Our spy HUSH (known as such because he/she always presses two fingers to the lips of those who talk) has seen VELVET GOLDMINE, and well, I'll let HUSH press those fingers to your lips while he/she whispers this info to your perky little ears....
Harry, it has been a long time, but I'm quite busy - not too busy to give you some good news on one of the most surprising and exciting films I have seen in a long time. Obviously it is all still hush-hush, but this is a secret too good to keep, AND I'VE SEEN IT!. Eat your heart out. It has been known that Todd Haynes (POISON and SAFE) has always wanted to make this tribute to Glam Rock, a project he has put his heart into.
Velvet Goldmine has a stellar cast to go with it - Ewan Mcgregor, Christian Bale, Jonathan Rhys Myers and Toni Colette. Other credits include Academy Award nominee Sandy Powell who designed the costumes and a soundtrack produced by Michael Stipe featuring Placebo. Radiohead, Pulp, and Bernard Butler with songs written by Brian Ferry etc. Basically the story of a journalist (Christian Bale) who has to find and do a story on Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Myers), a glam rock star who staged his own death at the height of his career and when it was found out to be a hoax fell from favour and disappeared. Through a series of interviews with the people who surrounded the star, including Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor), he pieces together the story.
Unexpectedly the film is rich and complex, simultaneously being entertaining, controversial and surprising. An astonishing performance by Ewan McGregor could easily see his star rise even further in Hollywood. AS with Trainspotting, the film is sure to raise a few eyebrows. Glam Rock was notably a time of androgyny, sex and drugs - surprisingly nineties - obviously ahead of its time. This makes the film so contemporary in its look and feel that it is sure to strike a chord with teenagers and the ones that lived through the seventies! I really do not want to place ant spoilers, even if you have read the screenplay the film will surprise you. The premise that "we" (that identify with the characters) are all descendants of Oscar Wilde is just so well done. Beg, borrow and steal to see this film. Any film with lines such as "camp isn't just a row of tents" just cannot be missed!
As always, your humble servant
HUSH
