-verse,” Serkis teases about the future of Sony’s franchise. “There are other interesting characters that Venom can come against before he comes up against Spider-Man.”
Listen to our intriguing conversation with Serkis below discussing how he took the reins of Venom and raised the stakes after being tapped by the pic’s leading man, story by scribe and producer Tom Hardy:
Key for Serkis and Hardy going into the...
“We weren’t thinking of individual movies, but thinking about eventually where it’s going to go,” says the motion capture actor-turned-director, whose box office credits exceed $12 billion worldwide, on today’s Hero Nation podcast.
“Take us a way down the line, but this leaves room for other explorations in the Venom-verse,” Serkis teases about the future of Sony’s franchise. “There are other interesting characters that Venom can come against before he comes up against Spider-Man.”
Listen to our intriguing conversation with Serkis below discussing how he took the reins of Venom and raised the stakes after being tapped by the pic’s leading man, story by scribe and producer Tom Hardy:
Key for Serkis and Hardy going into the...
- 9/30/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro and Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
“Despite all that’s happened, and despite all that’s still happening, there’s still possibility,” David Byrne tells us in the first David Byrne’s American Utopia trailer. Directed by Spike Lee, the upcoming adaptation of Byrne’s acclaimed Broadway show premieres on HBO and to stream on HBO Max on Oct. 17.
David Byrne’s American Utopia is a “one-of-a-kind, dynamic film that gives audiences access to Byrne’s electrifying Broadway show,” HBO said in a press statement. The stage show American Utopia previewed at Broadway’s the Hudson Theatre on Oct. 4, 2019 and ran until Feb. 16, 2020, playing to sold-out, record-breaking audiences. The show was supposed to resume in the fall, but the coronavirus pandemic put that on hold.
The former Talking Heads frontman and his band of 11 musical artists from around the world perform hits from across Byrne’s career in this “unifying musical celebration that inspires audiences to...
David Byrne’s American Utopia is a “one-of-a-kind, dynamic film that gives audiences access to Byrne’s electrifying Broadway show,” HBO said in a press statement. The stage show American Utopia previewed at Broadway’s the Hudson Theatre on Oct. 4, 2019 and ran until Feb. 16, 2020, playing to sold-out, record-breaking audiences. The show was supposed to resume in the fall, but the coronavirus pandemic put that on hold.
The former Talking Heads frontman and his band of 11 musical artists from around the world perform hits from across Byrne’s career in this “unifying musical celebration that inspires audiences to...
- 8/24/2020
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Director Spike Lee aimed his cameras at, and adjusted the visual beats on, David Byrne’s American Utopia, the acclaimed Broadway show which previewed at the Hudson Theatre on Oct. 4, 2019 and ran until Feb. 16, 2020. The David Byrne/Spike Lee joint will now light up at HBO later this year.
“It is my honor and privilege that my art brother, Mr. David Byrne, asked me to join him in concert, to invite me into his magnificent world of American Utopia,” Spike Lee said in a statement. “And dat’s da ‘once in a lifetime’ truth, Ruth. Ya-dig? Sho-nuff. Peace and love. Be safe.”
Lee isn’t the first director to see the cinematic potential in Byrne’s stage shows. The 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, was directed by Jonathan Demme. “Spike and I have crossed paths many times over the years, obviously I’m a huge fan and now finally here...
“It is my honor and privilege that my art brother, Mr. David Byrne, asked me to join him in concert, to invite me into his magnificent world of American Utopia,” Spike Lee said in a statement. “And dat’s da ‘once in a lifetime’ truth, Ruth. Ya-dig? Sho-nuff. Peace and love. Be safe.”
Lee isn’t the first director to see the cinematic potential in Byrne’s stage shows. The 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, was directed by Jonathan Demme. “Spike and I have crossed paths many times over the years, obviously I’m a huge fan and now finally here...
- 6/16/2020
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Andy Serkis will receive the Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award at this year’s BAFTAs on February 2. The actor’s notable performances as Gollum in the Lord Of The Rings films and as Caesar in the Planet Of The Apes franchise have seen him rise to the top of his field in the performance-capture medium. He also co-founded the Imaginarium with Jonathan Cavendish, a production entity and digital studio – its work to date includes on Star Wars pics The Last Jedi and The Force Awakens, as well as Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle. Upcoming, the outfit is producing Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins, and Serkis himself will helm a re-telling of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Serkis has been up for two BAFTAs before, for playing Ian Dury in Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll, and for playing Ian Brady on television in Longford. His upcoming work includes helming Venom 2,...
- 1/23/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Actor and filmmaker to receive honour at the 2020 Baftas.
Actor and filmmaker Andy Serkis is to receive the outstanding British contribution to cinema award at the 2020 Bafta film awards.
Serkis is best known for his pioneering performance capture work, portraying Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit films as well as the lead role of Caesar in the Planet of the Apes franchise.
But he has more recently moved into directing with Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle and Breathe. He is currently directing Venom 2, starring Tom Hardy.
In 2011, Serkis founded performance capture company The Imaginarium, with producer Jonathan Cavendish,...
Actor and filmmaker Andy Serkis is to receive the outstanding British contribution to cinema award at the 2020 Bafta film awards.
Serkis is best known for his pioneering performance capture work, portraying Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit films as well as the lead role of Caesar in the Planet of the Apes franchise.
But he has more recently moved into directing with Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle and Breathe. He is currently directing Venom 2, starring Tom Hardy.
In 2011, Serkis founded performance capture company The Imaginarium, with producer Jonathan Cavendish,...
- 1/23/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
The former drummer of Pink Floyd is sitting in the catering area backstage at the Beacon Theatre eating from a tiny bowl of pea soup about three hours before his new band, Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, make their New York debut. The last time the 75-year-old played a venue in the city anywhere near this small, it was 1972 and Pink Floyd were road-testing songs from their in-progress LP Dark Side of the Moon. That was just before his life became a blur of private airplanes, sold-out football stadiums...
- 6/13/2019
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Earlier this year, after waiting nearly a quarter century in vain for Pink Floyd to reunite, drummer Nick Mason decided to start a Floyd of his own: Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets. The group features Spandau Ballet guitarist Gary Kemp, longtime Pink Floyd touring bassist Guy Pratt, guitarist Lee Harris, and keyboardist Dom Beken. From the get-go, Mason knew the band needed to differentiate themselves from the Floyd-heavy tours that Roger Waters and David Gilmour have staged in recent years. “I knew I couldn’t play ‘Comfortably Numb’ better than David or Roger,...
- 12/5/2018
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
“Just for once, we couldn’t find an anniversary,” Nick Mason says with a laugh, explaining the imminent arrival of Unattended Luggage, a new box set of the Pink Floyd drummer’s solo work, on August 31st. The three-disc reissue, in vinyl and CD editions, collates Mason’s eclectic releases under his own name in the early and mid-1980s, as Pink Floyd hit their theatrical peak with The Wall, then ruptured over creative control and direction. Nick Mason’s Fictitious Sports, made in 1979 but not issued until 1981, was the...
- 7/16/2018
- by David Fricke
- Rollingstone.com
Maxine Peake is magnificent in Adrian Shergold’s unflinching drama about a standup on the 70s northern club circuit
There are several moments in this astringently uncomfortable tragicomedy – which boasts a blistering central performance by Maxine Peake – that will leave audiences squirming and divided. Funny Cow follows the changing fortunes of a standup comic finding her feet in the northern working men’s clubs of the 70s. It has been described by writer and co-star Tony Pitts as “an unblinking obituary” and “unsentimental commentary” on the culture in which he grew up. Some will be shocked by Peake’s “Funny Cow” (we know her only by her stage name), winning round hostile audiences with un-pc gags that were once the backbone of the British club circuit. Others will simply nod in resigned recognition at this hard-knocks world in which “it’s not about being funny, it’s about surviving”.
There...
There are several moments in this astringently uncomfortable tragicomedy – which boasts a blistering central performance by Maxine Peake – that will leave audiences squirming and divided. Funny Cow follows the changing fortunes of a standup comic finding her feet in the northern working men’s clubs of the 70s. It has been described by writer and co-star Tony Pitts as “an unblinking obituary” and “unsentimental commentary” on the culture in which he grew up. Some will be shocked by Peake’s “Funny Cow” (we know her only by her stage name), winning round hostile audiences with un-pc gags that were once the backbone of the British club circuit. Others will simply nod in resigned recognition at this hard-knocks world in which “it’s not about being funny, it’s about surviving”.
There...
- 4/22/2018
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
Louisa Mellor Oct 19, 2017
We chatted to actor Paul Kaye about playing wizards, the musical Matilda, and his move from celebrity satire to serious drama…
Main image credit: Jordan Katz-Kaye
“Bitterness, really” is Paul Kaye’s explanation of what drove his satirical red-carpet interviewer Dennis Pennis in the nineties. “I’d hit thirty, I’d sort of failed as a musician, I’d failed as an artist I felt at the time.” Ambushing Hollywood’s elite in the persona of a brash, punk nuisance wasn’t Kaye’s first choice for stardom, he admits. “It wasn’t how I expected to forge a career. Of all the things I thought I’d end up doing, it wasn’t that.”
See related 26 new UK TV shows to look out for 50 upcoming comic book TV shows, and when to expect them
Trained in theatre design, in his twenties Kaye worked as an illustrator...
We chatted to actor Paul Kaye about playing wizards, the musical Matilda, and his move from celebrity satire to serious drama…
Main image credit: Jordan Katz-Kaye
“Bitterness, really” is Paul Kaye’s explanation of what drove his satirical red-carpet interviewer Dennis Pennis in the nineties. “I’d hit thirty, I’d sort of failed as a musician, I’d failed as an artist I felt at the time.” Ambushing Hollywood’s elite in the persona of a brash, punk nuisance wasn’t Kaye’s first choice for stardom, he admits. “It wasn’t how I expected to forge a career. Of all the things I thought I’d end up doing, it wasn’t that.”
See related 26 new UK TV shows to look out for 50 upcoming comic book TV shows, and when to expect them
Trained in theatre design, in his twenties Kaye worked as an illustrator...
- 10/18/2017
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Jul 12, 2017
We sit down with the great actor and performance capture pioneer Andy Serkis to talk about his work in War For The Planet Of The Apes...
The process of capturing a performance and applying it to a precisely-rendered digital simian has now been refined to such a degree that the effect is now seamless. The brilliance of Andy Serkis's lead turn in the three Planet Of The Apes films to date has been a series highlight; as a feat of technology and acting, Caesar, the leader of the apes, is an astonishing creation.
See related Fargo season 3 episode 1 review: The Law Of Vacant Places
In War For The Planet Of The Apes, Caesar takes centre stage, as his personal vendetta against a human military leader - the ruthless Colonel McCullough (Woody Harrelson) - takes him on a mythical journey across a post-apocalyptic landscape. As an older Caesar,...
We sit down with the great actor and performance capture pioneer Andy Serkis to talk about his work in War For The Planet Of The Apes...
The process of capturing a performance and applying it to a precisely-rendered digital simian has now been refined to such a degree that the effect is now seamless. The brilliance of Andy Serkis's lead turn in the three Planet Of The Apes films to date has been a series highlight; as a feat of technology and acting, Caesar, the leader of the apes, is an astonishing creation.
See related Fargo season 3 episode 1 review: The Law Of Vacant Places
In War For The Planet Of The Apes, Caesar takes centre stage, as his personal vendetta against a human military leader - the ruthless Colonel McCullough (Woody Harrelson) - takes him on a mythical journey across a post-apocalyptic landscape. As an older Caesar,...
- 7/4/2017
- Den of Geek
This week’s heart-stopping controversy revolves around the question “is it ever okay to punch a Nazi in the face?” Such an occurrence happened during the Trump Coronation in Washington last Friday and of course it was captured by news outlets and smartphoners alike. And of course the footage went viral – much as the Nazis themselves did in the 1930s.
Comic books have been beating on Nazis since the invention of the staple, so one might think there wouldn’t be much controversy within our particular donut shop. During WWII, there was no greater Nazi-beater than Captain America – it pretty much was his raison d’être – so it is slightly surprising that the current writer of Captain America (indeed, both Captains America), Nick Spencer, said beating on Nazis is wrong. “… cheering violence against speech, even of the most detestable, disgusting variety, is not a look that will age well.”
Hmmm.
Comic books have been beating on Nazis since the invention of the staple, so one might think there wouldn’t be much controversy within our particular donut shop. During WWII, there was no greater Nazi-beater than Captain America – it pretty much was his raison d’être – so it is slightly surprising that the current writer of Captain America (indeed, both Captains America), Nick Spencer, said beating on Nazis is wrong. “… cheering violence against speech, even of the most detestable, disgusting variety, is not a look that will age well.”
Hmmm.
- 1/25/2017
- by Mike Gold
- Comicmix.com
Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.
This Past Weekend:
In one of the busier weekends of the month, two of the movies did better than I predicted and two did worse. The real winner of the weekend was Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween, which did far better than anyone thought with an opening weekend of $28.5 million in just 2,260 theaters or $12,611 per theater. It ended up completely demolishing Tom Cruise’s action sequel Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, which opened in almost 1,500 more theaters, but at least that ended up around where I predicted with $22.9 million. Ouija: Origin of Evil came out slightly below my prediction to take third place with $14 million, while the Fox comedy Keeping Up with the Joneses bombed even worse than I expected with $5.5 million in 3,000 theaters.
This Past Weekend:
In one of the busier weekends of the month, two of the movies did better than I predicted and two did worse. The real winner of the weekend was Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween, which did far better than anyone thought with an opening weekend of $28.5 million in just 2,260 theaters or $12,611 per theater. It ended up completely demolishing Tom Cruise’s action sequel Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, which opened in almost 1,500 more theaters, but at least that ended up around where I predicted with $22.9 million. Ouija: Origin of Evil came out slightly below my prediction to take third place with $14 million, while the Fox comedy Keeping Up with the Joneses bombed even worse than I expected with $5.5 million in 3,000 theaters.
- 10/26/2016
- by Edward Douglas
- LRMonline.com
The excitement of Noel and Liam Gallagher’s rapid rise to pop stardom is well captured in Mat Whitecross’s documentary, but it is disappointingly coy on the band’s decline and breakup
Here is a watchable, intimate but oddly truncated history of Oasis, directed by Mat Whitecross, who gave us the recent Madchester drama Spike Island and the excellent Ian Dury biopic Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. Noel Gallagher is the film’s executive producer, and it should probably be entitled Oasis: The Golden Years, because it ends with the band’s colossal concert at Knebworth in 1996, almost implying they went up in a blaze of glory after that.
We don’t hear about the Cool Britannia tussle with Blur, or Noel’s strikingly explicit endorsement of Tony Blair and New Labour (“There are seven people in here who are givin’ hope to the young people of this country. Me,...
Here is a watchable, intimate but oddly truncated history of Oasis, directed by Mat Whitecross, who gave us the recent Madchester drama Spike Island and the excellent Ian Dury biopic Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. Noel Gallagher is the film’s executive producer, and it should probably be entitled Oasis: The Golden Years, because it ends with the band’s colossal concert at Knebworth in 1996, almost implying they went up in a blaze of glory after that.
We don’t hear about the Cool Britannia tussle with Blur, or Noel’s strikingly explicit endorsement of Tony Blair and New Labour (“There are seven people in here who are givin’ hope to the young people of this country. Me,...
- 10/2/2016
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Perhaps I just live in a bubble, assuming that everyone’s exhaustion with the Gallagher brothers had, among some other things — e.g. the sense that nostalgia was what mostly fueled their contemporary interest — made Oasis a thing of the past. At least not something that encourages a big distributor to buy a documentary. Yet here we are with Oasis: Supersonic, an A24-released look at the English band’s astronomic rise and gradual descent into inebriated, half-ironic karaoke renditions of their greatest hits — though the trajectory being put into those terms isn’t entirely expected.
A24 is making an event out of the release, putting the film into U.S. theaters for one night only (i.e. before the inevitable VOD release) on October 26. Mat Whitecross (of the Ian Dury documentary Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll) has directed the picture, while Asif Kapadia (Amy, Senna) executive produces, and its first...
A24 is making an event out of the release, putting the film into U.S. theaters for one night only (i.e. before the inevitable VOD release) on October 26. Mat Whitecross (of the Ian Dury documentary Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll) has directed the picture, while Asif Kapadia (Amy, Senna) executive produces, and its first...
- 9/21/2016
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Though historical drama fans in the United States might have to wait a bit, their UK counterparts will be excited for the next big period drama to take over their TV. The upcoming eight-part miniseries “Victoria” follows the early life of Queen Victoria (Jenna Coleman), from her ascension to the throne at the tender age of 18 through her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert (Tom Hughes). The series also features Rufus Sewell (“The Illusionist”) as Lord Melbourne, Peter Firth (“Equus”) as the Duke of Cumberland, Paul Rhys (“Vincent and Theo”) as Sir John Conroy, and many more.
Read More: ‘Doctor Who’s’ Jenna Coleman Embodies the Vivacious and Very Short Queen ‘Victoria’
The series is created by Daisy Goodwin, who previously produced on such British programs as the UK version of “The Apprentice,” the reality show “How Clean Is Your House?” the five-part documentary “Jamie’s Kitchen,” and Sharon Horgan’s comedy series “Pulling.
Read More: ‘Doctor Who’s’ Jenna Coleman Embodies the Vivacious and Very Short Queen ‘Victoria’
The series is created by Daisy Goodwin, who previously produced on such British programs as the UK version of “The Apprentice,” the reality show “How Clean Is Your House?” the five-part documentary “Jamie’s Kitchen,” and Sharon Horgan’s comedy series “Pulling.
- 8/2/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
Questions I have after watching two episodes of "Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll," the new FX comedy created by and starring Denis Leary, which debuts tomorrow night at 10: In what year does this show think it takes place? Leary plays Johnny Rock, former lead singer of The Heathens, a band that had a meteoric rise and abrupt fall in the early '90s. Dave Grohl appears early in the pilot to explain that The Heathens were a huge inspiration for Nirvana. But Johnny, in both past and present, sports a rooster haircut that hasn't been fashionable since Rod Stewart and Ron Wood abandoned it in the mid-'70s. The Heathens' signature song, which provides the show its title (albeit one borrowed from a much better song — also from the '70s — by Ian Dury) is catchy, but sounds like a mix of punk and glam rock that had little place...
- 7/15/2015
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Hitfix
The long-awaited Jimi Hendrix biopic All By My Side opens in cinemas today (October 24).
Andre '3000' Benjamin plays the iconic musician in the movie, which depicts Jimi's humble beginnings to becoming possibly the world's greatest guitarist.
This has inspired us to compile our own list of the greatest portrayals of musicians in rock 'n' roll biopics, often going above and beyond mere physical transformation:
1. Andy Serkis as Ian Dury
Andy Serkis was BAFTA nominated for his critically-acclaimed role - played to perfection - as charismatic '70s punk rock singer and songwriter Ian Dury in Mat Whitecross's 2010 biopic Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.
To portray Dury's physical condition - he contracted polio as a child - Serkis lost two stone and built up the muscle mass on the right-hand side of his body so the other side was weaker.
He added: "I had a body wax. It's the most...
Andre '3000' Benjamin plays the iconic musician in the movie, which depicts Jimi's humble beginnings to becoming possibly the world's greatest guitarist.
This has inspired us to compile our own list of the greatest portrayals of musicians in rock 'n' roll biopics, often going above and beyond mere physical transformation:
1. Andy Serkis as Ian Dury
Andy Serkis was BAFTA nominated for his critically-acclaimed role - played to perfection - as charismatic '70s punk rock singer and songwriter Ian Dury in Mat Whitecross's 2010 biopic Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.
To portray Dury's physical condition - he contracted polio as a child - Serkis lost two stone and built up the muscle mass on the right-hand side of his body so the other side was weaker.
He added: "I had a body wax. It's the most...
- 10/24/2014
- Digital Spy
Ricky Gervais has confirmed that The Office's David Brent will be heading to the big screen with his own movie, Life on the Road.
So as we anticipate what Brent has been up to since the end of the BBC hit comedy, here's what the cast have done since:
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais played the lead role as David Brent - the embarrassing, toe-curling and cringeworthy boss of company Wernham Hogg, devoid of self-awareness but poised with an unwavering love for the paper merchants he manages.
Gervais went on to create comedy Extras with Stephen Merchant, which was co-produced by the BBC and HBO and aired between 2005 and 2007. Gervais played ambitious actor Andy Millman, afflicted with a useless agent played by Merchant. Guest stars have included Patrick Stewart, Samuel L Jackson, Ben Stiller and Kate Winslet.
In 2009, Gervais starred in, wrote and directed his feature comedy debut The Invention of Lying.
So as we anticipate what Brent has been up to since the end of the BBC hit comedy, here's what the cast have done since:
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais played the lead role as David Brent - the embarrassing, toe-curling and cringeworthy boss of company Wernham Hogg, devoid of self-awareness but poised with an unwavering love for the paper merchants he manages.
Gervais went on to create comedy Extras with Stephen Merchant, which was co-produced by the BBC and HBO and aired between 2005 and 2007. Gervais played ambitious actor Andy Millman, afflicted with a useless agent played by Merchant. Guest stars have included Patrick Stewart, Samuel L Jackson, Ben Stiller and Kate Winslet.
In 2009, Gervais starred in, wrote and directed his feature comedy debut The Invention of Lying.
- 8/6/2014
- Digital Spy
Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll (don't blame us, that's how it's written) is a new Denis Leary sitcom coming to FX in 2015...
News
With Louie, Archer, Wilfred and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia on its books, FX has some of the best modern TV comedy around. Hoping to join that list of quality comedy is a new Denis Leary vehicle with an Ian Dury-inspired title: Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll.
Three years after his previous FX project - firefighter comedy drama Rescue Me - ended on the channel, Leary is returning to FX with his new creation, which tells the story of a middle-aged recovering alcoholic and drug addict rock star attempting to reunite his band twenty-five years after they put out their one and only album.
FX has ordered ten half-hour episodes of... (please don't make us type that out again) the show, which is due to arrive in the Us in 2015. John Corbett,...
News
With Louie, Archer, Wilfred and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia on its books, FX has some of the best modern TV comedy around. Hoping to join that list of quality comedy is a new Denis Leary vehicle with an Ian Dury-inspired title: Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll.
Three years after his previous FX project - firefighter comedy drama Rescue Me - ended on the channel, Leary is returning to FX with his new creation, which tells the story of a middle-aged recovering alcoholic and drug addict rock star attempting to reunite his band twenty-five years after they put out their one and only album.
FX has ordered ten half-hour episodes of... (please don't make us type that out again) the show, which is due to arrive in the Us in 2015. John Corbett,...
- 7/1/2014
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Normal 0 false false false En-gb X-none X-none
I have to admit, having allowed myself to build up ridiculous amounts of anticipation for the last new Star Wars trilogy I'm deliberately holding back this time for fear of being disappointed once again. That said, the official announcement of the cast for Star Wars Episode VII has piqued my interest somewhat.
Starting with the names that are new to the Star Wars universe, John Boyega is an intriguing pick for what is sure to be the male lead (crucially none of the cast have been assigned parts in the media yet so we'll have to speculate for now). I loved Attack The Block and particularly Boyega's performance and so it's not a great leap of imagination to picture him in a young Obi Wan type role.
Daisy Ridley isn't a name I'm hugely familiar with, but given that she's looking like being the main (and only,...
I have to admit, having allowed myself to build up ridiculous amounts of anticipation for the last new Star Wars trilogy I'm deliberately holding back this time for fear of being disappointed once again. That said, the official announcement of the cast for Star Wars Episode VII has piqued my interest somewhat.
Starting with the names that are new to the Star Wars universe, John Boyega is an intriguing pick for what is sure to be the male lead (crucially none of the cast have been assigned parts in the media yet so we'll have to speculate for now). I loved Attack The Block and particularly Boyega's performance and so it's not a great leap of imagination to picture him in a young Obi Wan type role.
Daisy Ridley isn't a name I'm hugely familiar with, but given that she's looking like being the main (and only,...
- 5/1/2014
- Shadowlocked
The scent and sweat of a film set can be nauseating first thing in the morning. But this is no ordinary location - Digital Spy is stood on the sweeping set of Sky Atlantic's Fleming in the grand city of Budapest.
Back in January 2013, the Fleming crew are staging an elaborate ballroom sequence that wouldn't look out of place in one of the films that Ian Fleming's James Bond novels inspired.
Fleming is a biopic of Bond's creator tinged with the style and sensibility of the 007 movies, though director Mat Whitecross tells DS and other assembled press that he was keen for the four-part drama to avoid parody or pastiche.
"It's about the guy who created Bond, but you don't want to riff on it too much," says Whitecross, the filmmaker behind Ian Dury movie biopic Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll and the Stone Roses-inspired Spike Island.
"The viewers will...
Back in January 2013, the Fleming crew are staging an elaborate ballroom sequence that wouldn't look out of place in one of the films that Ian Fleming's James Bond novels inspired.
Fleming is a biopic of Bond's creator tinged with the style and sensibility of the 007 movies, though director Mat Whitecross tells DS and other assembled press that he was keen for the four-part drama to avoid parody or pastiche.
"It's about the guy who created Bond, but you don't want to riff on it too much," says Whitecross, the filmmaker behind Ian Dury movie biopic Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll and the Stone Roses-inspired Spike Island.
"The viewers will...
- 2/12/2014
- Digital Spy
Michael Caine's early films defined the look of an era, but with scores by John Barry, Quincy Jones and Sonny Rollins they also defined its soundrack
There is a kind of music in Michael Caine's voice: deceptively flat, barely inflected, emitting just the tiniest glints of detached insolence and laconic menace as it maps the area between the pre-war docklands community of Rotherhithe, his birthplace, and Elephant and Castle, where his family was rehoused in a prefab built on bomb-damaged land not far from the location of Shakespeare's theatres. Few people alive know more about the actor's craft than Caine, none is more gifted in the art of underplaying, and that voice is integral to his virtuosity.
But there is music of a more conventional kind in the films that made him famous – when the former Maurice Micklewhite rather unexpectedly became the model of a new kind of English leading man,...
There is a kind of music in Michael Caine's voice: deceptively flat, barely inflected, emitting just the tiniest glints of detached insolence and laconic menace as it maps the area between the pre-war docklands community of Rotherhithe, his birthplace, and Elephant and Castle, where his family was rehoused in a prefab built on bomb-damaged land not far from the location of Shakespeare's theatres. Few people alive know more about the actor's craft than Caine, none is more gifted in the art of underplaying, and that voice is integral to his virtuosity.
But there is music of a more conventional kind in the films that made him famous – when the former Maurice Micklewhite rather unexpectedly became the model of a new kind of English leading man,...
- 1/31/2014
- by Richard Williams
- The Guardian - Film News
Pickpockets to highwaymen, bank heists to drug smuggling, the readers' collective Robin Hood act has made a treasure chest
Under the cover of darkness they came. Precious time was snatched to deliver. One reader endured terrible pain and went to hospital, another is set to move house, but this did not stop them. And another, more delightfully, saw the delivery of a beautiful baby (I dedicate this blog to you, prolific Rr regular BeltwayBandit - congratulations!), and despite all of this, during this crazy pre-Christmas period, you still brought riches. Thank you, me hearties, for your bountiful song booty! From rampant robbery to surreptitious smuggling your treasures cascaded through the cellar door of the Readers Recommend and I spent many hours admiring, examining, analysing and enjoying. I am a man poor in time, but rich in song.
And now my turn again to stand and deliver. And indeed, among all the thieves,...
Under the cover of darkness they came. Precious time was snatched to deliver. One reader endured terrible pain and went to hospital, another is set to move house, but this did not stop them. And another, more delightfully, saw the delivery of a beautiful baby (I dedicate this blog to you, prolific Rr regular BeltwayBandit - congratulations!), and despite all of this, during this crazy pre-Christmas period, you still brought riches. Thank you, me hearties, for your bountiful song booty! From rampant robbery to surreptitious smuggling your treasures cascaded through the cellar door of the Readers Recommend and I spent many hours admiring, examining, analysing and enjoying. I am a man poor in time, but rich in song.
And now my turn again to stand and deliver. And indeed, among all the thieves,...
- 12/19/2013
- by Peter Kimpton
- The Guardian - Film News
104 Films has won the contract to deliver The Accelerator, a training and development programme for Welsh creativetalents.
The scheme is run by Creative Skillset Cymru as part of its Skills for the Digital Economy Programme.
The Accelerator initative will run for 7 months (starting in October 2013) and include 15 Welsh talents to help them fast track their projects and understand wider markets and raise strategic and business skills.
Alex Usborne [pictured], 104 Films MD, said: “This programme builds on the training and development programmes we have been designing and delivering over the past years and establishes 104 Films as the UK’s leading company in the field of creative business development… The Accelerator is about real projects going through real development and finding real finance. Our aim is that the Accelerator will make a tectonic difference to the vision and ambition of our participants and enable them to finance, market and distribute projects at an international level.”
Producers Usborne...
The scheme is run by Creative Skillset Cymru as part of its Skills for the Digital Economy Programme.
The Accelerator initative will run for 7 months (starting in October 2013) and include 15 Welsh talents to help them fast track their projects and understand wider markets and raise strategic and business skills.
Alex Usborne [pictured], 104 Films MD, said: “This programme builds on the training and development programmes we have been designing and delivering over the past years and establishes 104 Films as the UK’s leading company in the field of creative business development… The Accelerator is about real projects going through real development and finding real finance. Our aim is that the Accelerator will make a tectonic difference to the vision and ambition of our participants and enable them to finance, market and distribute projects at an international level.”
Producers Usborne...
- 8/6/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Mat Whitecross's film about the legendary Stone Roses gig acts as a B-side to Shane Meadows' recent documentary
Mat Whitecross made a real impression in 2010 with his excellent biopic of Ian Dury, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. While this new film isn't quite as distinctive, it's a heartfelt picture with the right kind of energy and sentimental euphoria, about a bunch of lads in 1990 desperate to get to the Stone Roses' now increasingly legendary gig. The period is intensely evoked (although I'm not certain people said "soz" and "tomoz" in those days) and the film acts as a B-side to Shane Meadows' mighty documentary.
Elliott Tittensor plays Tits, a wannabe singer and Roses-worshipper, whose parents (Steve Evets and Lesley Manville) are bowed down by illness. Poor, lonely Tits has made a massive personal investment in getting into the Stone Roses gig, by any means necessary. Jodie Whittaker has...
Mat Whitecross made a real impression in 2010 with his excellent biopic of Ian Dury, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. While this new film isn't quite as distinctive, it's a heartfelt picture with the right kind of energy and sentimental euphoria, about a bunch of lads in 1990 desperate to get to the Stone Roses' now increasingly legendary gig. The period is intensely evoked (although I'm not certain people said "soz" and "tomoz" in those days) and the film acts as a B-side to Shane Meadows' mighty documentary.
Elliott Tittensor plays Tits, a wannabe singer and Roses-worshipper, whose parents (Steve Evets and Lesley Manville) are bowed down by illness. Poor, lonely Tits has made a massive personal investment in getting into the Stone Roses gig, by any means necessary. Jodie Whittaker has...
- 6/21/2013
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Bowlcuts, wide trousers, bad weather – it's Madchester all over again as Laura Barton spends a day in a field with the makers of Spike Island, a film about a legendary Stone Roses show
Once the birthplace of the British chemical industry and later a toxic wasteground, the area of reclaimed woodland and wetland known as Spike Island gained a certain notoriety in May 1990 as the venue for the Stone Roses' Sunset Sunday gig. With a crowd of 27,000, the show in this once-industrial area of Widnes in Cheshire has become the stuff of Madchester legend, rhapsodised, euologised, recounted ad infinitum. This summer, that gig and the band's later reunion are commemorated in two film releases: Made of Stone, a documentary made by Shane Meadows; and Spike Island, a drama directed by Matt Whitecross.
I visited the set of the latter during shooting on a bitter spring day last year, finding the quiet parkland cluttered with trailers,...
Once the birthplace of the British chemical industry and later a toxic wasteground, the area of reclaimed woodland and wetland known as Spike Island gained a certain notoriety in May 1990 as the venue for the Stone Roses' Sunset Sunday gig. With a crowd of 27,000, the show in this once-industrial area of Widnes in Cheshire has become the stuff of Madchester legend, rhapsodised, euologised, recounted ad infinitum. This summer, that gig and the band's later reunion are commemorated in two film releases: Made of Stone, a documentary made by Shane Meadows; and Spike Island, a drama directed by Matt Whitecross.
I visited the set of the latter during shooting on a bitter spring day last year, finding the quiet parkland cluttered with trailers,...
- 6/5/2013
- by Laura Barton
- The Guardian - Film News
Feature Ryan Lambie 24 May 2013 - 06:10
This week's selection of geek-friendly crowdfunding projects includes a Marvel movie documentary, a game remake, and some classic manga...
Aside from all the new ideas to be found on crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter - including a new variety of beef jerky made from posh Japanese cows - there are all sorts of opportunities to indulge our sense of nostalgia.
Through sheer coincidence, the projects that caught my eye this week all have a retro theme; there's a documentary about a forgotten adaptation of a Marvel comic book, a timely revival of one of the most innovative computer games of the 1980s, and a special English language edition of a classic Japanese manga. Although very different, each of these crowdfunding projects is worthy of support, since they're all niche interests that simply couldn't find financial backing through other means.
There's another retro-themed Kickstarter project on the horizon,...
This week's selection of geek-friendly crowdfunding projects includes a Marvel movie documentary, a game remake, and some classic manga...
Aside from all the new ideas to be found on crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter - including a new variety of beef jerky made from posh Japanese cows - there are all sorts of opportunities to indulge our sense of nostalgia.
Through sheer coincidence, the projects that caught my eye this week all have a retro theme; there's a documentary about a forgotten adaptation of a Marvel comic book, a timely revival of one of the most innovative computer games of the 1980s, and a special English language edition of a classic Japanese manga. Although very different, each of these crowdfunding projects is worthy of support, since they're all niche interests that simply couldn't find financial backing through other means.
There's another retro-themed Kickstarter project on the horizon,...
- 5/22/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Odd List Ryan Lambie 16 Apr 2013 - 06:46
Eccentric and sometimes ungainly, here are seven 80s videogames that were full of innovative or outlandish ideas...
Placing our rose-tinted goggles of nostalgia aside for one moment, it's fair to say that a large percentage of games from the 1980s were painfully simplistic. But in among all the clones of popular arcade machines, which were ubiquitous on computers and consoles throughout the decade, there were legion lesser-known games which were full of innovative ideas and a sense of ambition that far outstripped their technical resources.
Not all of these ideas necessarily came off in the way they were intended, admittedly; while some are utterly brilliant, in other instances, their outlandish concepts were let down by some iffy execution. This list is devoted to the more eccentric games of the 1980s; the ones full of imagination and wit, and which, although not necessarily discussed much today,...
Eccentric and sometimes ungainly, here are seven 80s videogames that were full of innovative or outlandish ideas...
Placing our rose-tinted goggles of nostalgia aside for one moment, it's fair to say that a large percentage of games from the 1980s were painfully simplistic. But in among all the clones of popular arcade machines, which were ubiquitous on computers and consoles throughout the decade, there were legion lesser-known games which were full of innovative ideas and a sense of ambition that far outstripped their technical resources.
Not all of these ideas necessarily came off in the way they were intended, admittedly; while some are utterly brilliant, in other instances, their outlandish concepts were let down by some iffy execution. This list is devoted to the more eccentric games of the 1980s; the ones full of imagination and wit, and which, although not necessarily discussed much today,...
- 4/15/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Westcliff-on-sea, England — Living has been full of surprises for Wilko Johnson. So has dying.
Four decades in the rock `n' roll trenches have brought the British guitarist obscurity and fame, followed by turmoil, more obscurity and rediscovery. Now the greatest rock star you may not have heard of – songwriter for rabble-rousing 1970s band Dr. Feelgood – is embarking on a farewell tour. Unlike some musical goodbyes, this one is permanent. Late last year, Johnson was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and told he had just months to live.
He says he has never felt more alive.
The 65-year-old musician says that in the weeks since his diagnosis, he's been unexpectedly happy – "In fact it amounted at times to euphoria."
"I suddenly found myself in a position where nothing matters anymore," he said. "I'm a miserable so-and-so normally ... I'd be worrying about the taxman or all the things that we worry about...
Four decades in the rock `n' roll trenches have brought the British guitarist obscurity and fame, followed by turmoil, more obscurity and rediscovery. Now the greatest rock star you may not have heard of – songwriter for rabble-rousing 1970s band Dr. Feelgood – is embarking on a farewell tour. Unlike some musical goodbyes, this one is permanent. Late last year, Johnson was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and told he had just months to live.
He says he has never felt more alive.
The 65-year-old musician says that in the weeks since his diagnosis, he's been unexpectedly happy – "In fact it amounted at times to euphoria."
"I suddenly found myself in a position where nothing matters anymore," he said. "I'm a miserable so-and-so normally ... I'd be worrying about the taxman or all the things that we worry about...
- 2/4/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Ray Winstone plays an Alzheimer's patient on the run in his new film, Ashes – an unsettling drama inspired by the young director's father. Laura Barton visits the very, very rainy Isle of Man set
Under the glare of huge floodlights, the fir trees appear to be dead. They stand pale and brittle, ghostly spines pressed against the darkness. The night is still; then, through the quiet trees, crashes the stumbling form of Ray Winstone, followed at speed by a wild-eyed Jim Sturgess. Winstone lumbers on. Sturgess bounds after him, bellowing: "Dad! Dad! Dad!!!" And somewhere, in a clearing, stands Lesley Manville, her mascara blurred, rain trickling through her fine blond hair.
This is day nine of the Ashes shoot. It's the early hours of the morning, bitterly cold, and we are in a forest on the Isle of Man. The rain falls furiously, beating a steady tattoo against the crew's cagoules and camera covers,...
Under the glare of huge floodlights, the fir trees appear to be dead. They stand pale and brittle, ghostly spines pressed against the darkness. The night is still; then, through the quiet trees, crashes the stumbling form of Ray Winstone, followed at speed by a wild-eyed Jim Sturgess. Winstone lumbers on. Sturgess bounds after him, bellowing: "Dad! Dad! Dad!!!" And somewhere, in a clearing, stands Lesley Manville, her mascara blurred, rain trickling through her fine blond hair.
This is day nine of the Ashes shoot. It's the early hours of the morning, bitterly cold, and we are in a forest on the Isle of Man. The rain falls furiously, beating a steady tattoo against the crew's cagoules and camera covers,...
- 1/17/2013
- by Laura Barton
- The Guardian - Film News
Warning: The following will contain spoilers for the majority of the Adrian Mole books.
I don’t think it’s any kind of exaggeration to say that the Adrian Mole books shaped my adolescence. I discovered them aged thirteen after being set an essay on a book featuring a love story and being explicitly told by my English teacher that anything Star Wars-related was out of bounds. So venturing to the local library, I was handed a copy of the series’ second book The Growing Pains Of Adrian Mole. I immediately fell in love with the series, raced through all the books that had been released at that time, and frequently reread the school library’s copies during my lunch breaks and free periods in the years that followed.
I identified strongly with a neurotic character like Adrian (especially since I was the same age as him when I...
I don’t think it’s any kind of exaggeration to say that the Adrian Mole books shaped my adolescence. I discovered them aged thirteen after being set an essay on a book featuring a love story and being explicitly told by my English teacher that anything Star Wars-related was out of bounds. So venturing to the local library, I was handed a copy of the series’ second book The Growing Pains Of Adrian Mole. I immediately fell in love with the series, raced through all the books that had been released at that time, and frequently reread the school library’s copies during my lunch breaks and free periods in the years that followed.
I identified strongly with a neurotic character like Adrian (especially since I was the same age as him when I...
- 1/9/2013
- by James T. Cornish
- Obsessed with Film
Using the new Doctor Who Limited Edition Gift Set, your noble author will make his way through as much of the modern series as he can before the Christmas episode, The Snowmen.
Kung-Fu Monks, a werewolf, and Queen Victoria. Rest assured that when someone threatens his friends, The Doctor will fight them…
Tooth And Claw
by Russell T Davies
Directed by Euros Lyn
“Am I being rude again?”
Aiming for 1979 and an Ian Dury concert, The Doctor lands in 1879, and in Scotland. The Tardis lands in the course of Queen Victoria, who is on the way to have the Koh-i-Noor, the prize diamond of the crown jewels, recut. Quickly presenting his psychic paper, he and Rose join the party as it stops off at Torchwood House, home of Sir Robert MacLeish and his family. What the royal coterie don’t know is that the house has been taken over by...
Kung-Fu Monks, a werewolf, and Queen Victoria. Rest assured that when someone threatens his friends, The Doctor will fight them…
Tooth And Claw
by Russell T Davies
Directed by Euros Lyn
“Am I being rude again?”
Aiming for 1979 and an Ian Dury concert, The Doctor lands in 1879, and in Scotland. The Tardis lands in the course of Queen Victoria, who is on the way to have the Koh-i-Noor, the prize diamond of the crown jewels, recut. Quickly presenting his psychic paper, he and Rose join the party as it stops off at Torchwood House, home of Sir Robert MacLeish and his family. What the royal coterie don’t know is that the house has been taken over by...
- 12/18/2012
- by Vinnie Bartilucci
- Comicmix.com
Spike Island
Written by Chris Coghill
Directed by Mat Whitecross
UK, 2013
Are you ‘mad’ for it? Up for getting on ‘one’, boshing a few pills, caning a few spliffs and tripping the light fantastic? That’s the nostalgic premise of Spike Island, the new film of Mat Whitecross (previously known for the admired Ian Dury bio-pic Sex & Drugs & Rock N Roll) and writer Chris Coghill’s revisit to the second summer of love of 1990, in their minds the apotheosis of the Madchester Indie music movement in the UK which saw The Stone Roses play their biggest ever gig a mere twelve months after their self titled, alchemical guitar rock album first blazed a trail to underline a Thatcherite decade of fiscal greed, social self interest and industrial decay. In terms of full disclosure I’m probably the ideal candidate for this faintly charming and rushing debut, given that I’m...
Written by Chris Coghill
Directed by Mat Whitecross
UK, 2013
Are you ‘mad’ for it? Up for getting on ‘one’, boshing a few pills, caning a few spliffs and tripping the light fantastic? That’s the nostalgic premise of Spike Island, the new film of Mat Whitecross (previously known for the admired Ian Dury bio-pic Sex & Drugs & Rock N Roll) and writer Chris Coghill’s revisit to the second summer of love of 1990, in their minds the apotheosis of the Madchester Indie music movement in the UK which saw The Stone Roses play their biggest ever gig a mere twelve months after their self titled, alchemical guitar rock album first blazed a trail to underline a Thatcherite decade of fiscal greed, social self interest and industrial decay. In terms of full disclosure I’m probably the ideal candidate for this faintly charming and rushing debut, given that I’m...
- 10/11/2012
- by John
- SoundOnSight
Speakers include Col Needham, founder and head of IMDb.com, who grew up in Denton and worked in Curry's at Stockport
"Build it and they will come". That was very much the philosophy that led to the creation of Screen Stockport Film Festival around two years ago. What started out as making a short film with my friends, turned into a desire to create a film festival in Stockport to give fellow young filmmakers an opportunity to share their films with an audience.
Screen Stockport was then born, with the ambition of it becoming an inclusive, grassroots film festival for filmmakers of all ages and experiences. I wanted to give young people who aspired to have a career in the media an environment to share their passion and enthusiasm with other creatives and connect with industry professionals from the North West.
This year we're at the Plaza Super Cinema in...
"Build it and they will come". That was very much the philosophy that led to the creation of Screen Stockport Film Festival around two years ago. What started out as making a short film with my friends, turned into a desire to create a film festival in Stockport to give fellow young filmmakers an opportunity to share their films with an audience.
Screen Stockport was then born, with the ambition of it becoming an inclusive, grassroots film festival for filmmakers of all ages and experiences. I wanted to give young people who aspired to have a career in the media an environment to share their passion and enthusiasm with other creatives and connect with industry professionals from the North West.
This year we're at the Plaza Super Cinema in...
- 10/10/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
The children of the James Bond producers play happy families at the Everything or Nothing premiere, while a student animator prepares to kickstart the London film festival
Family Bond
The Broccolis and the Saltzmans used to play together. So Monday night was a bit of a reunion as the children of the James Bond producers "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman gathered again at the premiere of Everything or Nothing, Stevan Riley's doc on the Bond phenomenon.
Despite the squabbles chronicled in the greatly enjoyable documentary, relations are now such that families even got together on stage for an emotional Q&A afterwards. Steven Saltzman, Harry's son, now living in Monaco, could hardly contain his thrill at finally getting to tell his dad's story, although there's more beside that thread in Riley's film. "The thing that nobody knows is that Harry was a spy himself," he told me. "So here was this man,...
Family Bond
The Broccolis and the Saltzmans used to play together. So Monday night was a bit of a reunion as the children of the James Bond producers "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman gathered again at the premiere of Everything or Nothing, Stevan Riley's doc on the Bond phenomenon.
Despite the squabbles chronicled in the greatly enjoyable documentary, relations are now such that families even got together on stage for an emotional Q&A afterwards. Steven Saltzman, Harry's son, now living in Monaco, could hardly contain his thrill at finally getting to tell his dad's story, although there's more beside that thread in Riley's film. "The thing that nobody knows is that Harry was a spy himself," he told me. "So here was this man,...
- 10/6/2012
- by Jason Solomons
- The Guardian - Film News
Directors say ceremony is about challenging perceptions and will be very different from Danny Boyle's
Those behind the Paralympic opening ceremony have revealed it will feature Sir Ian McKellen, Prof Stephen Hawking, and the "world's biggest apple crunch" as part of a "unique and extraordinary piece of work about challenging our perceptions".
Stephen Daldry, who is overseeing all four Olympic ceremonies, said the ceremony – titled Enlightenment and directed by Jenny Sealey and Bradley Hemmings – was very different from the Olympics ceremonies.
"If Danny Boyle's was very much about two revolutions and popular culture and Kim Gavin's was very much about a symphony of British music, then what you will get from Jenny and Bradley is something very different," said the Billy Elliot director.
Sealey, the director of the country's leading disability theatre company, said she and Hemmings were feeling "very slightly nervous, terrified and excited" about the ceremony,...
Those behind the Paralympic opening ceremony have revealed it will feature Sir Ian McKellen, Prof Stephen Hawking, and the "world's biggest apple crunch" as part of a "unique and extraordinary piece of work about challenging our perceptions".
Stephen Daldry, who is overseeing all four Olympic ceremonies, said the ceremony – titled Enlightenment and directed by Jenny Sealey and Bradley Hemmings – was very different from the Olympics ceremonies.
"If Danny Boyle's was very much about two revolutions and popular culture and Kim Gavin's was very much about a symphony of British music, then what you will get from Jenny and Bradley is something very different," said the Billy Elliot director.
Sealey, the director of the country's leading disability theatre company, said she and Hemmings were feeling "very slightly nervous, terrified and excited" about the ceremony,...
- 8/29/2012
- by Owen Gibson
- The Guardian - Film News
From the 70s to the present, we look back through the sterling work of Rutger Hauer to bring you the actor’s 10 finest films that aren't Blade Runner...
For some, Dutch actor Rutger Hauer will forever be associated with a certain rooftop speech about tears in rain. But although his turn as doomed replicant Roy Batty in Blade Runner was a classic one, Hauer’s output before and since has been stunningly prolific. This list, therefore, is designed to highlight 10 of Hauer’s finest non-Blade Runner movies, with a particular emphasis on those that are lesser known – which is why we've gone for some older pictures rather than the more recent and mainstream, such as Batman Begins. And since this is Den of Geek, expect to find lots of action movies, horror, and low-budget sci-fi in the entries below.
One thing they all have in common, though, irrespective of...
For some, Dutch actor Rutger Hauer will forever be associated with a certain rooftop speech about tears in rain. But although his turn as doomed replicant Roy Batty in Blade Runner was a classic one, Hauer’s output before and since has been stunningly prolific. This list, therefore, is designed to highlight 10 of Hauer’s finest non-Blade Runner movies, with a particular emphasis on those that are lesser known – which is why we've gone for some older pictures rather than the more recent and mainstream, such as Batman Begins. And since this is Den of Geek, expect to find lots of action movies, horror, and low-budget sci-fi in the entries below.
One thing they all have in common, though, irrespective of...
- 2/22/2012
- Den of Geek
Andy Serkis may be best known for his work in blue spandex suits with ping pong balls taped to him ("Lord of the Rings," "King Kong," "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "The Adventures of Tintin") but it's becoming increasingly clear that he's a man of many talents. Not only had there been calls for Serkis to be rewarded during the awards season for his work as Ceasar in Rupert Wyatt's 'Apes' film -- something that this writer would have endorsed -- but he's also impressed in non-mo-cap roles. His portrayal of Ian Dury in "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll," even earned him a BAFTA nomination last year. Serkis has also been busy establishing The Imaginarium -- a London-based studio focused on the art of performance capture -- which, as well as creating its own work, provides consultancy and production services to other major studios. And while back in...
- 2/14/2012
- The Playlist
Our critics' picks of this week's openings, plus your last chance to see and what to book now
• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below
Opening this week
Theatre
• Reasons to be Cheerful
Raucous, rude and really rather joyful, the Graeae theatre company's musical – set in 1979 as Thatcher comes to power, and inspired by the music of Ian Dury – is terrific fun. It's good to have it back. New Wolsey, Ipswich (01473 295 900), until 18 February, then touring.
• The Recruiting Officer
Josie Rourke's first show as the Donmar's new artistic director is a revival of an early 18th-century comedy. Mackenzie Crook, Mark Gatiss and Nancy Carroll are part of a strong cast. All eyes will be watching. Donmar, London WC2 (0844 871 7624), until 14 April.
Film
• A Dangerous Method (dir. David Cronenberg)
Freud, Jung and their patient-acquaintance Sabina Spielrein ignite psychological problems. On general release.
Dance
• Blanca Li...
• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below
Opening this week
Theatre
• Reasons to be Cheerful
Raucous, rude and really rather joyful, the Graeae theatre company's musical – set in 1979 as Thatcher comes to power, and inspired by the music of Ian Dury – is terrific fun. It's good to have it back. New Wolsey, Ipswich (01473 295 900), until 18 February, then touring.
• The Recruiting Officer
Josie Rourke's first show as the Donmar's new artistic director is a revival of an early 18th-century comedy. Mackenzie Crook, Mark Gatiss and Nancy Carroll are part of a strong cast. All eyes will be watching. Donmar, London WC2 (0844 871 7624), until 14 April.
Film
• A Dangerous Method (dir. David Cronenberg)
Freud, Jung and their patient-acquaintance Sabina Spielrein ignite psychological problems. On general release.
Dance
• Blanca Li...
- 2/13/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
Coldplay seem to be secret movie fans to some degree. Their new album Mylo Xyloto was apparently originally going to be the soundtrack to a movie they were writing, but never finished. And you might have forgotten, but last spring the band got into the film production game, co-finacing the film "Ashes" starring Jim Sturgess, Ray Winstone and Lesley Manville. That film has at the helm "Road To Guantanamo" co-director and Ian Dury biopic "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" helmer Mat Whitecross -- and he's been with with Chris Martin and the boys since day one. Whitecross was behind their first video "Bigger Stronger" and while the group have dabbled with other filmmakers over the years -- Anton Corbijn, Shynola, Grant Gee, Sophie Muller -- Mat has become a regular collaborator. The band have dropped "Charlie Brown," another single and video from the album, directed by Whitecross. But little did we know,...
- 2/3/2012
- The Playlist
You'll probably know their names, but definitely not their faces, at least in the films mentioned in this list. Here's our pick of actors in unrecognisable roles...
Actors are often praised for the sometimes extraordinary lengths they go to when inhabiting their characters, whether it’s Christian Bale losing unhealthy amounts of weight for The Machinist or Charlize Theron adopting an unglamorous, haggard appearance (with more than a passing resemblance to Jon Voight) for Monster.
Sometimes, though, an actor will be so heavily disguised with make-up, fur or latex that, great though their performances are, it’s almost impossible to tell exactly who we’re watching. This list, therefore, is devoted to ten actors who, thanks to the respective efforts of various effects artists and computer wizards, probably wouldn’t be recognised by their own mothers…
John Hurt
The Elephant Man (1980)
David Lynch’s second film couldn’t have been...
Actors are often praised for the sometimes extraordinary lengths they go to when inhabiting their characters, whether it’s Christian Bale losing unhealthy amounts of weight for The Machinist or Charlize Theron adopting an unglamorous, haggard appearance (with more than a passing resemblance to Jon Voight) for Monster.
Sometimes, though, an actor will be so heavily disguised with make-up, fur or latex that, great though their performances are, it’s almost impossible to tell exactly who we’re watching. This list, therefore, is devoted to ten actors who, thanks to the respective efforts of various effects artists and computer wizards, probably wouldn’t be recognised by their own mothers…
John Hurt
The Elephant Man (1980)
David Lynch’s second film couldn’t have been...
- 1/5/2012
- Den of Geek
Before Sunrise star Julie Delpy is set to direct her sixth feature film, a biopic of The Clash frontman Joe Strummer, currently titled The Right Profile after a track on London Calling, the band’s 1979 album. French-born Delpy may find a role for herself in the new film as she has had a lead role in [...]
Continue reading Julie Delpy to Helm The Clash Frontman Biopic on FilmoFilia.
Related posts:Ian Dury “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” Biopic On The Way Remake of Music Biopic The Idolmaker with Ryan Gosling Directing & Starring Wayne Wang to Helm Albert Einstein Biopic...
Continue reading Julie Delpy to Helm The Clash Frontman Biopic on FilmoFilia.
Related posts:Ian Dury “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” Biopic On The Way Remake of Music Biopic The Idolmaker with Ryan Gosling Directing & Starring Wayne Wang to Helm Albert Einstein Biopic...
- 11/22/2011
- by Nick Martin
- Filmofilia
While speculation rages about how much substance there is to talk of a big screen Doctor Who movie, we've decided to offer our casting services...
Settle down, now. Give your gnashing teeth a rest, and just admit that even if the prospect of Harry Potter director David Yates doing a big-screen reboot of Doctor Who drives you to distraction, you've still thought about it. Admit that you've considered who the Doctor would be in a big Hollywood-backed reboot.
Completely disregarding the argument about whether a new cinematic continuity is a good idea or not, any Whovian is going to have considered the idea before yesterday's scoop. As we're obviously all agreed that Christopher Walken should voice the Daleks (because that would be incredible), we've rounded up some of our favourites to take on the controls of the Tardis.
There are a few caveats to the list, naturally. It wouldn't be...
Settle down, now. Give your gnashing teeth a rest, and just admit that even if the prospect of Harry Potter director David Yates doing a big-screen reboot of Doctor Who drives you to distraction, you've still thought about it. Admit that you've considered who the Doctor would be in a big Hollywood-backed reboot.
Completely disregarding the argument about whether a new cinematic continuity is a good idea or not, any Whovian is going to have considered the idea before yesterday's scoop. As we're obviously all agreed that Christopher Walken should voice the Daleks (because that would be incredible), we've rounded up some of our favourites to take on the controls of the Tardis.
There are a few caveats to the list, naturally. It wouldn't be...
- 11/15/2011
- Den of Geek
Exclusive: BBC Films is set to back a movie about cult British rock band Stone Roses, whose reunion concerts announced last week sold out within minutes. The band’s self-titled debut has been voted the best British album of all time. Spike Island, a drama about the band’s May 1990 outdoor concert — which has been compared to the Woodstock of the ecstacy pill-dropping generation — starts shooting in March 2012. Elliott Tittensor (Shameless) and Matthew McNulty (Misfits) will co-star. Mat Whitecross, director of the Ian Dury biopic Sex&drugs&rock&roll, is the director, and the producers are Fiona Neilson and Esher Douglas of Fiesta Productions. State financier BFI Film Fund is already on board, as is Revolver Entertainment, which has taken UK rights. Bankside Films is co-financing and selling the project internationally. The band has given permission to use their music for the movie. Meanwhile, Shane Meadows, BAFTA-winning director of This Is England,...
- 10/26/2011
- by TIM ADLER in London
- Deadline London
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