Does Scotland have Talent?

BAFTA Scotland
New Talent Awards

The BAFTA in Scotland New Talent Awards took place just last week on Thursday the 22^nd of March. This was the 4^th 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

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 15^th 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.

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.

“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 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 20^th of June till the 1^st 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."

Butler to star in “Brilliant”

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.

“You’ve Been Trumped”

Few people would believe that a “multi-award-winning Scottish film” would bring humiliation to Scotland, but that’s what’s been suggested by Brian Wilson in an article on the “The Scotsman” newspaper website.

The documentary film in question, which has been named “You’ve Been Trumped”, is about American tycoon Donald Trump and his determination to create his multi-million pound golf course. Recently Trump boasted about building “The greatest golf course in the world.” This was despite protests by conservationists in Aberdeen trying to protect the environment and the angry locals who Trump was trying to force out of their homes with compulsory purchase orders.

The writer of the article says that the Scottish Government and Grampian Police should be ashamed of themselves. This also includes regular Scottish people who were aware of the issues but took little interest and didn’t take action against the golf course extravaganza. 

The director, Anthony Baxter, saw an opportunity to make the movie when he heard about the troubles, and had an inkling that the news wasn’t reporting the full story. Therefore Baxter took it upon himself to investigate, and speak to those involved: discovering that the local residents who campaigned against Trump’s golf plans were hounded by him.

Trailer:

Something to celebrate:

On a more positive note, the film, which was released in 2011, has been a massive success for the director, despite the Trump Organisation branding it as “a failure.” “You’ve Been Trumped” has won a magnitude of awards including “Best Documentary Award” at one of America’s largest film festivals and a “Social Justice Award” at Hamptons International Film Festival.

There is the possibility that a number of Scots are wondering why they were unaware of this achievement, and it is probably due to the fact that the “Scottish outlets [screening the film] to date have been minuscule.” Meaning that, ironically, very few people know about the documentary in Scotland.

Scottish Actor Shoots with Brad Pitt!

Raised in Edinburgh Ruari Cannon is a rising star and after appearing in Brad Pitt’s “World War Z” his future acting career looks promising. The movie, which was directed by Marc Forester, is about a U.N. employee racing around the world to save the population from a potentially deadly Zombie pandemic. The 20-year-old plays a zombie named Meth and has said this about the role:

“It was tough because my character is a zombie and is dead behind the eyes. He is supposed to have given up on life itself but he turns a corner.”

Shooting face-to-face with Brad Pitt himself the young actor learned a lot and received some specialist advice on his first ever film role. At just 17 it seems his talent was clear and Ruari won a Scholarship to study at the American Academy for Dramatic Arts in New York. Previously Cannon was heavily involved in stage productions such as “Oliver!”, “The Merchant of Venice” and “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

The city of Glasgow was lucky enough to play host to the film set of “World War Z” and last August part of the town was transformed into Philadelphia. Glasgow was home to around 1200 cast and crew and as a result of this the city has been said to have made around 2 million pounds in profit. Unfortunately the eagerly anticipated apocalyptic movie isn’t to be released in the UK until January 2013.

Here is a link to a newspaper article about the “World War Z” filming in Glasgow last year.