The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is expanding its membership.
According to a press release, the organization that hands out Oscars each year at the Academy Awards has extended invitations to join the Academy to 398 artists and executives who have made notable contributions to the motion picture industry.
“The Academy is proud to welcome these artists and professionals into our membership. They represent extraordinary global talent across cinematic disciplines and have made a vital impact on the arts and sciences of motion pictures and on movie fans worldwide,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang in a joint statement.
Read More: The Academy Announces 2024 Oscars Date As Well As Submission Deadline
There are some big names and familiar faces among the invitees, including musicians Taylor Swift and David Byrne, and numerous actors, ranging from Selma Blair to Keke Palmer to “Elvis” Oscar nominee Austin Butler.
According to a press release, the organization that hands out Oscars each year at the Academy Awards has extended invitations to join the Academy to 398 artists and executives who have made notable contributions to the motion picture industry.
“The Academy is proud to welcome these artists and professionals into our membership. They represent extraordinary global talent across cinematic disciplines and have made a vital impact on the arts and sciences of motion pictures and on movie fans worldwide,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang in a joint statement.
Read More: The Academy Announces 2024 Oscars Date As Well As Submission Deadline
There are some big names and familiar faces among the invitees, including musicians Taylor Swift and David Byrne, and numerous actors, ranging from Selma Blair to Keke Palmer to “Elvis” Oscar nominee Austin Butler.
- 6/28/2023
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
Exclusive: Dark star Louis Hofmann, one of Germany’s most in-demand young actors, is joining Bella Ramsey (The Last Of Us), Dominic West (The Crown), Ruth Negga (Loving), Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter) in period drama Monstrous Beauty, which HanWay is selling at the Cannes market ahead of a planned September shoot.
Ramsey, who shot to fame as the precocious Lady of Bear Island in Got and is coming off HBO’s blockbuster hit The Last Of Us, is heading back to court but this time as an aspiring playwright in the court of King Charles II who suffers from a rare condition that means she is entirely covered in hair.
Atonement and The Hour star Romola Garai has written and will direct the movie with Matthew James Wilkinson (Yesterday) producing for Stigma Films.
Hofmann will play Vale in Monstrous Beauty, an “average actor and extremely skilled lover by trade — but...
Ramsey, who shot to fame as the precocious Lady of Bear Island in Got and is coming off HBO’s blockbuster hit The Last Of Us, is heading back to court but this time as an aspiring playwright in the court of King Charles II who suffers from a rare condition that means she is entirely covered in hair.
Atonement and The Hour star Romola Garai has written and will direct the movie with Matthew James Wilkinson (Yesterday) producing for Stigma Films.
Hofmann will play Vale in Monstrous Beauty, an “average actor and extremely skilled lover by trade — but...
- 5/16/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
For Academy and BAFTA Award-nominated production designer Maria Djurkovic, the best part of any film is discovering its visual language — its look, mood, atmosphere, color palette and sensibility. But what is important to her is that this language arises from the material itself. That was certainly the case with her latest effort, “My Policeman,” whose script she was sent during the first Covid-19 lockdown and whose attitude immediately leapt off the page.
“For me, that initial response about mood and atmosphere is absolutely crucial, [it] doesn’t matter what the project is… One of the ways that I know if I should be doing a particular film or not is whether I do see pictures immediately,” reveals Djurkovic during her recent webchat with Gold Derby (watch the exclusive video interview above). “I absolutely did [with ‘My Policeman’] — it had a very strong atmosphere and a very evocative mood.”
Based on Bethan Roberts’ 2012 novel of the same name,...
“For me, that initial response about mood and atmosphere is absolutely crucial, [it] doesn’t matter what the project is… One of the ways that I know if I should be doing a particular film or not is whether I do see pictures immediately,” reveals Djurkovic during her recent webchat with Gold Derby (watch the exclusive video interview above). “I absolutely did [with ‘My Policeman’] — it had a very strong atmosphere and a very evocative mood.”
Based on Bethan Roberts’ 2012 novel of the same name,...
- 11/30/2022
- by Luca Giliberti
- Gold Derby
You could say that working on “My Policeman” would be any costume designer’s dream. The movie, which had a limited theatrical release in the U.S. on October 21 before debuting on Amazon Prime Video on November 4, is a romantic period drama that takes place across two timelines in 20th-century Britain and features everything from a well-attended opera performance to an excursion to sun-drenched Venice. But what primarily attracted Annie Symons to the project was actually the profoundness of the story.
“I couldn’t stop crying,” reveals the film’s Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning costume designer about her visceral reaction to reading the script for the first time in her recent webchat with Gold Derby (watch our exclusive video interview above). “I thought it was so powerful and so personal. I thought… this story will be personal to just about everybody watching it for some reason or another. And I...
“I couldn’t stop crying,” reveals the film’s Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning costume designer about her visceral reaction to reading the script for the first time in her recent webchat with Gold Derby (watch our exclusive video interview above). “I thought it was so powerful and so personal. I thought… this story will be personal to just about everybody watching it for some reason or another. And I...
- 11/22/2022
- by Luca Giliberti
- Gold Derby
To belt or not to belt?
That was the question bedeviling Annie Symons, the costume designer of Amazon’s “My Policeman,” when it came to outfitting Harry Styles. In the film, streaming Nov. 4, the pop star plays Tom, a gay constable forced into a loveless marriage in 1950s Brighton. And, you see, it turns out that police officers at the time didn’t wear belts, which was a little bit of a problem for Symons.
“I needed Tom to look young, svelte and handsome and prior to introducing a belt, policemen looked a bit like navy blue tree trunks,” says Symons. “I had raging arguments with the so-called experts, but ultimately I decided to leave all the academics shaking their heads and the belt went on.”
Symons used wool twill from a military fabric supplier to manufacture the uniform. She also brightened the color of the outfit, deviating from what...
That was the question bedeviling Annie Symons, the costume designer of Amazon’s “My Policeman,” when it came to outfitting Harry Styles. In the film, streaming Nov. 4, the pop star plays Tom, a gay constable forced into a loveless marriage in 1950s Brighton. And, you see, it turns out that police officers at the time didn’t wear belts, which was a little bit of a problem for Symons.
“I needed Tom to look young, svelte and handsome and prior to introducing a belt, policemen looked a bit like navy blue tree trunks,” says Symons. “I had raging arguments with the so-called experts, but ultimately I decided to leave all the academics shaking their heads and the belt went on.”
Symons used wool twill from a military fabric supplier to manufacture the uniform. She also brightened the color of the outfit, deviating from what...
- 11/3/2022
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
It’s more than just Harry, it’s an ensemble.
Amazon Studios is moving forward with an awards push for director Michael Grandage’s romantic drama “My Policeman,” despite mixed reviews out of the Toronto Film Festival, where it received an ensemble tribute. Variety has learned exclusively that Amazon will be submitting the entire cast, which includes music superstar Harry Styles and Emmy nominee Emma Corrin, all in the supporting categories for Oscar consideration.
Going between younger and older versions of the three main characters over a 40-year span, the British drama tells the story of Tom (Styles and Linus Roache), Marion (Corrin and Gina McKee) and Patrick (David Dawson and Rupert Everett) and how events from their past affect their future when reunited.
While awards strategists tend to commit “category fraud,” the act of submitting a lead performance in supporting categories for an easier pathway to a nom or win,...
Amazon Studios is moving forward with an awards push for director Michael Grandage’s romantic drama “My Policeman,” despite mixed reviews out of the Toronto Film Festival, where it received an ensemble tribute. Variety has learned exclusively that Amazon will be submitting the entire cast, which includes music superstar Harry Styles and Emmy nominee Emma Corrin, all in the supporting categories for Oscar consideration.
Going between younger and older versions of the three main characters over a 40-year span, the British drama tells the story of Tom (Styles and Linus Roache), Marion (Corrin and Gina McKee) and Patrick (David Dawson and Rupert Everett) and how events from their past affect their future when reunited.
While awards strategists tend to commit “category fraud,” the act of submitting a lead performance in supporting categories for an easier pathway to a nom or win,...
- 9/29/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Three movies into his film career, Harry Styles’ ability as an actor continues to improve with each of his outings. Beginning as a young soldier in Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” (2017), he returns to the silver screen with two films this year. In the first, he’s the charming husband to Florence Pugh in “Don’t Worry Darling,” with the press tour that keeps on giving. In the second, he portrays a closeted gay police officer in Michael Grandage’s drama “My Policeman” from Amazon Studios, featuring his strongest turn yet as an actor. But is an Oscar nomination in his future?
Singers-turned-actors have had an inconsistent road to the Academy Awards. While there are successes such as Cher (“Moonstruck”) and Jennifer Hudson (“Dreamgirls”), Academy voters sometimes make actors prove themselves for a while to show they’re the real deal. Known as a “pretty boy,” Styles’ celebrity status does present an...
Singers-turned-actors have had an inconsistent road to the Academy Awards. While there are successes such as Cher (“Moonstruck”) and Jennifer Hudson (“Dreamgirls”), Academy voters sometimes make actors prove themselves for a while to show they’re the real deal. Known as a “pretty boy,” Styles’ celebrity status does present an...
- 9/12/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
It’s our favourite night of the year! The 2021 BIFA awards took place this evening at Old Billingsgate in London. Hosted by People Just Do Nothing’s Asim Chaudhry, those attending include Emma Corrin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Joe Cole, Lucy Boynton, Jude Law, Harris Dickinson, Paapa Essiedu, Caitriona Balfe, Morfydd Clark, Riz Ahmed, Wumni Mosaku, Ruth Wilson, Stephen Graham and James Norton.
The 24th British Independent Film Awards saw Joanna Scanlan’s After Love take home a handful of awards, Clio Barnard’s Ali & Ava also did well – and there’s something wonderful in championing the very best in British Independent film – so, hey – we’re all winners here.*
David Sztypuljak and Scott Davis were our men at the event, asking questions.
You can see our interviews below, as well as a full list of tonight’s winners and nominees.
*Actual winners are below.
The 2021 BIFA Red Carpet Interviews
The...
The 24th British Independent Film Awards saw Joanna Scanlan’s After Love take home a handful of awards, Clio Barnard’s Ali & Ava also did well – and there’s something wonderful in championing the very best in British Independent film – so, hey – we’re all winners here.*
David Sztypuljak and Scott Davis were our men at the event, asking questions.
You can see our interviews below, as well as a full list of tonight’s winners and nominees.
*Actual winners are below.
The 2021 BIFA Red Carpet Interviews
The...
- 12/6/2021
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The first big dramatic crescendo for AMC’s horror-on-the-ice series comes in the third episode of the anthology series, when, in his quixotic quest to discover the Northwest Passage through the Arctic for the British Admiralty, Captain Sir John Franklin (Ciaran Hinds) is violently killed by the monstrous Tuunbaq. Executive producers David Kajganich and Soo Hugh wanted to maintain the show’s ubeer-realistic approach while creating a sequence so evocative viewers felt like they got a glimpse of the mythical creature, even though it remains completely obscured. “One of our first rules on the horror side of the show was to always be a bit closer to the action than the audience is used to being,” Kajganich says. “Our mandate was to infuse this death with a subjective point of view, that we stay in the show’s tone that even death come from a subjective experience,” adds Hugh. “It...
- 5/30/2018
- by Scott Huver
- Variety Film + TV
[Editor’s note: The following interviews contain spoilers for “The Terror” Episode 6, “A Mercy.”]
Life on “The Terror” has not been a simple one for the members of the title vessel. The polar freeze, dwindling rations, and a looming four-legged menace have all conspired to make this a growing, drawn-out nightmare for everyone on screen.
But this week’s episode, “A Mercy,” brought the equally frightening idea that these men’s biggest enemy may very well be themselves.
Organized in part by the newly in-command Fitzjames (Tobias Menzies) to lighten the spirits of the crew, a night of frivolity is one big good intention paving the way for the hellish 800-mile trek to potential safety. After finding out that the men very well may be doomed before they even take a single step, Dr. Stanley (Alistair Petrie) takes it upon himself to end an ill-fated trip before it even begins. A night of merry-making and reverie quickly becomes a...
Life on “The Terror” has not been a simple one for the members of the title vessel. The polar freeze, dwindling rations, and a looming four-legged menace have all conspired to make this a growing, drawn-out nightmare for everyone on screen.
But this week’s episode, “A Mercy,” brought the equally frightening idea that these men’s biggest enemy may very well be themselves.
Organized in part by the newly in-command Fitzjames (Tobias Menzies) to lighten the spirits of the crew, a night of frivolity is one big good intention paving the way for the hellish 800-mile trek to potential safety. After finding out that the men very well may be doomed before they even take a single step, Dr. Stanley (Alistair Petrie) takes it upon himself to end an ill-fated trip before it even begins. A night of merry-making and reverie quickly becomes a...
- 4/24/2018
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Acclaimed filmmaker Guy Ritchie brings his dynamic style to the epic fantasy action adventure King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword.
Starring Charlie Hunnam in the title role, the film is an iconoclastic take on the classic Excalibur myth, tracing Arthur’s journey from the streets to the throne.
On Saturday, Warner Bros. debuted the trailer during their Comic-Con presentation in Hall H.
When the child Arthur’s father is murdered, Vortigern (Jude Law), Arthur’s uncle, seizes the crown. Robbed of his birthright and with no idea who he truly is, Arthur comes up the hard way in the back alleys of the city. But once he pulls the sword from the stone, his life is turned upside down and he is forced to acknowledge his true legacy…whether he likes it or not.
Starring with Hunnam (FX’s “Sons of Anarchy”) and Oscar nominee Law (“Cold Mountain,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley...
Starring Charlie Hunnam in the title role, the film is an iconoclastic take on the classic Excalibur myth, tracing Arthur’s journey from the streets to the throne.
On Saturday, Warner Bros. debuted the trailer during their Comic-Con presentation in Hall H.
When the child Arthur’s father is murdered, Vortigern (Jude Law), Arthur’s uncle, seizes the crown. Robbed of his birthright and with no idea who he truly is, Arthur comes up the hard way in the back alleys of the city. But once he pulls the sword from the stone, his life is turned upside down and he is forced to acknowledge his true legacy…whether he likes it or not.
Starring with Hunnam (FX’s “Sons of Anarchy”) and Oscar nominee Law (“Cold Mountain,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley...
- 7/23/2016
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Acclaimed filmmaker Guy Ritchie brings his dynamic style to an original King Arthur epic, a sweeping fantasy action adventure starring Charlie Hunnam (FX’s “Sons of Anarchy”), for Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures.
Principal photography has begun at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, UK.
Ritchie posted this first shot from the film on his Instagram account.
https://instagram.com/guyritchie
The bold new story introduces a streetwise young Arthur who runs the back alleys of Londonium with his gang, unaware of the life he was born for until he grasps hold of the sword Excalibur—and with it, his future. Instantly challenged by the power of Excalibur, Arthur is forced to make some hard choices. Throwing in with the Resistance and a mysterious young woman named Guinevere, he must learn to master the sword, face down his demons and unite the people to defeat the tyrant Vortigern, who stole...
Principal photography has begun at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, UK.
Ritchie posted this first shot from the film on his Instagram account.
https://instagram.com/guyritchie
The bold new story introduces a streetwise young Arthur who runs the back alleys of Londonium with his gang, unaware of the life he was born for until he grasps hold of the sword Excalibur—and with it, his future. Instantly challenged by the power of Excalibur, Arthur is forced to make some hard choices. Throwing in with the Resistance and a mysterious young woman named Guinevere, he must learn to master the sword, face down his demons and unite the people to defeat the tyrant Vortigern, who stole...
- 3/10/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Warner Bros. has announced that Guy Ritchies upcoming new take on the King Arthur mythos has started filming today, and along with the announcement they've revealed the film's cast and details on the plot. Come inside to see how different this version will be.
I love the tale of King Arthur. It's a great fantasy story with a rich history and potential. As such, I've been looking forward to seeing how Guy Ritchie would handle the tale, and what he would be changing. Today, cameras have started rolling on the film, and we're able to get a little more information on plot:
The bold new story introduces a streetwise young Arthur who runs the back alleys of Londonium with his gang, unaware of the life he was born for until he grasps hold of the sword Excalibur—and with it, his future. Instantly challenged by the power of Excalibur, Arthur...
I love the tale of King Arthur. It's a great fantasy story with a rich history and potential. As such, I've been looking forward to seeing how Guy Ritchie would handle the tale, and what he would be changing. Today, cameras have started rolling on the film, and we're able to get a little more information on plot:
The bold new story introduces a streetwise young Arthur who runs the back alleys of Londonium with his gang, unaware of the life he was born for until he grasps hold of the sword Excalibur—and with it, his future. Instantly challenged by the power of Excalibur, Arthur...
- 3/10/2015
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Jordan Maison)
- Cinelinx
For the upcoming sequel, The Woman in Black 2 Angel of Death, director Tom Harper is taking audiences back to the ill-fated Eel Marsh House after things go horribly wrong for a group of children who are evacuated there to escape the horrors of war. Unbeknownst to them and their caretakers, Eel Marsh House is anything but a safe haven and soon, an evil force is reawakened, forcing them to deal with a supernatural entity that will stop at nothing to destroy them.
Daily Dead recently chatted with The Woman in Black 2 star Phoebe Fox in anticipation of the film’s release on January 2nd, 2015. Read about her experiences working on the film and get some insight into her character, Eve Parkins:
Thanks so much for speaking with me today, Phoebe. I really enjoyed your work in the film and thought it does an excellent job of expanding on...
Daily Dead recently chatted with The Woman in Black 2 star Phoebe Fox in anticipation of the film’s release on January 2nd, 2015. Read about her experiences working on the film and get some insight into her character, Eve Parkins:
Thanks so much for speaking with me today, Phoebe. I really enjoyed your work in the film and thought it does an excellent job of expanding on...
- 12/18/2014
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
"We looked at war films and thought about what it was like to be a soldier. We wanted to appeal to a war film audience, to contemporise it and strip out all the pageantry and pare things down," costume designer Annie Symons told BBC about the network's ongoing Shakespeare series "The Hollow Crown." "I looked at football hooligans, the way they move and wear colours. We thought about war as sport which it definitively was in the age of chivalry." Well, while we certainly wouldn't call him a hooligan, Benedict Cumberbatch certainly looks appropriately rugged in this first look at "The Hollow Crown: The War Of Roses." The second batch of the Bard's works will include an adaptation of "Richard III" with Cumberbatch in the title role. And joining him is a pretty stellar cast including Judi Dench, Keeley Hawes, Sophie Okonedo, and Tom Sturridge. But as cool as this looks,...
- 10/1/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Showtime series Homeland swept the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards netting popular awards for Damien Lewis (Best Actor), Claire Danes (Best Actress), and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series and Best Drama Series.
The Primetime wins helped Homeland secure its place as the Emmy's surprise hit of 2012. Lewis beat out Emmy favourites Jon Hamm and Bryan Cranston, who himself won the award twice for his role as Walter White in AMC.s Breaking Bad.
HBO.s Game Change tied with Homeland with four awards won, including Jay Roach.s Best Director for a Miniseries and Outstanding Miniseries. Combined with the Creative Arts Emmy wins, Homeland won a collective six awards this Emmy season.
Despite Showtime.s popular wins, HBO came out on top earning six awards in total for their programs nominated. ABC came soon after with five awards with its flagship show Modern Family earning an Outstanding Directing for a...
The Primetime wins helped Homeland secure its place as the Emmy's surprise hit of 2012. Lewis beat out Emmy favourites Jon Hamm and Bryan Cranston, who himself won the award twice for his role as Walter White in AMC.s Breaking Bad.
HBO.s Game Change tied with Homeland with four awards won, including Jay Roach.s Best Director for a Miniseries and Outstanding Miniseries. Combined with the Creative Arts Emmy wins, Homeland won a collective six awards this Emmy season.
Despite Showtime.s popular wins, HBO came out on top earning six awards in total for their programs nominated. ABC came soon after with five awards with its flagship show Modern Family earning an Outstanding Directing for a...
- 9/24/2012
- by Anthony Soegito
- IF.com.au
The full list of winners at the BAFTA Television Craft Awards 2011 is as follows: Special Award
Springwatch Breakthrough Talent
Aaron Young - producer/director - Battle Of Britain: The Real Story (BBC Two)
Caroline Skinner - producer - Five Days (BBC One)
Jon Brown - writer - Mongrels (BBC Three) - Winner!
Dave Whyte - graphics - Pete Versus Life (Channel 4) Costume Design
Charlotte Holdich - Any Human Heart (Channel 4)
Joanna Eatwell - Eric And Ernie (BBC Two)
Charlotte Walter - This Is England '86 (Channel 4)
Annie Symons - Worried About The Boy (BBC Two) - Winner! Digital Creativity
Nick Underhill, Jo Haslam, Simon Deverell, Murry Toms - The Big Fish Fight (Channel 4)
Nick Hall, Luc Houselander, Simon Brickle, Jody Smith - The Million Pound Drop Live (Channel 4) - Winner!
Matt Jarvis, Chloe Moss, Owen Priestly, Carl Hodler - Misfits (more)...
Springwatch Breakthrough Talent
Aaron Young - producer/director - Battle Of Britain: The Real Story (BBC Two)
Caroline Skinner - producer - Five Days (BBC One)
Jon Brown - writer - Mongrels (BBC Three) - Winner!
Dave Whyte - graphics - Pete Versus Life (Channel 4) Costume Design
Charlotte Holdich - Any Human Heart (Channel 4)
Joanna Eatwell - Eric And Ernie (BBC Two)
Charlotte Walter - This Is England '86 (Channel 4)
Annie Symons - Worried About The Boy (BBC Two) - Winner! Digital Creativity
Nick Underhill, Jo Haslam, Simon Deverell, Murry Toms - The Big Fish Fight (Channel 4)
Nick Hall, Luc Houselander, Simon Brickle, Jody Smith - The Million Pound Drop Live (Channel 4) - Winner!
Matt Jarvis, Chloe Moss, Owen Priestly, Carl Hodler - Misfits (more)...
- 5/9/2011
- by By Catriona Wightman
- Digital Spy
The full list of nominees at the BAFTA Television Craft Awards 2011, to be held on May 8, is as follows: Special Award
Springwatch Break-through Talent
Aaron Young - producer/director - Battle Of Britain: The Real Story (BBC Two)
Caroline Skinner - producer - Five Days (BBC One)
Jon Brown - writer - Mongrels (BBC Three)
Dave Whyte - graphics - Pete Versus Life (Channel 4) Costume Design
Charlotte Holdich - Any Human Heart (Channel 4)
Joanna Eatwell - Eric And Ernie (BBC Two)
Charlotte Walter - This Is England '86 (Channel 4)
Annie Symons - Worried About The Boy (BBC Two) Digital Creativity
Nick Underhill, Jo Haslam, Simon Deverell, Murry Toms - The Big Fish Fight (Channel 4)
Nick Hall, Luc Houselander, Simon Brickle, Jody Smith - The Million Pound Drop Live (Channel 4)
Matt (more)...
Springwatch Break-through Talent
Aaron Young - producer/director - Battle Of Britain: The Real Story (BBC Two)
Caroline Skinner - producer - Five Days (BBC One)
Jon Brown - writer - Mongrels (BBC Three)
Dave Whyte - graphics - Pete Versus Life (Channel 4) Costume Design
Charlotte Holdich - Any Human Heart (Channel 4)
Joanna Eatwell - Eric And Ernie (BBC Two)
Charlotte Walter - This Is England '86 (Channel 4)
Annie Symons - Worried About The Boy (BBC Two) Digital Creativity
Nick Underhill, Jo Haslam, Simon Deverell, Murry Toms - The Big Fish Fight (Channel 4)
Nick Hall, Luc Houselander, Simon Brickle, Jody Smith - The Million Pound Drop Live (Channel 4)
Matt (more)...
- 4/12/2011
- by By Catriona Wightman
- Digital Spy
Subtitled "a study for a portrait of Francis Bacon," writer-director John Maybury's tedious composition about diabolical artists and the models and lovers they abuse premiered at Cannes, with stateside distributor Strand Releasing looking at a minor attraction on the art house circuit.
Starring Derek Jacobi as Bacon, "Love Is the Devil" is heavy on atmosphere, and its distorted visuals approximate the bleak imagery of Bacon (1909-92), one of the better-known British painters of the century. While it concentrates on just a few years in Bacon's life, Maybury's film is still overly ambitious and busy, essentially going through a laundry list of woes and mean little activities but not pursuing the often nasty subject matter to its most unnerving revelations.
Alas, one is more shocked by the conventional storytelling and hokey approach to what could potentially have been a searing experience. Chronicling Bacon's intense relationship with George Dyer (Daniel Craig), a thief who breaks into his residence and stays when the artist invites him to bed, "Love Is the Devil" has several striking sequences, but its grand and grim vision is disappointingly slim and unengaging.
While Bacon uses him as a model, Dyer slowly unwinds and goes bonkers, having abattoir dreams with bloody apparitions. Hanging with the exceedingly corrosive artist and his rotting pals, Dyer develops a taste for boozing and brooding and nearly commits suicide. Misanthropic and sociopathic, needy-in-his-own-way Bacon keeps Dyer around because the younger man is handy in the bedroom.
Typical of this sketchy film, one scene is set aside to show that Dyer is adept at inflicting pain with cigarettes and belts. Showing Bacon the sexual masochist is so easy, the cocky filmmakers overstate the opposite truth -- in social and personal relationships he's a sadistic SOB. In case we're having trouble getting the message, there's helpful narration and voice-overs, with Bacon's "optimistic about nothing" attitude carried to an irredeemable extreme in his ignoring Dyer's pleas for help.
Tilda Swinton, Anne Lambton and Karl Johnson fairly ooze across the screen as horrid pub pals of Bacon. But this grotesque chorus of upper-crust ghouls becomes tiresome, and so do the predictable class conflicts between Bacon and Dyer.
Through it all, Jacobi and Craig give passionate performances that almost redeem the film.
LOVE IS THE DEVIL
Strand Releasing
BBC Films, Premiere Heure, Uplink
A BFI production
In association with Partners in Crime
Writer-director: John Maybury
Producer: Chiara Menage
Executive producers: Ben Gibson, Frances-Anne Solomon, Patrice Haddad, Asai Takashi
Director of photography: John Mathieson
Production designer: Alan Macdonald
Editor: Daniel Goddard
Costume designer: Annie Symons
Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto
Casting: Mary Selway
Color/stereo
Cast:
Francis Bacon: Derek Jacobi
George Dyer: Daniel Craig
Muriel Belcher: Tilda Swinton
Isabel: Anne Lambton
Daniel: Adrian Scarborough
Deakin: Karl Johnson
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Starring Derek Jacobi as Bacon, "Love Is the Devil" is heavy on atmosphere, and its distorted visuals approximate the bleak imagery of Bacon (1909-92), one of the better-known British painters of the century. While it concentrates on just a few years in Bacon's life, Maybury's film is still overly ambitious and busy, essentially going through a laundry list of woes and mean little activities but not pursuing the often nasty subject matter to its most unnerving revelations.
Alas, one is more shocked by the conventional storytelling and hokey approach to what could potentially have been a searing experience. Chronicling Bacon's intense relationship with George Dyer (Daniel Craig), a thief who breaks into his residence and stays when the artist invites him to bed, "Love Is the Devil" has several striking sequences, but its grand and grim vision is disappointingly slim and unengaging.
While Bacon uses him as a model, Dyer slowly unwinds and goes bonkers, having abattoir dreams with bloody apparitions. Hanging with the exceedingly corrosive artist and his rotting pals, Dyer develops a taste for boozing and brooding and nearly commits suicide. Misanthropic and sociopathic, needy-in-his-own-way Bacon keeps Dyer around because the younger man is handy in the bedroom.
Typical of this sketchy film, one scene is set aside to show that Dyer is adept at inflicting pain with cigarettes and belts. Showing Bacon the sexual masochist is so easy, the cocky filmmakers overstate the opposite truth -- in social and personal relationships he's a sadistic SOB. In case we're having trouble getting the message, there's helpful narration and voice-overs, with Bacon's "optimistic about nothing" attitude carried to an irredeemable extreme in his ignoring Dyer's pleas for help.
Tilda Swinton, Anne Lambton and Karl Johnson fairly ooze across the screen as horrid pub pals of Bacon. But this grotesque chorus of upper-crust ghouls becomes tiresome, and so do the predictable class conflicts between Bacon and Dyer.
Through it all, Jacobi and Craig give passionate performances that almost redeem the film.
LOVE IS THE DEVIL
Strand Releasing
BBC Films, Premiere Heure, Uplink
A BFI production
In association with Partners in Crime
Writer-director: John Maybury
Producer: Chiara Menage
Executive producers: Ben Gibson, Frances-Anne Solomon, Patrice Haddad, Asai Takashi
Director of photography: John Mathieson
Production designer: Alan Macdonald
Editor: Daniel Goddard
Costume designer: Annie Symons
Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto
Casting: Mary Selway
Color/stereo
Cast:
Francis Bacon: Derek Jacobi
George Dyer: Daniel Craig
Muriel Belcher: Tilda Swinton
Isabel: Anne Lambton
Daniel: Adrian Scarborough
Deakin: Karl Johnson
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/7/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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