With the release of his new film Dumb Money, the endlessly versatile actor talks about turning his back on blockbusters, struggling to lie – and exploring his dark side
There is versatility in acting and then there is Paul Dano. No sooner had he been seen last year as the masked, panting, clingfilm-wrapped Riddler, who dispatches his victims with hammers and bombs in The Batman, than he turned up as the placid, moon-faced parent based on Steven Spielberg’s own father in The Fabelmans.
Dano has more than two decades of full-blooded, often deranged performances behind him, such as the wheedling preacher in There Will Be Blood and a suspected child abductor in Prisoners. He has also been fragile and huggable as the silent, surly teen in Little Miss Sunshine, the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson in Love & Mercy, and Pierre in the BBC’s War and Peace where, as historian Simon Schama put it,...
There is versatility in acting and then there is Paul Dano. No sooner had he been seen last year as the masked, panting, clingfilm-wrapped Riddler, who dispatches his victims with hammers and bombs in The Batman, than he turned up as the placid, moon-faced parent based on Steven Spielberg’s own father in The Fabelmans.
Dano has more than two decades of full-blooded, often deranged performances behind him, such as the wheedling preacher in There Will Be Blood and a suspected child abductor in Prisoners. He has also been fragile and huggable as the silent, surly teen in Little Miss Sunshine, the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson in Love & Mercy, and Pierre in the BBC’s War and Peace where, as historian Simon Schama put it,...
- 9/15/2023
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
Being stupid, as the saying goes, is like being dead – you’re oblivious either way, so it’s only really a problem for the people around you. The people around TV documentarian Philomena Cunk therefore, have a major problem.
At the end of January this year, America met Cunk properly for the first time when new show Cunk on Earth arrived on Netflix US. A documentary series follow-up to 2018’s Cunk on Britain, it’s an ambitious attempt to sum up the history of humankind in five half-hour episodes, made even more ambitious by the fact that it’s presented by a total moron.
A deliberate total moron, let’s be clear. Some apparently still aren’t clear that Philomena Cunk is not a real TV presenter but a character played by British comedy actor Diane Morgan. When Morgan appeared on US chat show Late Night With Seth Meyers earlier this year,...
At the end of January this year, America met Cunk properly for the first time when new show Cunk on Earth arrived on Netflix US. A documentary series follow-up to 2018’s Cunk on Britain, it’s an ambitious attempt to sum up the history of humankind in five half-hour episodes, made even more ambitious by the fact that it’s presented by a total moron.
A deliberate total moron, let’s be clear. Some apparently still aren’t clear that Philomena Cunk is not a real TV presenter but a character played by British comedy actor Diane Morgan. When Morgan appeared on US chat show Late Night With Seth Meyers earlier this year,...
- 6/30/2023
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Filmmaker Argam Gevorgyan’s experimental/music video hybrid short La Beaute takes the song of the same name by Palina and envelops it with a story of twin Armenian brothers who have to face a tragic goodbye. The most striking aspect of Gevorgyan’s film is its vertical format, this is a film designed to be watched on a phone. The vertical imagery makes for an aesthetically pleasing stylistic choice, with each frame tightly composed with a strong eye for detail, but it’s also a thematic one, reflecting the penned-in world Gevorgyan’s characters find themselves in. Dn is excited to present the film on our pages today and joined Gevorgyan for a conversation where he discusses the creative motivations of the vertical format, his ongoing relationship with Armenia’s history, and the challenge of getting the film off the ground financially.
What was the beginning of your collaboration...
What was the beginning of your collaboration...
- 11/18/2022
- by James Maitre
- Directors Notes
The BBC has unveiled a factual slate to take on the competition that includes more Louis Theroux Interviews, a Simon Schama personal exploration of post-1945 society, natural history series on a mass dinosaur graveyard and a third season of Race Across The World.
The slate was presented by newly appointed Director of Unscripted Kate Phillips at a press event yesterday morning in Central London, and featured a wealth of new shows and previews of pre-announced fare. Phillips was promoted in a protracted restructure following the departure of Patrick Holland to Banijay last year and she now oversees a huge brief incorporating documentaries, factual entertainment, specialist factual and arts.
Theroux’s series will see him interview the likes of Dame Judi Dench, Stormzy and Bear Grylls and press were treated to a clip in which he speaks to rapper Stormzy about his dating life.
The BBC stressed the slate is a...
The slate was presented by newly appointed Director of Unscripted Kate Phillips at a press event yesterday morning in Central London, and featured a wealth of new shows and previews of pre-announced fare. Phillips was promoted in a protracted restructure following the departure of Patrick Holland to Banijay last year and she now oversees a huge brief incorporating documentaries, factual entertainment, specialist factual and arts.
Theroux’s series will see him interview the likes of Dame Judi Dench, Stormzy and Bear Grylls and press were treated to a clip in which he speaks to rapper Stormzy about his dating life.
The BBC stressed the slate is a...
- 9/28/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
BBC have unveiled their fall/winter arts and factual slate including documentaries on Elon Musk and fashion designer Virgil Abloh, who tragically died last year at the age of 41, as well as a new Louis Theroux series in which he interviews stars including Judi Dench, Rita Ora and Stormzy.
“I’ve been in my new role for four months and I’ve been blown away by the sheer range, scale and quality of programming coming out of the factual, arts and classical music departments,” said Kate Phillips, director for unscripted. “From stand out documentaries like ‘The Real Mo Farah’ and ‘Freddie’s Field of Dreams’ to the BBC Proms and the launch of ‘Frozen Planet II,’ the team here are at the very top of their game, bringing audiences high impact, uniquely public service content at its very best. We’ve got plenty more to look forward to in the...
“I’ve been in my new role for four months and I’ve been blown away by the sheer range, scale and quality of programming coming out of the factual, arts and classical music departments,” said Kate Phillips, director for unscripted. “From stand out documentaries like ‘The Real Mo Farah’ and ‘Freddie’s Field of Dreams’ to the BBC Proms and the launch of ‘Frozen Planet II,’ the team here are at the very top of their game, bringing audiences high impact, uniquely public service content at its very best. We’ve got plenty more to look forward to in the...
- 9/28/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Fundraiser
Actors Jeremy Irons (“House of Gucci”), Sinéad Cusack (“Wrath of the Titans”) and Greta Bellamacina (“This Sceptred Isle”) are set to take part in a charity fundraising event for Ukrainian refugees on Wednesday evening in London.
The trio are set to give readings at the event, which will also include talks by journalist Misha Glenny and historian Sir Simon Schama about Putin’s Russia.
The Kiva Cello Quartet will also play.
Funds will go to the Wonder Foundation, its Polish partners, Panorama and Pontes, and Moldovan food business incubator Katalyst, all of whom are providing services from housing and employment to food and assimilation to hundreds of Ukrainian families fleeing the war.
“An Evening for Ukraine’s Refugees” takes place in Central London on Wednesday March 30. Tickets can be purchased here.
Detention
Viktor Marunyak, the elderly subject of Roman Bondarchuk’s IDFA winner and Ukraine’s 2016 Oscar entry “Ukrainian Sheriffs,...
Actors Jeremy Irons (“House of Gucci”), Sinéad Cusack (“Wrath of the Titans”) and Greta Bellamacina (“This Sceptred Isle”) are set to take part in a charity fundraising event for Ukrainian refugees on Wednesday evening in London.
The trio are set to give readings at the event, which will also include talks by journalist Misha Glenny and historian Sir Simon Schama about Putin’s Russia.
The Kiva Cello Quartet will also play.
Funds will go to the Wonder Foundation, its Polish partners, Panorama and Pontes, and Moldovan food business incubator Katalyst, all of whom are providing services from housing and employment to food and assimilation to hundreds of Ukrainian families fleeing the war.
“An Evening for Ukraine’s Refugees” takes place in Central London on Wednesday March 30. Tickets can be purchased here.
Detention
Viktor Marunyak, the elderly subject of Roman Bondarchuk’s IDFA winner and Ukraine’s 2016 Oscar entry “Ukrainian Sheriffs,...
- 3/28/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
An inter-generational zombie horror-comedy, an Alan Partridge-presented travelogue, Rowan Atkinson fighting a bee… 2021 British TV comedy is a broad church, and that’s before we’ve come to all the stand-ups slicing up their Edinburgh shows into streaming half-hours and Daisy May Cooper playing a 17th century witch. Here’s the info about those new shows and more.
This list will be kept updated through the year as new commissions, casting and release dates arrive. Here’s a look back at the new British comedies that arrived in 2020, here are the new British dramas on their way this year, and here are 2021’s best returning British TV series.
And Did Those Feet
In addition to a second series for The One Show-spoofing This Time With Alan Partridge, the son of Norwich is back to poke fun at the history TV genre. With a working title of And Did Those Feet,...
This list will be kept updated through the year as new commissions, casting and release dates arrive. Here’s a look back at the new British comedies that arrived in 2020, here are the new British dramas on their way this year, and here are 2021’s best returning British TV series.
And Did Those Feet
In addition to a second series for The One Show-spoofing This Time With Alan Partridge, the son of Norwich is back to poke fun at the history TV genre. With a working title of And Did Those Feet,...
- 1/12/2021
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
facebook
twitter
google+
As Raised By Wolves concludes its ace second series on Channel 4, we tip our caps to a cleverly written sitcom…
On the long list of things to like about Raised By Wolves—witty writing, new indelible comic archetypes, frank outlook and the nerdiest stream of Game Of Thrones references this side of our comments section—how much The Daily Mail dislikes it has to be somewhere near the top. You know you’re onto a good thing when your pilot episode gets a sneering one-star review from that quarter.
It’s little wonder the Mail failed to see the funny side of this Channel 4 sitcom. Raised By Wolves’ candid perspective is working class, female and mouthy, a combination loathsome to some but that sings hallelujah to the rest of us.
It’s not political tub-thumping that makes Raised By Wolves such reliable fun though. (As...
google+
As Raised By Wolves concludes its ace second series on Channel 4, we tip our caps to a cleverly written sitcom…
On the long list of things to like about Raised By Wolves—witty writing, new indelible comic archetypes, frank outlook and the nerdiest stream of Game Of Thrones references this side of our comments section—how much The Daily Mail dislikes it has to be somewhere near the top. You know you’re onto a good thing when your pilot episode gets a sneering one-star review from that quarter.
It’s little wonder the Mail failed to see the funny side of this Channel 4 sitcom. Raised By Wolves’ candid perspective is working class, female and mouthy, a combination loathsome to some but that sings hallelujah to the rest of us.
It’s not political tub-thumping that makes Raised By Wolves such reliable fun though. (As...
- 4/6/2016
- Den of Geek
In a letter published today in the UK’s The Guardian, artists across Great Britain including Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, Dame Hilary Mantel (Wolf Hall) and Simon Schama are rallying in support of Israeli-Palestinian dialogue versus cultural boycotts in a new group known as the Culture for Coexistence. The letter comes in response to a letter the newspaper published in February by 700 artists calling for the cultural boycott of Israel. That letter last winter, which…...
- 10/22/2015
- Deadline TV
In a letter published today in the UK’s The Guardian, artists across Great Britain including Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, Dame Hilary Mantel (Wolf Hall) and Simon Schama are rallying in support of Israeli-Palestinian dialogue versus cultural boycotts in a new group known as the Culture for Coexistence. The letter comes in response to a letter the newspaper published in February by 700 artists calling for the cultural boycott of Israel. That letter last winter, which…...
- 10/22/2015
- Deadline
UK TV ratings round-up - data supplied by Barb
Doctor Foster concluded with nearly 8 million viewers last night, according to overnight figures.
The Suranne Jones drama series on BBC One rose to 7.8 million (36.4%) from 9pm. It followed the Great British Bake Off final (13.4 million/54.8%), which became the most-watched TV show of the year.
On BBC Two, Great British Menu continued with 1.86 million (9.7%) from 7pm.
Denis Healey: The Best Prime Minister Labour Never Had? was watched by 635k (2.6%) afterwards, and The Face of Britain by Simon Schama logged 706k (3.3%).
Over on ITV, All Star Mr & Mrs was enjoyed by 2.61 million (10.2%) in the 8pm hour, with Midwinter of the Spirit interesting 1.22 million (5.7%) afterwards.
Channel 4's Location, Location, Location appealed to 736k (3%) before Grand Designs drew 2.17 million (10.1%) from 9pm. Million Pound Properties was seen by 1.08 million (7.6%).
On Channel 5, Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away averaged 1.23 million (5.7%) in the 9pm hour, and...
Doctor Foster concluded with nearly 8 million viewers last night, according to overnight figures.
The Suranne Jones drama series on BBC One rose to 7.8 million (36.4%) from 9pm. It followed the Great British Bake Off final (13.4 million/54.8%), which became the most-watched TV show of the year.
On BBC Two, Great British Menu continued with 1.86 million (9.7%) from 7pm.
Denis Healey: The Best Prime Minister Labour Never Had? was watched by 635k (2.6%) afterwards, and The Face of Britain by Simon Schama logged 706k (3.3%).
Over on ITV, All Star Mr & Mrs was enjoyed by 2.61 million (10.2%) in the 8pm hour, with Midwinter of the Spirit interesting 1.22 million (5.7%) afterwards.
Channel 4's Location, Location, Location appealed to 736k (3%) before Grand Designs drew 2.17 million (10.1%) from 9pm. Million Pound Properties was seen by 1.08 million (7.6%).
On Channel 5, Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away averaged 1.23 million (5.7%) in the 9pm hour, and...
- 10/8/2015
- Digital Spy
UKTV ratings roundup - data supplied by Barb
The Great British Bake Off achieved its highest ratings of the series so far as viewers discovered who made this year's grand finale.
The BBC One competition's chocolate-themed semi-final attracted a huge average overnight audience of 10.21 million (43.8%) at 8pm, peaking at 10.79m. This is the second-highest overnight ratings in its history, beaten only by last year's final.
Later, Doctor Foster continued with 5.99m (28.5%) at 9pm.
On BBC Two, Welcome to the Mosque interested 697,000 (3.0%) at 8pm, followed by Simon Schama's Face of Britain educated 800k (3.8%) at 9pm.
ITV's All-Star Mr & Mrs entertained 2.85m (12.3%) at 8pm (220k/1.0% on +1), while Midwinter of the Spirit spooked 1.31m (6.2%) at 9pm (150k/1.0%). The Champions League highlights scored 1.14m (7.9%) at 10pm (106k/1.4%).
On Channel 4, Location, Location, Location gathered 778k (3.4%) at 8pm (131k/0.6%), followed by Grand Designs with 2.08m (9.8%) at 9pm (317k/2.2%) and Forced Marriage Cops fascinated 1.01m...
The Great British Bake Off achieved its highest ratings of the series so far as viewers discovered who made this year's grand finale.
The BBC One competition's chocolate-themed semi-final attracted a huge average overnight audience of 10.21 million (43.8%) at 8pm, peaking at 10.79m. This is the second-highest overnight ratings in its history, beaten only by last year's final.
Later, Doctor Foster continued with 5.99m (28.5%) at 9pm.
On BBC Two, Welcome to the Mosque interested 697,000 (3.0%) at 8pm, followed by Simon Schama's Face of Britain educated 800k (3.8%) at 9pm.
ITV's All-Star Mr & Mrs entertained 2.85m (12.3%) at 8pm (220k/1.0% on +1), while Midwinter of the Spirit spooked 1.31m (6.2%) at 9pm (150k/1.0%). The Champions League highlights scored 1.14m (7.9%) at 10pm (106k/1.4%).
On Channel 4, Location, Location, Location gathered 778k (3.4%) at 8pm (131k/0.6%), followed by Grand Designs with 2.08m (9.8%) at 9pm (317k/2.2%) and Forced Marriage Cops fascinated 1.01m...
- 10/1/2015
- Digital Spy
The stars have come out in force to defend the BBC against government criticism.
Daniel Craig, Dame Judi Dench, Jk Rowling and Sir David Attenborough are among the names who have signed an open letter to David Cameron ahead of the BBC's Charter Review.
Describing the corporation as a "very precious institution", they have warned the Prime Minister that "a diminished BBC would simply mean a diminished Britain".
Rachel Weisz, Mark Rylance, David Walliams, Miranda Hart, Michael McIntyre, Steven Moffatt, Richard Curtis, Simon Schama and Sir Lenny Henry have also put their names to the letter.
They are joined by Gary Lineker, Clare Balding, Claudia Winkleman, Graham Norton, Chris Evans, Professor Brian Cox, Stephen Fry, Michael Palin, Lord Melvyn Bragg, Adil Ray, Jamie Oliver, Clara Amfo, Nick Grimshaw, Trevor Nelson, Annie Nightingale and Reggie Yates.
The letter reads: "The Government and the BBC are now entering the Charter Review. We...
Daniel Craig, Dame Judi Dench, Jk Rowling and Sir David Attenborough are among the names who have signed an open letter to David Cameron ahead of the BBC's Charter Review.
Describing the corporation as a "very precious institution", they have warned the Prime Minister that "a diminished BBC would simply mean a diminished Britain".
Rachel Weisz, Mark Rylance, David Walliams, Miranda Hart, Michael McIntyre, Steven Moffatt, Richard Curtis, Simon Schama and Sir Lenny Henry have also put their names to the letter.
They are joined by Gary Lineker, Clare Balding, Claudia Winkleman, Graham Norton, Chris Evans, Professor Brian Cox, Stephen Fry, Michael Palin, Lord Melvyn Bragg, Adil Ray, Jamie Oliver, Clara Amfo, Nick Grimshaw, Trevor Nelson, Annie Nightingale and Reggie Yates.
The letter reads: "The Government and the BBC are now entering the Charter Review. We...
- 7/15/2015
- Digital Spy
We consider the controversies surrounding BBC Two's sumptuous Wolf Hall adaptation, feat. Damian Lewis, Mark Rylance and Claire Foy...
2015’s roster of prestige dramas is particularly dense, but the BBC’s take on Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall might just have already claimed its crown as the most controversial. It arrived freighted with the baggage always attached to adaptations of acclaimed novels, and further burdened by some thorny controversies all of its own. Mantel’s spirited attack on philosopher-saint Thomas More and equally fervent defence of his nemesis and her hero, Thomas Cromwell, was always bound to ignite debate. That, of course, is before we even touch on the subject of that rogue c-word and the choice to film night-time scenes by candlelight. We want accuracy, but only on our terms; when it jars with our perceptions of the past, out it goes.
Despite its name, Wolf Hall is...
2015’s roster of prestige dramas is particularly dense, but the BBC’s take on Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall might just have already claimed its crown as the most controversial. It arrived freighted with the baggage always attached to adaptations of acclaimed novels, and further burdened by some thorny controversies all of its own. Mantel’s spirited attack on philosopher-saint Thomas More and equally fervent defence of his nemesis and her hero, Thomas Cromwell, was always bound to ignite debate. That, of course, is before we even touch on the subject of that rogue c-word and the choice to film night-time scenes by candlelight. We want accuracy, but only on our terms; when it jars with our perceptions of the past, out it goes.
Despite its name, Wolf Hall is...
- 3/3/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Former BBC executive Steve Condie has joined the Seven Network.s UK production co-venture 7Wonder as head of specialist factual.
Condie comes from Oxford Scientific Films where he executive produced series for the BBC and Channel 4 including the Philippa Gregory-presented The Real White Queen, Jimmy Doherty's Food Prices - The Shocking Truth and BBC Four's music and fashion series Oh You Pretty Things.
That follows last month's appointments of Chris Wilson as head of popular factual and Mish Mayer as head of development.
At the BBC Condie led the history development team in the factual division whose output included The Power of Art presented by Simon Schama,. The Seventies with Dominic Sandbrook and The British Family with Kirsty Young.
Wilson was commissioning editor for factual at Sky where he was responsible for projects including The Sun Set, Micky Flanagan.s Detour de France, Flintoff: From Lords to The Ring,...
Condie comes from Oxford Scientific Films where he executive produced series for the BBC and Channel 4 including the Philippa Gregory-presented The Real White Queen, Jimmy Doherty's Food Prices - The Shocking Truth and BBC Four's music and fashion series Oh You Pretty Things.
That follows last month's appointments of Chris Wilson as head of popular factual and Mish Mayer as head of development.
At the BBC Condie led the history development team in the factual division whose output included The Power of Art presented by Simon Schama,. The Seventies with Dominic Sandbrook and The British Family with Kirsty Young.
Wilson was commissioning editor for factual at Sky where he was responsible for projects including The Sun Set, Micky Flanagan.s Detour de France, Flintoff: From Lords to The Ring,...
- 10/24/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Educating the East End began tonight (September 4) and was just as heart-warming, moving and funny as ever. But after seeing episode one, we just had to find out more about English teacher Mr Bispham (also known as Joe), who went on such a huge journey during the episode. Read what he had to say about being on the show, being scared of teenage girls, 'bantaaah', how close he came to quitting and more below...
"It was surprisingly nice watching the first episode. I think there's always moments if you're on television where you hide behind the sofa a little bit. In my head, I sound like Richard Burton but in reality I think I sound like the bastard love child of Simon Schama and Jamie Oliver! And when things are going wrong it can remind you of those feelings at the time. But overall it's a lovely experience. One of...
"It was surprisingly nice watching the first episode. I think there's always moments if you're on television where you hide behind the sofa a little bit. In my head, I sound like Richard Burton but in reality I think I sound like the bastard love child of Simon Schama and Jamie Oliver! And when things are going wrong it can remind you of those feelings at the time. But overall it's a lovely experience. One of...
- 9/4/2014
- Digital Spy
Ian Hislop has mocked Noel Edmonds's attempts to launch a takeover of the BBC, claiming that the Deal or No Deal host's views on the institution were 'not really worth contesting'.
Edmonds has claimed that the licence fee needs to be scrapped and has made several public appearances dropping hints about a secret 'Project Reith' takeover of the broadcasting corporation.
When asked about Edmonds's recent comments, Hislop told Digital Spy: "I thought April 1st had come early. I don't think I want to be working for Noel. Shall we be honest here? If it's Deal or No Deal, then it's a 'no deal' from me.
"I'm not sure Noel's views are really worth contesting."
The Have I Got News For You star and Private Eye editor said that people might accuse him of having a vested interest in the BBC and its method of licence fee funding, but joked...
Edmonds has claimed that the licence fee needs to be scrapped and has made several public appearances dropping hints about a secret 'Project Reith' takeover of the broadcasting corporation.
When asked about Edmonds's recent comments, Hislop told Digital Spy: "I thought April 1st had come early. I don't think I want to be working for Noel. Shall we be honest here? If it's Deal or No Deal, then it's a 'no deal' from me.
"I'm not sure Noel's views are really worth contesting."
The Have I Got News For You star and Private Eye editor said that people might accuse him of having a vested interest in the BBC and its method of licence fee funding, but joked...
- 4/11/2014
- Digital Spy
Ian Hislop returns to BBC Two tonight for the first part in a new documentary series, Olden Days: The Power of the Past in Britain.
We caught up with the broadcaster to ask about the show, the future of the BBC and why he's refused to join the Twitterati.
What do you mean when you refer to 'the Olden Days' in your new show.
"The interesting thing about the olden days is that they are the history we would have liked to have been true, but often wasn't.
"One of the shows is about two of our great national heroes, one of whom probably didn't exist and the other for whom we constantly make up what we think is important at the time.
"The second one is about the British love of traditions. And Britain's best tradition is making up traditions. If we haven't got one, we make it up.
We caught up with the broadcaster to ask about the show, the future of the BBC and why he's refused to join the Twitterati.
What do you mean when you refer to 'the Olden Days' in your new show.
"The interesting thing about the olden days is that they are the history we would have liked to have been true, but often wasn't.
"One of the shows is about two of our great national heroes, one of whom probably didn't exist and the other for whom we constantly make up what we think is important at the time.
"The second one is about the British love of traditions. And Britain's best tradition is making up traditions. If we haven't got one, we make it up.
- 4/9/2014
- Digital Spy
Historian Simon Schama’s latest series, The Story of the Jews, concludes tonight on PBS. It’s a wonderful program, not just for the many fascinating and informative elements in it, but also for Schama’s presentation of the history. His guiding us through the series recalls old-school hosts in that it’s him, the history, and his passion for the topic first and foremost. Nothing is particularly spiced up with CGI, and it’s the historical facts, and Schama’s expertise with presenting them in an educational yet emotional way, connecting with audiences as he would with a classroom, that makes the show. His presentation … Continue reading →
The post Historian Simon Schama: “Too much obligation to have perfect balance” in history filmmaking today appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
The post Historian Simon Schama: “Too much obligation to have perfect balance” in history filmmaking today appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
- 4/1/2014
- by Jeff Pfeiffer
- ChannelGuideMag
Zap2it: You came into the subject knowing it well, so what blew you away?
Simon Schama: The many forms of the lust for life [among] actors and poets.
Zap2it: What binds Jews across lands, languages and centuries?
Simon Schama: The Torah is such a lot of Jewish life.
Zap2it: As the series shows, there have always been movements against the Jews, and anti-Semitism is growing in certain parts of the world. Do you have fear?
Simon Schama: I don't think we should go around in fear and trembling. One of the reasons I made this series is to hold your head up high. I am a Zionist.
Zap2it: Growing up in postwar England, what's the first anti-Semitism you recall?
Simon Schama: I was probably about 6 and living by Thames Estuary near Southend, a big kind of working-class seaside resort, seeing on the wall...
Simon Schama: The many forms of the lust for life [among] actors and poets.
Zap2it: What binds Jews across lands, languages and centuries?
Simon Schama: The Torah is such a lot of Jewish life.
Zap2it: As the series shows, there have always been movements against the Jews, and anti-Semitism is growing in certain parts of the world. Do you have fear?
Simon Schama: I don't think we should go around in fear and trembling. One of the reasons I made this series is to hold your head up high. I am a Zionist.
Zap2it: Growing up in postwar England, what's the first anti-Semitism you recall?
Simon Schama: I was probably about 6 and living by Thames Estuary near Southend, a big kind of working-class seaside resort, seeing on the wall...
- 4/1/2014
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Telling the story of the Jews is such an impossible task, it sounds like a routine Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks cooked up, just after the 2,000 Year Old Man.
The five-part series "The Story of the Jews With Simon Schama," though, is completely legitimate and scans further back than a mere couple of millennia.
Schama's brilliant take on history premieres on PBS in five one-hour installments on consecutive Tuesdays, March 25 and April 1 (check local listings).
It's an intricate look at a people who endure. Schama, who has racked up awards for his books and documentaries on history, art and literature, talks about how he initially shied away from tackling the subject.
"I had a slight sense, a residual sense that I was at my best when dealing with cultures not my own," Schama tells Zap2it.
He let the concept percolate for a while, and the result is the series and a companion book.
The five-part series "The Story of the Jews With Simon Schama," though, is completely legitimate and scans further back than a mere couple of millennia.
Schama's brilliant take on history premieres on PBS in five one-hour installments on consecutive Tuesdays, March 25 and April 1 (check local listings).
It's an intricate look at a people who endure. Schama, who has racked up awards for his books and documentaries on history, art and literature, talks about how he initially shied away from tackling the subject.
"I had a slight sense, a residual sense that I was at my best when dealing with cultures not my own," Schama tells Zap2it.
He let the concept percolate for a while, and the result is the series and a companion book.
- 3/25/2014
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
A father-and-son editing team has compiled a new anthology in which 100 prominent male figures reveal the lines that make them cry
The cover of a new collection of poetry should probably carry a sticker bearing Shakespeare's warning: "If you have tears, prepare to shed them now."
Poems That Make Grown Men Cry is an anthology of some of the most emotive lines in literature chosen by 100 famous and admired men, ranging from Daniel Radcliffe to Nick Cave, John le Carré and Jonathan Franzen. Published next month and edited by the journalist and biographer Anthony Holden and his film-producer son, Ben, the book is winning praise for introducing male readers to unfamiliar works – and emotions.
Contributor Simon Schama has tweeted enthusing about his choice, Wh Auden's Lullaby, the poem that opens with the words "Lay your sleeping head, my love, Human on my faithless arm." Auden turns out to be the...
The cover of a new collection of poetry should probably carry a sticker bearing Shakespeare's warning: "If you have tears, prepare to shed them now."
Poems That Make Grown Men Cry is an anthology of some of the most emotive lines in literature chosen by 100 famous and admired men, ranging from Daniel Radcliffe to Nick Cave, John le Carré and Jonathan Franzen. Published next month and edited by the journalist and biographer Anthony Holden and his film-producer son, Ben, the book is winning praise for introducing male readers to unfamiliar works – and emotions.
Contributor Simon Schama has tweeted enthusing about his choice, Wh Auden's Lullaby, the poem that opens with the words "Lay your sleeping head, my love, Human on my faithless arm." Auden turns out to be the...
- 3/23/2014
- by Vanessa Thorpe
- The Guardian - Film News
Acclaimed historian and Columbia University professor Simon Schama’s newest history series delves into the Jewish experience, from the start of their story 3,000 years ago to the present day, in the five-part PBS program The Story of the Jews With Simon Schama. The series is mesmerizing, and beautiful, especially considering the fact that Schama, an art historian and critic, often uses artwork as a gateway into many of the stories. Jewish history is sometimes thought of as black-and-white, and text-based, with not much colorful art, partly due to the fact that the people were often on the move. Schama himself … Continue reading →
The post Simon Schama tells “The Story of the Jews” for PBS appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
The post Simon Schama tells “The Story of the Jews” for PBS appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
- 3/21/2014
- by Jeff Pfeiffer
- ChannelGuideMag
Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse are to reunite for a one-off TV special.
Harry & Paul's Story of the Twos will see the comic duo mocking classic BBC Two stars to mark the channel's 50th anniversary.
The hour-long programme's title is a nod to Simon Schama's History of the Jews, while Enfield will narrate the show as Schama.
Among the 'programmes' featured on the show include Men Behaving Likely Ladly, The Old Grey Wrinkled Testicle and Grumpy Old Hasbeens.
Characters including Gerald Manley Paxman, John Cleese-Shop-Sketch, Mark Egghead, Germaine Dreary and Russell Somebody will also appear.
The Fast Show's Simon Day will also star in the one-off, alongside Kevin Eldon, Rosie Cavaliero and Catherine Shepherd.
Enfield said: "BBC Two gave me my big solo break with Harry Enfield's Television Programme almost 25 years ago. They have been loyal to us over decades. We therefore felt it was only right...
Harry & Paul's Story of the Twos will see the comic duo mocking classic BBC Two stars to mark the channel's 50th anniversary.
The hour-long programme's title is a nod to Simon Schama's History of the Jews, while Enfield will narrate the show as Schama.
Among the 'programmes' featured on the show include Men Behaving Likely Ladly, The Old Grey Wrinkled Testicle and Grumpy Old Hasbeens.
Characters including Gerald Manley Paxman, John Cleese-Shop-Sketch, Mark Egghead, Germaine Dreary and Russell Somebody will also appear.
The Fast Show's Simon Day will also star in the one-off, alongside Kevin Eldon, Rosie Cavaliero and Catherine Shepherd.
Enfield said: "BBC Two gave me my big solo break with Harry Enfield's Television Programme almost 25 years ago. They have been loyal to us over decades. We therefore felt it was only right...
- 3/19/2014
- Digital Spy
From new voices like NoViolet Bulawayo to rediscovered old voices like James Salter, from Dave Eggers's satire to David Thomson's history of film, writers, Observer critics and others pick their favourite reads of 2013. And they tell us what they hope to find under the tree …
Curtis Sittenfeld
Novelist
My favourite books of 2013 are Drama High (Riverhead) by Michael Sokolove, Sea Creatures (Turnaround) by Susanna Daniel, and & Sons (Harper Collins) by David Gilbert. Drama High is incredibly smart, moving non-fiction about an American drama teacher who for four decades coaxed sophisticated and nuanced theatrical performances out of teenage students who weren't privileged or otherwise remarkable and in so doing, changed their conceptions of what they could do with their lives. Sea Creatures is a gripping, beautifully written novel about the mother of a selectively mute three-year-old boy; when she takes a job ferrying supplies to a hermit off the coast of Florida,...
Curtis Sittenfeld
Novelist
My favourite books of 2013 are Drama High (Riverhead) by Michael Sokolove, Sea Creatures (Turnaround) by Susanna Daniel, and & Sons (Harper Collins) by David Gilbert. Drama High is incredibly smart, moving non-fiction about an American drama teacher who for four decades coaxed sophisticated and nuanced theatrical performances out of teenage students who weren't privileged or otherwise remarkable and in so doing, changed their conceptions of what they could do with their lives. Sea Creatures is a gripping, beautifully written novel about the mother of a selectively mute three-year-old boy; when she takes a job ferrying supplies to a hermit off the coast of Florida,...
- 11/24/2013
- by Ali Smith, Robert McCrum, Tim Adams, Kate Kellaway, Rachel Cooke, Sebastian Faulks, Jackie Kay
- The Guardian - Film News
What the critics thought of The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan, The Letters of John F Kennedy edited by Martin W Sandler, A Story Lately Told by Anjelica Huston
"The Valley of Amazement doesn't waste any time. The long opening sentence leads us quickly into the only high-class courtesan house in Shanghai run by a white woman, where innumerable complications soon arise. Amy Tan maintains the pace skilfully as we follow the story of three generations of women, spanning the transition from dynastic rule to the early 20th century and travelling from Shanghai to San Francisco and on to a remote village deep in the mountains of China." Krys Lee in the Ft welcomed Tan's sixth novel, and pointed out that although the author has been "accused of exoticising her Asian roots, particularly by Asian readers", and although The Valley of Amazement "can indeed be seen as romanticising cliches...
"The Valley of Amazement doesn't waste any time. The long opening sentence leads us quickly into the only high-class courtesan house in Shanghai run by a white woman, where innumerable complications soon arise. Amy Tan maintains the pace skilfully as we follow the story of three generations of women, spanning the transition from dynastic rule to the early 20th century and travelling from Shanghai to San Francisco and on to a remote village deep in the mountains of China." Krys Lee in the Ft welcomed Tan's sixth novel, and pointed out that although the author has been "accused of exoticising her Asian roots, particularly by Asian readers", and although The Valley of Amazement "can indeed be seen as romanticising cliches...
- 11/23/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Bradford Animation Festival | Cinecity Brighton Film Festival | Aldeburgh Documentary Festival | Korean Film Festival, China Image Film Festival | Russian Film Festival
Bradford Animation Festival
There's everything from CGI insects to lo-fi zombies on the screen at this inclusive event, which gives you features and shorts, for and by all ages, plus a dedicated gaming section. But there are also real, live people to recommend. Adam Buxton talks to anarchic image-mangler Cyriak, Steve Bell pays tribute to Roobarb creator Bob Godfrey, multi-disciplinary genius Dave McKean gives a masterclass, and stop-motion heroes Adam Elliot (of Mary And Max) and Lee "Claycat" Hardcastle are also here to talk about the finer points of plasticine.
National Media Museum, Tue to 16 Nov
Cinecity Brighton Film Festival
After 11 years, this festival knows what its citizens want: all things new and/or slightly leftfield. You'll get the hottest upcoming British and Us movies, led by Alexander Payne's latest,...
Bradford Animation Festival
There's everything from CGI insects to lo-fi zombies on the screen at this inclusive event, which gives you features and shorts, for and by all ages, plus a dedicated gaming section. But there are also real, live people to recommend. Adam Buxton talks to anarchic image-mangler Cyriak, Steve Bell pays tribute to Roobarb creator Bob Godfrey, multi-disciplinary genius Dave McKean gives a masterclass, and stop-motion heroes Adam Elliot (of Mary And Max) and Lee "Claycat" Hardcastle are also here to talk about the finer points of plasticine.
National Media Museum, Tue to 16 Nov
Cinecity Brighton Film Festival
After 11 years, this festival knows what its citizens want: all things new and/or slightly leftfield. You'll get the hottest upcoming British and Us movies, led by Alexander Payne's latest,...
- 11/9/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Press Release: PBS announced today its slate of Winter/Spring 2014 programs, including the long-awaited return of Masterpiece “Sherlock, Season 3” starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the legendary British sleuth, on Sunday, January 19 at 10 p.m. Et. The highly acclaimed “Sherlock” follows Season 4 of “Downton Abbey,” which debuts with eight new episodes January 5 on Masterpiece. The two shows bolster Sunday night as a hallmark of British drama on PBS, whose ratings that night have grown 26 percent (8-11 pm, 2011-12 season: 9/19/2011-9/23/2012 to 2012-13 season: 9/24/2012-9/22/2013) season over season. The schedule also reinforces PBS’ move into 10 p.m. programming on several key nights.
PBS also announced a number of new programs, including the real-life adventure series Chasing Shackleton, the broadcast premieres of biopics “Salinger” on American Masters (about the reclusive Catcher in the Rye author) and Hawking, an intimate portrait of physicist Stephen Hawking’s extraordinary life and career, along with a roster of...
PBS also announced a number of new programs, including the real-life adventure series Chasing Shackleton, the broadcast premieres of biopics “Salinger” on American Masters (about the reclusive Catcher in the Rye author) and Hawking, an intimate portrait of physicist Stephen Hawking’s extraordinary life and career, along with a roster of...
- 10/23/2013
- by theTVaddict
- The TV Addict
Bernardo Bertolucci, Jeanette Winterson and Paul Weller also among 75 public figures revealing favourite works
BBC Radio 4 is lining up 75 leading public figures, including film director Bernardo Bertolucci, singer Paul Weller and novelist Jeanette Winterson, to reveal their most treasured cultural influences for what the station claims will be one of the most comprehensive arts events broadcast.
The network has already confirmed 30 names for the project, Cultural Exchange, which will see individuals selecting a single item to talk about, with the choices ranging from the King James Bible to an obscure 1960s album.
It will feature every weekday on Front Row until the end of July.
Artist Tracey Emin will launch the series on 22 April with her insights into a Vermeer painting – Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid. She describes Vermeer as "one of the first feminists", pointing to the unusual and fascinating way he depicted women. "He showed that...
BBC Radio 4 is lining up 75 leading public figures, including film director Bernardo Bertolucci, singer Paul Weller and novelist Jeanette Winterson, to reveal their most treasured cultural influences for what the station claims will be one of the most comprehensive arts events broadcast.
The network has already confirmed 30 names for the project, Cultural Exchange, which will see individuals selecting a single item to talk about, with the choices ranging from the King James Bible to an obscure 1960s album.
It will feature every weekday on Front Row until the end of July.
Artist Tracey Emin will launch the series on 22 April with her insights into a Vermeer painting – Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid. She describes Vermeer as "one of the first feminists", pointing to the unusual and fascinating way he depicted women. "He showed that...
- 4/17/2013
- by Ben Dowell
- The Guardian - Film News
Jim Shapiro – The Kings Man 46
On April 16, Athena Learning are set to release the BBC documentary Shakespeare: The King’s Man on DVD in the U.S. This fascinating three part series chronicles the work of Britain’s greatest writer during the reign of King James I. Columbia University professor James Shapiro researched, wrote and presented the show. I recently had the opportunity to speak with him about this groundbreaking documentary.
What was the inspiration behind Shakespeare: The King’s Man?
“The executive producer Phil George approached me about making the documentary because he knew I was working on a follow-up to my book 1599 which won the Samuel Johnson award. I was starting to research Jacobean Shakespeare, which I had all but ignored up until that point. People think of Shakespeare as an Elizabethan writer when in fact the Tudor line ended in 1603 when the Stuart’s rose to power.
On April 16, Athena Learning are set to release the BBC documentary Shakespeare: The King’s Man on DVD in the U.S. This fascinating three part series chronicles the work of Britain’s greatest writer during the reign of King James I. Columbia University professor James Shapiro researched, wrote and presented the show. I recently had the opportunity to speak with him about this groundbreaking documentary.
What was the inspiration behind Shakespeare: The King’s Man?
“The executive producer Phil George approached me about making the documentary because he knew I was working on a follow-up to my book 1599 which won the Samuel Johnson award. I was starting to research Jacobean Shakespeare, which I had all but ignored up until that point. People think of Shakespeare as an Elizabethan writer when in fact the Tudor line ended in 1603 when the Stuart’s rose to power.
- 3/31/2013
- by Edited by K Kinsella
From a full programme of film and stage adaptations to a new James Bond novel, unpublished works by Rs Thomas and Wg Sebald and a new prize for women writers, 2013 is set to be a real page-turner
January
10th The Oscar nominations are announced unusually early this year. Keep an eye out for a bumper crop of literary adaptations, including David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, Yann Martel's Life of Pi, the David Nicholls-scripted Great Expectations, as well as Les Miserables, Anna Karenina and The Hobbit.
18th A new stage adaptation of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw at the Almeida theatre in London. In the year of the centenary of Benjamin Britten's birth, his musical version will also feature around the country in both concert and stage performances.
24th The finalists for the fifth Man Booker International prize will be announced at the Jaipur festival.
January
10th The Oscar nominations are announced unusually early this year. Keep an eye out for a bumper crop of literary adaptations, including David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, Yann Martel's Life of Pi, the David Nicholls-scripted Great Expectations, as well as Les Miserables, Anna Karenina and The Hobbit.
18th A new stage adaptation of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw at the Almeida theatre in London. In the year of the centenary of Benjamin Britten's birth, his musical version will also feature around the country in both concert and stage performances.
24th The finalists for the fifth Man Booker International prize will be announced at the Jaipur festival.
- 1/5/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Rupert Everett returns to dish the dirt in his second fearless and witty account of life with the A-list crowd
As sexist old Samuel Johnson said of a woman preaching, when an actor writes a book "it is not well done, but you are surprised to find it done at all". These are adults who spend their whole lives raiding dressing up boxes and speaking the words of others for a living, after all. Rupert Everett, like Richard E Grant and Kathy Burke, is the exception that proves the rule; he really can write, as his 2006 bestseller Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins – which took a bejewelled hatpin to the blow-up egos of co-stars Madonna and Sharon Stone, among others – proved. But despite reviews that, above the sound of easily impressed critics noisily wetting themselves, could be heard comparing him to Evelyn Waugh, Noël Coward and Lord Byron, the question...
As sexist old Samuel Johnson said of a woman preaching, when an actor writes a book "it is not well done, but you are surprised to find it done at all". These are adults who spend their whole lives raiding dressing up boxes and speaking the words of others for a living, after all. Rupert Everett, like Richard E Grant and Kathy Burke, is the exception that proves the rule; he really can write, as his 2006 bestseller Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins – which took a bejewelled hatpin to the blow-up egos of co-stars Madonna and Sharon Stone, among others – proved. But despite reviews that, above the sound of easily impressed critics noisily wetting themselves, could be heard comparing him to Evelyn Waugh, Noël Coward and Lord Byron, the question...
- 9/20/2012
- by Julie Burchill
- The Guardian - Film News
More and more people are watching live-entertainment television shows while simultaneously interacting with the content on mobile devices. But could 'second-screen' viewing also work for documentaries?
With the adoption of tablets and smartphones, watching TV has become something audiences participate in rather than just sit back and watch.
According to former Channel 4 executive Matt Locke, founder of multiplatform producer Storythings, some 60% of UK viewers now have a laptop or tablet computer running while they are watching television and are very often commenting on the show unfolding. "There has been a big consumer uptake of tablets and iPhones; we started noticing people talking about shows while watching them," says Locke.
Given this boom in so-called "second screen" viewing, there are some cutting-edge television creatives in the industry who predict that the traditional TV set in the corner of the lounge is in danger of turning into the second screen. "Tablets...
With the adoption of tablets and smartphones, watching TV has become something audiences participate in rather than just sit back and watch.
According to former Channel 4 executive Matt Locke, founder of multiplatform producer Storythings, some 60% of UK viewers now have a laptop or tablet computer running while they are watching television and are very often commenting on the show unfolding. "There has been a big consumer uptake of tablets and iPhones; we started noticing people talking about shows while watching them," says Locke.
Given this boom in so-called "second screen" viewing, there are some cutting-edge television creatives in the industry who predict that the traditional TV set in the corner of the lounge is in danger of turning into the second screen. "Tablets...
- 6/10/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
BBC Shakespeare Festival 2012
N Conrad
Click here to friend Best British TV on Facebook or here to follow us on Twitter.
If you are a fan of Shakespeare then Spring 2012 might not be a bard time for you to head over to the UK because the BBC are organizing a two month long celebration of his work. As Best British TV reported in November, a host of stars including Julie Walters and Jeremy Irons are set to star in new adaptations of Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. However, several new programs have now been produced including Prefaces To Shakespeare in which actors David Tennant, Ethan Hawke and Sir Derek Jacobi explore the stories behind some of the writer’s most famous works.
Fiona Bruce and the Antiques Roadshow team will be hosting an Elizabethan themed episode in the bard’s home town while Survivors star Patterson Joseph leads...
N Conrad
Click here to friend Best British TV on Facebook or here to follow us on Twitter.
If you are a fan of Shakespeare then Spring 2012 might not be a bard time for you to head over to the UK because the BBC are organizing a two month long celebration of his work. As Best British TV reported in November, a host of stars including Julie Walters and Jeremy Irons are set to star in new adaptations of Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. However, several new programs have now been produced including Prefaces To Shakespeare in which actors David Tennant, Ethan Hawke and Sir Derek Jacobi explore the stories behind some of the writer’s most famous works.
Fiona Bruce and the Antiques Roadshow team will be hosting an Elizabethan themed episode in the bard’s home town while Survivors star Patterson Joseph leads...
- 3/13/2012
- by admin
Awards ceremonies highlight the amateurism of modern public speeches – most are an exercise in tedium and torture
Adele's finger is not the issue. Nor is it the tyrannical "suits" who cut off the Brit Award winner's speech in full flow on Tuesday. Nor is it the power of money over human discourse or of Blur's music over Adele's oratory. The issue is that speeches go on too long. They all do. Damon Albarn rambled on interminably, leaving no time for Adele to do likewise. The rudeness was Albarn's, not the suits.
No power on earth seems able to curb the urge to speak too long. Most mature adults can, if ordered, drive more slowly, cut down on alcohol, eat less fat and try to love cats. But put them before an audience with a microphone in their hand and, however nervous, they end up speaking too long. Their audience may...
Adele's finger is not the issue. Nor is it the tyrannical "suits" who cut off the Brit Award winner's speech in full flow on Tuesday. Nor is it the power of money over human discourse or of Blur's music over Adele's oratory. The issue is that speeches go on too long. They all do. Damon Albarn rambled on interminably, leaving no time for Adele to do likewise. The rudeness was Albarn's, not the suits.
No power on earth seems able to curb the urge to speak too long. Most mature adults can, if ordered, drive more slowly, cut down on alcohol, eat less fat and try to love cats. But put them before an audience with a microphone in their hand and, however nervous, they end up speaking too long. Their audience may...
- 2/24/2012
- by Simon Jenkins
- The Guardian - Film News
TV historian Simon Schama has blasted Julien Fellowes's Golden Globe-winning Downton Abbey in an article for Newsweek. Schama branded the ITV1 period drama "cultural necrophilia" and was highly critical of Fellowes's portrayal of World War 1 in the show. Downton Abbey's second series is currently airing on PBS in the Us and has picked up higher ratings that critically lauded shows such as Game of Thrones and Mad Men. However, Schama has objected to the programme's success and its "cliches" about Britain in the early part of the 20th century. "Downton serves up a steaming, silvered tureen of snobbery," Schama wrote. "It's a servile soap opera that an American public desperate for something, anything, to take its mind off the perplexities of the present, seems only too happy (more)...
- 1/18/2012
- by By Alex Fletcher
- Digital Spy
By Christine Spines via Word & Film:
In the annals of provocative movie taglines, “Was Shakespeare a Fraud?” ranks right up there with “Meet the Marquis de Sade. The Pleasure Is All His.” Each of these works of marketing haiku was devised to entice and intrigue moviegoers into seeing films about literary transgressors (either on the page or in the sack) — seemingly heady subject matter that might at first glance look more like homework than titillating hot-button entertainment.
Nothing could be further from the case. The latter graced posters for “Quills,” the high-brow biopic, released in 2000, about the notorious eighteenth-century French author whose debauched and depraved writings landed him in an insane asylum. And you may have noticed the former ad copy printed in bold type across posters for “Anonymous,” director Roland Emmerich’s new piece of cinematic controversy kindling based on suspicions that William Shakespeare may not have authored the...
In the annals of provocative movie taglines, “Was Shakespeare a Fraud?” ranks right up there with “Meet the Marquis de Sade. The Pleasure Is All His.” Each of these works of marketing haiku was devised to entice and intrigue moviegoers into seeing films about literary transgressors (either on the page or in the sack) — seemingly heady subject matter that might at first glance look more like homework than titillating hot-button entertainment.
Nothing could be further from the case. The latter graced posters for “Quills,” the high-brow biopic, released in 2000, about the notorious eighteenth-century French author whose debauched and depraved writings landed him in an insane asylum. And you may have noticed the former ad copy printed in bold type across posters for “Anonymous,” director Roland Emmerich’s new piece of cinematic controversy kindling based on suspicions that William Shakespeare may not have authored the...
- 10/28/2011
- by Zoe Triska
- Huffington Post
"The old men I film," Tacita Dean tells Simon Schama in the Financial Times, "with witchily dark merriment," he notes, "as we sit on the terrace of her Berlin studio, 'seem to die just afterwards.' And indeed they do depart: the poet Michael Hamburger; the artists Mario Merz and Cy Twombly; the choreographer Merce Cunningham. But they will never be granted more subtly revelatory obituaries. Now Dean is facing an extinction against which she is fighting with everything she has: the death of film – real film, that is; 16mm celluloid, the indispensable medium of her work, the material that gives her art its uncanny presence. The laws of the marketplace have decreed that digital rules supreme; that film is no more than a quaint relic, and the champions of its immeasurable distinctiveness are deluded romantics. Dean grieves and rages against this smug indifference…. It strikes her as an appalling irony that Edwin Parker,...
- 10/12/2011
- MUBI
St Katharine Docks; Theatre Royal, Haymarket; Olivier, National Theatre; Southwark Playhouse, all London
Figures are pressed against a long pane of glass. They are spread-eagled, as if blown there by a huge wind, and aghast. In a restaurant a trio of widows meet on their shared anniversary, to tell the story of their year: one is eager to uphold the tradition, the others impatient to move on. A Muslim shopkeeper is visited by a well-heeled regular customer: she chucks a brick through his window.
In Decade, Rupert Goold has drawn on 20 writers to provide scenes about 9/11 and its legacy, and made an uneven but absorbing evening. His first good decision is to tackle the scepticism which most people will feel at the idea of making a catastrophe into a theatrical event. Miriam Buether's design puts the audience in the Windows on the World restaurant at the World Trade Centre, with...
Figures are pressed against a long pane of glass. They are spread-eagled, as if blown there by a huge wind, and aghast. In a restaurant a trio of widows meet on their shared anniversary, to tell the story of their year: one is eager to uphold the tradition, the others impatient to move on. A Muslim shopkeeper is visited by a well-heeled regular customer: she chucks a brick through his window.
In Decade, Rupert Goold has drawn on 20 writers to provide scenes about 9/11 and its legacy, and made an uneven but absorbing evening. His first good decision is to tackle the scepticism which most people will feel at the idea of making a catastrophe into a theatrical event. Miriam Buether's design puts the audience in the Windows on the World restaurant at the World Trade Centre, with...
- 9/10/2011
- by Susannah Clapp
- The Guardian - Film News
The Observer's critics pick the season's highlights, from Degas to Depp, and Britney to the Bard
September
1 Theatre: Decade In a former trading hall on London's St Katharine Docks, Rupert Goold's production evokes the legacy of 9/11, with the help of Simon Schama and Abi Morgan. Until 15 October.
4 Pop: Adele After her summer to die for (No1 album, ubiquitous single), Adele starts her UK tour in Plymouth. She's in London on the 19th and 20th and ends in Glasgow (25).
6 Dance: Tezuka New evening-length piece by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, inspired by the work of renowned Japanese manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Starring Daniel Proietto, the piece features a specially commissioned score by Nitin Sawhney. At Sadler's Wells until 10 September.
8 Pop: Bestival The Isle of Wight weekender always has a hefty line-up: this yearboasts new kids James Blake and Odd Future alongside the Cure, Brian Wilson and Björk.
9 Theatre: We are Three Sisters...
September
1 Theatre: Decade In a former trading hall on London's St Katharine Docks, Rupert Goold's production evokes the legacy of 9/11, with the help of Simon Schama and Abi Morgan. Until 15 October.
4 Pop: Adele After her summer to die for (No1 album, ubiquitous single), Adele starts her UK tour in Plymouth. She's in London on the 19th and 20th and ends in Glasgow (25).
6 Dance: Tezuka New evening-length piece by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, inspired by the work of renowned Japanese manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Starring Daniel Proietto, the piece features a specially commissioned score by Nitin Sawhney. At Sadler's Wells until 10 September.
8 Pop: Bestival The Isle of Wight weekender always has a hefty line-up: this yearboasts new kids James Blake and Odd Future alongside the Cure, Brian Wilson and Björk.
9 Theatre: We are Three Sisters...
- 8/27/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
Sally Lindsay has suggested that more "warmth" is needed on television. The former Coronation Street star will appear in Sky1's new comedy drama Mount Pleasant, which focuses on a group of people living in a fictional suburb of Manchester. Lindsay told What's On TV that she thinks people will enjoy the show because it has a lot of humour. "It's got a lot of laughs in it, which is rare for modern comedy," she said. "There's a lot of grittiness in TV at the moment. I'm a bit sick of gritty. Everything seems to have a Simon Schama's History of Britain wash on it. Everything's a bit dark. "We need a bit more warmth. There's warmth in things like The Royle Family and Coronation Street, and that's what we're (more)...
- 8/19/2011
- by By Catriona Wightman
- Digital Spy
From stage-door duties for the RSC, to the village famous for Straw Dogs, Observer writers reveal their idea of a perfect summer, past and present
● What are your tips for summer culture? Join the discussion
Kitty Empire
Pop critic
Let's be honest – the notion of summer as an extended golden period of rest and re-stimulation really now only applies to the young, the retired, or those in the teaching professions. The rest of us slog on, hoping to catch the odd festival (or maybe just gig in a park), marking time until camping in Cornwall or fly-drive to France, where finally luxuriating in the latest Alan Hollinghurst will come a distant second to stopping the youngest weeing in the hotel pool.
Once, though, I was artfully feckless too, making the rent by working as an usher for the Royal Shakespeare Company. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the...
● What are your tips for summer culture? Join the discussion
Kitty Empire
Pop critic
Let's be honest – the notion of summer as an extended golden period of rest and re-stimulation really now only applies to the young, the retired, or those in the teaching professions. The rest of us slog on, hoping to catch the odd festival (or maybe just gig in a park), marking time until camping in Cornwall or fly-drive to France, where finally luxuriating in the latest Alan Hollinghurst will come a distant second to stopping the youngest weeing in the hotel pool.
Once, though, I was artfully feckless too, making the rent by working as an usher for the Royal Shakespeare Company. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the...
- 8/1/2011
- by Kitty Empire, Mark Kermode, Rowan Moore, Philip French, Susannah Clapp, Laura Cumming, Luke Jennings, Fiona Maddocks, Rachel Cooke, Robert McCrum
- The Guardian - Film News
Happy Tuesday! I hope you all are excited for this weeks releases because it has one of my fave shows in it!
Dexter: Season 4
Miami forensics specialist Dexter Morgan (Golden Globe winner Michael C. Hall) has been so successful at keeping his secret life as a serial killer under wraps that no one -- not even his newly minted wife, Rita (Julie Benz) -- knows about his extracurricular activities. Dexter continues to count on the fact that nobody suspects him of murder. And then he commits it with reckless abandon. John Lithgow joins the fourth season in a Golden Globe-winning role.
Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter
Love this show! Don't want it to be over after next season. Michael C. Hall is a amazing actor. This show is original, smart, well written and well acted. If you have not gotten a chance to watch it you should.
Here's...
Dexter: Season 4
Miami forensics specialist Dexter Morgan (Golden Globe winner Michael C. Hall) has been so successful at keeping his secret life as a serial killer under wraps that no one -- not even his newly minted wife, Rita (Julie Benz) -- knows about his extracurricular activities. Dexter continues to count on the fact that nobody suspects him of murder. And then he commits it with reckless abandon. John Lithgow joins the fourth season in a Golden Globe-winning role.
Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter
Love this show! Don't want it to be over after next season. Michael C. Hall is a amazing actor. This show is original, smart, well written and well acted. If you have not gotten a chance to watch it you should.
Here's...
- 8/17/2010
- by Mars
- GeekTyrant
From the owner of a fish'n'chip shop to actress Kate Winslet, New York City is bursting with English people, and these expats, famous and not so famous, are the subject of a Jason Bell's stunning new series of photographs
Long before he'd mastered a camera, let alone become one of Britain's most successful portrait photographers of stars on both sides of the Atlantic, the seed was sown that Jason Bell would one day move to the Big Apple: "There was a picture of New York on the wall in my childhood home in Camden Town which fascinated me. I remember thinking, 'Wow, that's the capital of the world.'"
So in 2003, with a photography portfolio full of A-listers and several works in the National Portrait Gallery collection, Bell decided to buy an apartment in New York and divide his time equally between there and London. "I had this slight...
Long before he'd mastered a camera, let alone become one of Britain's most successful portrait photographers of stars on both sides of the Atlantic, the seed was sown that Jason Bell would one day move to the Big Apple: "There was a picture of New York on the wall in my childhood home in Camden Town which fascinated me. I remember thinking, 'Wow, that's the capital of the world.'"
So in 2003, with a photography portfolio full of A-listers and several works in the National Portrait Gallery collection, Bell decided to buy an apartment in New York and divide his time equally between there and London. "I had this slight...
- 8/14/2010
- by Imogen Carter
- The Guardian - Film News
BBC One's Survivors made a decent return last night, early viewing figures show. Series two of the post-apocalyptic drama, which stars Julie Graham, Zoe Tapper and Paterson Joseph, pulled in 4.45m (17.5%) at 9pm, coming first during the hour. The ratings for the show's second series opener were down on the performance of series one, which logged 5.33m (22.2%) for its premiere on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 and averaged 4.75m (19.7%) across its six-week run. Elsewhere at 9pm, Piers Morgan On Marbella took 4.08m (16.1%) for ITV1, 2.83m (11.1%) watched the season ten premiere of CSI on Five, and Channel 4's Celebrity Big Brother put in 2.8m (11.1%). BBC Two was last for the hour with Simon Schama On Obama's America, (more)...
- 1/13/2010
- by By Dan French
- Digital Spy
Cinematic evolution – the ability to take what has come before and advance it – is rarely a direct or strictly generational process. Filmmakers will usually have their own personal epiphanies in solitude, while connecting to the soul of a director through his film, not through personal knowledge of the individual. Martin Scorsese will admit the indelible influence that other filmmakers have had on him, and so to impart the knowledge of cinema on to other filmmakers, he has an apprenticeship, of sorts, in which he allows burgeoning directors to visit his set. Simon Schama has a very interesting article about in the Financial Times. One of the most interesting things about the article is the way in which it illuminates Scorsese’s unique subversion. His inspiration for Goodfellas was not, perhaps, traditional gangster films, but a black comedy, which ensures that his films, while set in a particular genre, take the...
- 11/2/2009
- by Jacob
- Beyond Hollywood
City Secrets guides have been called "the best literary gift to travelers since the Baedeker and Henry James" by the Financial Times, providing charming travelers’ companions to the world’s most fascinating cities. What made them different than the usual travel guides is that City Secrets offers reflections and discoveries from the authors, artists, and historians who know each city best. Earlier this year City Secrets released a book titled City Secrets Movies: The Ultimate Insider's Guide to Cinema's Hidden Gems, which promises to take an "intimate, insider’s approach to the arts, featuring brief essays and recommendations by esteemed figures in the film industry—including actors, directors, producers, and critics—and other writers and figures in the arts." Contributors of the book include Wes Anderson, Ken Auletta, Alec Baldwin, Adam Duritz, Milos Forman, John Guare, Arthur Hiller, Anjelica Huston, Barbara Kopple, Sidney Lumet, Simon Schama, Martin Scorsese, and Kenneth Turan,...
- 10/26/2009
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
The third Britain's Got Talent semi-final pulled in 12.75m (49.9%) for ITV1, according to overnight viewing figures. Last night's episode, which aired between 8.30pm and 10pm, saw Stavros Flatley and 12-year-old singer Shaheen Jafargholi put through to Saturday's final. The show came top during its slot, with a peak audience of 14.87m (56.2%) at 9.30pm. Over on ITV2, Britain's Got More Talent attracted 913k (5.4%) at 10pm, with a further 60k (0.7%) tuning in on timeshift. Five's CSI episode was affected by the clash, dropping to 1.91m (7.4%), while Talent's nearest rival, BBC One's Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor: The Link, was seen by 3.04m (11.8%) during the 9pm hour. Simon Schama's John Donne put in 860k (3.3%) for BBC Two at 9pm, and Channel 4's The Lost World War One Bunker: (more)...
- 5/27/2009
- by By Dan French
- Digital Spy
Digital Spy presents the full list of winners from the 2009 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, held today at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Best Single Drama
Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk To Finchley Best Drama Series
The Devil's Whore Best Single Documentary
Arena: The Agony And The Ecstasy Of Phil Spector Best Documentary Series
The American Future: A History By Simon Schama Best Comedy/Entertainment
Outnumbered Best Factual Entertainment
The Apprentice Best Multichannel Programme
Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk To Finchley Best Actor
Kenneth (more)...
Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk To Finchley Best Drama Series
The Devil's Whore Best Single Documentary
Arena: The Agony And The Ecstasy Of Phil Spector Best Documentary Series
The American Future: A History By Simon Schama Best Comedy/Entertainment
Outnumbered Best Factual Entertainment
The Apprentice Best Multichannel Programme
Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk To Finchley Best Actor
Kenneth (more)...
- 3/27/2009
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
Wire in the Blood finished its sixth series with a strong 4.47m (21.2%) on Friday night. The Robson Green drama has averaged 4.81m (22.4%) across its eight episodes, down only slightly on the 5.1m average for the last series, which aired over four weeks in 90-minute instalments on Wednesday nights. BBC One's Have I Got News For You averaged 5.07m (23.4%) at 9pm, on par with last week, then Little Britain USA amused 3.21m (15.7%). On Channel 4, Gordon Ramsay's Cookalong Live lost 600,000 on last week's strong opener to average 1.91m (9%) in the 9pm hour. The concluding part of BBC Two's The American Future: A History, By Simon Schama drew 1.65m (7.8%) and on Five, NCIS interested 1.13m (5.4%). Two episodes of Coronation Street brought in 8.6m (41.6%) and 8.38m (38%) at 7.30pm and 8.30pm respectively. EastEnders (more)...
- 11/2/2008
- by By Neil Wilkes
- Digital Spy
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.