From across the pond comes blazing news from the Arse-Flasher, but enough of me and onto the arse-fella....
Hey there all you cool colonials! Here's what I am sure will be welcome news to you yanks. Simon Beaufoy is at this moment very busy scripting "Full Monty II" for 20th Century Fox and producer Uberto Pasolini. The entire original cast has signed on for the project with the exception of Robert Carlyle who turned down a reported 1.7 million pounds sterling to reprise his role as Gaz. Beaufoy says the rare British sequel will be a fresh concept for the remaining cast set once again in the working class town of Sheffield, but this time the plot will focus on a time frame set before the naughty action of the original hit film.
The real reason I chose to write you lost sons of the isles is to get in a bit of ultra cool Britannia flag-waving via our resurging film industry. I have just been made privy to the next film from our wonderful islands to take the errant colonies by storm. That will be none other than the impeccably scripted "The General". No, not your great silent classic with the wonderful Buster Keeton, or even a rehash of the same, but instead a 1st rate bit of cinema based in Dublin. It is one of those rare Irish films that doesn't have the IRA as it's central theme. It is instead a "Pink Panther" like crime comic-opera. (no,no singing, it's a term to express a play with elements of both humour and tragidy) Like that other great recent Irish project, "The Butcher Boy", this is a masterwork. Director John Boorman has exquisitely directed a cast of compelling actors including your own Jon Voight in a bittersweet role. Brendan Gleeson in the title role of the thief Martin Cahill is a complex and sharply drawn character from real life. Boorman has helmed an unpretentious film of uncompromising realism sure to gather in fistfuls of awards as it shows around the globe.
Well bloks, that's it for now from the motherland. If you choose to publish this I shall return to keep you informed on the industry over here in the future. Just sign me off as:
The Arse-Flasher
