Stephen Kijak: 'We just went full on... starting from a place of intimacy' Photo: Manga Entertainment/Passion Pictures Stephen Kijak’s documentary We Are X offers an up-close portrait of the iconic Japanese rock band X Japan. His preceding music documentaries Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, Stones in Exile, Backstreet Boys: Show ’Em What You're Made Of and Jaco follow a filmmaking career that began outside of music, with the narrative feature Never Met Picasso and the feature documentary Cinemania. Since the start, Kijak’s work has been music-centric and even his upcoming narrative feature Shoplifters Of The World focuses on a real-life moment that grew up in the wake of the demise of British band The Smiths. It offers an impression of a filmmaker with narrative intentions amid musical influences, forming a career built upon a unification of story and music.
In conversation with Eye For Film,...
In conversation with Eye For Film,...
- 2/20/2017
- by Paul Risker
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Much has been said and written about the receiving and processing of music as a spiritual experience, either in the religious sense, as a way of attempting a connection with God, or in terms of feeling the lift to one’s emotions, the rush of excitement that a great piece of music well-played can offer to the human body and mind. The emotional aspect of musical transportation is pretty easily accessed, on its basest and highest planes. (Just ask any fan of screamo or Yo-Yo Ma.) And there are plenty of folks who will talk to you about how contemporary Christian artists as varied as Keith Green, Becoming Saints and Andre Crouch provide an aural pathway straight to the ear of God. For me, true incorporeal experiences with music are fairly rare. But when I hear the music of late, indisputably great jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius, or see him play,...
- 12/3/2016
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
Stephen Kijak’s documentary to hit cinemas on Feb 26.
More2Screen has been confirmed as the international (excluding Us/Canada) theatrical distributor for Backstreet Boys: Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of.
Stephen Kijak (Stones In Exile, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man) directs the project for Pulse Films, K-Bahn and Missing In Action.
The music documentary celebrates the band’s 20th anniversary, filmed over two years as the group started to write a new album and plan their re-launch.
The film will be released in cinemas on Feb 26, with a live performance of the band broadcast by satellite into cinemas.
The worldwide rollout will follow of the recorded release.
Band members Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Aj McLean and Kevin Richardson were all producers on the film along with Mia Bays of Missing In Action Films.
Christine Costello, Managing Director, More2Screen, said: “We are thrilled to be appointed as the international theatrical distributor (excluding...
More2Screen has been confirmed as the international (excluding Us/Canada) theatrical distributor for Backstreet Boys: Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of.
Stephen Kijak (Stones In Exile, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man) directs the project for Pulse Films, K-Bahn and Missing In Action.
The music documentary celebrates the band’s 20th anniversary, filmed over two years as the group started to write a new album and plan their re-launch.
The film will be released in cinemas on Feb 26, with a live performance of the band broadcast by satellite into cinemas.
The worldwide rollout will follow of the recorded release.
Band members Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Aj McLean and Kevin Richardson were all producers on the film along with Mia Bays of Missing In Action Films.
Christine Costello, Managing Director, More2Screen, said: “We are thrilled to be appointed as the international theatrical distributor (excluding...
- 12/3/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Award-winning producer John Battsek (Searching For Sugarman, The Imposter) is ramping up for a new feature documentary on glam rock/hair metal band X Japan. Megastars in its native Asia who sell out arenas overseas, X Japan has yet to break stateside with as much success. Formed in 1982, X Japan’s evolution into glam-metal-pop superstars is laden with as much dramatic backstory as any international rock outfit. The lineup, anchored by co-founding drummer-pianist-songwriter Yoshiki, has navigated breakups and the deaths of two members while selling over 30 million albums and singles to date.
With director Stephen Kijak (Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, Stones In Exile) at the helm, principal photography on the Passion Pictures production will begin October 11 at New York’s Madison Square Garden when the band plays their first concert since 2010. New York also is where X Japan first landed stateside when it signed with Atlantic Records in...
With director Stephen Kijak (Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, Stones In Exile) at the helm, principal photography on the Passion Pictures production will begin October 11 at New York’s Madison Square Garden when the band plays their first concert since 2010. New York also is where X Japan first landed stateside when it signed with Atlantic Records in...
- 10/2/2014
- by Jen Yamato
- Deadline
The world is finally getting that unflinching documentary about the Backstreet Boys it has until now been so cruelly denied. The film from director Stephen Kijak will be a full-length look at the massively successful boy band, from the group’s inception under Lou Pearlman to its current, not-so-boyish iteration. While the project certainly has the potential to be totally fluffy bullshit, Kijak—who also directed the music documentaries Stones In Exile and Scott Walker: 30 Century Man—insists it won’t be. He tells The Hollywood Reporter that what drew him to the project is the group’s “openness ...
- 2/11/2013
- avclub.com
The latter half of the 1990s were defined by a music landscape littered with pop princesses and boy bands. It was a time when the Backstreet Boys were internationally recognized megastars. And this is the era that will be revisited in Stephen Kijak's tell-all documentary produced by Pulse Films. THR reports Kijak, the documentarian behind Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, will chart the band's formation through their superstardom, when they sold over 130 million albums becoming one of the 30 best-selling global artists of all time. Each of the original members of Backstreet Boys (A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, and Brian Littrell) is on board for this in-depth.though currently untitled.doc, which promises an all access pass to fans new and old. Over the years the band has seen some shakeups. In 2006, Richardson memorably left the group. But since he recently rejoined it, the founding five have...
- 2/11/2013
- cinemablend.com
Backstreet Boys will be the subject of a new feature documentary by Stephen Kijak.
Kijak previously helmed 2010's Stones In Exile, about The Rolling Stones recording Exile on Main Street, and 2006's Scott Walker: 30 Century Man.
The Pulse Films production, produced by Mia Bays, Thomas Benski and executive produced by Lucas Ochoa, will be finished by autumn 2013 and has the working title of Backstreet Boys - The Movie.
"After making a film with The Rolling Stones, what does one do to top that experience? Backstreet Boys, that's what!" said Kijak.
"This is an incredible opportunity to make a film no-one would expect The Backstreet Boys to make.
"What drew me to this project is their openness and willingness to push themselves into uncomfortable places, to be vulnerable and honest and to be really trusting of the filmmaking team to steer them in the right direction."
He added: "This isn't...
Kijak previously helmed 2010's Stones In Exile, about The Rolling Stones recording Exile on Main Street, and 2006's Scott Walker: 30 Century Man.
The Pulse Films production, produced by Mia Bays, Thomas Benski and executive produced by Lucas Ochoa, will be finished by autumn 2013 and has the working title of Backstreet Boys - The Movie.
"After making a film with The Rolling Stones, what does one do to top that experience? Backstreet Boys, that's what!" said Kijak.
"This is an incredible opportunity to make a film no-one would expect The Backstreet Boys to make.
"What drew me to this project is their openness and willingness to push themselves into uncomfortable places, to be vulnerable and honest and to be really trusting of the filmmaking team to steer them in the right direction."
He added: "This isn't...
- 2/11/2013
- Digital Spy
As the scales continue to tip back away from reality programming, E!, home of such pop culture-eating-itself products like the Kardashian franchise, "The E! True Hollywood Story," "Chelsea Lately," "The Soup" and "Ice Loves Coco," has become the latest network to announce its forays into scripted programming. What will an E! scripted show possibly be like? Well, judging from the nine one-hour series they've announced are currently in development, it's going to be somewhere in between "Gossip Girl," "Entourage" and maybe "Scandal." The complete list of shows from E! is below, but there are two projects that jump out. The first is "Fascination Street," from, among others, executive producer Phillip Noyce and writer Stephen Kijak (who directed the doc "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man"), a look at two brothers in a band that jumps between the past, when they were trying to make it big, and...
- 4/30/2012
- by Alison Willmore
- Indiewire
0:00 - Intro / In-House Stuff / Jay in Philly 12:42 - Headlines: 2011 Golden Globe Nominees, Jon Favreau Turns Down Iron Man 3, Madden Curse Movie, The Weinstein Company to Produce Miramax Sequels, Top 10 Most Pirated Films of 2010 33:05 - Review: Tron: Legacy 1:15:50 - Trailer Trash: The Tree of Life, Fast Five, Limitless 1:31:50 - Other Stuff We Watched: Exit Through the Gift Shop, Black Swan, Cyrus, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Animal Kingdom, Cloak & Dagger, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, Wordplay, The Town, Winnebago Man, Scrooged, Ed Wood 2:29:00 - Junk Mail: Rare Exports Explained, Bay of Blood + Sean's Nickname + Poutine, The Thing and Slow Fades, Christmas Lists 2:51:10 - This Week's DVD Releases 2:53:55 - Outro » Download the MP3 (82 Mb) [1] » View the show notes [2] » Vote for us on Podcast Alley! [3] » Rate us on iTunes!
- 12/23/2010
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Just as there seems to be a rule that every great filmmaker at some point must make a movie about making movies, there also appears to be an unwritten law that their career is not over until they make a Rolling Stones documentary. Actually there's little support for the latter claim. It's just that there are so many concert films and other non-fiction works involving the band, and a good amount were made by notable directors, including Martin Scorsese, Hal Ashby and Jean-Luc Godard. And another is currently being made by Johnny Depp, though it will primarily focus on Keith Richards.
With the most recent Stones film, Stones in Exile, hitting DVD recently, I thought I'd take a look at a few other related works, namely Albert and David Maysles' infamous classic Gimme Shelter and Robert Frank's little-seen, officially unreleased C**ksucker Blues. These two documentaries, neither necessarily concert films,...
With the most recent Stones film, Stones in Exile, hitting DVD recently, I thought I'd take a look at a few other related works, namely Albert and David Maysles' infamous classic Gimme Shelter and Robert Frank's little-seen, officially unreleased C**ksucker Blues. These two documentaries, neither necessarily concert films,...
- 7/8/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
- Cinematical
HollywoodNews.com: “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” will host a weeklong celebration of the Rolling Stones beginning May 10, saluting the re-release of the band’s 10th studio album “Exile on Main Street.” Regarded as one of the greatest albums in rock ‘n’ roll history and one of the most defining of the Stones’ catalogue, “Exile” will be available in the U.S. May 18. The weeklong event is being sponsored by Bud Light Golden Wheat, culminating in a special limited commercial broadcast on Friday, May 14th.
“We’re very excited that ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’ is devoting a special week to ‘Exile on Main Street’ with our new documentary ‘Stones In Exile’ premiering for the first time ever in the U.S. on Friday,” said the Rolling Stones.
Spotlighting tracks from the album, the “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” musical guests will perform selected songs from “Exile on Main Street” each night during the week.
“We’re very excited that ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’ is devoting a special week to ‘Exile on Main Street’ with our new documentary ‘Stones In Exile’ premiering for the first time ever in the U.S. on Friday,” said the Rolling Stones.
Spotlighting tracks from the album, the “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” musical guests will perform selected songs from “Exile on Main Street” each night during the week.
- 5/6/2010
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
It's a terrible week for new DVDs, although there are a bunch of pretty high-profile releases on Blu-ray that are bound to sell more than a few copies. The only real major releases are the Friday the 13th remake and Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail, and... The Cell 2. Yikes. Also out is the little-seen documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, and the Criterion Collection re-release of Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal (on both standard DVD and Blu-ray). Other major Blu-ray titles include Ghostbusters, Spaceballs and the first two seasons of Lost. Will you be spending any money this week? Friday the 13th (2009) [1] (DVD, Blu-ray [2]) Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail [3] The Cell 2 [4] (DVD, Blu-ray [5]) Hydra [6] Killing Ariel [7] The Perfect Sleep [8] Born [9] Body Armour [10] Dough Boys [11] Cherry Blossoms [12] Operation Valkyrie [13] The Strange One [14] What Goes Up [15] Robbin' In Da Hood [16] Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter: Deluxe Edition [17] Friday the 13th,...
- 6/16/2009
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Here is the list of DVD releases for this week. Be sure to check out our podcast special on the Friday the 13th series. Just click on the link below. Friday the 13th (2009) (DVD, Blu-ray) [1] Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail The Cell 2 (DVD, Blu-ray) Hydra Killing Ariel The Perfect Sleep Born Body Armour Dough Boys Cherry Blossoms Operation Valkyrie The Strange One What Goes Up Robbin’ In Da Hood Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter: Deluxe Edition [2] Friday the 13th, Part V: A New Beginning: Deluxe Edition [3] Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives: Deluxe Edition [4] The Seventh Seal: Criterion Collection (DVD, Blu-ray) Bergman Island: Criterion Collection The Diary of Anne Frank: 50th Anniversary Edition (DVD, Blu-ray) Scott Walker: 30 Century Man Morning Light (DVD, Blu-ray) Family Guy: Vol. 7 Everwood: The Complete Second Season Saving Grace: Season Two Burn Notice: Season Two (DVD, Blu-ray...
- 6/16/2009
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
Directed by: Stephen Kijak
Cast: Scott Walker, David Bowie
Running Time: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: Unrated
Release Date: May 16, 2009
Plot: It’s a documentary attempting to explain the life and work of Scott Walker. From his early career as a member of swingin’ ’60s boy band The Walker Brothers to his later incarnation as a avant garde singer/composer, the film tries to make sense of Walker’s career.
Who’s It For? Viewers should probably have an interest in the popular music of the latter half of the last century.
Expectations: I was really excited by the list of interviews in this film: Jarvis Cocker, Dot Allison, Alison Goldfrapp, Johnny Marr, Radiohead and David Bowie are all performers who I admire. I figured that if they all liked Scott Walker, he was worth looking into.
Scorecard (0-10)
Actors:
Scott Walker as himself: The filmmakers make...
Directed by: Stephen Kijak
Cast: Scott Walker, David Bowie
Running Time: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: Unrated
Release Date: May 16, 2009
Plot: It’s a documentary attempting to explain the life and work of Scott Walker. From his early career as a member of swingin’ ’60s boy band The Walker Brothers to his later incarnation as a avant garde singer/composer, the film tries to make sense of Walker’s career.
Who’s It For? Viewers should probably have an interest in the popular music of the latter half of the last century.
Expectations: I was really excited by the list of interviews in this film: Jarvis Cocker, Dot Allison, Alison Goldfrapp, Johnny Marr, Radiohead and David Bowie are all performers who I admire. I figured that if they all liked Scott Walker, he was worth looking into.
Scorecard (0-10)
Actors:
Scott Walker as himself: The filmmakers make...
- 5/15/2009
- by Megan Lehar
- The Scorecard Review
When the music documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man made its North American premiere in Austin in 2007, I interviewed its out filmmaker Stephen Kijak (Cinemania). As a full-fledged proselytizing Scott Walker freak, I would have liked the fact that Stephen has the gay to be enough to get our readers to give it a click, but let's get real. The audience for documentary films about obscure ex-pat musical geniuses is neither large nor disproportionately well-represented on our site.
I found a way to get around that little problem when the publicist for the film sent out a note that one of its associate producers was also available for press events in Austin: actor and AfterElton.com hot 100 listee Gale Harold (Queer as Folk, Desperate Housewives). I interviewed him; the article did well, so my editor was happy; I got to write about one of my musical obsessions, so I was,...
I found a way to get around that little problem when the publicist for the film sent out a note that one of its associate producers was also available for press events in Austin: actor and AfterElton.com hot 100 listee Gale Harold (Queer as Folk, Desperate Housewives). I interviewed him; the article did well, so my editor was happy; I got to write about one of my musical obsessions, so I was,...
- 1/24/2009
- by christiekeith
- The Backlot
The Saturday before Christmas tends to be the biggest shopping day of the year (the idea that it's the day after Thanksgiving is an urban legend) -- so that's all the more reason to skip the malls and go to the movies instead! The multiplexes have a variety of offerings in store for you, but the Indie Spotlight is here to tell you about what's happening at the art houses. 'Tis the season for limited-release Oscar-bait!
Today's new offerings are: The Class, Moscow, Belgium, Nothing But the Truth, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, and The Wrestler. Here's the lowdown on each of them:
The Wrestler
What it is: Ok, it stretches the definition of "indie," but this drama about a washed-up professional wrestler seeking redemption certainly feels like a non-studio film.
What they're saying: This one's been getting raves ever since it won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival in September.
Today's new offerings are: The Class, Moscow, Belgium, Nothing But the Truth, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, and The Wrestler. Here's the lowdown on each of them:
The Wrestler
What it is: Ok, it stretches the definition of "indie," but this drama about a washed-up professional wrestler seeking redemption certainly feels like a non-studio film.
What they're saying: This one's been getting raves ever since it won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival in September.
- 12/19/2008
- by Eric D. Snider
- Cinematical
Being waterboarded in a secret CIA prison would be a lark compared to being subjected to "easy listening" radio and pap such as the Walker Brothers' "Make It Easy on Yourself."
At least that's the way I used to feel. Then I watched Stephen Kijak's "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man" and gained a whole new respect for Scott Walker, one-third of the British bubble-gum group from the 1960s.
Actually, the lads weren't brothers and they weren't named Walker. (Scott was born Noel Scott Engel.)
Kijak's creatively filmed doc follows the career of Scott,...
At least that's the way I used to feel. Then I watched Stephen Kijak's "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man" and gained a whole new respect for Scott Walker, one-third of the British bubble-gum group from the 1960s.
Actually, the lads weren't brothers and they weren't named Walker. (Scott was born Noel Scott Engel.)
Kijak's creatively filmed doc follows the career of Scott,...
- 12/19/2008
- by By V.A. MUSETTO
- NYPost.com
by indieWIRE (December 17, 2008) Stephen Kijak's doc "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man" explores one of the most enigmatic figures in rock history. Scott Walker, a superstar in Britain's 1960s pop scene as lead singer of the Walker Brothers who evolved into influential soundmakers of the last few decades. Kijak's doc features interviews with David Bowie, Radiohead, Jarvis Cocker, Brian Eno, Damon Albarn, Alison Goldfrapp, Sting, Johnny Marr and Gavin Friday, among many others. "Walker" premiered at the London Film Festival on Hallowe'en, 2006, and has since screened at the Berlinale and SXSW. It finally opens in limited release today and New York City's IFC Center.
- 12/17/2008
- by peter
- indieWIRE - People
By Neil Pedley
There's a noticeably European flavor this week, combined with some good old-fashioned work-a-day miserablism just in time for the holidays. Laurent Cantet's Palme d'Or-winning doc shows a French school in minor crisis, Mickey Rourke battles his demons and Jim Carrey flails about -- all in good festive fun!
"The Class"
Considering that the ongoing debate over the education system approaches a national pastime in France, it's not difficult to see why Laurent Cantet's pseudo-documentary chronicling a year in a Paris classroom took home the Palme d'Or on its home turf in Cannes. Based on a semi-autobiographical account from former lit teacher François Bégaudeau, playing a similar role here for the cameras, Cantet delivers a studied microcosm of French society via a multiethnic school with an administration run by committee. During the course of a turbulent school year, every aspect of the human social dynamic is played out with points made,...
There's a noticeably European flavor this week, combined with some good old-fashioned work-a-day miserablism just in time for the holidays. Laurent Cantet's Palme d'Or-winning doc shows a French school in minor crisis, Mickey Rourke battles his demons and Jim Carrey flails about -- all in good festive fun!
"The Class"
Considering that the ongoing debate over the education system approaches a national pastime in France, it's not difficult to see why Laurent Cantet's pseudo-documentary chronicling a year in a Paris classroom took home the Palme d'Or on its home turf in Cannes. Based on a semi-autobiographical account from former lit teacher François Bégaudeau, playing a similar role here for the cameras, Cantet delivers a studied microcosm of French society via a multiethnic school with an administration run by committee. During the course of a turbulent school year, every aspect of the human social dynamic is played out with points made,...
- 12/15/2008
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
- Like what had occurred over at the Golden Globes, it comes as no surprise that the Brits backed homegrown Joe Wright period piece of Atonement. Picking up a grand total of 14 nominees, the BAFTAs also gave There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men and Michael Clayton to celebrate. See the complete list below to see how they do things on the other side of the Atlantic. The full list of nominations follows:film“American Gangster” — Brian Grazer/Ridley Scott“Atonement” — Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Paul Webster“The Lives of Others” — Quirin Berg/Max Wiedemann“No Country for Old Men” — Scott Rudin/Joel Coen/Ethan Coen“There Will Be Blood” — JoAnne Sellar/Paul Thomas Anderson/Daniel LupiBRITISH Film“Atonement” — Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, Joe Wright, Christopher Hampton“The Bourne Ultimatum” — Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley, Paul L. Sandberg, Paul Greengrass, Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, George Nolfi“Control” — Orian Williams,
- 1/17/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
LONDON -- Joe Wright's "Atonement" leads the field of nominations for this year's British Academy Film Awards, securing 14 noms, ahead of the Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men" and Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood", both of which took nine slots.
The trio of titles are all in the race for the best film award along with Ridley Scott's "American Gangster" and last year's foreign-language Oscar winner Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's "The Lives of Others". Both "Gangster" and "Others" scored five nominations.
Wright, Joel and Ethan Coen, Anderson and Henckel von Donnersmark also will battle it out with Paul Greengrass for the evening's best director nod, with Greengrass nominated for "The Bourne Ultimatum".
The best British film award, one of 23 awards dished out by the British Academy of Film and Television, will go to one from "Atonement", "Ultimatum", "Control", "Eastern Promises" and "This Is England".
George Clooney ("Michael Clayton"), Daniel Day-Lewis ("There Will Be Blood"), James McAvoy ("Atonement"), Viggo Mortensen ("Eastern Promises") and Ulrich Muehe ("The Lives of Others") all secure nominations for best actor.
Cate Blanchett has two nominations, for leading actress in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" and supporting actress in "I'm Not There".
Blanchett will have to triumph over Julie Christie ("Away From Her"), Marion Cotillard ("La Vie en Rose"), Keira Knightley ("Atonement") and Ellen Page ("Juno") to secure the best actress nod.
And Kelly Macdonald ("No Country"), Samantha Morton ("Control"), Saoirse Ronan ("Atonement") and Tilda Swinton ("Michael Clayton") might have something to say in the supporting actress race.
Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones (both for "No Country"), Paul Dano ("Blood"), Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Charlie Wilson's War") and Tom Wilkinson ("Michael Clayton") are slugging it out for supporting actor.
The prize for best animated film will be drawn by "Ratatouille", "Shrek the Third" or "The Simpsons Movie".
Nominations for the Carl Foreman Award for special achievement by a British director, writer or producer in their first feature include Chris Atkins for writing and directing the documentary "Taking Liberties", Mia Bays for her producer role on documentary "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man", Sarah Gavron for helming "Brick Lane", Matt Greenhalgh for penning "Control" and Andrew Piddington for writing and directing "The Killing of John Lennon".
The original screenplay prize is a contest between Steven Zailian ("American Gangster"), Diablo Cody ("Juno"), Henckel von Donnersmarck ("Lives of Others"), Tony Gilroy ("Michael Clayton") and Shane Meadows ("This Is England").
Nominations for adapted screenplay are Christopher Hampton ("Atonement"), Ronald Harwood ("The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"), David Benioff ("The Kite Runner"), the Coens ("No Country") and Anderson ("Blood").
The winners will be announced Feb. 10 at London's Royal Opera House.
A complete list of nominations follows:
Best film
"American Gangster" -- Brian Grazer/Ridley Scott
"Atonement" -- Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Paul Webster
"The Lives of Others" -- Quirin Berg/Max Wiedemann
"No Country for Old Men" -- Scott Rudin/Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" -- JoAnne Sellar/Paul Thomas Anderson/Daniel Lupi
British film
"Atonement" -- Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, Joe Wright, Christopher Hampton
"The Bourne Ultimatum" -- Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley, Paul L.
The trio of titles are all in the race for the best film award along with Ridley Scott's "American Gangster" and last year's foreign-language Oscar winner Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's "The Lives of Others". Both "Gangster" and "Others" scored five nominations.
Wright, Joel and Ethan Coen, Anderson and Henckel von Donnersmark also will battle it out with Paul Greengrass for the evening's best director nod, with Greengrass nominated for "The Bourne Ultimatum".
The best British film award, one of 23 awards dished out by the British Academy of Film and Television, will go to one from "Atonement", "Ultimatum", "Control", "Eastern Promises" and "This Is England".
George Clooney ("Michael Clayton"), Daniel Day-Lewis ("There Will Be Blood"), James McAvoy ("Atonement"), Viggo Mortensen ("Eastern Promises") and Ulrich Muehe ("The Lives of Others") all secure nominations for best actor.
Cate Blanchett has two nominations, for leading actress in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" and supporting actress in "I'm Not There".
Blanchett will have to triumph over Julie Christie ("Away From Her"), Marion Cotillard ("La Vie en Rose"), Keira Knightley ("Atonement") and Ellen Page ("Juno") to secure the best actress nod.
And Kelly Macdonald ("No Country"), Samantha Morton ("Control"), Saoirse Ronan ("Atonement") and Tilda Swinton ("Michael Clayton") might have something to say in the supporting actress race.
Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones (both for "No Country"), Paul Dano ("Blood"), Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Charlie Wilson's War") and Tom Wilkinson ("Michael Clayton") are slugging it out for supporting actor.
The prize for best animated film will be drawn by "Ratatouille", "Shrek the Third" or "The Simpsons Movie".
Nominations for the Carl Foreman Award for special achievement by a British director, writer or producer in their first feature include Chris Atkins for writing and directing the documentary "Taking Liberties", Mia Bays for her producer role on documentary "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man", Sarah Gavron for helming "Brick Lane", Matt Greenhalgh for penning "Control" and Andrew Piddington for writing and directing "The Killing of John Lennon".
The original screenplay prize is a contest between Steven Zailian ("American Gangster"), Diablo Cody ("Juno"), Henckel von Donnersmarck ("Lives of Others"), Tony Gilroy ("Michael Clayton") and Shane Meadows ("This Is England").
Nominations for adapted screenplay are Christopher Hampton ("Atonement"), Ronald Harwood ("The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"), David Benioff ("The Kite Runner"), the Coens ("No Country") and Anderson ("Blood").
The winners will be announced Feb. 10 at London's Royal Opera House.
A complete list of nominations follows:
Best film
"American Gangster" -- Brian Grazer/Ridley Scott
"Atonement" -- Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Paul Webster
"The Lives of Others" -- Quirin Berg/Max Wiedemann
"No Country for Old Men" -- Scott Rudin/Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" -- JoAnne Sellar/Paul Thomas Anderson/Daniel Lupi
British film
"Atonement" -- Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, Joe Wright, Christopher Hampton
"The Bourne Ultimatum" -- Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley, Paul L.
- 1/17/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- With the forthcoming releases of Control and I'm Not There - the folks over at Time Out (London) brought their collective of film and music critics together to chart the top films pertaining to music legend. The Top 50 list manages to make no mention of a recent Hollywood-ized bio-tales of Ray Charles and Johnny Cash (thank you!) and from the chunk of films that I have seen the positioning seems a propos. Todd Haynes' who has his Dylan creation coming out soon tops this list with one of my favorite films from the helmer in Superstar: the Karen Carpenter Story. Personally I would have found space another Da Pennebaker film in Depeche Mode 101 and Grant Gee's Meeting People is Easy - a brilliant Radiohead doc. Here's the top 50 list -1 Superstar: the Karen Carpenter Story (Todd Haynes, 1987)2 Don't Look Back (Da Pennebaker, 1967)3 Gimme Shelter (David Maysles/Albert Maysles/Charlotte Zwerin,
- 10/8/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
BERLIN -- "Scott Walker -- 30 Century Man" is presented as a straight documentary about an American pop singer who had one U.K. hit in the 1960s as a member of a boy band and has gone missing ever since, but it plays like the slyest of spoofs.
According to Stephen Kijak's film, Walker is a shadowy legend in the music business whose determination to make albums in the face of almost complete indifference by record buyers ranks him alongside Brian Wilson as a lost god of rock.
There might be genuine Walker fans who wish to see their forgotten hero given his due, but those who have not acquired that strange taste will find the film hard to take unless it is viewed as a dead-on parody. It could achieve must-see status among pop ironists. The film is screening here in the Panorama Documentaries section.
There was a small group of American singers in England in the '60s who were well-liked because they were so screamingly funny, such as Gene Pitney, P.J. Proby and Walker. Unheralded at home, they had big, tortured voices, featured overwrought arrangements on their records, took themselves with absolute seriousness and spoke the most amusing twaddle.
Walker arrived as part of The Walker Brothers, a boy band in which no one was named Walker and who were not brothers. They had a big hit with "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Any More," a Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio song that Frankie Valli had recorded earlier without success. They made a couple of albums, followed by solo outings by Scott, and then it was all over.
Although no one else appears to have been curious, Kijak's film asks just what this missing genius has been up to for the past 20 or 30 years. He has a satirist's ear for the telling comment.
David Bowie, the film's executive producer, talks about how influenced he was by Walker even though he bursts out laughing when he's played one of his songs. Legendary transsexual arranger Angela Morley, previously Wally Stott, says Walker would ask for a bit of Sibelius here and some Delius there, but when she played one of the star's tracks, she asks, "Is that one of mine? It's so long ago."
Brian Eno, Jarvis Cocker, Damon Albarn and others rhapsodize about Walker's poetry and imagery, and naturally Sting is on hand to observe of Walker's songwriting: "It reminds me of the darkness behind the romanticism." Of course it does.
Walker's perfectionism over precisely the right sound he demands for his records is demonstrated by showing him listening patiently to a man punching a slab of meat and directing him on the pace and speed of the strikes so that in the end it sounds exactly like a man punching a slab of meat.
Walker is seen at length talking about his music and how he can't listen to it once it's been recorded, though the film allows him to wail away ad nauseum. "It's a nightmare. I never listen to it again," he says. As Neil Innes said in "The Rutles", he's suffered for his music, now it's our turn.
SCOTT WALKER -- 30 CENTURY MAN
Missing in Action Films
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Stephen Kijak
Producers: Mia Bays, Stephen Kijak, Elizabeth Rose
Executive producer: David Bowie
Director of photography: Grant Gee
Editors: Grant Gee, Mat Whitecross
Running time -- 95 minutes
No MPAA rating...
According to Stephen Kijak's film, Walker is a shadowy legend in the music business whose determination to make albums in the face of almost complete indifference by record buyers ranks him alongside Brian Wilson as a lost god of rock.
There might be genuine Walker fans who wish to see their forgotten hero given his due, but those who have not acquired that strange taste will find the film hard to take unless it is viewed as a dead-on parody. It could achieve must-see status among pop ironists. The film is screening here in the Panorama Documentaries section.
There was a small group of American singers in England in the '60s who were well-liked because they were so screamingly funny, such as Gene Pitney, P.J. Proby and Walker. Unheralded at home, they had big, tortured voices, featured overwrought arrangements on their records, took themselves with absolute seriousness and spoke the most amusing twaddle.
Walker arrived as part of The Walker Brothers, a boy band in which no one was named Walker and who were not brothers. They had a big hit with "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Any More," a Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio song that Frankie Valli had recorded earlier without success. They made a couple of albums, followed by solo outings by Scott, and then it was all over.
Although no one else appears to have been curious, Kijak's film asks just what this missing genius has been up to for the past 20 or 30 years. He has a satirist's ear for the telling comment.
David Bowie, the film's executive producer, talks about how influenced he was by Walker even though he bursts out laughing when he's played one of his songs. Legendary transsexual arranger Angela Morley, previously Wally Stott, says Walker would ask for a bit of Sibelius here and some Delius there, but when she played one of the star's tracks, she asks, "Is that one of mine? It's so long ago."
Brian Eno, Jarvis Cocker, Damon Albarn and others rhapsodize about Walker's poetry and imagery, and naturally Sting is on hand to observe of Walker's songwriting: "It reminds me of the darkness behind the romanticism." Of course it does.
Walker's perfectionism over precisely the right sound he demands for his records is demonstrated by showing him listening patiently to a man punching a slab of meat and directing him on the pace and speed of the strikes so that in the end it sounds exactly like a man punching a slab of meat.
Walker is seen at length talking about his music and how he can't listen to it once it's been recorded, though the film allows him to wail away ad nauseum. "It's a nightmare. I never listen to it again," he says. As Neil Innes said in "The Rutles", he's suffered for his music, now it's our turn.
SCOTT WALKER -- 30 CENTURY MAN
Missing in Action Films
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Stephen Kijak
Producers: Mia Bays, Stephen Kijak, Elizabeth Rose
Executive producer: David Bowie
Director of photography: Grant Gee
Editors: Grant Gee, Mat Whitecross
Running time -- 95 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/19/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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