Soundtrack Festival 2008; I Know You Know

Jamie is a boy who worships his father Charlie.. Charlie is working undercover, living on the edge. While Charlie can be unpredictable and volatile, he is protective of his son. When a job that promises cash and escape to America comes, both father and son have to confront the reality of the situation they find themselves in.

I Know You Know suffers a lot. There is a twist, but a twist you see coming fairly soon.

Saying that, the film is sometimes funny, tense in parts. The performances are okay, nothing stunning.

YouTube - Project Direct

More details, rules, and a list of props to choose from can be found here.
Have a go, and send me your vids.

Soundtrack Festival 2008; Abraham's Point

Mackenzie Crook plays a young man with a stupid name, Comet Snape, an antique dealer who is constantly haunted by his past, as he drives back to West Wales. On the way home, he faces deception, theft, and his past.

Snape nicks a grandfather clock and sets off to bring it back to his dying father.

Abraham's Point has some great shots, showcasing some gorgeous landscapes.

Mackenzie goes phone it in a little, but he holds it all together with his watchabilty.

I found the plot had some lame moments, and it was a tad too long, but a decent film nonetheless.

Bruce Lee

Pointless. But Fun.

Soundtrack Festival 2008; Sleep Furiously

It took a very long time to get into, but it is riveting.

Sleep Furiously is about small Welsh community which is shown through the conversations and interaction of each other. There's not plot or story as such, although the mobile library van and driver ties the film together. Felt like a personal portrait with some great shots and a complex but subtle soundtrack from Aphex Twin – the first time Richard James has approved his music for an entire film.

What could be depressing somewhere else, it's lovely in this film.

Sir Roger Moore Film In The Offing

From IMDb

Movie legend Sir Roger Moore's memoirs are set to be turned into a Hollywood biopic - with Johnny Depp slated to play the part of the James Bond actor.

Two top U.S. production companies are rumoured to be battling for the screen rights to the book - My Word Is My Bond - which was released in October.

The autobiography details Moore's exploits with legendary Tinseltown co-stars including Elizabeth Taylor, Lana Turner, and David Niven in the 1950s and '60s.

The thrilling tales have caught the imagination of movie bosses - with two leading Hollywood studios said to be in talks with Moore's literary agents to secure the rights to the book.

And a source close to Moore has confirmed that producers are keen to sign up an A-list star to play Moore - with Johnny Depp hotly tipped to take the role.

The source tells WENN, "The two production companies' interest in Sir Roger was heightened after they read the tales of his Hollywood exploits.

"They are keen to centre on that era ahead of his 007 days. They believe filmgoers will lap this one up and it could be a huge hit.

"The whole project is shrouded in secrecy but Sir Roger has been telling friends, with a knowingly raised eyebrow, that he's a great admirer of Johnny Depp."

Soundtrack Festival 2008; Brazil

On the big screen ! I've not seen this film for a few years now.

It looked amazing. The story is both simple and baffling.

This is a brilliant film full of ideas. It is a bit long, but never dull. You want more.

No need to review...

.

Gambit Pic

What do you think then ?

Empire - 100 Greatest Movie Characters

Right here if you click.

Soundtrack Festival 2008; The Singing Ringing Tree

'fraid I'm not quite old enough to remember this, so I went into the busy cinema fresh.

A brave prince wants to win the heart of a stubborn princess by finding The Singing Ringing Tree for her. He finally locates it in the magical realm of an evil dwarf who offers him a deal: he can keep the tree if it starts singing before sundown - which it will only do if the princess truly loves him. Otherwise, he will be turned into a bear. Very Plausible.

If you mention The Singing Ringing Tree to some, they mention the evil dwarf. And yes, the dwarf is in fact evil.

The transformation of Prince to Bear and Rough Princess to Fit Princess were very,very good considering when it was made.

It's a story book come to life. Hans Christian Anderson spliced with The Brothers Grimm, and very lush to look at. Full of colour, and the bear costume is the best I've ever seen.

It's a very well put together fairy tale with a simple moral story. Be nice.

Robert Downey Jr. - 1 K.O.

Robert Downey Jr. needed medical attention on the set of Sherlock Holmes, when he was knocked out by a wrestler. More here.

Soundtrack Festival 2008; Flick

Johnny is a stuttering Teddy boy who wants one thing in from life. A dance with Sally Andrews, his dream girl. He finally asks her, but the boyfriend beats him up and humiliates him. Johnny lashes out, then he's chased so much so that his car takes him to a watery grave.

Forty years later, the car is found and Johnny’s body is suddenly resurrected, and he embarks upon both a rampage on those bullies, and also to track down Sally.

The plot is a bit lame in parts, some of the 50s B-movies had bad plots to be fair.

Some of the character's drive felt a bit fake for me, but the look and style of the movie kept me interested. Mise-en-scene like the clothing, gore and classic comic book panels (used to paste over the lack of budget) added weight to the film.

The cast is also very impressive. Faye Oscar Winner Dunaway as Lieutenant McKenzie, partnered with detective sergeant Miller played by the mighty Mark Benton from the Nationwide ads, and Johnny's unhinged mother played by Liz Smith (The Royle Family's Nana) who is the film's highlight, hands down.

From first time film helmer David Howard, Flick boasts a comic book look that feels like Sin City set in the 1950s, with Roger Corman thrown in.

The soundtrack, a combo of classic 50s cuts and tunes written by Richard Hawley (who also supplies the voice of radio DJ Bobby Blade, and has the best line involving the word "twat" I've heard in a while).

Flick will do well on the cult DVD train. Decent start to Howard's filmmaking career.

Dear God ...

Soundtrack Festival 2008; Hunger

This is the first feature film by Turner Prize winning "moving image" artisan Steve McQueen. It was loved big time at Cannes.

It's a gut-wrencher. Politics are a heavy part of the film, without forcing any issues or decisions onto the viewer (I think). Hunger presents the last six weeks of Bobby Sands, a hunger striker and member of the IRA. Because it’s based on fact, the unhappy ending isn't such a surprise.

The film opens by following a prison guard doing this thing, which includes some gritty shots of him nursing his fists after mashing up some inmates. Almost silent scenes slowly give you the sense of the abuse that happened in the prison.

What I enjoyed the most about McQueen's debut is it messes around with point-of-views. You never quite know the views of some of the characters. Surprisingly, in this day and age there is a long scene (around fifteen minutes) without any editing. It worked, for the first eight minutes or so. Then it started to remind me how long the scene was.

Hunger is good, with flaws. I would love to see what Steve will do next. He has tackled a true story with both hands and made a decent debut. It's raw, ugly, daring and moving.

Tarantino Gets A Cottontail Makeover

For anyone who ever thought that Pulp Fiction was too long and/or dragged -- you're wrong, but we know you're out there -- we're suggesting this week that you check out the 30-second version. This has web phenom written all over it, so when it explodes in a few months you can fondly refer back here.

Starring bunnies. And not the Donnie Darko kind.

Thanks to Raindance.

Soundtrack Festival 2008; Slumdog Millionaire

A great (and/or memorable) film often has a fantastic soundtrack, in fact there have been more than a few movies where I preferred the music. I won't mention these films right now though ...

I was lucky enough to be amongst the buzzy crowd kicking off a new festival here in nippy Cardiff last night. Soundtrack Festival looks promising and will grow year on year I'm sure. As well as including the usual film screenings of future gems (the opener was Slumdog Millionaire, which I'll bang on about in a bit) but it also include talks and masterclasses from directors and composers. And Brazil on the big screen ! Yes !

Mark Cousins, the film curator has set up an high quality, international festival. You wouldn't think this was the first one at all !

The line-up is impressive, but I don't need to tell you. One day in, and I'm already looking forward to Soundtrack '09.

www.soundtrackfestival.com

Kicking off Soundtrack Festival is the new one helmed by Danny Boyle.

Slumdog Millionaire tells the tale of Jamal Malik, who gets to the final round of Mumbai's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire ? The Indian police thinks he's cheating, obviously. Jamal is forced to recount his life-story for his interrogators. He must provide them with explanations for each answer he has correctly given, up to the penultimate question.

Jamal's answers are presented to us through a series of cute, humorous, romantic and action-packed flashbacks which span the previous years of the contestant.

It's awful to see how Mumbai is presented on screen right now, because in this film the place is brought to life with colour and hustle bustle. The overcrowded slums create an atmosphere as the cameras glide (slightly hindered by some underpar editing mind) through the streets of Mumbai's shantytowns.

Don't want to reveal too much of the nitty gritty here but the only other person that Jamal has a connection to, other than his brother, is a girl named Latika. That connection drives the plot through to the end scene, which was a little too neat for me.

All in all a decent film, which I don't think will worry the Oscar judges too much, but I'd recommend you watch it all the same. Slumdog Millionaire is a very old-fashioned rags-to-riches love story. Although the title does give it away. Naughty.

Larry David + Woody Allen = Whatever Works

The first still from Woody Allen's new one, starring Larry David and it's called Whatever Works.

Sent to me by Vince.

John Michael Hayes R.I.P.

John Michael Hayes, the Academy Award nominated writer of the best film I have ever seen, has died of natural causes at his home in Hannover last Wednesday, aged 89.

R.I.P.

Times Obit

Star Trek HD

Yours to keep, HD versions of the latest Star Trek trailer. Old Spock !
Er, consider it our Christmas present to you. Just right click and you know the rest.
Either 480p or 720p or even 1080p.

Terminator:Salvation Poster

While I'm not fussed about about the return/birth of T-whatever number it is, I must admit, I'm liking some of the promotion. Here is a new take on the online poster, incorporating a bit of Flash and some imagination. I like.

EDIT - Just been told, it won’t work by clicking on the link. You need to a copy and paste job.
http://www.sonypictures.net/movies/terminatorsalvation/poster.html

Hoffman Podcasts

• Why he became an actor

• Redefining the look of a movie star

• Why he never gave up character roles

• Seeing beyond the look of a person in "Tootsie" and the real world

• What drives him to keep working

Click above for bits of Dustin Hoffman. Podcast style. Thanks to Tony for this and this.

Bits & Pieces - The It's Been Too Long Edition

Arrested Development film is coming ?

Twilight 2 is green for go.

Clint will always be behind the camera from now on.

Ace Ventura the Third. Great.

Hollywood next for Leona.

Astro Boy.

SAG to hold strike.

Avatar Concept Art.

Star Trek posters ahoy.

Oldboy remake, isn't.

The Winner

Well, who won both Disturbing Behavior and Plato's Run on DVD ?

It was - Jo Harvey from CRAWLEY, UK

Well done.

For Your Consideration

Tim Burton: American English

If you asked me when I was 12 who my favourite director was then I would immediately answer 'Tim Burton'. I don't know what the first Tim Burton film I saw was for sure, but I have a sneaking suspicion it might have been Beetlejuice. I was intrigued by the cover art and managed to convince my local video shop to phone my father who told them it was okay for me to rent out the 15 certificate film. From Beetlejuice I fell in love with Edward Scissorhands, both 'Batman' films (Batman Returns being the first 15 certificate I saw at the cinema) and there was also Pee Wee's Big Adventure and a video recorded preview of (Burton written/Henry Selick directed) A Nightmare Before Christmas from Barry Norman's 'Film' programme that I must have watched a million times over.

My love for Tim Burton continued onwards, all the way into the new millennium until something happened.

Planet Of The Apes was it's name, a huge studio picture, a remake of all things, one that seemed to have none of the hallmarks one really associates with Tim Burton, not an ounce of the style and humour that filled his earlier films, it just felt like a rather tepid Hollywood summer release. Burton's take on the twist ending saw Mark Wahlberg's astronaut travel back to Earth only to find Tim Roth's villainous monkey General Thade had beat him to it and America was now populated by monkey men.

It was shortly after this that Burton moved to England and married Helena Bonham Carter.

Burton's output since 'Apes' has been disappointing at best, and I think I have finally figured out why.

In the early days of Burton's career he was a refreshing voice in American cinema, he approached traditional Americana from a skewed outsider point of view. His (and Paul Reubens') take on the tourist traps of modern U.S.A. was gloriously perverse in warped children's flick Pee Wee's Big Adventure, from truckers to movie lots, diners to a gloriously dim-witted and patronising tour of the Alama there is a delicious streak of satire running through this lunatic odyssey. It was an assured debut from the former Disney animator who had suffered at having all his ideas nixed by the House of Mouse, bar one Edgar Allan Poe inspired animation called Vincent and an off-kilter live-action short called Frankenweenie. It was clear that Burton's sensibilities were of a dark ilk, and most definitely influenced by the macabre and British Hammer Horror.

Beetlejuice approached the modern American yuppie displacing them into the sticks and throwing the undead into the mix, it was a sleeper hit and truly asserted Burton's status as a wildly imaginative director. It also showcased a unique and smart sense of humour quite uncommon in American cinema, something that suggests - to me - that Burton's outsider perspective was, in many ways, born of England and English storytelling.

Whilst Burton was an American film-maker he made his finest work and each new film seemed to be more successful than the last, this ultimately must have contributed to his decision to move away from Burbank (his hometown in the heart of Los Angeles) and relocate to England. His first film post-move was Big Fish, ironically set in middle-America yet starring an array of Brits (Ewan McGregor, Helena Bonham Carter, Albert Finney); it was at odds with itself, and for once Burton's perspective on America lacked the real charm and imagination of previous efforts, feeling more like a new director mimicking Burton's style and coming up short.

Following this Burton has clung to Johnny Depp delivering the truly awful Charlie And The Chocolate Factory was sits uneasy, feeling unnatural and plastic. It is a baffling result as the smart, dark, grotesque words of Roald Dahl seemed like the perfect fit for pre-England Burton. Depp returned (with Bonham Carter again) for Sweeney Todd, taking another well known English tale and this time a musical. Whilst Burton managed to recapture some of his visual flair he could do little to save the musical's own flaws and terrible sense of pacing, and, quite frankly, the look of Depp's Todd is like a bad Tim Burton inspired Halloween costume.

Now we have Burton, Depp and Bonham Carter working together again and adapting another well known English tale in the shape of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. Once more we have a leaked shot of Johnny Depp in costume and the glittery, Bowie-like image of Depp's Mad Hatter does not fill me with any confidence. Yet Burton's films continue to be hugely successful, the merchandising seems to have quantum leaped in recent years with the Emo community suddenly sporting all manner of The Nightmare Before Christmas inspired products. I cannot see things changing, which is a shame, as I feel Burton needs to return an original story for the first time in almost 16 years. I feel like the new wave of Burton fans are enjoying his films 'just because' (much like I did as a big Jim Carrey fan as a kid), but, if their appreciation of his current work is sending them backward towards Beetlejuice and Ed Wood then I'm all for it. In fact most conversations I have with fans of current Burton seem to go like this:

Them: "I love Sweeney Todd."
Me: "I hate it. I far prefer his early stuff like Edward Scissorhands."
Them (with genuine conviction): "Oh my God! Yes! I loooooooooooooove Edward Scissorhands so much!"

I have my fingers crossed for Alice In Wonderland, but the prospect of a new Tim Burton just doesn't excite me as it once did. Henry Selick's Coraline on the other hand...

Dance Flick Trailer - BAD

Dance Flick trailer


A very bad trailer for Dance Flick.

Revolutionary Road Trailer - GOOD

A very good trailer for Revolutionary Road.

Photos From The Season Of The Witch Set

Here is a photo of Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman on the set for Season Of The Witch.
More are here.

New Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince Trailer

Watch the trailer in High Definition on HPNA.com.

Jake Gyllenhaal; The Prince Of Persia

Henry emailed the following, coutesy of ETonline.

A Wider Funny People Poster

It's bigger. Seth Rogen is getting smaller.

The Star Trek Trailer

Well, here it is. It's a YouTube bootleg. Decent quality though.

Funny People Indeed

Christmas On Mars

Seven years in the making, The Flaming Lips’ film Christmas On Mars is a lo-fi feat of obsession and endurance.

Overheard At The Pub.

Mona Lisa is being remade. Hayden Christensen will fill the Bob Hoskins role.

Belle & Sebastian Film Soundtrack Nearing Completion

God Help The Girl.

Belle & Sebastian have almost finished the film and soundtrack project they've been working on.

Star Trek Enterprise

The trailer should about this weekend. To whet your appetite, here is a shot of that ship the Star Trek lot fly around in.


Nice mixture of old and new. Thank you to a Mr Plessi.

Paul - Plot Jist/Gist

"... revolves around two British slackers who after visiting Comic-Con go on a road trip to Area 51 where they encounter a small alien named Paul, who enlists them to help him find his way home.”

That above is the jist (or gist) of Paul, the third one from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. There is no Edgar Wright.

Pegg wrote the script for the movie which will be helmed by Gregg Mottola. He directed Superbad.

First Trek film footage unveiled

Some dude at The BBC has seen footage from Star Trek.

"The preview began with a screening of the latest trailer, which showed scenes of Kirk and Spock as children and Eric Bana as Romulan villain Nero.

Abrams then introduced the first excerpt, in which "farm boy" Kirk gets into a bar brawl with four Starfleet officers.

Kirk is subsequently seen being smuggled on board the Starship Enterprise on its maiden voyage by doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy, played by Karl Urban.

A third scene introduced Pegg's character Montgomery Scott, while a fourth revealed some effects-laden footage from the film's finale.

Other familiar characters featured included communications officer Uhura, played by Zoe Saldana; Hikaru Sulu, played by John Cho; and Pavel Chekov, played by Anton Yelchin.

Bruce Greenwood plays Commander Christopher Pike, captain of the Enterprise, who is shown at one point exhorting Kirk to follow his father's example and enlist in Starfleet.

In his scene, meanwhile, Nimoy's Mr Spock is seen delivering the Star Trek legend: "Live long and prosper.""

The Wrestler Poster

Impressive. Thank you to UnitsOfTen for this.

Quantum Of Sledge

It’s okay. If I could describe the film to you via the art of movement, it would be a shrug. Loved Casino Royale. It worked when it shouldn’t. The second in the Craig trilogy reminded me just how much better Bourne is when it comes to action packed spy caperey.

The intelligence, style and storyline of Casino Royale has been lost .

The action sequences are good though (no surprise there really). Chases which uses every form of transport under the sun, and a nice bit of fighting too. The building-to-building foot chase is the highlight.

The Greengrassesque camerawork took away some of the class of the scenes. But the brilliant and elaborate stunt work kept me interested.

The plot ? Ha ha !.

Dominic Greene didn’t scare or worry me in any way, which is a shame as he is a bond villain.

The opening credits ? Well, the silhouette women are back, and I like the song. The rest felt a bit empty for me. Nice oily scene involving the lovely Miss Fields. I liked that.

To end – I will shrug.

Full-length MGM films On YouTube

YouTube, the largest video-sharing website, will show full-length films from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's archives. Yes.

I think this is the start of something pretty special...

The Terminator Salvation Video

Jalopnik has it. They say -

"There are no fewer than 10 new Terminators in this film, and Laing and company have obviously thought really carefully about exactly where Skynet’s minions would be in their evolution during this time period. There’s no need for the Terminators to appear human, so they show up in various forms, including the giant Transformers-esque Harvester, the motorcycle Moto-Terminators, and the underwater versions, which you can see snapping at John Connor in a brief clip. And then there’s the T-600, the more primitive version of Arnie’s T-800 — which looks convincingly brutish and horrible. We also glimpse the (not surprisingly) depressing underground lair of the resistance against Skynet. And then there are the battle scenes, including our first real look at Sam Worthington and Anton Yelchin in action. (”Come with me if you want to live.” Ouch.)"

Here.

The Kevin Bacon Movie Club

See more Kevin Bacon videos at Funny or Die

Saw this, thought of you.

The Pink Panther 2 Trailer; Awful

Steve Martin in The Pink Panther 2.

Here is the awful trailer.

Megan Fox Is Wonder Woman

She looks great. It works.

Trailer/Clip - Book Of Blood, Dread

Enjoy.

Easy Virtue Clip - EXCLUSIVE

Here is an exclusive clip from Easy Virtue.

Empires Of The Deep

Pitof, the French director of Catwoman, is poised to helm Empires Of The Deep, an ultra-ambitious Chinese CGI film.

Twilight Posters

Up at The Odeon in Bournemouth. It's not news or anything, just thought I'd stick it up.

Watch The Trailer For Kisses

Watch the trailer in Windows, Quicktime or MP4.

Winner of Best Feature at the Galway Film Fleadh, Kisses has also been screened at the London, Toronto, Telluride and Locarno film festivals. Looks lovely.

The Girls Of Watchmen

Click here.
Or watch below.

Watchmen Exclusive: Girls Kick Ass

New Oldboy

Will Smith and Steven Spielberg are remaking Oldboy.
Why ?

Wonderful, Wonderful News.

Wonderful, wonderful news.

Wolverine Xmas

XmenFilms tells us there will be a Wolverine trailer in December.

Vue - Over 18s Only

Vue cinemas will show selected PG, 12A and 15-rated films to audiences of over-18s in 58 cinemas nationwide.

The Day The Earth Stood Still, Yes Man and Australia are scheduled for adults-only screenings in December.

Movie fans are also being given the opportunity to vote for future films they would like to see with age-restricted audiences on their website.

The selected films will still be screened for under-18s.

New Batch Of Photos From Frank Miller's The Spirit

I'm kinda lazy, so here.

Quantum Of Solace - Kev Sutherland's Review

One of my facebook friends is Kev Sutherland. He's a comedian and comic strip creator.

I have stolen his review of Quantum Of Solace. Enjoy, and arrest me later.

Just saw Quantum Of Solace and, though it's a diverting two hours, it's surprising shallow and disappointing. No characters that were in any way surprising or original, no twists in the plot to make you go "oh I never saw that coming" while realising you should have seen it coming, no sudden moments that made you gape with awe or smile at being second-guessed by a snappy writer and director. The ending anticlimactic and drawn out. And as for the misogynistic treatment of women, it was patronising, dismissive, fantasistic and quite unbelievable for any film made later than 1967.

The superficial details are nicely polished, so if you're a fan of glaring product placement or curious travelogues which take you to picturesque places only to point out how corrupt and dangerous they are so you'll never want to actually go, then it could be for you. But surely you should feel something, or react in some way when watching a film like this ?

Also frustrating is the cinema screen. Nice and big, with great sound, but it's harder to see what's happening than it is on your TV screen at home (for example the scene where they fall through that glass dome, shown on the TV trailers - looks fab on TV, it's a blur on the big screen). Added to which it's a Panavision film so, in the cinema, the tops and bottoms of the picture are missing (see the conversation scenes where Daniel's Craig's head goes off the top of the picture, then in 6 months time see how much better composed it is on DVD).

A very very disappointing film, all the more so because of the incredible hype Bond films get.

I'm old enough and ugly enough to know better. I remember seeing my first Bond film (Live & Let Die) and not having the faintest idea what it was all about. And I think every subsequent one has left me just as cold. Maybe these films are designed for over-testosteroned balding macho blokeys like your Johnny Vaughns, Tim Lovejoys and Alan Partridges, and not for the likes of me.

(For the record, my favourite films are Reservoir Dogs and Spinal Tap, make of that what you will).

BRWC & LAMB

Yes !
BRWC are now part of LAMB.

We'll be also joining the LAMB forum: http://themovie-fanatic.com/lamb/

Have a look.

TWO Bad Ideas ....

Bad idea ONE - The Farrelly brothers are planning a Three Stooges film.

Bad idea TWO - Russell Brand to play Captain Jack Sparrow.

From Within

Folan has sent me this link for two clips from Phedon Papamichael's From Within. Here.

Behind-the-scenes photos can be found at the official site.

Starring Thomas Dekker and Elizabeth Rice, Brad Keene's script tells of a young girl who contemplates severing ties from her Christian upbringing just as residents in her small town begin to suspiciously die.

A Matter Of Loaf & Death

Wallace and Gromit are back. On BBC One for Christmas in an half-hour adventure.

A Matter Of Loaf & Death (fantastic title) sees inventor Wallace and his dog Gromit open a bakery.

The film - originally entitled Trouble At' Mill - marks Wallace and Gromit's first appearance since their 2005 film The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit.

Peter Sallis will again provide the voice of Wallace with Coronation Street star Sally Lindsay playing his new love interest Piella Bakewell.

The film is described as "a classic 'who-doughnut' mystery... in the tradition of master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock".

Peanuts Webisodes

Some 20 classic Peanuts comic strips have been animated by hand into 3-4-minute-long "webisodes" that will be offered on Apple's iTunes Store at a price of two for 99 cents. However, beginning today, fans will be able to download two of them for free during a limited promotional period.

The cartoons, based on strips that appeared in the mid '60s, were produced by Warner Bros. Motion Comics and supervised by Jeannie Schulz, widow of Charles Schulz, who created the Peanuts characters. Schulz indicated that no thought was given to turning the strips into 3-D, computer-generated animated productions.

In an interview with the Associated Press she said, "CG doesn't quite look right (the characters). ... I still love that funny way they walk along."

Negotiating Life - Vote For Ryan

Movie Mogul Fund are getting closer in their search for the Producer and Director of the micro-budget feature film Negotiating Life. Ed Wiles’ screenplay is shaping up nicely and Ed will be sharing his experiences soon.

The submissions deadline for Producer and Director video pitches has now passed, and the 1-minute films can now be viewed and voted upon.

I would like you to vote for Ryan Owen.

Basically, I need you to register on the following website & vote for Ryan.

Copy & paste this: http://moviemogulfund.com/HOME/tabid/36/Default.aspx
Click on register in the top left.
Fill in details & register
Click home.
Select the clapperboard picture (with Director & Producer Call...)
Then scroll down to the bottom to the last video.

Synecdoche, New York - Sledge's (Small) Take

synecdoche - /sinekd ki/

• noun a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in England lost by six wickets (meaning ‘the English cricket team’).
- ORIGIN Greek sunekdokhe, from sun- ‘together’ + ekdekhesthai ‘take up’.

OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Charlie Kaufman is without doubt one of the most original scriptwriters on Earth, inventing worlds in Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. He’s never tried helming one of his ideas in a director’s chair.

Until now.

His feature directorial debut is here at last, and I’ve seen it.
Synecdoche, New York is another baffling, surreal, and personal story for Charlie. There is so much going on his flick. It’s about ideas that play around with time, space, emotions , set design, relationships, health, the idea of character and reality. Seinfeld’s 4th Season story arc, Hamlet, Tennessee Williams' The Two-Character Play and other "play within a play" themes float about in this script/film.

Theatre director Caden’s (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) passion to direct his (extremely) ambitious masterpiece is the focus of the movie. Caden becomes gradually riddled with unhappiness. Marriage down the drain and his health is letting him down. So when he receives a grant for his work he see this opportunity as a way to cope with the stress. The project is insane and ambitious in equal measures.

It’s a bold, weird and massive film (in timescale as well as scope) to digest. It's also cold, brutal and a little cruel in places. Don’t let that put you off , it has genuine moments scattered throughout the film.

Everything here is near perfect. A unhinged mixture of warmth and melancholy.

The 3rd act's pace needed tidying up, tightening and played with. Gondy, or Jonze would have shown him the way.

Seven Pounds Trailer

Seven Pounds with Will Smith.

Slumdog...

...Millionaire.

Bits & Pieces - The Drunk On A Sunday Edition

Homer Simpson has voted.

His name is Bruce.

John Daly R.I.P.

Rambo FIVE ?

Reading ... with the lovely Kate Winslet.

Terrence Howard vs Don Cheadle

Entertainment Weekly has an article about Iron Man and Iron Man 2. Here's a snippet;

Hollywood insiders believe the exit stems from Terrence Howard's difficult behavior on the set of Iron Man. But those with intimate knowledge of the situation suggest a far more dramatic backstory: Howard was the first actor signed to the film and, on top of that, was the highest-paid. That's right: more than Gwyneth Paltrow. More than Jeff Bridges. More than Robert Downey Jr. And once the project fully came together, it was too late to renegotiate his deal. It didn't help that, according to one source, Favreau and his producers were ultimately unhappy with Howard's performance, and spent a lot of time cutting and reshooting his scenes. (Favreau could not be reached for comment, while Howard's publicist says: ''Terrence had a tremendous experience working on Iron Man.'')

You can read the full article here.

The 1st Film I Saw At The Cinema

The film was called The Rescuers.

My first ever cinema trip was when I were about six, as it was in the very cold December of 1983. I don’t have much to thank my dad for to be honest. He did introduce me to John Holt and Liverpool FC. Two things there. The third (and probably last) was taking me the flicks for Christmas.

It was a long, giddy and exciting eight-minute walk to The Concorde Cinema on Stapleton Road back in Brizzle. I remember it seemed a huge place with velvet reds, purples and greens. People everywhere. Tea, cakes, torches and ice creams. I was a little baffled by the waist coated man ripping up our tickets literally minutes after Daddy bought them from a waist coated man in a boxed office.

Hand in hand we walked into the dark cinema screen. Wonderful. It did stink though, and the seats were sticky and rotting and uncomfortable. But I didn’t care. When that huge screen lit up my big (for a six year old) round face, I forgot about everything else.

The film blew me away. Especially Orville the albatross, who ran the airline service wearing his goggles and scarf. He used a sardine tin for his passengers to sit in.

Leaving, apparently I told me dad I wanted to join the Rescue Aid Society and I kinda liked Miss Bianca.

The next film I watched was Masters Of The Universe. Don’t want to talk about that one. It wasn’t great.

This Month's Prizes To Give Away

And they're great. Two DVDs. Disturbing Behavior and Plato's Run. I think you'll agree, great films.

How to win them ? I dunno, tell me you want them. Email BRWC.

That is all.