Father Geek here with Edgard's and Ozy's Euro-news report... There's some more pics from the Spanish STAR WARS shoot in Seville last week... these are video captures off Seville TV, but they are completely different angles from the newspaper shots over on Latin-AICN's report... They're not the finest quality, but they do, when combined with the print shots, give a real good idea of what the Plaza Espana shooting session was like...
EURO AICN
Edgard here....sorry for the delay of this week's column, I just got back from Denmark an hour ago... Unfortunately I didn't see DANCER IN THE DARK as I was there for... well let's say in a cheesy way my heart belongs to a little mermaid, so movie comes second... still I got to talk to a few persons there about the new Lars Von Trier's movie and it seems that the critics over there are mixed about it... (like in Cannes). On AICN we read many positive reviews so it makes me even more curious to see that one, it will be released next month here so we will see then... Enough about me, here's the usual weekly stuff...
SPAIN
Edgard here....sorry for the delay of this week's column, I just got back from Denmark an hour ago... Unfortunately I didn't see DANCER IN THE DARK as I was there for... well let's say in a cheesy way my heart belongs to a little mermaid, so movie comes second... still I got to talk to a few persons there about the new Lars Von Trier's movie and it seems that the critics over there are mixed about it... (like in Cannes). On AICN we read many positive reviews so it makes me even more curious to see that one, it will be released next month here so we will see then... Enough about me, here's the usual weekly stuff...
SPAIN
* Let's start by some EPISODE 2 video capture pictures from Seville (taken by Jay Happle off a Spanish TV channel)...
Then here's another one...
And another...
And then here's one more...
* Butaca de Sueños sent us a little message to confirm that after MINORITY REPORT, Tom Cruise will join the beautiful Penelope Cruz for the American remake of Amenabar's ABRE LOS OJOS.
The two next ones come from Screendaily :
* Robert De Niro has confirmed his acceptance of the second Donostia Award for career achievement at this month’s San Sebastian International Film Festival. De Niro will be presented with the award on September 29th by Spanish actor Javier Bardem. De Niro also stars alongside Gerard Depardieu in Bernardo Bertolucci’s Novecento, which is the central film in the festival’s tribute to Bertolucci this year. Also collecting an honorary prize at this year’s event is the UK’s Michael Caine, who will receive his award from film and theatre actress Rosa Maria Sarda. Spanish director Alex de la Iglesia's fifth film, La Comunidad, will open this year's event. The festival’s 48th edition runs from September 21 to 30.
* Spaniard Pablo Llorca's La Espalda De Dios and controversial French film Baise-Moi will compete at Spain's International Film Festival of Gijon. Known as the Spanish Sundance, the festival has also announced a sidebar dedicated to new Scottish cinema, which is co-sponsored by the British Council and Scottish Screen. The strand features films such as Gregory's Two Girls, The Debt Collector, Ratcatcher, Small Faces, Orphans and The James Gang. The event, which this year runs from November 24 to December 1, will dedicate another section of films to the work of US director Todd Haynes. Screenings go to Velvet Goldmine, Poison and Safe, alongside his short films and forays into TV. The annual festival’s 38th edition will also showcase a selection of new and classic work dealing with mystical and psychological phenomena. Sponsored by the Municipal Cultural Foundation, the sidebar includes Nicolas Roeg's Performance, Paul Verhoeven's The Fourth Man, Lars von Trier's Epidemic and Dreyer's Vampyr.
FRANCE
* If you live in France, Belgium or Luxembourg, you are between 16 and 30 years old and you dream to write and direct a 5 minutes short film, then the Kieslowski price is for you. Its 4th edition will be from October 2nd to November 15th, deadline to send your script. Three winners will see their story produced and distributed in different festivals, movie theatres and on the TV channel "La Cinquième". But you must cover one of the 3 following themes : the man, the woman or the child. To know more : Just Go Here.
* I know we are quite late on that one but it's still time for people from L.A. :The American Cinematheque will organise on Wednesday 20th September (hurry up it's NOW !!) a special Jan Kounen evening... thatr's the best opportunity to see the great DOBERMANN and three of his short movies. Don't miss it. Later this month two days dedicated to Leos Carax will also be organised. Rumours even say that the French director could even be there for the projection of POLA X, his latest film.
* And finally don't forget to check the website of Mister W at This Spot to get some news the LOGAN'S RUN remake, a review of PRINCESSES (a new French movie), and news on ASTERIX 2, Luc Besson, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLVES... very interesting and fun, don't miss it ! (but in French...)
UK
* Tycho sent us this cool news for our British fellows about the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), stipulating that 18-category films will be cut "only rarely" (but what does that mean exactly again ?) and that "the rules for what can be shown to younger viewers will be tightened up, particularly regarding the portrayal of drug use". As a "good sign" from the BBFC, DEEP THROAT has finally been passed uncut by the BBFC. Good news ! Full story on the BBC website at : this Site
THE OZYMANDIAS CORNER
* Alrighty then guys, this one has been floating around for a few days. I wasn't so sure about it but the clamour in the media here and in the UK is becoming huge on this story so I thought I should pass it on. You may already know this lady if you watch MTV and, having met her on a number of occasions before, I can confirm that she IS that cute in real life boys..... Grrrr.....
From dotmusic.co.uk: Samantha Mumba has been offered a cameo role, starring opposite Will Smith in Ali, the bio-pic of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. The 17-year-old Irish pop star, whose debut single 'Gotta Tell You' recently made it to Number Two in the UK told a British tabloid newspaper: "It was a complete surprise. But I'd love to do it." "And I love Will, he's so hunky. If I do the film I'll have to have lots of cold showers to stop me fainting! "The details are sketchy but I'm having a meeting with the producers soon." Mumba, who releases her 'Body II Body' single on Monday October 9, is currently climbing the Billboard charts in the US with 'Gotta Tell You'. Directed by Michael Mann (The Insider, The Last Of The Mohicans) Ali is to start filming in November.
* A day of much through my inbox....... First off our friends at showbizireland.com have told me that: An Irish singer and Beatle fanatic has been chosen to play John Lennon in a film about his life. The 23 year old Dublin star Philip McQuillan has been chosen after a worldwide search to find an actor and singer to play Lennon in the £3m movie by American broadcasting giants NBC. Philip from Glasnevin will star in the film called "In His Life-The John Lennon Story" which is being filmed on location in Liverpool from next week. The film will also include scenes shot in the house in Liverpool where Lennon grew up. Speaking to the Irish Independent newspaper executive producer Michael O'Hara said "We looked at over 300 John Lennon's all over Ireland, England, New York and Los Angeles and even put our feelers in Australia but we just couldn't find the right fit." "We wanted someone with the charisma of Lennon as a performer who can act and with the help of hair and make up artists give the illusion of looking like him but it was becoming an impossible task until Philip contacted us." Star Trek's David Carson is directing the film which is based on Lennon's early years from when he picked up his first guitar to when the Beatles flew to America. Philip's mother Noreen said that the young star lived for Lennon and was overjoyed at getting to play his idol.
*As well as that popcorn.co.uk have Chris McQuarrie spilling a little more on his adaptation of The Prisoner: The big screen version of cult 60s TV series 'The Prisoner' is currently in development, and the film's scriptwriter has been swift to reassure fans that he's not going to modernize it, a la 'The Avengers'. Christopher McQuarrie - who penned the screenplay for 'The Usual Suspects' and recently wrote and directed the violent thriller 'The Way Of The Gun' - has been hired to write a screenplay for 'The Prisoner', and he reveals that he's going to do "everything I can to not contemporise it". The series, of course, featured Patrick McGoohan as the ill-fated 'Number 6', an ex-secret agent forced to live in the mysterious 'Village'. McQuarrie sees no point to deviate from the original, noting, "The characters work the way they were. I'm going to go straight up, old school." 'The Prisoner' will be helmed by Brit director Simon West, who is currently hard at work on the big screen version of 'Tomb Raider'. It's expected that he'll start work on 'The Prisoner' next year.
* As an Irishman I feel three ways about this story from showbizireland.com...... (1) Hope it's as bizarre as the b/w 1967 version I saw on Bloomsday here this year (2) Cut out all the impossible bits?? Seems like quite a good idea! and (3) He's read it 400 times......? Are you sure he's stable enough to make it through the next week??!?!?!?!?
Rea to star in adaptation Joyce's Ulysses... James Joyce's world renowned masterpiece Ulysses is to be adapted and made into a movie it was revealed yesterday. Stephen Rea is rumoured to play the leading protagonist, Leopold Bloom and Angeline Ball is expected to his wife Molly. An Irish film company is planning to start shooting the £4.5 million movie in Dublin next year on June 16, Blooms Day. It was also reported in the Sunday Times yesterday that film maker Sean Walsh has rejected the concept of using international stars in favour of an indigenous cast. Rea and Ball have both indicated that they are very interested in the roles. Walsh who has read the novel over 400 times while adapting the screenplay has in an effort to make the book more accessible to wider cinema audiences run the risk of angering 'Joycean' purists. "The book is, for many, impenetrable. What I have done is deleted the bits I don't understand and the bits which bored me. I joined up what was left, which is in essence the most marvellous comic masterpiece of the 20th century - the funniest, most human book of all time." "There are hundreds of thousands of copies of Ulysses lying around the world which remain closed and unread because everybody gets to page five, or perhaps the third chapter, and gives up. The film will give people a chance to know what the story is about," he said. The controversial movie already seems to be headed for pre-production trouble as Joyce's grandson and custodian of his estate, Sean Joyce, has yet to give a positive response to the adaptation which is worrying as he is already renowned for vehemently protecting copyright of the material. Walsh intimated "I would prefer if he supported us, but I am making this film anyway."
* Showbizireland.com (again!) brings us..... LIAM NEESON is on crutches and will be attending daily rehabilitation sessions until he goes to Italy in January to begin work on Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, in which he will play Leonardo Dicaprio's father. Traditional Irish Ballad singer Finbar Furey (53) has also sensationally landed a role as a Mafia boss in the movie. Casting agents apparently spotted him on the cover of a Furey's album. Neeson told reporters recently at a New York Donna Karan launch party, "I have so many pins and bolts in me I feel like Boris Karloff." It was the actor's first public appearance since he broke his pelvis when he and his motorcycle collided with a deer in July. The Irish traditional musician, Finbar, is off to Rome this week to film a weeks role in the movie. It is the first time he has stepped into the movie world.
Another Irish actor, Brendan Gleeson, also has a role in Scorsese's period piece, Gleeson will play an Irish mercenary in the story. He will star alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Irish based Daniel Day Lewis, Cameron Diaz, and Neeson.
L8r,
Ozymandias
Euro AICN Ireland/UK Office, Penthouse Suite, Ozymandias Towers, Dublin, Ireland.
If you're involved in the Irish or UK movie industries I want to hear from you!
Mail me at ozymandias@dublin.com
