Friday, 28 December 2012

INTERVIEW: The Imposter Director Bart Layton at the British Independent Film Awards 2012


Director Bart Layton's film The Imposter picked up two awards, plus received nominations for Best British Independent Film, Best Director, Best Achievement In Production and Best Technical Achievement.

The Imposter centres on a Texas family whose teenage son who has been missing for three years, turns up, in Spain and can now only speak with a Spanish accent. This true story gives accounts from the family, the authorities and the young Frenchman Frederic Bourdin who was found to be an imposter during investigations, exploring just how and why the family opened him into their family, despite worryingly massive missing pieces in the puzzle.

The following interview took place at the Moet British Independent Film Awards in London on 9th December 2012. 


Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 13:35

INTERVIEW: Broken Director Rufus Norris and Cast at the British Independent Film Awards 2012

The Moët British Independent Film Award for Best British Independent Film goes to... Broken! At the 15th year of celebrating all that is incredible in the world of British independent film-making, I was treated to the cavalcade of Broken cast and crew who were in visibly high spirits (one or two who also may have taken advantage of the copious amounts of champers being handed out by the evenings sponsors, quite rightly so) to discuss their win.

In front of me, just about, sat Broken Director Rufus Norris, Editor Victoria Boydell, Producers Nick Marston and Dixie Linder and actors Eloise Laurence, Robert Emms, Clare Burt and Bill Milner, squeezed in and ready to celebrate at the after-party about to commence.

This was Rufus' debut film, an impressive way to make an entrance on the film-making scene.
Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 12:01

INTERVIEW: Berberian Sound Studio Director Peter Strickland - British Independent Film Awards 2012

Berberian Sound Studio picked up no less that four awards for the coveted title of Best Director, Best Actor (for Tony Jones' performance as Gilderoy), Best Achievement In Production and Best Technical Achievement for the sound design (also nominated again in this category but for Cinematography) plus a host of nominations including Best Screenplay and Best British Independent Film. Impressive, frankly.

Elated as you can imagine, I met award winning Berberian Sound Studio Director Peter Strickland after he had just been handed one of his many awards. Amusingly, fighting the constant rapturous applause and live music happening in the awards hall next door, the following interview with Peter reveals his unique passion and observation for the seemingly mundane everyday sound and how it resulted in the winning film of the night.

Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 11:20

Sunday, 23 December 2012

INTERVIEW: Sightseers Alice Lowe & Steve Oram at the British Independent Film Awards 2012

Alice Lowe and Steve Oram get ushered in to our little press room in a whirlwind of PR reps and a constant hum of best-friend banter between the two. They sit, still jesting with each other, without barely even noticing the interview has begun; a constant level of laughter is the stand-out feature throughout. In fine fettle after their minutes-ago win for the BIFA 2012 Best Screenplay award, Alice answers most of the questions, constantly looking to Steve for reference and amusing back-up. Behind that particularly impressive home-grown beard, Steve's face lights up when conversation of it and his heritage are discussed,  along with illegalities of dog bottom-licking. (You really need to see this film.)

Sightseers is easily summed up as a 'pitch black comedy' death-trip which focuses on the developing relationship between the two leads, Tina [Alice Lowe] and Chris [Steve Oram]. Throw in some scenes of Cumbria hills, cute dog and a caravan, you have a quintessentially perfect English film that you can see America attempting to remake in the not-too-distant future.

Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 11:45

Wednesday, 19 December 2012

INTERVIEW: James Floyd at the British Independent Film Awards 2012

James Floyd won Most Promising Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards this year for his role in My Brother The Devil, a film about gangland London from the perspective of two young British Arab brothers. 

The following interview took place at the Moet British Independent Film Awards in London on 9th December 2012.


GG: You gave a very heartfelt speech about your award win, directing many thanks to your family. So how important is family to you as a new actor? Are you still getting to grips with the industry?



James: Yes, I’m still getting to grips with the lights [this interview took place after a red carpet stint with the paparazzi and his win on stage] and people asking me questions and press conferences – this is all new to me, but nice. It’s taken about six, seven years to get here – that’s why family is so important. During the tough years you need that support system to keep you going. It’s not easy being an actor who is working but has no money. For that reason and many others, an emotionally supportive family is the most important thing – and that’s not just your blood family, but people who are close; your loved ones.
Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 23:10

Sunday, 16 December 2012

INTERVIEW: Olivia Colman at the British Independent Film Awards 2012

After winning the coveted Best Actress award last year for Tyrannosaur, Peep Show's Olivia Colman made a raptuous return to the British Independent Film Awards with another win for her work in Hyde Park On Hudson. Fantastic at playing comedic roles in films such as Hot Fuzz and Confetti to cult British television series including Look Around You and Green Wing, Olivia is gaining equal notoriety for her more gritty, straight-laced roles, and deservedly so. Genuinely shaken a little with nervous excitement from her win, Olivia's giddiness came through during my interview with her, inescapably British, over-apologising when she couldn't find the right words. I found her reaction to the win incredibly touching and one of the most down-to-earth actors I've had the pleasure to meet.

The following interview took place at the Moet British Independent Film Awards in London on 9th December 2012.

Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 22:23

INTERVIEW: Andrea Riseborough at the British Independent Film Awards 2012

Shadow Dancer's Andrea Riseborough made an entrance akin to that of the golden Hollywood luminaries in a stunning black dress and cool red-carpet confidence to match the wintry temperature outside. In front of me, the statue of sassiness had been diluted, now replaced with genuine astonishment for picking up her first win at the British Independent Film Awards. You may know of Andrea from Madonna's W.E. or Brighton Rock [2011]. Her television work consists of, amongst many others, The Devil's Whore [2008] and you may have spotted her as the original ghost Annie from the the pilot of Being Human.
 
Andrea co-stars with a particularly strong cast in Shadow Dancer, with the company of Gillian Anderson [The X-Files, Any Human Heart] and Clive Owen [Children Of Men, The Bourne Identity]. 

The following interview took place at the Moet British Independent Film Awards in London on 9th December 2012.

Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 21:00

INTERVIEW: Rory Kinnear at the British Independent Film Awards 2012

At the British Independent Film Awards 2012 I grabbed five minutes with Best Supporting Actor award winner, Rory Kinnear. Son of comedy character actor Roy Kinnear of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, The Three Musketeers and George & Mildred fame (and brilliantly the voice of Bulk in 80s children's series Super Ted), it was a fantastic night to see him in such fine fettle carrying on the artistic Kinnear gene, albeit it for a role that on first experience, is anything but jocose.

In Broken, Rory plays Bob Oswald, a recently widowed father of three young girls, with a ticking time-bomb of an explosive temper. When ignited, the detrimental shock-wave effect on his neighbours within the unassuming cul-de-sac, fuses the families together to an altogether moving and warming story of pure heart.

Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 11:51

Friday, 14 December 2012

INTERVIEW: Sir Michael Gambon at the British Independent Film Awards 2012

As Michael settles himself in front of me, he reflects on the montage that had just played of all of the films he had appeared in throughout his highly acclaimed, extensive career. The films included Wives and Daughters, The Singing Detective, The Good Shepherd, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and The King's Speech. Not forgetting his portrayal of Dumbledore from the Harry Potter franchise that younger film fans will certainly recognise.

I met Sir Michael at the British Independent Film Awards 2012 after he had just come off stage from receiving the prestigious Richard Harris Award for his distinguished and outstanding contribution as an actor to the film industry...
Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 22:29

Wednesday, 14 November 2012

Zombie Apocalypse? I'll be dead 2.8 Hours Later

Zombies. Shambling, mucky, undead. What's not to love? Halloween being THE best time of the year requires celebration...and forward planning. In June, yes June, I booked our Halloween event in the form of the live 'city-wide zombie chase game', 2.8 Hours Later.

Despite the name, obviously a clever take on Danny Boyle's apocalyptical 28 Days Later, I hoped would allude to more the idle, classic sloth-like shuffler zombies of the Romero Night Of The Living Dead and Raimi's The Evil Dead profile. That, and they aren't called the 'the walking dead' for giggles, right? Wrong! The producers of the event, SlingShot Effect had no mean feat on their hands. Spanning the UK, since 2010 they have been taking on an array of cities and subjecting the locals to an entertaining site of thrill-seeking loons in a big game of cat and mouse. The simple childlike fear of being tagged 'it' is the essence of this game. Added to this a healthy dose of mouldy improv volunteers, a city as your playground and zombies that gain speed as the game wears on, you have a superb night for all big kids who fancy burning off a little of that trick or treat calorific bounty kept back from the neighbourhood youngsters.

On 2nd November (a belated Halloween), along with four friends, we descended upon London's Isle of Dogs for an evening of scream, scare and titter. Oh, and we were dressed as KISS.

Ever since Sarah Connor looked wistfully into the dusty distance mulling mankind's future, sat alone in her Jeep at the end of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, I've wondered how I'd fare if we were all faced with extinction. Seriously, I have. Now, I'm no gym bunny. I have sugar in my tea and sweet canines the tooth fairy can bank on. But despite the muscle revival from short bursts of action while desperately trying to evade the festering clutches of scrub wearing rotters, I can officially say, that I am going to be useless come the world-shattering pandemic. Bugger. I think I had convinced myself that a conditioned Sarah Connor style icy outlook would be enough. Heck, 'if Shaun (of the Dead) could survive, I surely can', was my inner mantra too. Turns out, when you are cornered in a nine storey carpark with zombies at every slope, stairwell and fire exit, it takes a little more than thinking you're Chuck Norris to get out of such a scrape. So I was fondly termed 'infected' soon in to the game, along with a good percentage of the rest of my team, I might add. But never one to be down hearted (or should that be 'dead hearted'?), all infected got to carry on where they left off, to become the hero of the hour, or, like me, get caught a few more times in a midnight-dark park and a genuinely funny-but-scary underpass or two, before arriving at the 'zombie disco' to drown our sorrows in bonus fake blood and a drink or two.

Bravo. My hat goes off to the organisers. Safety was paramount but handled without marring the silly and fun aim of the night. A lot of the crowd had made an effort by dressing up in costumes, adding to the spectacle. From Misfits to a skulk of foxes, we as 70s rockers to The Walking Dead Sheriffs, with a mind easily opened to the spookier side of life, it was a totally unique, invigorating and brilliant experience!

Now, I'm off for a run...




Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 10:22

Tuesday, 13 November 2012

AUDIO: Ray Harryhausen; Special Effects Titan Q&A at Gate Picturehouse

Born in the 80s? Then Christmas time, if anything like mine, was spent in front of the television, with He-Man and Moss Man figures cast aside to duel by themselves as I was enveloped in my world within that box of pixels and fluorescence.

Christmas has always been a time of favoured repetition, a day or two to relax and indulge, rarely changing from the last, doubtlessly changing much to the next. The Brussel sprouts and spring greens bubbled away as my mother conjured up a magical festive feast, sisters carried out their ritual of squabbling over their stocking filler triumphs in the background and Dad, having cleverly bored us to yawns by putting on The Great Escape, would be left in his grown-up haven of wrapping-paper strewn solitude in the living room downstairs.

Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 17:43

Wednesday, 17 October 2012

Time Machine Adventures & Events


 I like being busy. So since my last post, I thought I'd screw my business head on a little tighter and see if I could put a little of my event experience to some further use with a new venture; TIME MACHINE ADVENTURES.


Kicking off, myself and my partner Tom will be hosting a night of steam powered nautical frivolity with STEAMPUNK ON THE THAMES!


On 7th December 2012, proudly in association with Topsail Events, we invite you to step aboard
THE SAILING BARGE WILL for a riverine adventure upon Old Father Thames!

Marvel at the many lights as you cruise along the river, wonder as Tower Bridge opens; especially for YOU!

See the architectural masterpieces at Greenwich and pass between hemispheres of East and West as you view the worlds largest circus tent at Blackwall, at no extra cost!

As an extra treat, we have in attendance the 'Master of silliness and Far Fetched Fiction', author Robert Rankin!

Tickets for this unique event are priced at an amazing introductory price of just

£36 Stirling Each


Our events will offer a unique experience in that they are genre or time period specific. 

Follow Time Machine Adventures on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timemachineevents
Follow Time Machine Adventures on Twitter: https://twitter.com/timemachinead
Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 23:27

Sunday, 24 June 2012

Back, with a vengeance...

After a couple of months of neglect, I’m back, full throttle, geek in fifth gear. But ‘proof!’ I hear you cry, proof! that my radio silence isn’t just a mask, hiding the death of yet another well-meant blog, floating in the webbed ether of keywords and hashtags. Not another blog that remains devoid of updates after a few initial months of excitement, to then be cast out into the void of unwanted accounts, when life away from the laptop turns out to be more easier then typing on the laptop. Well, zip your harks, as here it comes…

CASE STUDY 1: VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR

So my audition was flavoured by Ron Burgandy...
OK, so I am involved with many events that revolve around people being interviewed for various media, mainly for the radio and live spoken word shenanigans. But TV is a different ball game, having had no experience in it to date. I’ve been a film extra, a radio reporter and event exec, but I wanted to see how the other half live. So today, I popped along for an audition for a part as a presenter for a new monthly web-show all about British Film. So, the subject matter was totally down my street, but always liking to be prepared, I spent the night before prepping answers ready for being put on the spot for things like ‘who is your favourite British Film Director?’ or ‘what do you think of the current state of the British film industry?’. Turns out, I overthought somewhat.

Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 19:16

Thursday, 1 March 2012

Rachel Portman & Dan MacRae

February saw The Space kick-starting the creative new year with a truly golden Hollywood glow on its post-festive stuffed cheeks, with our very special guests, Oscar winning film composer Rachel Portman and Dan MacRae, the man responsible for the purse strings of Studio Canal, the film distribution house who have backed Oscar winning The Hurt Locker and Oscar nominated Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Presented by Lisa Holloway and sponsored by the Brighton Film School, an informative night of melody and industry insight befell our cosy congregation at Brighton’s Komedia.

Oscar winning film composer, Rachel Portman at The SpaceRachel Portman: An ear for music

For an Oscar winner, Rachel Portman, OBE, gives a first impression of pure personable warmth, both on and off stage. When asked by an audience member about working with musicians, she recounted being asked to work on a track with Elvis Costello for the film One Day: “I had nightmares about it, I was so worried I was going to mess it up”.

Starting to compose music at the tender age of just fourteen, you could say that the art of beat, coda and cadenza was born into her. While discouraged from averting her musical gaze outside of the rigid training of classical composition however, it wasn’t until her days at university that Rachel got to experience the world of film, where her love of ‘the moving canvas’ as she so beautifully put it, was truly awoken:  “There’s much more scope in screen than there is in theatre. I was just struck, watching the wonderful images against my music (watch Kieron Butler’s wonderful montage here), how it’s the most powerful thing you can do.”

The Craft

But diversity also holds a key to perhaps where she stands in the grand scheme of the upper echelon of musical figureheads, trying her hand at other mediums, learning and honing the many elements required to produce heart-wrenching and expressive scores: “The wonderful thing about television in this country is that it is so close to film; so it was a really good way for me to learn on smaller scale projects…I tried to break into the Television scene just as Channel 4 started, it was terribly exciting. They made these series of really good films called ‘First Love’; it was a great way for me to learn my craft.”

Bittersweet Symphony

But what makes a good composer? Obviously a good ear is paramount, but Rachel explained to us working on operas to a musical, television to soundtracks, a good dose of empathic aptitude is just as sacrosanct:  “Everything you write as a composer is all based on your own instinctive intuition, your own response to the material. I think it’s very important not to overload the emotion. I’m interested in the bittersweet and scores that have a musical voice of their own, not necessarily about just what the scene is saying visually. I personally thought Never Let Me Go was extraordinarily well made and just beautiful; one of the most inspiring films I’ve worked on in years. It’s a very dark film. They had huge problems trying to find the right composer for it as the strange scientific side to it is that it appears quite a cold story when first read – but it’s actually not and never was to me; it always had a big, beating heart and was about love and how much time we have here; so I connected to it on that level.”

Parts of the process

Rachel had the incredible achievement of being the first woman composer to receive an Oscar, which she won for Emma. So from the world of glamour and glitz to the day-to-day, Rachel elaborated on the routine involved in comprising the likes of an Academy Award winning score: “Every film is of its own world.  I start working on a film when it has been shot and already edited to its near final stage, so I’m working on the last 2-3 months of the making of a film's life. I get a copy of it and sit and watch it; I talk to the director and discuss where the music is going to go in a combined discussion. Then it takes about 2 weeks before I come up with any real good ideas because you have to take a film on board, enter its world until you are living and breathing it and you become part of it in a way, and the ideas start flowing. I feel I know what the music should be, like an answer; whereas at the beginning you can’t possibly know that. Like writers, once they know the world, it just flows.”

Sound of the underground

Stepping out from the giant shadows cast by the actor, director and producer categories, it seems 2012 has so far been the year for Posters of some of the films Rachel Portman has worked onbringing the world’s attention to the importance of sound in film, or more the importance of the amount of it used, with The Artist sweeping the awards boards as a modern approach to a silent film (ironically nominated for a BAFTA in sound, which I still can’t quite fathom). I found Rachel’s personal yet professional take on the matter very veracious: “I think there’s a tendency to over use music now and it’s getting worse, especially in American studio films. There’s this insecurity to have anything without music and it’s so strong when you see a film like A Separation which has no music in it at all; it’s just so refreshing and a relief as we are bombarded with music everywhere.  I’ve often told people I work with ‘Let’s have less music, or something really quiet, just not so much’ as it's very wearing for us as the viewer to have constant music. If you take music out, people’s attention is put immediately back in to the film again. Often where I take a cue out has as much a powerful effect as when it comes in.”

I urge you all to nip over to Rachel’s IMDB profile to see just how many astounding scores she is responsible for. Many a period drama such as The Duchess and Mona Lisa Smile, to modern pieces such as romantic drama The Vow and mystery thriller The Manchurian Candidate. Speaking of which, Rachel gave a wonderful anecdote about working with directors and the importance of communication to get the desired result: “A little knowledge can be a mixed blessing, it depends on the personality of the director and how good they are at explaining what they want. Roman Polanski was very good; he’s confident working with composers as he trusts them and knows what to expect when listening to your demos. But really you want a director who is happy to talk about a scene and to tell you what they want to feel.  Just words can set things off. On The Manchurian Candidate, Jon Demme originally asked me for a Hitchcock film style; an intellectualised type of fear. So I was busy writing and he came back and said he said to me that it needs to be ‘viscerally frightening’ - that was all I needed to know. I had a litmus test of ‘am I frightened by what I’m writing?’ It’s about directors being able to give you the key to unlock what to write.”

Next on the agenda

With Patrick O’Connor as Director, Rachel is currently working on the film adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s book called Private Peaceful, who also wrote War Horse. But versatility is part of where she is today, and expressed with pep that she’s relish the opportunity to get her hands on an action film or a big western. So any Hollywoods bods – take heed and snap up one of the best of British composers our  little nation has to offer.



Dan Macrae at The Space, Brighton
Dan MacRae

As presenter Lisa introduces Dan on stage, she gets it spot on by describing Dan as a ‘film buff with a business acumen’. As she continues to read out Dan’s curriculum vitae, many an impressive film he’s been connected with causes many an ear to prick up; Attack The Block, Brighton Rock, Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark, Carnage, Kill List to name a very mere few from film distribution house Studio Canal. Currently the Head of Development of Studio Canal, its Dan MacRae’s keen sense of what makes a good film from both sides of the screen that has him sitting in front of us this very evening. Both an avid film lover and evidently confident at making multi-million pound decisions, it’s a rare treat to have Dan allow us a peek in to the inner workings of the immensely yielding cinematic monopoly.

Education for the film-making nation

Conviction is a characteristic that has played a vital part in Dan’s charted professional success, starting out as a grass roots film fan, working his influence on the Scottish audiences as an Art-house cinema programmer: “For 6 years I imposed my tastes on other people. I offered a broad overview of contemporary, classic and art-house cinema as I have a real passion for them; and a sense of audience. One of the most important things about programming a cinema is thinking about what people want to see. You can’t impose your tastes all the time – you have to be very careful about the type and diversity of audiences out there, who want to see a whole range of different material. You get a chance to share some of your enthusiasm and perspective and the kind of repertory programming you can do.”

But it was Dan’s nurturing mettle for home-grown talent that sew the seed of his development expertise. Working in the public sector, Dan has been Deputy Head of the Development Fund & UK Film Council and played a green-fingered hand heading up various short-film making and writer-producer training schemes on his Scottish home soil: “It was like a golden age in short film making in Scotland in the 90s where schemes from anything up to £60000 were given to make a short film dependant on the production value… We fostered many new talent TV directors including Brian Kirk (Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire) and Andy Goddard  (Downton Abbey, Torchwood, Doctor Who) who made their first shorts and all came through this huge buzz in Scottish cinema. One of the first short films we made won an Oscar; Franz Kafka’s/ Peter Capaldi’s It’s a Wonderful Life. It was so exciting - people from Scotland were getting global attention; people built careers on these short films… There’s clearly a film education that’s an important part in trying to nurture and foster an industry. It’s not just about the practicalities of making movies and the mechanics of storytelling; it’s very important to give people a sense of what cinema can do. You can only build on the past.”

Speculate To Accumulate

The financial onus is an equally generous ingredient in Dan’s day to day, having built up a proven track record from the positions mentioned above, as well as shouldering the responsibility for Working Title Films as Development Executive, on films such as Atonement and Hot Fuzz. Dan continued to explain to us in more detail just what it is that Studio Canal does, along with other elements his role as Head of Development entails: “I now find projects that will find a big audience. We are a financing and development body, but we are fundamentally a distribution company. Essentially we are making sure we deliver something to an audience to enjoy. From the financial point of view, the films we finance ourselves like Attack The Block and Brighton Rock, they cost millions and one of my jobs is to make sure that those films justify those millions to be spent on them. You try and make those decisions based on what you believe an audience is going to respond to and what will bring an audience into a cinema. This is a balancing act of the talent that’s involved, the brand recognition of the kind of film you are making (sometimes that’s simply by genre), a balance between what the film costs and therefore the kinds of talent you have in it. The more expensive the film, the more you need stars. Brighton Rock for example, neither Sam Riley nor Andrea Riseborough were household names, so it became important to get someone like Helen Mirren in the film… Being a distribution company, you need to release material films that will punch above its weight; you have big American movies out there every week and even if they are not narratively or emotionally satisfying, they’ll offer spectacle. It costs the same to go and see Inception as it does Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank. It doesn’t matter which is the better film, so you have to be clever finding ways around that to allow an experience that will stand up to that.”

Mixed Reviews

Studio Canal has many arms to it for generating revenue. Dan explained how they influence where a film ends up from many angles. Dan Macrae at The Space, BrightonThey finance and make 4-5 films a year themselves, then back approximately a further 28 titles for theatrical release in cinemas, and have an extensive DVD arm for home viewing. Alas however, they can’t all be as successful as each other and Dan admitted there were educated decisions made that they couldn’t have predicted the real-world outcome for, including that of Madonna’s ill-fated, much criticised W.E. The 2010 remake of Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock is another title that came up, and I was fascinated to hear the thought process behind choosing the creative steer in a film and how it can be used to escalate the chances of it being made: “With films like Brighton Rock there’s often a sense that you shouldn’t remake something that’s perceived to be a classic film. I think some people felt that the appropriation of Quadrophenia wasn’t entirely successful, but the motivation of doing it that way from us was evocative and interesting. There’s a number of decisions you can make; do you do a remake of the same period, or is that too repetitive? Would it be perceived as slightly drab? Or you could make a contemporary version, which could be very unattractive as it would be very close to the gangs being knife-gangs and the crime is too prevalent. So you look to the 60s, with the opportunity to fetishize the period and a chance to re-write history with a gangster entrepreneur coming into the city buying up property. So that part of the story about old and new gangs is very much in Graham Greene’s book, so made that decision the best possible one.”

The future of film distribution

On a thoughtful leap into the realms of the relationship between film and technology, Dan highlighted where he thought our viewing experiences may end up: “There’s a future perceived that will break down the window between theatrical distribution, DVD, video on-demand, live streaming etc. whereby films are premiered internationally worldwide for one week, beamed directly and digitally into cinemas, and are then able to buy a week later. Cinema started out as an individual experience; peep shows, zoetropes etc. then somebody had the great idea of putting everybody into one big room to watch collectively. What has happened 100 years later is it's gone back to a solitary experience; people mostly seeing films at home, perhaps with 2-3 other people, but are generally viewing on their own. It could well be that the cycle comes round again… I think cinema will survive because people like that collective experience. The studios are all about summer tent pole movies, so spectacle will continue to exist. Digital film making is creating more opportunities to make small scale films that can be released individually and distributed online, which I’m sure will continue to grow. There is so much money surrounding the blockbuster, so cinemas and big screens will always be there, along with a diversity of audiences; the audience for Kill List is different to Atonement.”

So there you have it - with a combination of mindful mediation and a darn good knack for believing in the right people and ideas for the right audiences, we have been lucky enough that Studio Canal, with the very capable help of Dan MacRae, have produced for our eyes and ears and imaginations, titles of pure grit, to that of the whimsy fantastical. I’ll be keeping an excited watch on their future releases…

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBZ9hs5_TOk]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD0gm7dHKKc]
Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 18:29

Saturday, 25 February 2012

AUDIO: Dame Diana Rigg Q&A at the V&A, London



It is apt that to mark the opening of a photographic exhibition charting the rise of our monarch, the V&A museum chooses a princess of televisual supremacy, Britannia's very own Dame Diana Rigg.

On 10th February, a mild winter evening, something quite special tingles in the air. Or should I say, someone quite special glides through the V&A cafe. Running a little ahead of schedule, getting very lost around the moving corridors of the vast building attempting to locate the subtly labelled lecture theatre (a vague notion of Harry Potter on his first day meandering Hogwarts springs to mind), something equally magical happened; a premature shared presence with the 'Queen of Sin' herself. Fleeting yes, but special nonetheless, as Dame Diana is escorted past me, to be settled for pre-talk pabulum. Fast forward twenty minutes, seated and primed with anticipation, enter Diana, the embodiment of of 60s propulsive meritorious cool, stage left.

Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 11:41

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

Colin Baker Q&A panel at the SFX Weekender 3



The sixth incarnation of that medicinal Timelord, Colin Baker gave us his views on the 'new golden era of Doctor Who', why he praises Matt Smith's performance in the show, as well as his acting career highlights.

Interviewed by SFX Magazine's Online Editor, Dave Golder at the third SFX Weekender, give the recording a listen if you couldn't make it up to North Wales or just want to relive his anecdotes and musings.

Just click on the orange 'play' button below for the Q&A recording. Enjoy!

Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 09:50

Monday, 6 February 2012

Eve Myles Q&A panel at the SFX Weekender 3

Couldn't make the third SFX Weekender event? Hopefully this recording will help.

The fantastic and funny Eve Myles, Torchwood's feisty and fearless leading lady Gwen Cooper, talks Wales Vs America, motherhood Vs bazookas and John Barrowman and his erm, 'little Barrowman'.

Interviewed by SFX Magazine's Reviews Editor, Ian Berriman, Eve proved to be a total natural at addressing the masses, exceptionally appreciative of her peers and fans, with a natural knack for making a full-to-capacity auditorium blush and laugh in unison.

Just click on the orange 'play' button below for the Q&A recording. Enjoy!




Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 22:03

SFX Weekender 3; Survived.

Just a quick post to say that yet again, third year running, the team at SFX Magazine put on an event for the geek masses, and did us all proud.

Full post to follow, with a few snaps, but in the mean time, keep an eye on my next posts where I'll be popping up a couple of audio recordings I made of the Eve Myles (Torchwood) and Colin Baker (Doctor Who) Q&A panels.
Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 21:51

Wednesday, 25 January 2012

Geek Art

I've been a designer/ arty type since before I could walk (with my mother as lifetime orator), so whenever I come across artists with a soft spot for the world of science fiction and fantasy, it's as satisfying as a Ferengi ear rub. Obviously both the style and vehicle can range dramatically, from the menacing charcoal lines of H.P. Lovecraft to the bubblegum brights of avatar-art.

Here are a few designers and artists I have stumbled across while Googling and geeking...enjoy!



Alex Gross of alexgross.com
How fun are these? Artist Alex Gross has found a bit of a niche by creatively putting his stamp on vintage antique cabinet photo cards and adding his science-fiction and comic book flourishes. Check out the rest of his site for designs of the colourful, curio vein.


Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 20:23

Saturday, 7 January 2012

INTERVIEW: Film Critic, Author & Radio Personality, Mark Kermode



The following interview was broadcast on The Geekend, Radio Reverb on 29th October 2011.
 
GG: Welcome to The Duke of York’s Picturehouse, here in Brighton. As part of your tour continuing throughout October and November 2011, appearing live, in actual 3D in locations throughout the UK with your new book The Good, the Bad and the Multiplex, Mark Kermode right here… welcome. I expected you to be wearing a Stetson, what with the theme of your book…

Mark:  Funnily enough when we were doing the cover of the book, somebody said exactly that. Obviously it’s a take on The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, so yes, let’s put you on the cover in a Stetson. Then everyone thought about it and decided as the only way people recognise me is from my hair. So it was simply a marketing decision; if you can’t see my hair, then it’s not me. I am apparently definable only by my hair. That’s why on the back of the book is a picture of me with my hand over my face in which the only part of me you can see is my hair. 

GG: Your new book, I’ve just finished it, and just like your radio show and podcasts on BBC 5Live with Simon Mayo, the book is particularly honest, outspoken and full of your satirical expert opinion on films. I like to think of you as the people’s film critic

Mark: (Laughter) Which people though? That is the crucial question...

Posted by: Geek Girl Kerensa Creswell-Bryant
Geek Girl, Updated at: 13:11