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.
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”
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.
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.
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 ScottishHighlands
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 Hollywood. Staring 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."
Paisley born, Gerard Butler has managed to
land his first film role since leaving rehab for his drug addiction.
Butler recently emerged
after his three-week stint in rehab but before then had successfully managed to
keep his dependency on drugs private. Unlike other celebrities in the public
eye, such as: Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, whose issues were plastered all
over the fronts of tabloids and magazines. He was described as “looking fresh
and happy,” by perezhilton.com after the treatment for his abuse
of prescription painkillers came to a conclusion. He was also reported to be
back to business just one day after his departure from the clinic.
Butler will play a minor criminal working
with a female thief and the pair are to attempt the largest ever diamond
robbery in history. He will play the lead in “Brilliant” taking over from Eric
Bana, who bailed out of the project. The film, which isn’t to be released until
2013, will be directed by Robert Luketic, with Gillian Gorfil as the screenplay
writer. But is it wise to hire Butler so soon after his emergence from rehab, with the possibility of a relapse which could threaten to derail the whole project? It's certainly a risk, which the producers will be praying pays off!
Scotland’s Gerard Butler is known worldwide
and here are just a few projects he has been involved with:
Butler was recognised for his portrayal of the character: King
Leonidas in 300 (2006), where he and a 300 strong army fought the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 B.C.
In
“P.S. I Love You” (2007) he played a charming Irish man: Gerry, who left his
wife (played by Hilary Swank) 10 messages to help her through the grieving
process and ease her pain after his premature death.
In
2010 he starred alongside Jennifer Aniston in “The Bounty Hunter.” When doing
his job hunting down criminals he discovers that his ex-wife is the next target
in the action filled romantic comedy.
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