For those of you who’ve grappled their way into a media career and managed to stay in Devon and Cornwall, the proposed cuts at ITV to halve its budget for regional local programming – a move that would merge ITV West in Bristol with ITV Westcountry in Plymouth – is worrying.
They are coming under the gaze of the South West TUC on Saturday, January 12.
Here’s what we pulled from the TUC: “The NUJ believe that this will have an adverse effect on people’s right to know, giving journalists the same time (half an hour) to cover twice as much news. It threatens to provide a regional news service with no relevance to local communities, but it would also see journalists covering a region in which it takes longer to drive from one end to the other than it does from London to Carlisle.
“The NUJ points out that as a Public Service Broadcaster, ITV is given its right to broadcast by Act of Parliament. In return it is required to fulfil special obligations. If ITV’s proposals go ahead, these commitments will not be met.”
Filmed in Galmpton, Torbay, the Ugly Children promo is described by the band as ‘a bit like Stand By Me meets The Blair Witch Project meets The Lord of the Flies’ - though we’re feeling it’s more reminiscent of recent French shocker Ils (Them).
Anyhoo, it’s the first in a proposed trilogy of Weaver Twins videos directed by Darren Jones. He’s the one playing the treacle-covered ‘Treedophile’ in the promo. The sick puppy.
Darren told D+CFilm that the next video will have a linear story and ‘feature an 80-year-old woman and her young boyfriend kidnapping residents of Stoke Gabriel with a bit of a dark twist at the end. Think Harold and Maude on acid!’
Hey, we can’t wait! In the meantime, click below to watch Ugly Children. Suffice to say, there’s not a brat singing ‘Christian rhyme’ to be seen. Merry Christmas everybody! Ho ho bloody ho!
As George Peppard said to Holly Golightly, we love it when a plan comes together. Remember our foray into film festivals, The View From Here and Two Short Nights? Of course you do, you’ve already kept next year free. Well, the former has informed the latter.
The Crossed Lines short, which premiered at The View From Here Village Screen events (and was facilitated by co-organisers Blind Ditch) picked up the audience award for Best Young Person’s Film at Two Short Nights.
Audience award? Sure thing – we here at D+CFilm promote movies of every kind at every level.
Crossed Lines is an engaging tale (gaffaw!) based on research with older people on how teenage life has changed in the region over the past 50 years. The filmmaking team also made a documentary interviewing people about their lives in the region.
Felek Werpachowski, the young director of Crossed Lines, told D+CFilm: “It was quite a surprise to win the award and it shows all the hard work that everyone put into it paid off.
“I’m glad that it was voted by the audience which makes it more meaningful – that we’ve made something that people want to watch.”
Jonas Hawkins, manager of the Exeter Phoenix Media Centre, said: “It was the first time that we’ve held a young peoples event as part of the Two Short Nights Festival and the high standard of films submitted shows the amount of budding talent there is in the region.
“The young people’s films were very diverse in content and style. Dealing with the themes of teenage pregnancy and difficulties in communication between the generations can result in films that are quite clichéd but Crossed Lines was a fresh approach and extremely watchable.”
Stay tuned for more news about the Village Screen events, film festivals and all the film and media related news in the region.
We may be getting a little obsessed with WALL*E, the new animated flick
from Pixar.
Directed by Pixar stalwart Andrew Stanton (he directed Finding Nemo and had a hand in the Toy Story scripts), the latest WALL*E teaser, courtesy of Ain’t It Cool News, looks absolutely stunning.
It’s not out in the UK til July next year but already we’re scrabbling around for any trailers and details we can get our hands on. Heck, blame it on a childhood obsession with Number Johnny Five if you must.
The tie-in website, based on a company from the movie called Buy n Large, looks pretty rad too. We were expecting it to be a tongue-in-cheek affair but it’s actually quite po-faced and realistic.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, a BnL mug would make a great Christmas present for your friendly neighbourhood D+CFilm. Yknow, if you’re struggling
for ideas…
New York based artist, musician, DJ and uber-geek Cory Arcangel visits Exeter’s Spacex this month.
Well known for his approach to ‘creative hacking’, the main focus of the show is a new piece of work called A Couple Thousand Short Films About Glenn Gould.
For this two screen video installation, Cory has taken a buncha home-made clips from video sharing websites and re-edited them note by note into sections from Bach’s Goldberg Variations.
The exhibition also includes Arcangel’s I Shot Andy Warhol - an 8-bit hack of an old interactive light gun game.
Players are asked to shoot various versions of Andy Warhol, putting themselves in the role of Valerie Solanas who in 1968 attempted to gun down Andy Warhol.
Wahey, that sounds like fun, don’t it, viewers?! And not at all in bad taste. We’re looking forward to his Jill Dando assassination installation, based on a hack of Jet Set Willy. What japes!
The Cory Arcangel exhibition runs until February 23, 2008.
About a year ago, we told you about former Plymouth student Megan Raney and how she was making waves in Hollywood with her acclaimed documentary.
Now you can find out what all the fuss was about, as Freedom’s Fury is released on DVD.
Five years in the making, the flick follows events leading up to the ill-fated Hungarian Revolution of 1956, featuring political history interwoven with preparations for, and matches during, the water polo competition at the Australian Olympics in the same year.
The ex-Plymstock School pupil is currently living and working in California, running GRAiNEY Productions with her brother Colin Gray.
D+CFilm caught up with Megan to find out about a busy twelve months.
Megan said: “The last year has been very hectic. We were asked to come on board to produce, and for me DP, a new feature doc called The History Of Canadian Humour: If It’s Not Too Much Trouble.
“It’s a pseudo-scientific look at why Canada (the largest country in the world, but with a very small population), has produced an inordinate amount of comedic talent.
“It’s directed by and stars Canadian comic writer Rob Cohen, who tries to answer whether the comedy is in the air, freezing weather, beer, hockey
or what.
“We’ve already interviewed Mike Myers, Michael J Fox, The Bare Naked Ladies, Paul Shaffer, Prime Minister Kim Campbell and Ben Stiller (who’s not Canadian, I know!), with a bunch more folks lining up as we speak, like Jim Carrey and the Kids In The Hall.
“It’s such an awesome film to be working on - I’ll keep D+CFilm posted.
“Also, our production company has a TV division, so we’ve been shopping a slate of scripted and non-scripted shows, while writing a number of feature-length scripts.
“We’ve been working around the clock strategising, taking pitch meetings, scripting and developing with a number of interesting companies and individuals. For example, we’re in development with Wolfgang Peterson [Das Boot, In The Line of Fire] on a new scripted TV series, which we hope will go to HBO here in the US.
“Oh, and one of the of the scripts I’m working on now is based in London and the South West. The plan is to shoot in Devon and Cornwall in the next few years, come hell or high water!”
All pretty exciting, non? Suffice to say, stayed tuned to D+CFilm for the latest news from GRAiNEY.
Oh, and to get your hands on the Freedom’s Fury DVD, head over to Film Baby and pick up a copy.
Special features include a directors’ commentary by Megan and Colin; a ‘Making Of’ documentary with behind-the-scenes footage; and an interview with the film’s executive producer Lucy Liu. Not too shabby.
Tiverton Film Club is showing Paolo Sorrentino’s The Family Friend at Barrington Street’s New Hall tomorrow (that’s Wednesday, date fans), with a bidova festive buffet thrown in for good measure.
Doors open at 6.30pm and the movie starts at 7.30pm. New members are ‘more than welcome’ (whatever than means) - for more details about the club, check out their lovely new website. In the meantime, click below to watch the Family Friend trailer.
We watched Ashley Wing’s Hard Day’s Knight again at Two Short Nights’ D+CFilm open screening last week, and we’re pleased to say it went down really well with the audience.
D+CFilm caught up with Ashley after the screening and asked him for
his thoughts.
He said: “I’m really pleased with how A Hard Day’s Knight turned out. It was an extremely cheap and quick to shoot and the results are satisfactory. I’m pleased the audience took to it and enjoyed it. It is, after all, what keeps me going.
“After much pondering if I’ll continue making any more films due to fitting it all in around my full time job and the cost of making movies, I’m happy to say I have more to give.
“I’m still writing my feature which won’t see the light of day until next year, but it is in ongoing development and coming along nicely. It’s a character-driven, post-nuclear drama.
“I have also been signed on to direct a short film scheduled for a summer shoot. I can’t say too much due to a non-disclosure agreement I had to sign, but I can assure you I’m working hard to ensure it’ll be top quality.
“I have two personal projects I’m working on. The first being a three minute short about Remembrance Day, which is scheduled to shoot in February. The other is a dark comedy about various phobias, due to be shot in November.
“I also have a documentary in the pipeline about the Coyote Rally also due to shoot this year. So, lot’s to do!”
Indeed. We’re glad to hear Ashley has decided not to bin his filmmaking career. We think he’s one of the region’s best, and most ambitious, talents. If D+CFilm exists for any reason, it’s surely to shine a spotlight on the likes of him - though clearly Wing’s doing very nicely without our help!
Anyway, enough of our yacking. Click below to watch A Hard Day’s Knight.
Remember we were getting all hot and bothered last week about an impressive looking sci-fi thriller being shot in North Devon called Cloudbreaker? Oh very well, click here to refresh your memory if you must.
Anyway, the guys behind the movie (that’s Matt Biggs, Stu Gaunt and Joanna Ford) have sent D+CFilm some more news about the production.
Here’s what they had to say: ‘The project is just beginning and we are all currently working on a voluntary basis whilst juggling other projects and commitments. Matt has been very busy working on a number of commercial projects with his company Artaura Productions.
‘The film is self-funded and at present we have no professional backing.
‘The script is in the final stage of development although a number of scenes have already been filmed and are in post production. The first trailer [see below] was compiled from these scenes and other screen tests.
‘The filming is just beginning to really take off and more trailers/teasers will be appearing in the near future. The full website will also be launched in the next few weeks.
‘As for the story… Well, at the moment it is being kept under wraps, but clues can be found in the current trailer and more can be found in the future ones.
‘Thanks and we will keep you up to date.’
Gosh, Cloverfield eat yer heart out, eh?! So, if you’ve got some dough and are looking to invest in the local movie scene, we reckon you could do a lot worse than Cloudbreaker. If you fancy sending some cash its way, give D+CFilm a shout and we’ll ‘facilitate’ (as they say in ‘the industry’).
Kids’ fantasy yarn The Golden Compass is in cinemas this week, and to celebrate we have an interview with star Dakota Blue Richards. Click below to watch the trailer.
Is it true you had never acted before this? Had you always wanted to be an actress?
When I was little I used to pretend. I’d be a cat by tying a feather boa to the back of my trousers. From the time I was about six I wanted to do plays, and proper acting. Me and my friends would make up our own plays. The best one I did was called The Fall Of Danny. It’s about this guy Danny who falls in love with a woman and falls out of a window and gets buried alive, because the doctor thinks he’s dead…
How did you find out about the Golden Compass auditions?
My mum started reading His Dark Materials to me when I was about nine. And I saw the play at the National Theatre in London. I really liked the character of Lyra, and I really wanted to be Lyra. Then my mum’s friend was watching BBC’s Newsround and heard that a film was being made. She asked me if that was the book I was always talking about.
Were you a fan of the Philip Pullman books?
When I first read the books I was quite young and I didn’t really understand a lot of it, I didn’t get ‘dust’ and why the bears talked. It took me a while to understand it… but in Lyra’s position I think it’s a very good idea to be good friends with the bears. You would feel very protected: don’t mess with me ‘cos I have a bear on my side. Iorek is the only being that Lyra lets be better than her: she accepts that he is bigger, stronger, braver and cleverer.
Were you nervous at the auditions?
My mum and my grandma and me went to the casting call in Cambridge. My mum said we wouldn’t go if the weather was bad, so it was lucky it wasn’t raining! We waited in the queue for about three hours, and we went into the audition in groups of between 50 and 100 girls. They asked your name, age and where you came from, then some of you got your picture taken and some were asked to read something. And I was asked to read a second piece. I don’t think many girls got to do that. I was called back with about 60 other girls to the casting office in London. Then I started to feel scared about it because at the first auditions I didn’t think I was going to get it so there was no point in feeling nervous. But being called back was like, being given a real chance, and you know it’s time to start worrying!
How did you react when you found out you’d got the part?
I came home after a bad day at school and my mum said we had to wait for a phone call. It was Chris Weitz, the director, and he said, ‘Can you put me on the speaker phone?’ and so my mum hung up on him, because she’s not very good with technology, and didn’t know what to do. So he called back and told me, and I screamed and was very excited, and did the Snoopy dance! That’s very ‘spinny’ and ‘jumpy’ and ‘kicky’, a ‘leggy’ kind of dance…
How was it acting with the likes of Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig?
The first scene I did in the film was with Nicole Kidman. I didn’t have to say anything, thankfully. I was at a table surrounded by loads of other people that I didn’t know, and Nicole sat next to me, and I had to act like I knew her. Both she and Daniel Craig do this thing when they are acting which might be just to help me, but they seem so confident that I feel I should be, too. They make me feel more confident about myself and what I was doing. They taught me that whatever happens during a take, you should just carry on. Don’t ever stop until the director tells you to stop. The first time I met the director Chris Weitz at my screentest, he was a bit scary because he decided he was going to play the bear, and he stood on top of the sofa and roared ‘I am a bear’. And I was just like, okay, I’ve never met you before and you are really scary right now.
What’s the most difficult thing about being an actress?
I think the worst is when you have to do things over and over. That can become boring, although you have to try to make it slightly different, so it can still be fun. The other really difficult thing on The Golden Compass was the green screen. A lot of the time I had to act to nothing, or to a green sack, or a green dot or a man in a green lycra suit… I had to imagine a green bean bag was my daemon that I really love.
What was your favourite part of filming?
The scenes I enjoyed most – and this may sound strange – were the fight scenes! It was great because I was fighting the Tartar guards, and it was stuntmen who were playing them, and they said to me, ‘don’t worry, you just fight as hard as you can,’ and I did. They were padded and wearing heavy clothes, so I was able to wriggle and kick as hard as I could.
Were there any embarrassing moments?
The most embarrassing moment was falling over on the fake snow. There were lots of other kids running and some of them fell over as well. I fell over not once, not twice, but three times!
Is acting something you plan to do when you grow up?
I don’t know that I’d want to do acting as a job, not as a proper job. I’d like to do it as a hobby. I want to be a supply teacher. I’d like to be one of those teachers that kids really like.
Do you have any more movie roles lined up?
I’m starting another film, The Moon Princess, in Hungary in August 2007 with Colin Firth. The director of the film is Gabor Csupo, and it is adapted from a book by Elizabeth Gouge. I hope we will make the second book of His Dark Materials, The Subtle Knife, so that I can be Lyra again.
In The Golden Compass, Lyra has a daemon called Pan. What daemon would you have?
Lyra’s daemon, Pan, is mostly a cat or a ferret. He’s also a mouse some of the time. In the third book he settles as a pine marten. But he doesn’t keep changing all the time. It depends what mood Lyra is in, and how she’s feeling. If she’s in a fight with someone then Pan might become a scarier animal. I’d like to have a daemon. I think when it settled it would be a ring-tail lemur. I’ve thought about that for a while. Either a ring-tail lemur or a white hare.
You’re regular readers of D+CFilm, so you’ll know all about Free Cinema and the impact it made on the film industry. And you’ll know all about the free Free Cinema screening that’s taking place at the Exeter Phoenix as the opening event of Two Short Nights on Thursday, December 6 at 2pm.
Yes, that’s 2pm. Take a late lunch and don’t go back, that’s our advice. There are some great historic films on offer and a talk from the fella who curated the BFI’s Free Cinema collection. And you can ask questions such as: Is there a place for social documentary in a world brimming over with reality TV?
Also on show will be some of the entries to the D+CFree competition, with the modern take on the Free Cinema ethos.
