(Nb – Any outlet that didn’t write this headline back in October 2023, when it was announced that Ghosts and Horrible Histories star Mathew Baynton was to make his Royal Shakespeare Company debut in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is either a coward or worse – a grown-up.)
The notices are in! Press night for Eleanor Rhode’s RSC revival of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been and gone, and the reviews are highly favourable. Running from January 30 until March 30 at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, the production is picking up more stars than Mario on a caffeine rush. It’s a hit.
And the loudest applause? That goes to Mat Baynton’s Bottom.
As Gcse English Lit sitters will hazily remember, Nick Bottom is the comic relief in Shakespeare’s fairy fantasy. A humble weaver who’s anything but humble, he’s the am-dram prong fitted with the head...
The notices are in! Press night for Eleanor Rhode’s RSC revival of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been and gone, and the reviews are highly favourable. Running from January 30 until March 30 at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, the production is picking up more stars than Mario on a caffeine rush. It’s a hit.
And the loudest applause? That goes to Mat Baynton’s Bottom.
As Gcse English Lit sitters will hazily remember, Nick Bottom is the comic relief in Shakespeare’s fairy fantasy. A humble weaver who’s anything but humble, he’s the am-dram prong fitted with the head...
- 2/15/2024
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
All prequels head towards a predetermined endpoint, the question is how long they spend getting there. In the case of ITV’s Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour, that endpoint won’t be the moment that the baton passes from Shaun Evans’ incarnation of the detective as a younger man to John Thaw’s first appearance as the character. “We don’t plan to take it up to 1987 – that’s a fairly safe bet!” Endeavour creator Russell Lewis told Den of Geek in 2019. Considering that it took six series for the drama to cover just half of the 1960s, that comes as no surprise.
If Endeavour’s deadline isn’t calendar-based, it looks likely to be character-based. For almost a decade, fans have been watching the young detective’s gradual transformation from what Lewis describes as Morse’s “bright-eyed and bushy tailed” first appearance in the 1965-set 2012 special, to the lugubrious and...
If Endeavour’s deadline isn’t calendar-based, it looks likely to be character-based. For almost a decade, fans have been watching the young detective’s gradual transformation from what Lewis describes as Morse’s “bright-eyed and bushy tailed” first appearance in the 1965-set 2012 special, to the lugubrious and...
- 9/13/2021
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Back in June it was announced that Lionsgate and Egan Escape Productions were teaming up for the Escape Blair Witch immersive experience in Las Vegas, and with reservations now open, we have a look at the intense trailer for Escape Blair Witch that stars and is directed by Danielle Harris, and we also have exclusive photos for Daily Dead readers to enjoy!
Below, you can check out the official press release, exclusive photos, and the Escape Blair Witch trailer that was directed by Danielle Harris, who stars alongside Sarah Nicklin and Mark Lawson, with Jason Egan and Sugar Studios producing.
Press Release: Las Vegas, Nv - August 5, 2021 Las Vegas’ newest immersive attraction, Escape Blair Witch, from Global content leader Lionsgate and leading Las Vegas attraction producer, Egan Escape Productions, is now accepting reservations online at www.escapeblairwitch.com.
Escape Blair Witch brings Lionsgate’s classic horror film franchise The Blair...
Below, you can check out the official press release, exclusive photos, and the Escape Blair Witch trailer that was directed by Danielle Harris, who stars alongside Sarah Nicklin and Mark Lawson, with Jason Egan and Sugar Studios producing.
Press Release: Las Vegas, Nv - August 5, 2021 Las Vegas’ newest immersive attraction, Escape Blair Witch, from Global content leader Lionsgate and leading Las Vegas attraction producer, Egan Escape Productions, is now accepting reservations online at www.escapeblairwitch.com.
Escape Blair Witch brings Lionsgate’s classic horror film franchise The Blair...
- 8/6/2021
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Stars of ABC’s classic daytime dramas All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital will reunite next month to present a streaming concert of their past musical performances benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
ABC Daytime: Back on Broadway will gather musical performances by soap stars including Susan Lucci, Anthony Geary and Eva La Rue during the seven annual benefit concerts staged in New York from 2005-11. The daytime actors will revisit the performances in new interviews as part of the special.
The special will stream free of charge on February 11. See viewing options below.
The lineup of performers includes Bobbie Eakes, Melissa Claire Egan, Vincent Irizarry, Eva La Rue, Susan Lucci, Cameron Mathison, Eden Riegel, Chrishell Stause and Walt Willey (from All My Children); Kristen Alderson, BethAnn Fuenmayor, Kathy Brier, Kassie DePaiva, David Gregory, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Catherine Hickland, Mark Lawson, Hillary B. Smith, Jason Tam...
ABC Daytime: Back on Broadway will gather musical performances by soap stars including Susan Lucci, Anthony Geary and Eva La Rue during the seven annual benefit concerts staged in New York from 2005-11. The daytime actors will revisit the performances in new interviews as part of the special.
The special will stream free of charge on February 11. See viewing options below.
The lineup of performers includes Bobbie Eakes, Melissa Claire Egan, Vincent Irizarry, Eva La Rue, Susan Lucci, Cameron Mathison, Eden Riegel, Chrishell Stause and Walt Willey (from All My Children); Kristen Alderson, BethAnn Fuenmayor, Kathy Brier, Kassie DePaiva, David Gregory, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Catherine Hickland, Mark Lawson, Hillary B. Smith, Jason Tam...
- 1/14/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Mark Lawson and Dan Milmo discuss the sustainability of the streaming service. Plus: Lara Spirit on why you should register to vote before Tuesday’s deadline
Netflix has risen from obscurity to be one of the most powerful media companies in the world with more than 150 million global subscribers. It has launched critically acclaimed hits such as House of Cards, The Crown and Unbelievable, as well as showcasing the back catalogues of popular television series. But as part of its rapid growth, the company has racked up huge debts.
Joining Anushka Asthana to discuss the long-term sustainability of Netflix are the TV critic Mark Lawson and the Guardian’s deputy business editor Dan Milmo.
Netflix has risen from obscurity to be one of the most powerful media companies in the world with more than 150 million global subscribers. It has launched critically acclaimed hits such as House of Cards, The Crown and Unbelievable, as well as showcasing the back catalogues of popular television series. But as part of its rapid growth, the company has racked up huge debts.
Joining Anushka Asthana to discuss the long-term sustainability of Netflix are the TV critic Mark Lawson and the Guardian’s deputy business editor Dan Milmo.
- 11/25/2019
- by Presented by Anushka Asthana with Mark Lawson, Dan Milmo and Lara Spirit; produced by Hannah Moore, Nicola Kelly,Courtney Yusuf and Axel Kacoutié; executive producers Nicole Jackson and Phil Maynard
- The Guardian - Film News
1968: Dark Shadows' Mrs. Johnson had a terrible dream.
1981: John Dixon took a tumble down the stairs on As the World Turns.
2002: All My Children's Bianca called her sister, Kendall, "evil".
2010: It was prom night for One Life to Live's Starr X'd Lovers."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1968: On Dark Shadows, Cassandra (Lara Parker) encouraged Mrs. Johnson (Clarice Blackburn) to get some sleep but Mrs. Johnson told her she was afraid of having a terrible dream. Once Mrs. Johnson fell asleep she had the dream,...
1981: John Dixon took a tumble down the stairs on As the World Turns.
2002: All My Children's Bianca called her sister, Kendall, "evil".
2010: It was prom night for One Life to Live's Starr X'd Lovers."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1968: On Dark Shadows, Cassandra (Lara Parker) encouraged Mrs. Johnson (Clarice Blackburn) to get some sleep but Mrs. Johnson told her she was afraid of having a terrible dream. Once Mrs. Johnson fell asleep she had the dream,...
- 5/15/2019
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
1978: Ryan's Hope's Pat called Delia on her miscarriage deception.
1987: Days of our Lives' Patch made chili.
2007: All My Children's Zoe performed.
2009: Drew Garrett debuted as Michael on General Hospital."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1959: NBC Radio soap The Woman in My House aired its final episode after an eight year run. One Man's Family creator Carlton E. Morse produced Wimh about the Carter family of Miami.
Carlton E. Morse1959: Carlton E. Morse's long-running One Man's Family ended its run on NBC after 27 years.
1987: Days of our Lives' Patch made chili.
2007: All My Children's Zoe performed.
2009: Drew Garrett debuted as Michael on General Hospital."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1959: NBC Radio soap The Woman in My House aired its final episode after an eight year run. One Man's Family creator Carlton E. Morse produced Wimh about the Carter family of Miami.
Carlton E. Morse1959: Carlton E. Morse's long-running One Man's Family ended its run on NBC after 27 years.
- 4/24/2019
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
Exclusive: San Andreas actress Alexandria Daddario will join Jenna Ushkowitz (Glee) and Laura Ashley Samuels (Modern Family) in the Penelope Lawson-directed indie 1 Night in San Diego.
The comedy is about BFFs who embark on a road trip to pursue a romantic connection, but their travels put their friendship to the ultimate test.
The project is produced by Pink Revolver Pictures, Metropolitan Entertainment, Pierce Cravens, Rowan Russell and Lawson. Pic reps Lawson’s feature directorial debut. Nic diPierro is co-producing. Cameras are currently rolling and will continue through the end of the month.
The cast also features Eric Nelsen (The Bay), Adam Rose (Veronica Mars), Mark Lawson (One Life to Live) and Kelsey Douglas.
Daddario next appears in Lost Girls and Love Hotels, and Katherine O’Brien’s Lost Transmissions with Simon Pegg and Juno Temple, and she’s executive producing and starring in the romantic comedy Can You Keep a Secret?...
The comedy is about BFFs who embark on a road trip to pursue a romantic connection, but their travels put their friendship to the ultimate test.
The project is produced by Pink Revolver Pictures, Metropolitan Entertainment, Pierce Cravens, Rowan Russell and Lawson. Pic reps Lawson’s feature directorial debut. Nic diPierro is co-producing. Cameras are currently rolling and will continue through the end of the month.
The cast also features Eric Nelsen (The Bay), Adam Rose (Veronica Mars), Mark Lawson (One Life to Live) and Kelsey Douglas.
Daddario next appears in Lost Girls and Love Hotels, and Katherine O’Brien’s Lost Transmissions with Simon Pegg and Juno Temple, and she’s executive producing and starring in the romantic comedy Can You Keep a Secret?...
- 2/11/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
1975: Frank told Delia he was leaving her on Ryan's Hope.
1993: A new Blair debuted on One Life to Live.
2007: The paternity of Victoria's baby was revealed on Y&R.
2007: General Hospital's Georgie was murdered."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1957: On The Edge of Night, Virginia Dalton (Cathleen Cordell) interrupted her husband Peter's (Stephen Elliot) call with the governor, insisting he fire Sybil Gordon (Priscilla Gillette). She later became furious when Peter ignored her warnings about associating with Bruce Thompson's people.
1968: On Dark Shadows,...
1993: A new Blair debuted on One Life to Live.
2007: The paternity of Victoria's baby was revealed on Y&R.
2007: General Hospital's Georgie was murdered."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1957: On The Edge of Night, Virginia Dalton (Cathleen Cordell) interrupted her husband Peter's (Stephen Elliot) call with the governor, insisting he fire Sybil Gordon (Priscilla Gillette). She later became furious when Peter ignored her warnings about associating with Bruce Thompson's people.
1968: On Dark Shadows,...
- 12/18/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
Director John Fallon (The Shelter) is teaming up with actors Paul Sloan and Mark Lawson (One Life to Live) on a Crusades era thriller called Heretic.
Oscar Gold Productions’ Asko Akopyan has boarded the project as producer and the film is slated to shoot entirely in Armenia in 2019.
Synopsis:
When two Templars are sent home after losing the second Crusade, they are forced to battle a slew of varied enemies, the pity-less elements, and their own inner demons while trying to elude a mysterious assassin who...
Oscar Gold Productions’ Asko Akopyan has boarded the project as producer and the film is slated to shoot entirely in Armenia in 2019.
Synopsis:
When two Templars are sent home after losing the second Crusade, they are forced to battle a slew of varied enemies, the pity-less elements, and their own inner demons while trying to elude a mysterious assassin who...
- 6/22/2018
- QuietEarth.us
1968: Dark Shadows' Mrs. Johnson had a terrible dream.
1981: Atwt's John Dixon took a tumble.
2002: AMC's Bianca called her sister, Kendall, "evil".
2010: It was prom night for Oltl's Starr X'd Lovers."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1968: On Dark Shadows, Cassandra (Lara Parker) encouraged Mrs. Johnson (Clarice Blackburn) to get some sleep but Mrs. Johnson told her she was afraid of having a terrible dream.
1981: Atwt's John Dixon took a tumble.
2002: AMC's Bianca called her sister, Kendall, "evil".
2010: It was prom night for Oltl's Starr X'd Lovers."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1968: On Dark Shadows, Cassandra (Lara Parker) encouraged Mrs. Johnson (Clarice Blackburn) to get some sleep but Mrs. Johnson told her she was afraid of having a terrible dream.
- 5/15/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
1978: Ryan's Hope's Pat called Delia on her miscarriage deception.
1987: Days of our Lives' Patch made chili.
2007: All My Children's Zoe performed.
2009: Drew Garrett debuted as Michael on Gh."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1959: NBC Radio soap The Woman in My House aired its final episode after an eight year run. One Man's Family creator Carlton E. Morse produced Wimh about the Carter family of Miami.
1987: Days of our Lives' Patch made chili.
2007: All My Children's Zoe performed.
2009: Drew Garrett debuted as Michael on Gh."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1959: NBC Radio soap The Woman in My House aired its final episode after an eight year run. One Man's Family creator Carlton E. Morse produced Wimh about the Carter family of Miami.
- 4/25/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
Hello and welcome back to our roundup of news from across the industry. From stage to screens big and small, we’ve got you covered. It’s everything you need to know and all you can’t afford to miss. Josie Rourke to leave Donmar Warehouse.Donmar Warehouse artistic director Josie Rourke announced last week that she’s stepping down in 2019 after eight years at the helm. Executive producer Kate Pakenham is also leaving in June 2018. Together, they were the first female partnership to run a London theatre, joining in 2012 after previous artistic directors Sam Mendes and Michael Grandage revived the 251 seat theatre and gained an international reputation. Mark Lawson in The Guardian took a look back over the many critical hits in Rourke’s time at the Covent Garden powerhouse, noting pioneering attempts to portray modern society such as “Privacy” in 2014, “The Vote” in 2015, and Phyllida Lloyd’s all-female Shakespeare trilogy.
- 1/16/2018
- backstage.com
1975: Frank told Delia he was leaving her on Ryan's Hope.
1993: A new Blair debuted on One Life to Live.
2007: The paternity of Victoria's baby was revealed on Y&R.
2007: General Hospital's Georgie was murdered."History is a vast early warning system."
― Norman Cousins
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1957: On The Edge of Night, Virginia Dalton (Cathleen Cordell) interrupted her husband Peter's (Stephen Elliot) call with the governor, insisting he fire Sybil Gordon (Priscilla Gillette). She later became furious when Peter ignored her warnings about associating with Bruce Thompson's people.
1968: On Dark Shadows, David (David Henesy) felt guilty for causing Roger's "accident."
1975: On Ryan's Hope,...
1993: A new Blair debuted on One Life to Live.
2007: The paternity of Victoria's baby was revealed on Y&R.
2007: General Hospital's Georgie was murdered."History is a vast early warning system."
― Norman Cousins
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1957: On The Edge of Night, Virginia Dalton (Cathleen Cordell) interrupted her husband Peter's (Stephen Elliot) call with the governor, insisting he fire Sybil Gordon (Priscilla Gillette). She later became furious when Peter ignored her warnings about associating with Bruce Thompson's people.
1968: On Dark Shadows, David (David Henesy) felt guilty for causing Roger's "accident."
1975: On Ryan's Hope,...
- 12/18/2017
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
Acclaimed film-maker says TV is now a more female-friendly environment and criticises Hollywood for refusing to believe women can make blockbusters
The Oscar-nominated Polish director Agnieszka Holland has described cinema as a “boys’ club” during an on-stage interview at BFI Southbank, revealing that she now feels more comfortable as a woman working in television.
Holland, whose 1990 film Europa Europa was nominated for the best adapted screenplay Oscar and won the 1991 Golden Globe for best foreign language film, was in London for a celebration of her work at the Thameside venue. Interviewed by the Guardian’s Mark Lawson, she said female directors struggled because the “demanding” profession was “difficult to combine with a family life”, in comments first reported by the BBC.
Continue reading...
The Oscar-nominated Polish director Agnieszka Holland has described cinema as a “boys’ club” during an on-stage interview at BFI Southbank, revealing that she now feels more comfortable as a woman working in television.
Holland, whose 1990 film Europa Europa was nominated for the best adapted screenplay Oscar and won the 1991 Golden Globe for best foreign language film, was in London for a celebration of her work at the Thameside venue. Interviewed by the Guardian’s Mark Lawson, she said female directors struggled because the “demanding” profession was “difficult to combine with a family life”, in comments first reported by the BBC.
Continue reading...
- 4/14/2016
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Acclaimed film-maker says TV is now a more female-friendly environment and criticises Hollywood for refusing to believe women can make blockbusters
The Oscar-nominated Polish director Agnieszka Holland has described cinema as a “boys’ club” during an on-stage interview at BFI Southbank, revealing that she now feels more comfortable as a woman working in television.
Holland, whose 1990 film Europa Europa was nominated for the best adapted screenplay Oscar and won the 1991 Golden Globe for best foreign language film, was in London for a celebration of her work at the Thameside venue. Interviewed by the Guardian’s Mark Lawson, she said female directors struggled because the “demanding” profession was “difficult to combine with a family life”, in comments first reported by the BBC.
Continue reading...
The Oscar-nominated Polish director Agnieszka Holland has described cinema as a “boys’ club” during an on-stage interview at BFI Southbank, revealing that she now feels more comfortable as a woman working in television.
Holland, whose 1990 film Europa Europa was nominated for the best adapted screenplay Oscar and won the 1991 Golden Globe for best foreign language film, was in London for a celebration of her work at the Thameside venue. Interviewed by the Guardian’s Mark Lawson, she said female directors struggled because the “demanding” profession was “difficult to combine with a family life”, in comments first reported by the BBC.
Continue reading...
- 4/14/2016
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Theatrical hell-raisers and the art world's enfants terribles take centre stage in our roundup of the biggest risk-takers of 2014
Theatre
Oh! What a Lovely War
Theatre-maker Joan Littlewood was a visionary, an iconoclast and a subversive. Her 1963 "documentary collage" about the bitter ironies of the first world war was way ahead of its time, using popular period song and hard-hitting testimony. Lyn Gardner Theatre Royal Stratford East, London E15 (020-8534 0310), 1 February to 15 May.
Macbeth
Shakespeare's dark tale as you've never seen it before, taking place in a secret location from dawn to dusk. Party with Duncan, bed down in Macbeth's castle on the 27th floor of a tower block, glimpse the witches in an underground car park, and join the feast at which Banquo will be an uninvited guest. The spectres will be bloody – but the food will be vegetarian. LG Secret location, London, 4 April to 31 May.
Grit
This...
Theatre
Oh! What a Lovely War
Theatre-maker Joan Littlewood was a visionary, an iconoclast and a subversive. Her 1963 "documentary collage" about the bitter ironies of the first world war was way ahead of its time, using popular period song and hard-hitting testimony. Lyn Gardner Theatre Royal Stratford East, London E15 (020-8534 0310), 1 February to 15 May.
Macbeth
Shakespeare's dark tale as you've never seen it before, taking place in a secret location from dawn to dusk. Party with Duncan, bed down in Macbeth's castle on the 27th floor of a tower block, glimpse the witches in an underground car park, and join the feast at which Banquo will be an uninvited guest. The spectres will be bloody – but the food will be vegetarian. LG Secret location, London, 4 April to 31 May.
Grit
This...
- 1/1/2014
- by Lyn Gardner, Andrew Dickson, Jonathan Jones, Adrian Searle, Imogen Tilden, Andrew Clements, Tom Service, Mark Lawson, Tim Jonze, Brian Logan, Oliver Wainwright, Ben Beaumont-Thomas, Henry Barnes, Judith Mackrell
- The Guardian - Film News
From Johnny Cash to Angela Lansbury, expect to see some familiar faces in the coming year
Pop
The lost Johnny Cash gets released
According to Cash's son John, the country legend was a prolific hoarder, hanging on to everything from original audio tapes for The Johnny Cash Show to "a camel saddle gift from the prince of Saudi Arabia". That explains why it's taken several years since his death in 2003 for anyone to find Out Among the Stars, an album he recorded in the early 1980s. Columbia dismissed the album as not worth releasing, but John Cash describes the 12 tracks – which include a duet with Johnny's wife, June Carter – as "beautiful". 24 March.
Theatre
Hairspray
Barely has the set for a blistering revival of Chicago been cleared away than director Paul Kerryson sets about reinventing this joyous musical, inspired by John Waters's cult movie. It's a show that mixes the heart-rending and the hair-curling,...
Pop
The lost Johnny Cash gets released
According to Cash's son John, the country legend was a prolific hoarder, hanging on to everything from original audio tapes for The Johnny Cash Show to "a camel saddle gift from the prince of Saudi Arabia". That explains why it's taken several years since his death in 2003 for anyone to find Out Among the Stars, an album he recorded in the early 1980s. Columbia dismissed the album as not worth releasing, but John Cash describes the 12 tracks – which include a duet with Johnny's wife, June Carter – as "beautiful". 24 March.
Theatre
Hairspray
Barely has the set for a blistering revival of Chicago been cleared away than director Paul Kerryson sets about reinventing this joyous musical, inspired by John Waters's cult movie. It's a show that mixes the heart-rending and the hair-curling,...
- 1/1/2014
- by Mark Lawson, Lyn Gardner, Peter Bradshaw, Stuart Heritage, Andrew Dickson, Brian Logan, Jonathan Jones, Judith Mackrell
- The Guardian - Film News
What more has Courtney Love possibly got to share with us, and how will Steve McQueen fare at the Oscars? These are just a few of the topics that will set tongues wagging in the new year
Pop
Courtney Love's memoir
The question is not so much "what will be in Courtney Love's book?" as "what could possibly be in Courtney Love's book that she hasn't already spoken/ranted/raved about?" Still, her self-titled autobiography has been described as "too crazy not to be true" and should provide her definitive take on her time with Hole and her doomed relationship with Kurt Cobain. It will also, hopefully, spill previously unspilled beans on her relationships with Billy Corgan and Steve Coogan. Oh, and according to an interview she did with Rolling Stone, it was inspired by Russell Brand's My Booky Wook. The mind boggles. Tj
Everything to...
Pop
Courtney Love's memoir
The question is not so much "what will be in Courtney Love's book?" as "what could possibly be in Courtney Love's book that she hasn't already spoken/ranted/raved about?" Still, her self-titled autobiography has been described as "too crazy not to be true" and should provide her definitive take on her time with Hole and her doomed relationship with Kurt Cobain. It will also, hopefully, spill previously unspilled beans on her relationships with Billy Corgan and Steve Coogan. Oh, and according to an interview she did with Rolling Stone, it was inspired by Russell Brand's My Booky Wook. The mind boggles. Tj
Everything to...
- 1/1/2014
- by Mark Lawson, Andrew Dickson, Lyn Gardner, Oliver Wainwright, Andrew Clements, Jonathan Jones, Tim Jonze, Henry Barnes, Stuart Heritage, Judith Mackrell
- The Guardian - Film News
From the world's tallest building to Adele's 'modern jazz'-inspired third album, the big events of 2014 are lining up
Television
True Detective
Crime drama is always looking for new ways of dramatising a murder investigation: one killing investigated over 10 episodes; alternating viewpoints of cops, killer, victims and so on. However, in this ambitious series from HBO, multiple seasons will follow the search for a serial killer in Louisiana over 17 years, with each year introducing a new cast. Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey are in the first group. Either magnificent or mad. Mark Lawson HBO.
Penny Dreadful
This has a remarkable lineage: it is produced by film and stage director Sam Mendes and John Logan, who wrote Skyfall for Mendes as well as Hugo, The Aviator and Gladiator. Its disadvantage may be the daring concept, in which a number of fictional horror story characters – Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and Dorian Gray – are living in Victorian London.
Television
True Detective
Crime drama is always looking for new ways of dramatising a murder investigation: one killing investigated over 10 episodes; alternating viewpoints of cops, killer, victims and so on. However, in this ambitious series from HBO, multiple seasons will follow the search for a serial killer in Louisiana over 17 years, with each year introducing a new cast. Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey are in the first group. Either magnificent or mad. Mark Lawson HBO.
Penny Dreadful
This has a remarkable lineage: it is produced by film and stage director Sam Mendes and John Logan, who wrote Skyfall for Mendes as well as Hugo, The Aviator and Gladiator. Its disadvantage may be the daring concept, in which a number of fictional horror story characters – Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and Dorian Gray – are living in Victorian London.
- 1/1/2014
- by Mark Lawson, Andrew Pulver, Andrew Dickson, Lyn Gardner, Jonathan Jones, Adrian Searle, Oliver Wainwright, Tom Service, Imogen Tilden, Andrew Clements, Tim Jonze
- The Guardian - Film News
From the Nutcracker to American Psycho, from Mary Poppins to Kurt Vile, our critics pick their must-sees of the festive season
If you wish it could be Christmas every day
Nutcrackers, various
You know it's Christmas in the ballet world by the number of Nutcrackers touring the world's stages. In the UK alone, there are close to a dozen doing the rounds, but the top three remain the Royal Ballet's exquisitely traditional version, the sparky family friendly production by Birmingham Royal Ballet, and English National Ballet's – with the best snow scene of them all. Royal Opera House, London (020-7304 4000), 4 December to 16 January; Birmingham Hippodrome (0844 338 5000), to 12 December; London Coliseum (020-7845 9300), 11 December to 5 January.
Father Christmas
Does Father Christmas use the loo? Does he secretly long for summer? Does he have strong views on the size of chimneys? You bet he does. Raymond Briggs's gorgeous picture book gets a heartwarming makeover for under-sixes.
If you wish it could be Christmas every day
Nutcrackers, various
You know it's Christmas in the ballet world by the number of Nutcrackers touring the world's stages. In the UK alone, there are close to a dozen doing the rounds, but the top three remain the Royal Ballet's exquisitely traditional version, the sparky family friendly production by Birmingham Royal Ballet, and English National Ballet's – with the best snow scene of them all. Royal Opera House, London (020-7304 4000), 4 December to 16 January; Birmingham Hippodrome (0844 338 5000), to 12 December; London Coliseum (020-7845 9300), 11 December to 5 January.
Father Christmas
Does Father Christmas use the loo? Does he secretly long for summer? Does he have strong views on the size of chimneys? You bet he does. Raymond Briggs's gorgeous picture book gets a heartwarming makeover for under-sixes.
- 11/25/2013
- by Lyn Gardner, Michael Billington, Andrew Clements, Alexis Petridis, Judith Mackrell, John Fordham, Brian Logan, Stuart Heritage, Mark Lawson, Jonathan Jones
- The Guardian - Film News
From new voices like NoViolet Bulawayo to rediscovered old voices like James Salter, from Dave Eggers's satire to David Thomson's history of film, writers, Observer critics and others pick their favourite reads of 2013. And they tell us what they hope to find under the tree …
Curtis Sittenfeld
Novelist
My favourite books of 2013 are Drama High (Riverhead) by Michael Sokolove, Sea Creatures (Turnaround) by Susanna Daniel, and & Sons (Harper Collins) by David Gilbert. Drama High is incredibly smart, moving non-fiction about an American drama teacher who for four decades coaxed sophisticated and nuanced theatrical performances out of teenage students who weren't privileged or otherwise remarkable and in so doing, changed their conceptions of what they could do with their lives. Sea Creatures is a gripping, beautifully written novel about the mother of a selectively mute three-year-old boy; when she takes a job ferrying supplies to a hermit off the coast of Florida,...
Curtis Sittenfeld
Novelist
My favourite books of 2013 are Drama High (Riverhead) by Michael Sokolove, Sea Creatures (Turnaround) by Susanna Daniel, and & Sons (Harper Collins) by David Gilbert. Drama High is incredibly smart, moving non-fiction about an American drama teacher who for four decades coaxed sophisticated and nuanced theatrical performances out of teenage students who weren't privileged or otherwise remarkable and in so doing, changed their conceptions of what they could do with their lives. Sea Creatures is a gripping, beautifully written novel about the mother of a selectively mute three-year-old boy; when she takes a job ferrying supplies to a hermit off the coast of Florida,...
- 11/24/2013
- by Ali Smith, Robert McCrum, Tim Adams, Kate Kellaway, Rachel Cooke, Sebastian Faulks, Jackie Kay
- The Guardian - Film News
Hilary Mantel, Jonathan Franzen, Mohsin Hamid, Ruth Rendell, Tom Stoppard, Malcolm Gladwell, Eleanor Catton and many more recommend the books that impressed them this year
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw (Fourth Estate) is a brilliant, sprawling, layered and unsentimental portrayal of contemporary China. It made me think and laugh. I also love Dave Eggers' The Circle (Hamish Hamilton), which is a sharp-eyed and funny satire about the obsession with "sharing" our lives through technology. It's convincing and a little creepy.
William Boyd
By strange coincidence two of the most intriguing art books I read this year had the word "Breakfast" in their titles. They were Breakfast with Lucian by Geordie Greig (Jonathan Cape) and Breakfast at Sotheby's by Philip Hook (Particular). Greig's fascinating, intimate biography of Lucian Freud was a revelation. Every question I had about Freud – from the aesthetic to the intrusively gossipy – was...
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw (Fourth Estate) is a brilliant, sprawling, layered and unsentimental portrayal of contemporary China. It made me think and laugh. I also love Dave Eggers' The Circle (Hamish Hamilton), which is a sharp-eyed and funny satire about the obsession with "sharing" our lives through technology. It's convincing and a little creepy.
William Boyd
By strange coincidence two of the most intriguing art books I read this year had the word "Breakfast" in their titles. They were Breakfast with Lucian by Geordie Greig (Jonathan Cape) and Breakfast at Sotheby's by Philip Hook (Particular). Greig's fascinating, intimate biography of Lucian Freud was a revelation. Every question I had about Freud – from the aesthetic to the intrusively gossipy – was...
- 11/23/2013
- by Hilary Mantel, Jonathan Franzen, Mohsin Hamid, Tom Stoppard, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, William Boyd, Bill Bryson, Shami Chakrabarti, Sarah Churchwell, Antonia Fraser, Mark Haddon, Robert Harris, Max Hastings, Philip Hensher, Simon Hoggart, AM Homes, John Lanchester, Mark Lawson, Robert Macfarlane, Andrew Motion, Ian Rankin, Lionel Shriver, Helen Simpson, Colm Tóibín, Richard Ford, John Gray, David Kynaston, Penelope Lively, Pankaj Mishra, Blake Morrison, Susie Orbach
- The Guardian - Film News
Mark Lawson finds authorial controversy and romantic scrawl in an imitation library book
Creators of popular television have often invoked comparisons with written fiction: Dennis Potter and Steve Bochco both used the term "TV novel" to describe series such as Potter's The Singing Detective and Bochco's La Law and NYPD Blue. Both screenwriters also published novels, and this switchover tradition continues with Jj Abrams, the power behind Alias and Lost.
Perhaps surprisingly, writers who rethought the structures of television often became reverentially conventional on the page: Potter's Ticket to Ride and Bochco's Death by Hollywood had impressive plot and dialogue, as you might expect, but an Edwardian reader would be at ease with the novels' approach to narrative and chapters.
Abrams, though, has come up with a novel of such structural daring that the first task of the audience is to work out a way of reading it. And I...
Creators of popular television have often invoked comparisons with written fiction: Dennis Potter and Steve Bochco both used the term "TV novel" to describe series such as Potter's The Singing Detective and Bochco's La Law and NYPD Blue. Both screenwriters also published novels, and this switchover tradition continues with Jj Abrams, the power behind Alias and Lost.
Perhaps surprisingly, writers who rethought the structures of television often became reverentially conventional on the page: Potter's Ticket to Ride and Bochco's Death by Hollywood had impressive plot and dialogue, as you might expect, but an Edwardian reader would be at ease with the novels' approach to narrative and chapters.
Abrams, though, has come up with a novel of such structural daring that the first task of the audience is to work out a way of reading it. And I...
- 11/13/2013
- by Mark Lawson
- The Guardian - Film News
The assassination of JFK and the conspiracy theories that followed have proved irresistible to writers and artists, from Oliver Stone to Stephen King
• Mark Lawson on the 10 best books inspired by JFK
The grassy knoll. The book depository. Any further description of the location is superfluous. We know where we are, and when. Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1963: the scene of the assassination of President John F Kennedy. History assumes mythic proportions when its very familiarity requires no further explanation or scene-setting; when it provides instead a well-signposted point of departure for artistic creativity. The matter of Dallas has been as resonant in the fiction and film of the past half century as the story of the Trojan war was in the literature of classical antiquity. Only Hitler and the Nazis rival its influence on the modern imagination.
Yet the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination will not be marked by consensus.
• Mark Lawson on the 10 best books inspired by JFK
The grassy knoll. The book depository. Any further description of the location is superfluous. We know where we are, and when. Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1963: the scene of the assassination of President John F Kennedy. History assumes mythic proportions when its very familiarity requires no further explanation or scene-setting; when it provides instead a well-signposted point of departure for artistic creativity. The matter of Dallas has been as resonant in the fiction and film of the past half century as the story of the Trojan war was in the literature of classical antiquity. Only Hitler and the Nazis rival its influence on the modern imagination.
Yet the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination will not be marked by consensus.
- 11/2/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
The Us comedian slams Two and a Half Men's Chuck Lorre for nabbing her gags, Jennifer Saunders slags off the BBC and Johnny Vegas interviews himself
This week's comedy news
It's a powderkeg issue in the world of comedy – and Roseanne Barr has gone off like a rocket this week, accusing Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre of thieving jokes. On Friday, Barr used Twitter (what else?) to berate Lorre and the show's star, Ashton Kutcher, who cracked a gag on the show similar to one Barr performed in 2006. The joke is about old age and the menopause: "I'd imagine that you're wet in the places you used to be dry," said Kutcher's character, "and dry in the places you used to be wet." This prompted a volley of online abuse from Barr. "Comics," began one: "Begin Watching Chuck Lorre'S Shows 2 See If He Steals Your...
This week's comedy news
It's a powderkeg issue in the world of comedy – and Roseanne Barr has gone off like a rocket this week, accusing Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre of thieving jokes. On Friday, Barr used Twitter (what else?) to berate Lorre and the show's star, Ashton Kutcher, who cracked a gag on the show similar to one Barr performed in 2006. The joke is about old age and the menopause: "I'd imagine that you're wet in the places you used to be dry," said Kutcher's character, "and dry in the places you used to be wet." This prompted a volley of online abuse from Barr. "Comics," began one: "Begin Watching Chuck Lorre'S Shows 2 See If He Steals Your...
- 10/8/2013
- by Brian Logan
- The Guardian - Film News
Martin Amis, Ian Rankin and Jackie Collins are among fellow authors and fans paying tribute to the Us crime writer
Fans and fellow writers have paid tribute to Us crime writer Elmore Leonard after he died yesterday, from complications associated with a stroke suffered in July.
Award-winning crime writer Ian Rankin told the Guardian: "Elmore Leonard could write hard-boiled and soft-boiled. He could make you laugh at a one-liner and wince at a scene of brutal violence. He could write westerns, crime stories, and political satire. And all of it in the leanest prose imaginable. In short, he was a master."
The style and humour of Leonard's writing won him fans across the globe during a 60-year career in which he wrote 45 novels, including Get Shorty in 1990, which catapulted him to fame when it became a blockbuster film starring John Travolta.
In the Guardian, Mark Lawson wrote: "The plots … were...
Fans and fellow writers have paid tribute to Us crime writer Elmore Leonard after he died yesterday, from complications associated with a stroke suffered in July.
Award-winning crime writer Ian Rankin told the Guardian: "Elmore Leonard could write hard-boiled and soft-boiled. He could make you laugh at a one-liner and wince at a scene of brutal violence. He could write westerns, crime stories, and political satire. And all of it in the leanest prose imaginable. In short, he was a master."
The style and humour of Leonard's writing won him fans across the globe during a 60-year career in which he wrote 45 novels, including Get Shorty in 1990, which catapulted him to fame when it became a blockbuster film starring John Travolta.
In the Guardian, Mark Lawson wrote: "The plots … were...
- 8/21/2013
- by Liz Bury
- The Guardian - Film News
Jonathan Appleton is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
Historical novel writer Cj Sansom has selected William Hartnell’s Doctor Who as his choice for the Cultural Exchange feature in BBC Radio 4’s Front Row. Interviewed by Mark Lawson in the Tuesday August 13...
The post Novelist Picks Hartnell’s Doctor as Cultural Highlight appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
Historical novel writer Cj Sansom has selected William Hartnell’s Doctor Who as his choice for the Cultural Exchange feature in BBC Radio 4’s Front Row. Interviewed by Mark Lawson in the Tuesday August 13...
The post Novelist Picks Hartnell’s Doctor as Cultural Highlight appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
- 8/14/2013
- by Jonathan Appleton
- Kasterborous.com
Comic hints that a high-profile hunger strike might be on the cards. And if that wasn't confusing enough, Sunday is now a day of atheism and Jo Brand a product of patriarchy
This week's comedy news
Is Frankie Boyle about to go on hunger strike? As reported by the Guardian last week, the human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith is currently hunger-striking in solidarity with his client Shaker Aamer, who is imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay and has been striking for 150 days. In an interview last Thursday on Radio Scotland, and again the following day on this website, Stafford Smith claimed the standup and ex-Mock the Week star is lined up to "take over from me when I fail" – ie starve himself to raise awareness of the plight of inmates at Guantánamo. The move would represent a strong break with Boyle's cynical public image, but all his management will say...
This week's comedy news
Is Frankie Boyle about to go on hunger strike? As reported by the Guardian last week, the human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith is currently hunger-striking in solidarity with his client Shaker Aamer, who is imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay and has been striking for 150 days. In an interview last Thursday on Radio Scotland, and again the following day on this website, Stafford Smith claimed the standup and ex-Mock the Week star is lined up to "take over from me when I fail" – ie starve himself to raise awareness of the plight of inmates at Guantánamo. The move would represent a strong break with Boyle's cynical public image, but all his management will say...
- 7/16/2013
- by Brian Logan
- The Guardian - Film News
Comedian's response to Us anti-abortion law no laughing matter for Republicans. Elsewhere, Stewart Lee blasts elitism in comedy and Lenny Henry's thespian thunder rages on
This week's comedy news
Not for the first time, the Us comedian Sarah Silverman has become embroiled in a political row, after a Democratic representative retweeted her stated desire to "anally probe" the governor of Wisconsin – in response to his having signed off new anti-abortion legislation. Governor Scott Walker's law would require women considering abortions to have ultrasound scans. Silverman tweeted that "I'd very much like to anally probe @govwalker each time he needs to make an 'informed decision'" – a comment retweeted by Colorado politician Joe Salazar. At that, Republicans cried foul: "It's fine to disagree with Gov Walker," fulminated a Colorado Republican Committee spokesman in a party press release, "but it's not Ok for Joe Salazar to call for the governor to be raped.
This week's comedy news
Not for the first time, the Us comedian Sarah Silverman has become embroiled in a political row, after a Democratic representative retweeted her stated desire to "anally probe" the governor of Wisconsin – in response to his having signed off new anti-abortion legislation. Governor Scott Walker's law would require women considering abortions to have ultrasound scans. Silverman tweeted that "I'd very much like to anally probe @govwalker each time he needs to make an 'informed decision'" – a comment retweeted by Colorado politician Joe Salazar. At that, Republicans cried foul: "It's fine to disagree with Gov Walker," fulminated a Colorado Republican Committee spokesman in a party press release, "but it's not Ok for Joe Salazar to call for the governor to be raped.
- 7/11/2013
- by Brian Logan
- The Guardian - Film News
Madness will help close BBC Television Centre with a gig from the car park outside the iconic building.
Suggs's '80s pop collective will perform a concert that will act as a warm-up for a final two-hour pre-recorded show about the broadcaster's studios, Goodbye TV Centre.
Airing in March, the show will celebrate the BBC's flagship studios, looking back at events such as the power cut on the launch night of BBC Two, and visiting the studios used for Monty Python's parrot sketch, Del Boy's living room, Miranda's shop and the corridors that Alan Partridge ran down with his stolen Stilton.
Guests who joined former BBC chairman Michael Grade on the sofa include Penelope Keith, Ronnie Corbett, David Mitchell, Michael Parkinson, Terry Wogan, Mark Lawson, David Jason and Zoe Ball.
Completing the lineup are Phillip Schofield, Gary Lineker, Chris Hollins, Bob Harris and Fiona Bruce.
BBC Television Centre opened on...
Suggs's '80s pop collective will perform a concert that will act as a warm-up for a final two-hour pre-recorded show about the broadcaster's studios, Goodbye TV Centre.
Airing in March, the show will celebrate the BBC's flagship studios, looking back at events such as the power cut on the launch night of BBC Two, and visiting the studios used for Monty Python's parrot sketch, Del Boy's living room, Miranda's shop and the corridors that Alan Partridge ran down with his stolen Stilton.
Guests who joined former BBC chairman Michael Grade on the sofa include Penelope Keith, Ronnie Corbett, David Mitchell, Michael Parkinson, Terry Wogan, Mark Lawson, David Jason and Zoe Ball.
Completing the lineup are Phillip Schofield, Gary Lineker, Chris Hollins, Bob Harris and Fiona Bruce.
BBC Television Centre opened on...
- 2/27/2013
- Digital Spy
BBC Four has confirmed the details of Goodbye Television Centre, a final 120-minute show bidding farewell to the broadcaster's iconic building.
David Attenborough, Jeremy Paxman and Noel Edmonds are among the talent who will join former BBC chairman Michael Grade at BBC's Studio One to talk about their favourite memories of TV Centre.
Airing in March, the show will celebrate the BBC's flagship studios, looking back at events such as the power cut on the launch night of BBC Two, and visiting the studios used for Monty Python's parrot sketch, Del Boy's living room, Miranda's shop and the corridors that Alan Partridge ran down with his stolen Stilton.
Other guests confirmed to join Grade on the sofa include Penelope Keith, Ronnie Corbett, David Mitchell, Michael Parkinson, Terry Wogan, Mark Lawson, Richard Briers, David Jason and Zoe Ball.
Completing the lineup are Phillip Schofield, Gary Lineker, Chris Hollins, Bob Harris and Fiona Bruce.
David Attenborough, Jeremy Paxman and Noel Edmonds are among the talent who will join former BBC chairman Michael Grade at BBC's Studio One to talk about their favourite memories of TV Centre.
Airing in March, the show will celebrate the BBC's flagship studios, looking back at events such as the power cut on the launch night of BBC Two, and visiting the studios used for Monty Python's parrot sketch, Del Boy's living room, Miranda's shop and the corridors that Alan Partridge ran down with his stolen Stilton.
Other guests confirmed to join Grade on the sofa include Penelope Keith, Ronnie Corbett, David Mitchell, Michael Parkinson, Terry Wogan, Mark Lawson, Richard Briers, David Jason and Zoe Ball.
Completing the lineup are Phillip Schofield, Gary Lineker, Chris Hollins, Bob Harris and Fiona Bruce.
- 2/13/2013
- Digital Spy
Having already tossed her from an airplane, Danny Boyle has no need for the Queen of England's highest honor. According to reports, the Oscar-winning filmmaker was nominated for a knighthood by the UK's arts and media honors committee for his direction of the massive, very British opening ceremony for the London Summer Olympics; when the committee approached him to see if he'd accept the honor, however, he declined. Photos: Inside the Olympics Opening Ceremonies As Boyle told Mark Lawson in an interview on BBC radio earlier in December, he considers himself a populist, and the ceremony he created -- which
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- 12/18/2012
- by Jordan Zakarin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
London, Dec 12: Danny Boyle, who set the rumour mills spinning after the appearance of 007 in his Olympic opening ceremony, has dismissed speculation that he will direct a 'James Bond' movie.
Bond actor Daniel Craig had filmed a segment with The Queen for the ceremony, which the 56-year-old director had co-ordinated.
When asked on BBC Radio 4's Front Row whether he would direct a full-length Bond movie, Boyle said, "No, I'm not very good with huge amounts of money."
Boyle told interviewer Mark Lawson that his experience of directing 'The Beach,' starring Leonardo DiCaprio, had put him off making movies with big budgets.
"Don't.
Bond actor Daniel Craig had filmed a segment with The Queen for the ceremony, which the 56-year-old director had co-ordinated.
When asked on BBC Radio 4's Front Row whether he would direct a full-length Bond movie, Boyle said, "No, I'm not very good with huge amounts of money."
Boyle told interviewer Mark Lawson that his experience of directing 'The Beach,' starring Leonardo DiCaprio, had put him off making movies with big budgets.
"Don't.
- 12/12/2012
- by Ketali Mehta
- RealBollywood.com
The unwillingness of Goliath to engage with Hugh Grant's David left the film feeling short of material, writes Mark Lawson
Actors are often uneasy when asked to be themselves in public and it was noticeable that Hugh Grant, fronting Taking on the Tabloids, a documentary rushed into the schedules on the eve of the Leveson report, rapidly gave himself a character to play – a plucky guy called David.
"We're David taking on a terrifying Goliath," Grant declared, referring to the Hacked Off campaign that he heads with the Lib Dem former MP, Evan Harris, with the aim of promoting legislation against press misbehaviour.
As portrayed for an hour on Channel 4 last night, "David" is a 52-year-old former heart-throb actor who, though rumoured to be due to appear in the third Bridget Jones movie next year, has recently cut back on acting and taken to appearing as an anti-tabloid...
Actors are often uneasy when asked to be themselves in public and it was noticeable that Hugh Grant, fronting Taking on the Tabloids, a documentary rushed into the schedules on the eve of the Leveson report, rapidly gave himself a character to play – a plucky guy called David.
"We're David taking on a terrifying Goliath," Grant declared, referring to the Hacked Off campaign that he heads with the Lib Dem former MP, Evan Harris, with the aim of promoting legislation against press misbehaviour.
As portrayed for an hour on Channel 4 last night, "David" is a 52-year-old former heart-throb actor who, though rumoured to be due to appear in the third Bridget Jones movie next year, has recently cut back on acting and taken to appearing as an anti-tabloid...
- 11/29/2012
- by Mark Lawson
- The Guardian - Film News
Director tells Edinburgh television festival he is still bitter after his run-in with the singer
The award-winning director behind the 7 Up series has spoken for the first time of his disappointment and bitterness that a dispute with Mick Jagger prevented the release of a potentially landmark Rolling Stones documentary he shot a decade ago.
Michael Apted revealed that he occasionally screens a rough cut of a feature-length documentary, which includes footage of rehearsals and the opening dates of the Rolling Stones' record breaking 40th anniversary Licks tour, for friends. However, the film, shot in 2002, has never been released.
Apted said that Jagger told him during a meeting in Las Vegas that the film he had delivered as a rough cut would not do the band any good, adding that the Rolling Stones frontman had brought "his hitman in to deal with it".
Apted added that the project, on which he worked for several months,...
The award-winning director behind the 7 Up series has spoken for the first time of his disappointment and bitterness that a dispute with Mick Jagger prevented the release of a potentially landmark Rolling Stones documentary he shot a decade ago.
Michael Apted revealed that he occasionally screens a rough cut of a feature-length documentary, which includes footage of rehearsals and the opening dates of the Rolling Stones' record breaking 40th anniversary Licks tour, for friends. However, the film, shot in 2002, has never been released.
Apted said that Jagger told him during a meeting in Las Vegas that the film he had delivered as a rough cut would not do the band any good, adding that the Rolling Stones frontman had brought "his hitman in to deal with it".
Apted added that the project, on which he worked for several months,...
- 8/26/2012
- by Jason Deans
- The Guardian - Film News
The BBC coverage goes on for over five hours, so here are some top tips on how to prepare – what bits to focus on, and what to ignore
Mark Lawson: the challenges of televised spectaculars
It's Eurovision without the voting, the X Factor final without the local mayors whooping into Stacey Solomon's face, the jubilee flotilla without crowds of people scowling in the rain. (Or so organisers hope). Tonight's Olympic opening ceremony is going to be brilliant.
Or at least it will be, so long as you do it correctly. Trust me – if you approach the opening ceremony incorrectly, you're in for a world of pain. You'll drop off halfway through and wake up on your sofa at 3am with a drool-covered remote control embedded into your face and a vague recollection of Sue Barker haunting your dreams. This is why I've compiled a brief list of instructions for you.
Mark Lawson: the challenges of televised spectaculars
It's Eurovision without the voting, the X Factor final without the local mayors whooping into Stacey Solomon's face, the jubilee flotilla without crowds of people scowling in the rain. (Or so organisers hope). Tonight's Olympic opening ceremony is going to be brilliant.
Or at least it will be, so long as you do it correctly. Trust me – if you approach the opening ceremony incorrectly, you're in for a world of pain. You'll drop off halfway through and wake up on your sofa at 3am with a drool-covered remote control embedded into your face and a vague recollection of Sue Barker haunting your dreams. This is why I've compiled a brief list of instructions for you.
- 7/27/2012
- by Stuart Heritage
- The Guardian - Film News
Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss has hit back at speculation that the show's unaired pilot was deemed a "disaster". Gatiss explained that the hour-long episode was only scrapped because the BBC chose to go with a 90-minute runtime.
> 'Sherlock' exec Mark Gatiss: 'Fall reveal will be worth the wait' Speaking on BBC Four series Mark Lawson Talks To, Gatiss said that he and Steven Moffat chose to put the original recording on Sherlock's series one DVD to end the potentially damaging rumours. "The pilot is very good," he said. "We would have been very happy [to air it]... We knew we couldn't just bolt on another half (more)...
> 'Sherlock' exec Mark Gatiss: 'Fall reveal will be worth the wait' Speaking on BBC Four series Mark Lawson Talks To, Gatiss said that he and Steven Moffat chose to put the original recording on Sherlock's series one DVD to end the potentially damaging rumours. "The pilot is very good," he said. "We would have been very happy [to air it]... We knew we couldn't just bolt on another half (more)...
- 4/3/2012
- by By Daniel Sperling
- Digital Spy
Mark Lawson kicks off our 2012 arts special by looking at how the Olympic Games will highlight the cracks in our culture
A theatre director recently told me that he would not be applying for the currently vacant job of artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, because he wasn't sure what any of the three words in the organisation's name mean any more: monarchy, Elizabethan authorship and permanent acting troupes are all concepts currently in flux. In the same way, anyone seeking to promote "British culture" – a key marketing concept in the year of the 2012 London Olympics – faces the problem that the definition of the United Kingdom is contracting while the definition of culture is expanding.
Many things that would seem to qualify for a notional British pavilion in an entertainment fair soon require to be subject to qualification. The X Factor is definitely British – but is it culture? My Week with Marilyn,...
A theatre director recently told me that he would not be applying for the currently vacant job of artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, because he wasn't sure what any of the three words in the organisation's name mean any more: monarchy, Elizabethan authorship and permanent acting troupes are all concepts currently in flux. In the same way, anyone seeking to promote "British culture" – a key marketing concept in the year of the 2012 London Olympics – faces the problem that the definition of the United Kingdom is contracting while the definition of culture is expanding.
Many things that would seem to qualify for a notional British pavilion in an entertainment fair soon require to be subject to qualification. The X Factor is definitely British – but is it culture? My Week with Marilyn,...
- 12/30/2011
- by Mark Lawson
- The Guardian - Film News
How do you adapt classic film The Ladykillers for the stage? First, blow the whole thing up
The story of The Ladykillers came to screenwriter William Rose in a dream. Four criminals planning a robbery hole up in an old lady's house, deciding to kill her when she discovers their secret. Unable to do the deed, however, some of them end up killing each other, and all of them end up dead. Rose woke his wife, Tania, gabbled the story to her – and immediately fell asleep again. She, thankfully for him and all of us, flew from their bed and typed the whole thing out before it had a chance to go cold. The next morning, she told the story to her husband, and he listened amazed, as if hearing it for the first time.
Fittingly, the classic 1955 film has a dreamlike, flowing quality, but with a robust logic that...
The story of The Ladykillers came to screenwriter William Rose in a dream. Four criminals planning a robbery hole up in an old lady's house, deciding to kill her when she discovers their secret. Unable to do the deed, however, some of them end up killing each other, and all of them end up dead. Rose woke his wife, Tania, gabbled the story to her – and immediately fell asleep again. She, thankfully for him and all of us, flew from their bed and typed the whole thing out before it had a chance to go cold. The next morning, she told the story to her husband, and he listened amazed, as if hearing it for the first time.
Fittingly, the classic 1955 film has a dreamlike, flowing quality, but with a robust logic that...
- 12/19/2011
- by Graham Linehan
- The Guardian - Film News
He spent five years on a script and then walked away. He was thrown off a publicity tour for ruining The Road's Oscar chances. Writer Joe Penhall tells Mark Lawson why truculence works
Childbirth is a common metaphor for artistic creation and, in the recent experience of the dramatist Joe Penhall, the two have blurred. "One night, I said to my wife: 'Guess what? I've just finished a play.' And she said: 'Guess what? I'm pregnant."
The child was their first, a son; the play, his ninth, is Haunted Child, opening at the Royal Court in London next week. As Penhall wryly notes, these days the gestation of a theatre production is somewhat longer than a pregnancy (because of waiting for stages, actors and directors to become free), and while waiting for Haunted Child to drop, there was time for a second son and another play. Birthday will...
Childbirth is a common metaphor for artistic creation and, in the recent experience of the dramatist Joe Penhall, the two have blurred. "One night, I said to my wife: 'Guess what? I've just finished a play.' And she said: 'Guess what? I'm pregnant."
The child was their first, a son; the play, his ninth, is Haunted Child, opening at the Royal Court in London next week. As Penhall wryly notes, these days the gestation of a theatre production is somewhat longer than a pregnancy (because of waiting for stages, actors and directors to become free), and while waiting for Haunted Child to drop, there was time for a second son and another play. Birthday will...
- 11/30/2011
- by Mark Lawson
- The Guardian - Film News
Now more than 50 years old, Ealing comedy The Ladykillers is one of Britain's best-loved films. So how will Graham Linehan, writer of The It Crowd and Father Ted, rework it for the theatre?
In the vaulting back room of a church off Islington's Upper Street in north London, five bad bogus men are plotting to bump off a little old lady. It is a hugely ambitious undertaking. Not only is The Ladykillers one of Britain's best-loved films, but the cast of the 1955 production – Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom and Danny Green – did include one or two actors that modern film programmes like to wrongly refer to as "legends", even if (pedantry aside) you know what they mean.
But this won't be a film; it's a stage version. And it's far from a knock-off of the film. The story's pretty much the same, of course – criminals posing as...
In the vaulting back room of a church off Islington's Upper Street in north London, five bad bogus men are plotting to bump off a little old lady. It is a hugely ambitious undertaking. Not only is The Ladykillers one of Britain's best-loved films, but the cast of the 1955 production – Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom and Danny Green – did include one or two actors that modern film programmes like to wrongly refer to as "legends", even if (pedantry aside) you know what they mean.
But this won't be a film; it's a stage version. And it's far from a knock-off of the film. The story's pretty much the same, of course – criminals posing as...
- 10/31/2011
- by Euan Ferguson
- The Guardian - Film News
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
There’s honestly not much to be said about this weeks Person of Interest. It’s not that it was a bad episode; it’s just that after the heavy dose of atmosphere in Episode 4 and the high-octane drama of Episode 5, it feels like Episode 6 takes its foot off the accelerator a bit. With each episode so far being better than the week before, I suppose it was only inevitable that we would eventually hit a snag. Hopefully a mid-season slump won’t hit the ratings too hard, because I’m really gunning for a second season. Anyway…
This week Reese goes undercover as a driver for Zoe Morgan (Paige Turco), an all-attitude businesswoman with no identifiable business records. As Finch points out, she has no current employer but somehow managed to pay for a $2 million apartment in cash. Obviously she’s mixed up in something...
There’s honestly not much to be said about this weeks Person of Interest. It’s not that it was a bad episode; it’s just that after the heavy dose of atmosphere in Episode 4 and the high-octane drama of Episode 5, it feels like Episode 6 takes its foot off the accelerator a bit. With each episode so far being better than the week before, I suppose it was only inevitable that we would eventually hit a snag. Hopefully a mid-season slump won’t hit the ratings too hard, because I’m really gunning for a second season. Anyway…
This week Reese goes undercover as a driver for Zoe Morgan (Paige Turco), an all-attitude businesswoman with no identifiable business records. As Finch points out, she has no current employer but somehow managed to pay for a $2 million apartment in cash. Obviously she’s mixed up in something...
- 10/28/2011
- by Emile K. Lewis
- Obsessed with Film
The Cutline notes that while U.S. newspapers, with a few notable exceptions, refrained from publishing photos of Muammar Gaddafi’s dead body, the media in other nations did not. London’s Guardian was one of the papers that did publish death photos, which was immediatedly called out in its own virtual pages by Mark Lawson in its Comment Is Free section: The issue is most acute for newspapers because a front page (either paper or online) is designed to take readers unawares and attract the curiosity of passing trade. Unlike in television, no warning can be given of what is about to be seen, although, for me, the standard warnings given by broadcasters yesterday ("images which some viewers may find offensive") were inadequate for the leap in morbid detail that some of these pictures represented. Though having largely caused the problem by making editorial control of questionable images so much harder to impose,...
- 10/22/2011
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Find out who will be judging the competition in each category
Entries will initially be narrowed to a shortlist of up to 10 in each category (ie, five in each age group) by the Guardian arts desk and a panel of independent adjudicators. These shortlists will then be read by the judges' panels below, who will agree on the best under 14-year-old and the best 14-18-year-old in each category. An overall winner will be chosen from these 16 finalists by the Guardian arts editor, Melissa Denes; culture editor of guardian.co.uk, Alex Needham; Georgina Henry, head of culture, Gnm, and Alan Yentob, creative director of the BBC.
Pop
Emmy the Great, singer-songwriter
Alexis Petridis, chief pop critic
Michael Hann, editor, Film and Music
Tim Jonze, editor, guardian.co.uk/music
Caspar Llewellyn Smith, music editor, Guardian News & Media
Visual art
Susan Philipsz, artist
Adrian Searle, visual art critic
Jonathan Jones,...
Entries will initially be narrowed to a shortlist of up to 10 in each category (ie, five in each age group) by the Guardian arts desk and a panel of independent adjudicators. These shortlists will then be read by the judges' panels below, who will agree on the best under 14-year-old and the best 14-18-year-old in each category. An overall winner will be chosen from these 16 finalists by the Guardian arts editor, Melissa Denes; culture editor of guardian.co.uk, Alex Needham; Georgina Henry, head of culture, Gnm, and Alan Yentob, creative director of the BBC.
Pop
Emmy the Great, singer-songwriter
Alexis Petridis, chief pop critic
Michael Hann, editor, Film and Music
Tim Jonze, editor, guardian.co.uk/music
Caspar Llewellyn Smith, music editor, Guardian News & Media
Visual art
Susan Philipsz, artist
Adrian Searle, visual art critic
Jonathan Jones,...
- 6/19/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
Surely Mark Lawson is aware that, from the very beginning, cinema was always a space where conversation took place (End these noises off, 17 June)? Silent film, with its intertitles, offered a meeting place for people to discuss the events of the day.
Intertitles were translated by patrons into a multitude of languages to enable friends to understand the film's narrative. It was the onset of the talkies, not to mention the middle class, that introduced the "shh" into cinema. Part of the enjoyment of a film is engaging with the product (audible reaction to a scary movie or laughing would appear to Lawson acceptable, while a brief exchange during the film is not), did Lawson not attend Saturday pictures?
Gary Cummins
London
• While in agreement with Mark Lawson's view that theatregoers who use mobile phones, or conduct private conversations, etc, during performances should "shut up or get out", I was surprised by his comment,...
Intertitles were translated by patrons into a multitude of languages to enable friends to understand the film's narrative. It was the onset of the talkies, not to mention the middle class, that introduced the "shh" into cinema. Part of the enjoyment of a film is engaging with the product (audible reaction to a scary movie or laughing would appear to Lawson acceptable, while a brief exchange during the film is not), did Lawson not attend Saturday pictures?
Gary Cummins
London
• While in agreement with Mark Lawson's view that theatregoers who use mobile phones, or conduct private conversations, etc, during performances should "shut up or get out", I was surprised by his comment,...
- 6/19/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
The hit TV series Royal Pains returns to television for a second season and comes to DVD for fans of the show or if you missed it and want to see it. The season has the same premise as the first: Hank the good doctor is in the Hamptons to administer his special brand of doctoring to the rich. This season sees the return of a familiar cast. Mark Feuerstein plays Dr. Mark Lawson, who we saw in the first season hit rock bottom and then come out on top of the world. He continues his on-the-go doctor business with the beautiful Divya Katdare (Reshma Shetty) and his brother Evan (Paulo Constanzo). He continues to live in his...
- 6/10/2011
- by Dana Rae
- Monsters and Critics
The short-film showcase proves that Polish documentaries are in rude health as film-makers explore their own history
Recently on this site, Mark Lawson questioned the health of the documentary, hoping that "traditional observational or historical documentaries still exist". In the former eastern bloc countries, where metaphorical writing was the only way of bamboozling the censors, the genre is not just existing, but thriving, for now there is the opportunity (and information) to tell it as it is, and was. In doing so, the documentary form is being revitalised.
Last week, the 51st Kraków film festival, devoted entirely to short films and documentaries, screened 223 films, including 132 documentaries. Hosted in the beautiful Polish city, the festival was staged in four cinemas themselves revealing something of the country's history: the Kino Pod Baranami, which won the 2009 best programming award (Europa cinemas) and is housed in the upper floors of a gothic palace in...
Recently on this site, Mark Lawson questioned the health of the documentary, hoping that "traditional observational or historical documentaries still exist". In the former eastern bloc countries, where metaphorical writing was the only way of bamboozling the censors, the genre is not just existing, but thriving, for now there is the opportunity (and information) to tell it as it is, and was. In doing so, the documentary form is being revitalised.
Last week, the 51st Kraków film festival, devoted entirely to short films and documentaries, screened 223 films, including 132 documentaries. Hosted in the beautiful Polish city, the festival was staged in four cinemas themselves revealing something of the country's history: the Kino Pod Baranami, which won the 2009 best programming award (Europa cinemas) and is housed in the upper floors of a gothic palace in...
- 6/1/2011
- by James Hopkin
- The Guardian - Film News
With lavish new movie adaptations of Dickens, Brontë and Tolstoy in the pipeline, Mark Lawson wonders what keeps drawing film-makers to the same 19th-century novels
At press previews, to which movie critics are lured on weekday mornings by platters of complimentary croissants and fruit segments, a special mood of resentment greets the unspooling of a franchise in its later instalments: the ninth Nightmare on Elm Street, say, or the 12th Friday the 13th. Relentless repetition of the same characters or set-up is viewed as proof of imaginative poverty and commercial opportunism.
But recycling of storylines is not necessarily evidence of low artistic ambitions. Three films currently in production from admired directors – Mike Newell, Andrea Arnold and Joe Wright – might be billed, in line with Hollywood's numerical tendency, as Great Expectations 16, Wuthering Heights 17 and Anna Karenina 25, if we include even a rough estimate of the previous significant film and TV versions of these novels.
At press previews, to which movie critics are lured on weekday mornings by platters of complimentary croissants and fruit segments, a special mood of resentment greets the unspooling of a franchise in its later instalments: the ninth Nightmare on Elm Street, say, or the 12th Friday the 13th. Relentless repetition of the same characters or set-up is viewed as proof of imaginative poverty and commercial opportunism.
But recycling of storylines is not necessarily evidence of low artistic ambitions. Three films currently in production from admired directors – Mike Newell, Andrea Arnold and Joe Wright – might be billed, in line with Hollywood's numerical tendency, as Great Expectations 16, Wuthering Heights 17 and Anna Karenina 25, if we include even a rough estimate of the previous significant film and TV versions of these novels.
- 5/30/2011
- by Mark Lawson
- The Guardian - Film News
The Daytime Emmys nominations included an all-too familiar line-up of perennial contenders. While several talented thespians reaped their first bids there were also several shocking snubs. The Good Best Actor bids by Michael Park (“As The World Turns") and James Scott ("Days Of Our Lives") and supporting nods for Heather Tom (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) and "General Hospital" co-stars Nancy Lee Grahn (a personal favorite) and Jonathan Jackson (photo, right) Among the first-time nominees are Best Actress contender Laura Wright (“Gh”) who has been a daytime drama staple for two decades her co-star Jason Thompson who earned his first Supporting Actor nomination since joining the series in 2005. He edged out sentimental favorites from cancelled series: Jacob Young and Cornelius Smith Jr. (“All My Children”); Trent Dawson and Eric Sheffer Stevens (“Atwt”); and Mark Lawson (“Oltl”). ...
- 5/13/2011
- Gold Derby
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