UK Film Network

The Times sponsored BFI 53^rd London Film Festival 2009

 

Published by Tremayne (Potter)

 

THE FINAL DAY OF THE FESTIVAL: 29 October 2009

Starsuckers

UK 2009/100 min

 

A docu-film by director Chris Atkins, who was BAFTA-nominated for his Blair-baiting documentary, Taking Liberties.  

‘Starsuckers probes various aspects of celebrity culture with a scathing wit and sense of mischief, from the pushy parents who seek recognition for their children to the established public figures who use their position to gain political influence. It illustrates how truth has become devalued by the modern news media.’

 

Chris Atkins made an unexpected appearance yesterday at The Vue Cinema, Leicester Square on the final day of The BFI 53^rd London Film Festival after the 13h00 screening of the film Starsuckers, allowing for a 10-min window where people could ask questions.

 

1)Where did you get your inspiration from for the film?

“A critique has never been done before on media companies.  I got the inspiration for it about two years ago.

I thought, if you can make someone laugh, you engage them a lot more. That’s why it took two years to make. There’s no central character, so I

invented the personage of God of the Starsuckers, who helps  to create media concepts that are all around us.”

 

2)On your own Blog it mentions the £5,000 grant you were refused by The UK Film Council.  Your film exposed the media and its spin doctors, how can we believe that this isn’t just another hoax?

“Of course, there’s a circular pattern of cynicism on this subject and this week we’re up against James Cameron film Avatar and Michael Jackson movie – This is it.  You’re rightfully meant to be given a £5,000 grant from The UK Film Council but instead they gave us a £5,000 fuck-off!”

 

3)What were your reasons for making the film?

“Because these people are conning us out of money and I wanted to expose them for what they really are!”

 

4)Why is your narrator’s voice American?

“It wouldn’t have worked with my own voice, an Oxbridge graduate, especially when the main media swaggering has come from America, and I wanted to create something that was unique.”

 

5)The film doesn’t offer any solutions to the problems.  Why is that?

“If you’re not careful you run the risk of being like Live8 where more coverage was devoted to the stars themselves. I believe that all gossip columns should attach the tag ‘probably not true’ to them!”

 

6)What resources would you recommend to prevent this media juggernaut from catapulting out of control?

“Stop your children from watching T.V. It hasn’t done me any harm.  And stop buying trashy magazines.”

 

7)For the scene in the shopping centre where you asked parents’ permission to allow their child to take part in an infomercial, explaining what happens to an animal after it has been taken to the slaughterhouse, using a rubber chicken and a toy axe, did many refuse?

“2 out of the 42 we asked.”

 

8)To reach a television audience how would you have to alter the film?

“It would have to be massively edited, cut down by half and most probably be only shown on More4 after midnight.”

 

9)Have you noticed any recent changes in the world of the Media?

“Yes, the circulation in magazine sales is dropping.”

The difference with today’s Journalists is that they’re not given time to sift through news, casting aside the bad from the good, with the exception of Private Eye whose information doesn’t go out to press until two weeks later.”

 

 

Starsuckers is released on October 30^th by City Screen & Curzon Screen.

THE TIMES BFI 53^RD LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 14-29 October 2009

Published by: Tremayne (Potter)

 

Saturday 24 October

Don’t Worry About Me

dir.: David Morrissey (his debut feature length film)

London lad David travels up to Liverpool to hunt down the girl from last night’s one night stand.  After he’s told where to go, he finds himself wandering the streets until he comes across a betting shop where a shy and slightly reserved Tina gives him a tip on which dog to place his bet on.  On his win, David invites Tina out for coffee and encourages her to take the rest of the day off work.  She shows him the hot tourist spots but behind those smiling eyes of her’s, lies locked-up pain.

 

Q & A Session at the end of The World Premiere

 

David Morrissey gives some background in to the film.

“Don’t Worry About Me is an independent film which I raised the funds for myself.  The film couldn’t have been made without the help of its producer John Maxwell.

It was originally a play called ‘The Pool’ and was written by the two principal actors you saw in the film tonight.”

 

Did you find it easy to give up your story to a film production company? (directed at principal actors, Helen Elizabeth & James Brough)

“It was originally a 2-man show we took up to Edinburgh, written in rhyming couplets.  It was easy to let go of, having started off as a little play we had made no assumptions about what it might turn in to.”

 

How did you achieve the look you did in the film?

 “James Wright, the cameraman.  It was also shot on Sony, HD.

Right now, in Liverpool, a modern city is immerging from out of the older part of the city and I wanted the film to reflect that.

What took its time was being granted permission to shoot in different locations but people were most accommodating which lent to itself.”

 

Were you looking for a project that would be shot in Liverpool?

“Yes, or at least the North West as that’s where my production company is based.”

 

Can you tell us about the leap from T.V. to film.

“With the film there was no financial help. All of it had to be raised by my own means, which meant constantly doing deals, which, of course, uses up a lot of time.

The advantage I had, however, was there was no executive producer getting in the way of my own creative vision.

I also had to keep within a budget.”

 How did you come to write together? (directed towards Helen Elizabeth & James Brough).

“We both knew each other from Drama School and came up with the story when we were poor.”

 

 What would you advise any one coming in to the acting profession?

“I would advise those just starting out to watch all of their footage as much as possible as what they think they’re doing, can come across very differently on screen.

You won’t get much rehearsal time in your career but it’s something

I made sure there was enough of in my own film, two weeks in all.”

 

What transformations did the characters have to go through to make that shift from theatre  in to film? (directed at actors, Helen Elizabeth & James Brough).

“On stage we played for caricatures.  Whereas with David (David Morrissey) he would say to us ‘I can see what you’re thinking.  Change your thoughts.’ ”

James Brough adds: “They are very real, flawed characters. 

David (David Morrissey) helped us to see the good and the bad sides of each character.”

 

How was breaking in to acting relevant to when you came round to direct?

“The director of ‘One Summer’, my breakthrough movie, gave me a great grounding.  It was from then on I knew I wanted to focus on acting.  I learnt about lenses, set-ups, cameras and, the fact,

that it’s not all about the actors but the whole team.”

 

 

 

 

 

Ctrl.Alt.Shift launched a competition in 2008 inviting aspiring filmmakers to write a treatment based around one of three global issues – War + Peace, Gender + Power and HIV + Stigma.

Those who won would be given the opportunity to bring their treatment to life on the big screen. In addition to being provided with a budget and cast, the prize included the money-can't-buy opportunity to be mentored by some of the UK's finest directors such as Aoife McArdle, Chris Harding from Shynola, Kinga Burza, Paul Andrew Williams and Jim Threapleton.

The result of these partnerships is five brilliant, engaging shorts which premiered on 14th May at Shoreditch Studios, East London and were shown as part of the Raindance Film Festival last week.

Now you can watch them from the comfort of your own PC!

HIV – The Musical
Written and Directed by: Joe Patrick and Tim Woodall
Mentor: Paul Andrew Williams

The main aim of Patrick and Woodall's film is to expose the ridiculous attitudes towards HIV. A series of video blogs posted by a young playwright, James McKenzie (played by Martin Freeman from The Office), whose artistic integrity is being challenged by the ignorance of a film company determined to hijack his script, represented by a producer played by Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh).

1000 Voices
Writer and Director: Tim Travers Hawkins
Mentor: Chris Harding (Shynola)

A verbose and politically correct bureaucrat (Adam Buxton) gives a lecture to a group of teenagers on the merits of the UK's efficient and humane asylum system, whilst meanwhile, in the same building, detainees, imprisoned indefinitely in different 'Removal Centres' across the UK, leave messages in vain on an abandoned telephone answering machine in the ministry basement. Their messages detail the horror of the life that they have escaped due to conflict.

 

Man Made
Writer and Director: Fern Berresford
Mentor: Kinga Burza

This two-minute short, based around gender + power, tackles the treatment of women as property and the lack of self worth and identity women feel due to the gender inequalities prevalent in many societies.

No Way Through
Written and Directed by: Alexandra Monro + Sheila Menon
Mentor: Jim Threapleton

No Way Through highlights mobility restrictions imposed in the West Bank, that are limiting its habitants’ access to health care, thus violating a fundamental human right.

War School
Writer and Director: Ben Newman
Mentor: Aoife McArdle

Opting for a short based around war + peace, Ben Newman came up with one of the most popular entries, gaining praise across the board by re-creating a military training camp for child soldiers in a British school. It was described by Riz Ahmed as a great idea, simple, communicating a direct message.

We'd really love any feedback you have on the films!

(I'm the community manager for Ctrl.Alt.Shift and I got permission from Doug McFarlane before posting this.)

Supporting the THAFF in this special scary screening as co-presenters are two rising entities in the field of horror: Crypt Club Productions Inc. from Toronto and Latin Horror from New York City.

The aim is to showcase the best in Spanish/Latin American independent horror filmmaking so that THAFF fans can get some more red in their salsa.

Spread the word, and send in your feature and short indie horror films. There is no fee for submissions to the THAFF's "Noche de los Muertos". That's right, it's a FREE Submission.

Feature films and shorts eligible for THAFF screening must meet at least ONE of the following requirements:

• A film in which either the producer, director, writer, or other key talent is of Spanish or Latin American background.
• A film dealing with subject matter that concerns the Spanish or Latin American community.

Please Note: Films not originally in English must have English subtitles. All English language films must have Spanish subtitles. Exceptions may be made for Short Films.

FILM SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Screener DVDs (NTSC, Region 1 or 0) must reach the THAFF office by end of day on Friday October 16, 2009.

SUBMISSION FORMS: THAFF Submissions

ABOUT THAFF
The 12th edition of the THAFF runs November 2 to 8, 2009 following the traditional Latin “Dia de los Muertos” festivities. These festivities, held in Mexico and throughout Latin America, honour the departed with gifts of the departed's favourite food, drink, and music.

The THAFF is Canada's largest and longest-running Spanish/Latin American culture film festival with a spectacular selection of feature film dramas, comedies, and documentaries from Spanish speaking countries.

Come share the culture, excitement and emotion of Hispano-American cinema at Canada's largest and longest running Spanish language film festival: The Toronto Hispano-American Film Festival!

Now with added scares thanks to the new "Noche de los Muertos" screening event.

LINKS:
Toronto Hispano-American Film Festival(THAFF)
Crypt Club Productions Inc.
Latin Horror

From the blog of director, Phil Hawkins

Here’s the press release for The Butterfly Tattoo. It also explains the story so far (I don’t think I’ve ever blogged about the making of the film… so here it is!)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Award –winning independent film Philip Pullman’s
The Butterfly Tattoo gains support for a UK theatrical release.

(UK - 2nd September 2009) In contrast to Philip Pullman’s $180 million adaptation THE GOLDEN COMPASS which hit screens in 2007, a small Dutch production company – Dynamic Entertainment – armed with just €250,000, a British crew and a cast of unknown actors gained the rights to Pullman’s novel THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO (originally ‘The White Mercedes’) and made a film which has stunned audiences at international film festivals.

The film gained the support of Philip Pullman after the 21 year old producers approached him with the idea to make a film which had a strong educational approach to it’s making. Pullman gave away the rights to the book being a strong believer in education through practice. Pullman stated early on that he was “impressed with the enthusiasm and professionalism of the team at Dynamic Entertainment and happy to support their efforts to bring THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO to the screen.”

Shot on location in Oxford over five weeks, THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO was created mostly by people who were new to the film industry supported by professional heads of departments. The film also features unsigned bands from the Oxford area on its soundtrack.

The film was also funded in a unique way. Offering shares in the film for as little as €50 through the production’s website, THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO was fully funded in just two days.

The story is essentially a modern day Romeo and Juliet set in contemporary Oxford. When seventeen year old Chris (Duncan Stuart) and lovely lass Jenny (Jessica Blake) first met at an Oxford college ball, the ruffled latter was still in the run from her ex-boyfriend Piers (Dan Morgan) - a tyrannical aristocrat. But Chris’ past hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing either, and as the young couple enters tenuously into an innocent courtship, hidden secrets from Chris’ boss (Aidan Magrath) reveal why their romance may be headed for tragedy.

The film introduces a fresh new cast of upcoming UK talent. The performances of co-stars Jessica Blake (Jenny) and Duncan Stuart (Chris) have wowed audiences and critics alike. The film itself went onto win Best Director and Best Adaptation at the New York Independent Film and Video Festival, The Silver Chris for Best Feature at the Columbus Film Festival and Best Film at the Beaufort International Film Festival. The film was also on the official selection for the Film By The Sea Festival (where it premiered to a packed out audience) and Netherlands Film Festival. This year THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO was also screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

At twenty four years of age, THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO is director Phil Hawkins’ second feature film, the first being THE WOMEN OF TROY which gained him a Best Director award at the New York Independent Film Festival in 2006. In 2007, Hawkins was personally selected by Steven Spielberg to appear in the Fox/Dreamworks reality television show for filmmakers ON THE LOT. Spielberg called him “one of the best new and upcoming directors” and Hawkins was the only filmmaker from the UK to appear in the show.

THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO went onto have a small theatrical release in Los Angeles in April 2009 and has since gone on sale on DVD in the US. However, the UK was slow on the uptake in terms of theatrical distribution for the film.

“It amazed me,” says director Phil Hawkins “that there didn’t seem to be any support for us in terms of distribution in the country where the film was made. I personally contacted almost every distributor in the UK and heard every excuse possible but nobody said it was a bad film; it was just the ‘state of the industry’. It was frustrating”. After months of trying, the film gained the support of Showcase Cinemas who offered to release the film in multiple screens.

The film will go on theatrical release in selected Showcase cinemas from September 25^th 2009. The confirmed cities so far are Walsall, Kent, Teeside, Derby, Bristol and Leicester with more to be added. The production company is waiting on support from the UK Film Council to fund 35mm prints of the film to widen the release under their P&A fund. Showcase are also planning a charity gala premiere on September 24^th in Reading in which Philip Pullman may make an appearance and a screen will be dedicated to him.

THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO will also be screened a week before the release at the Cambridge Film Festival on 18^th September – followed by a Q&A with director and actors – and the 21^st.

“It was a head rush of relief!” Hawkins explains about when the release was confirmed, “The whole point of making a film is to get it to audiences and allow the new cast, bands and filmmakers the platform to show what they can do. It was one of the major reasons for making the film in the first place. Showcase Cinemas have been a massive help and I look forward to the release. We just have to get bums on seats now!”

Director Phil Hawkins, co-stars Jessica Blake and Duncan Stuart are available for print, television or radio interviews.

Film stills and screeners for review are available on request.

Official website www.thebutterflytattoo.co.uk / twitter.com/pullmanfilm

From the blog of director Phil Hawkins

WOOO-F*****G-HOO! Sorry, I’ll restrain myself… but after over nine months of sending out screeners to every single distribution company in the UK and no-one biting is a frustrating experience!

I’ll backtrack. As you probably know, THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO was released in Los Angeles in May 2009. We’ve received a lot of love from the states with numerous awards and film festival screenings coming from across the pond as well as some lovely reviews and a DVD release. On the other hand, the UK was slow on the uptake.

Considering that I’m a British director, the film was shot in the UK with a new and upcoming British cast and some great new bands from, you guessed it, Britain, you’d think that the UK would be one of the first places for the film to be screener. So did we. The reality is very different. It seems, through my first hand experience in trying to get distribution for the film, there isn’t a lot of love for British independent films in the current system. With cinemas filled with American studio films (even some ‘independent’ cinemas are programmed by larger organizations) there isn’t a lot of room to support home grown talent. No wonder people “sell out” or “progress” to Hollywood to make films. There’s nothing more frustrating than having a film that you’ve spent well over a year making and then there isn’t any support to actually let it find an audience. Surely people seeing it and responding to it is the most important thing?

Even more frustratingly, nobody said it was a bad film. Nobody is in the business of protecting people’s feelings in this industry. If it’s bad, they’ll tell you. I received every excuse apart from them thinking the film was rubbish. The main one that stood up overall was it being “the state of the industry”. Not to get on my soap box (actually, a blog is probably the modern day equivalent!) but this really needs to change. If we’re to have a film industry (and I mean films made in this country, funded in the majority by this country) we really need to look at the message distribution is saying to new filmmakers. There are a lot of great independent films out there (okay, and a lot of awful ones) but they’ll never see the light of day because nobody has the time to watch or market Joe Blogg’s Film. It’s not as if these days everything needs to have an expensive 35mm print to screen - if anything it’s getting easier for distributors/exhibitors to show independent film due to digital projectors. With all that said, it’s a little depressing.

I got there with THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO through sheer persistence. After our American sales agent didn’t get any response from UK distributors through the normal channels and, in my eyes, giving up, I took it upon myself to contact everyone personally to try and get the film sold. With no sale from normal distribution companies, I decided to cut out the “middle men” and go straight for the exhibitors.

Then the film’s big break came from SHOWCASE CINEMAS, a large UK cinema chain who watched the film, loved it and want to screen it in as many as their cinemas as they could. Fantastic. SHOWCASE, you’re all brilliant. Why can’t every chain have this enthusiasm? Funnily, when I met the head of the chain for the first time he said - and no pun was intended that made it even funnier - that “showcase likes to give independent film a showcase”. Perfect.

So, we’re booked in seven cities as I write this with the potential to widen the release. What is stopping us are the 35mm prints. SHOWCASE only has six digital screens (we’re adding another one in to make up the seven). We’re currently waiting on an application from the UK Film Council concerning their P&A fund which pays for prints of a film to be made if the demand from the exhibitor is greater that what digital screens can provide. Fingers crossed on that one.

The date for your diary - September 25th, 2009.

More information on the cities and screenings are available on the film’s official website and regular updates are made via the Facebook Fan Page and the film’s official twitter page. (We’re all well connected these days!)

I hope that you’ll come and support the film. It’s been a long road to get to here and finally it feels like THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO is getting the support it deserves.

Now where’s that bubbly I need to dust off… :)

Highly anticipated action film of the summer hit the theatres June 24th and swept the box office with $112 Million in the first week of viewing. 

Michael Bay returns as a captain of the ship as he takes on to direct the next installment of the Transformers franchise.  This time around, Michael tries to supersize the world, and comparing to the first film where only fourteen robots were present, this film brings in fourty-six. Someone needs to pass the message to Michael that three times more robots and explosions will not make the film three times better.  But, in this supersized world, one thing that stood out was that Optimus Prime is life-sized on IMAX screens during the forrest fight scenes.




Instead of taking time to make special effects into something extremely over-the-top, Michael as a director should've taken the charge into polishing the storyline. There are many dead-ends, unnecessary characters, predicted plot points, and action scenes that drag on to eternity.

Shia LaBeouf finds out the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers, which sets the whole movie into motion. Sadly, after the discovery, the film turns into Indiana Jones type of adventure, with Shia travelling to Middle East alongside the Autobots in order to save the world.  Other than similarities in the adventure typed genre, both Indiana Jones (The Last Crusade) and Transformers 2 shared the same location for the shoot, which is located in Petra, Jordan.

Dissapointment of this summer blockbuster carries the Megatron weight as it sinks deep into the "I saw it once, no need to go see it again... for awhile" pile. 

Hopefully next time transformers will "transform and roll out" with a better storyline other than ending it with the big bang theory.

IMDB
Trailer
2/5

Beverly Hills, CA — The 82nd Academy Awards, which will be presented on March 7, 2010, will have 10 feature films vying in the Best Picture category, Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis announced today (June 24) at a press conference in Beverly Hills.

“After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year,” said Ganis. “The final outcome, of course, will be the same – one Best Picture winner – but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009.”

For more than a decade during the Academy’s earlier years, the Best Picture category welcomed more than five films; for nine years there were 10 nominees. The 16th Academy Awards (1943) was the last year to include a field of that size; “Casablanca” was named Best Picture. (In 1931/32, there were eight nominees and in 1934 and 1935 there were 12 nominees.)

Currently, the Academy is presenting a bicoastal screening series showcasing the 10 Best Picture nominees of 1939, arguably one of Hollywood’s greatest film years. Best Picture nominees of that year include such diverse classics as “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “Stagecoach,” “The Wizard of Oz” and Best Picture winner “Gone with the Wind.”

“Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories, but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize,” commented Ganis. “I can’t wait to see what that list of ten looks like when the nominees are announced in February.”

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2. The Oscar® ceremony honoring films for 2009 will again take place at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.