Monday, April 30, 2012

You're How Old?

Occasionally, when flicking through channels people feel the need to revisit their childhood and watch their old favourite TV programmes. This happened to me recently. So instead of studying or writing essays I thought I'd sit back and watch "Jungle Run": a game show where 3 young 'explorers' make their way through jungle tasks, collecting monkey statues in a bid to get enough time for the final game to win prizes. To make things better it was a 'celebrity special' with the cast of "My Parents are Aliens" (another classic) as contestants. The actors: Keith Warwick, Isabella Melling and Jordan Maxwell, who played Terence 'Trent' Clements, Wendy Richardson and Frankie Perkins respectively, took part in the kids version of "The Crystal Maze" for charity. Although no longer being produced, "Jungle Run" is endlessly repeated on CITV and ran from 1999 - 2008 after a decrease in popularity.
Michael Underwood - presenter of "Jungle Run"
The main cast of "My Parents are Aliens"
While watching that episode of "Jungle Run" I noticed how little Keith Warwick had changed, so in another attempt to dodge uni work I looked him up on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) to discover he was born in 1967! Now assuming my maths is correct that makes the Scottish actor 45 years old, meaning that he started playing teenager Trent when he was 32! How is that even possible? He looked about 14! 

In my shocked state I turned to facebook where a grand total of 10 people agreed with my assessment:



But it got me thinking and it seems there are quite a lot of adult actors pretending to be teenagers. For example:
  • The cast of "Glee" are in general a lot older than their roles such as 29-year-old Cory Monteith who plays a teenager in high school.
  • Again in the "Twilight" saga the majority of characters are quite a bit younger than the actors that play them. For example Robert Pattinson, who plays the lead male; Edward Cullen, is 8 years older than his character.
  • Here is a further article listing some of the more dramatic age differences between actors and their respective characters.

Glasgow born Warwick has done much more since his 6 year stint on "My Parents are Aliens" and proclaims to be an actor, writer and composer. He has also been involved in projects such as "The Wicker Tree" (2010) and "The Creatures" (2008) which is a short film about the disturbing memories of a young girl.

Apologies



This blog has been slightly neglected lately, but that's about to change as there are some posts planned out and ready to be written up!


However, first of all, an apology is owed for jumping ship and failing to post anything in the last month. Sorry!!

Monday, April 2, 2012

Maggie Smith’s Indian Adventure

Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, more commonly known as “Maggie” is an acting legend. So how could this be a blog on Scotland’s Film Scene without mentioning someone of her calibre?


Having been performing for 60 years she is still going strong with her most recent release being in “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel." Smith portrays a hard-nosed bigoted woman called Muriel, who gradually begins to soften and show a more vulnerable side after spending time in India for a hip replacement. The film features a number of elderly people who have all travelled to India for different reasons, after being advertised the false image of a beautiful hotel. The reality is far from what they originally thought, however, with the hopeless but loveable hotel manager, Sonny, who is struggling to fulfil his dreams; played by Dev Patel the star of “Slumdog Millionaire.” Amongst the cast are fellow acting heroes: Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy. The heart-warming film follows the characters through huge milestones in each of their lives and sees unlikely relationships blossom.


Cast of "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

As Professor McGonagall
Maggie Smith has also recently starred in much loved TV series “Downton Abbey” where she plays the character of Violet Crawley. And, of course, playing the role of Professor McGonagall in the mammoth “Harry Potter” franchise, which made the author; J.K. Rowling worth an estimated £620 million ($1 billion) as of March 2011 and created a world-wide fan base.



Smith is also involved in the comedy, drama “Quartet” which isn’t to be released until November 2012. Staring alongside Michael Gambon and Billy Connoly, Dame Maggie plays Jean who causes trouble for her ex-husband Reggie and other residents living in the home for retired opera singers. Directed by Dustin Hoffman, the film’s storyline revolves around residents who want to take part in a birthday concert, with the character of Jean acting like a diva and disrupting the show.


Friday, March 30, 2012

Does Scotland have Talent?

BAFTA Scotland
New Talent Awards
The BAFTA in Scotland New Talent Awards took place just last week on Thursday the 22nd of March. This was the 4th year for the awards ceremony which was held in Oran Mor, Glasgow and hosted by Scottish author and broadcaster; Muriel Gray. An article in the Scotsman online suggested that young talent are descending on Scotland to make their way in the film industry; which gives Scotland a positive image and high hopes for the future.

Channel 4 Sponsors
The award’s covered all areas of the film industry, giving recognition to those working behind the scenes as well as in front of the camera. The awards, which are sponsored by Channel 4 and Creative Scotland, included categories such as: best animation, editor and original music (full list at bottom of blog post). This year’s nominees were form all over the world bringing an international vibe to the Scottish awards and a diverse range of talent in the film industry.
Creative Scotland Sponsors

However the night belonged to friends Ainslie Henderson and Anna Ginsburg who were both competing against one another in the Best Animation category. In the end Ainslie won with his film: “It’s About Spending Time Together” but Anna wasn’t left empty handed as she went on to scoop the ceremony’s most prestigious award of Best New Work. The winning film was the clever and imaginative stop-frame animation “How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep?” which she created for indie music band: “The Bombay Bicycle Club.”
Anna Ginsburg - Director

“How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep?” video:


Here's a link to the BAFTA website and the full list of awards and winners below:

Animation – “It’s About Spending Time Together”
Director/Writer: Ainslie Henderson
Producer: Donald Holwill

Actor/Actress – Lynn Murray in “Falling for Fitzgerald”

Director of Photography – Hakon Palsson for “No More Shall We Part”

Editor – Johanna Erholtz for “The Taxidermist”

Factual: Over 30 Minutes – “How to Start a Revolution”
Director/Writer: Ruaridh Arrow

Factual: Under 30 Minutes – “Kirkcaldy Man”
Director/Producer: Julian Schwanitz

Fictional: Under 30 Minutes – “Rabbit Punch”
Director/Writer: Neil Hartop
Producers: Sara Forbes and Stuart Condy

Game – “Sculpty”
Team Tickle

Original Music – “An Interrupted Story”
Gareth Griffiths

Writer – Agata Jagodzinska for “Secret of Confession”

New Work – “How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep?”
Director/Writer: Anna Ginsburg
Producer: Jared Taylor


Saturday, March 24, 2012

Amy Pond Ventures Across the Pond for New Movie!


From the show's Official Facebook page! 
Today, Cardiff was lucky enough to play host to the first official “Doctor Who” Convention. Matt Smith attended for a special panel along with fellow stars Arthur Darvill and Scottish born Karen Gillan who plays Amy Pond in the series. As well as the panel other highlights of the convention included workshops, autograph signings and memorabilia. Fans were desperate for information on the upcoming series and were informed by The Doctor himself (Matt Smith) that the Weeping Angels were due to make an appearance!

Weeping Angel
However, attention soon drifted to the impending departure of Karen Gillan, The Doctor’s assistant, and her on-screen husband Rory. According to the Daily Record: Steven Moffat (a writer for the Nation’s treasured TV show) described their exit as a “heartbreaking” storyline. Gillan, from Inverness, has had a staring role for the last two series and grew massively popular with fans, although her character has received some criticism for her “sexy demeanour.” It was also reported that she will be replaced by Emmerdale actress: Jenna-Louise Coleman. But no matter how good her replacement turns out to be, the Scottish redhead will be greatly missed after having such a strong impact on the show and their dedicated fan base.


For any “Doctor Who” fans the official twitter page just announced that the latest season’s teaser trailer will go online on Monday! 
Here's a link to the show's twitter page for more information about the "Doctor Who" series and they use hashtag #DoctorWho!

The former model is moving on from the series with her latest role in the TV movie “We’ll Take Manhattan.” The film was broadcast on the BBC on the 15th of February 2012. Karen plays the role of unknown model Jean Shrimpton, who is sent away with photographer David Bailey (Aneurin Barnard) to do a photo shoot in New York. But of course it isn’t that simple, the movie features a wild week of love affairs, fights and drama. The story revolves around how the pair inadvertently manage to change the world of fashion forever.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

A Trio of Treats for Ewan McGregor Fans

Yesterday it was reported that, Scottish born actor and household name Ewan McGregor expressed his anger to cinemas about overpricing and putting people off attending the pictures, as well as his hatred off people chewing noisy food and sweets during films! 



He currently has three projects set to hit our screens both this year and in 2013:


First of all, McGregor has recently finished new movie “The Impossible” which will be released in America later this year. The film is based on the horror of the 2004 tsunami in Thailand where a family become caught up in the mayhem along with thousands of strangers on what was intended to be a winter vacation in the sun. McGregor plays Henry, the husband to Maria (Naomi Watts) with writer Sergio G. Sánchez and director Juan Antonio Bayona.


Next on the agenda is “Jack the Giant Killer” which is a modern day fairy tale about an ancient war which is unwittingly restarted by a young farmhand who accidently unseals a gateway between the world of giants and their own. A battle between the two forces quickly resumes as the giants try to win back land form Earth that they lost centuries before. The character of Jack is forced to fight against creatures, which he thought only existed in legend, to save his fellow people. In this fantasy, adventure film, directed by Bryan Singer, McGregor plays a character called Elmont and it is to be released in 2013.

“Jack the Giant Killer” trailer:

The third and final project is a TV drama about a dysfunctional family with three generations meeting for their last Christmas gathering in the family home. Ewan plays the role of Chip in “The Corrections” (2013) and stars alongside the likes of Anthony Hopkins and Maggie Gyllenhaal in the Midwestern household.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

“Brave” Scottish film saves the day?


In recent years the Edinburgh International Film Festival has been struggling slightly with securing finance, and last year in 2011 it was described as a “flop” despite its long and prestigious history. But fortunately for the festival the new animated Disney-Pixar film “Brave” could save the day! Set in the Scottish Highlands and due to be released later this year, the film festival has managed to secure the European premier of the movie for their finale. And the film’s world premier is expected to go to HollywoodStaring the (voices of) Scottish actor Billy Connolly with Kelly Macdonald playing the lead role of Merida.


Trailer:

Alex Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister, was lucky enough to experience an exclusive screening of clips from the film, which is expected to boost Scotland’s tourism, and he seemed suitably impressed. The plot revolves around the character of Princess Merida who is determined to take control of her own life and gain independence from her parents; a slightly more modest ambition than Salmond’s aim for an independent Scotland.

A word on the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2012:
Running from the 20th of June till the 1st of July there’s still plenty of time to get involved or even work at this year’s festival with a link to their website.


Kelly Macdonald:
The Scottish actress is known for playing Diane in the independent film “Trainspotting” (1996) as well as her more recent mainstream roles including Evangeline in “Nanny McPhee” (2005) and Helena Ravenclaw also known as “The Grey Lady” in the finally Harry Potter movie (2011).


Macdonald was also mentioned in one of the previous blog posts as she stars in “The Decoy Bride” with David Tennant.

As Billy Connolly also features in "Brave" playing the role of King Fergus, here is a link to the blog about his part in movie adaptation of "The Hobbit."