Creator Martine Brant Talks New Worlds

In mini-series The Devil’s Whore, Martine Brant and Peter Flannery charted the bloody progress of the English Civil War, in the much anticipated sequel New Worlds they pick up that account 20 years after the end of the war with violent tensions brewing in both England and dangerous new territories of Massachusetts. Red Carpet News were treated to a very special screening of the first episode of the new series followed by a Q&A with the cast and crew. Here’s what creator Martine Brant had to say about the new series.

Q. What made you want to continue to capture this period of history?

The reason we were drawn to this period is because the restoration was thought of in popular imagination as Prince Charles as this merry monarch with all his mistresses who failed to produce an legitimate heir, which of course caused him all these problems by the time you get to 1680. But of course these are the children of parents who had fought during the civil war for a better world. A world without king’s and courts, a world more equal and just where the poor would not be oppressed and dispossessed. They had it for ten years they thought. Then it was all lost and the monarchy was restored. Of course in fact the republican experiment hadn’t worked.

From 1860 onwards everyone was pleased to welcome back Charles II. He promised to heal the wounds and no prosecution. But in order to keep control of the government the regime turned into one of the most repressive that this country has ever known. Not a lot of people know that. But there were still people there who wanted to realize the legacy of those brave men and women who had given their lives during the civil war. What we were trying to show is that the young can do this and they need to engage in their world. Politics which is about the way you live your life is indivisible from the way you love in your own life. You can’t separate it out, but it is within your power to shape your world if you engage with it. There are all kinds of resonances in modern times for that. It’s about young people making the world a better place for themselves and for others

Q. Are there any particular real life figures who inspired the series?

Colonel Sydney who features in the series was actually really an avowed republican and fought in the civil war before suffering a traitor’s death.  At his trial a manuscript from his study was presented as a second witness of his crimes. It had never been published but obviously he wrote it with the hope it would propagate these forbidden ideas eventually. The notion was that if a tyrant makes a bad law then you have every right to rise up and pull him down. He was condemned to death but he became an hero and his ideas carried over to Massachusetts. His phrase “Let this hand be an enemy to tyrants, by the sword seeks peace with liberty” is the inspiration for the motto for the state of Massachusetts although not many Bostonians know that.

Q. Do you think there are any particular parallels with the modern world, particular the Puritan community in Boston?

The English settlers, the puritans, who went to Massachusetts in the 1630’s and founded Boston, left England because they were separate. They wouldn’t conform to the established religion. They wanted a reformed church where there were much stronger strictures. It was very Taliban like in the way women had to behave. It was very prescriptive. It went on through until Nathanial Hawthorn was writing The Scarlet Letter. Women were very much the target much more so than the men.

Check out the rest of the Q&A to see what stars Jamie Dornan, Freya Mavo, Alice Englert and Joe Dempsie had to say about the exciting channel four mini-series.

Ghostbusters 3 Still Going Ahead

Many fans assumed that the recent sad news of the death of Ghostbusters star and c0-creator Harold Ramis meant an inevitable end to plans for a third Ghostbusters film. The project had already faltered due to the reluctance of Bill Murray to reprise his role and script issues, so it seemed a safe assumption that the loss of Ramis would make a new film even less likely.

However it’s now being reported by The Hollywood Reporter that Sony in fact plans to push ahead with the franchise reboot and will merely re-write the existing script to remove a planned cameo for Ramis.

Ivan Reitman remains on board to direct the sequel with a script courtesy of Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. Dan Aykroyd has long been a vocal advocate of reviving the series for a new film which would serve as a baton passing, introducing a new generation of Ghostbusters.

Jeff Goldblum Confirms Independence Day Sequel Talks

Jeff Goldblum has confirmed in a recent interview that he’s been in talks to reprise his role as a world saving computer scientist in Roland Emmerich’s long planned Independence Day sequel. While admitting that he’s yet to see any evidence of an actual script the actor definitely seems receptive to the idea.

“Yeah, they’ve talked to me about it and I’ve talked to them about it and they’re excited and I’m anxious and eager to see — I haven’t read anything — what they cook up. You know, I think they’re trying to put it together.”

Despite the filmmaker’s self-professed enthusiasm for the project it’s yet unclear whether or not a sequel to the 1996 Alien invasion blockbuster will ever actually become a reality or whether fellow stars of the original like Bill Pullman and Will Smith have yet been approached.

Non-Stop Review

The Plot

A world weary US Air Marshal has his transatlantic flight interrupted by a text message from an anonymous source threatening to kill a fellow passenger every 20 minutes unless $150 million is paid into a designated account.

The Good

Transformed by the astonishing box office success of Taken, Liam Neeson has been enjoying a spectacular career reinvention as an action superstar. Armed with a towering 6’4” physical presence, gruff no-nonsense voice and blistering fists of fury the 61 year old Oscar winner has rapidly redefined himself. With Unknown, The Grey and the inevitable Taken sequels Neeson has emerged as one of the most bankable bad guy beating action heroes.  Non-Stop continues to exploit that winning formula in a predictable but mostly satisfying fashion.

Neeson’s Non-Stop character makes sure to incorporate all the typical elements of his successful action roles. As usual he’s a troubled father using ruthless skills and uncompromising determination to single handily overcome massive odds to rescue the imperilled. As expected, he’s also routinely betrayed by those around him whilst battling inner demons and faceless adversaries. It may be familiar, but it’s also an entertaining guilty pleasure.

Liam Neeson has a rare gift for delivering dialogue with a combination of unashamed intensity and self-aware irony. As an Oscar winning dramatic actor ‘slumming it’ in genre clichés he takes full advantage of understated comedic tones, following occasionally clunky dialogue with a deadpan stare or a knowing smirk.  Regularly punctuating any dangerously quiet moments of audience reflection with a ruthless piece of action also serves him well. They’re well-timed punches to bad guys and boredom.

The Bad

Non-Stop sets up an interesting premise with its claustrophobic mid-air setting but soon faces a difficult task in maintaining that simmering paranoid tension at boiling point for a feature length story. Inevitably the film quickly finds itself required to resort to increasingly unlikely plot devices to perpetuate the action. It’s ultimately impossible for the film to deliver a resolution which is inventive and original enough to be entirely satisfactory.

Julianne Moore plays ‘female lead’ alongside Neeson, but it’s a purely functional role that fails to inject any convincing emotion or drama. The character feels like a massively missed opportunity, particularly during the film’s lengthy hunt for the criminal mastermind hiding in plain sight amongst the 150 passengers.

Beyond Neeson and Moore the film does also feature a few familiar from the cast of Downton Abbey and House of Cards, but sadly they serve as little more than set dressing. Given two dimensional roles with only minimal unsatisfactory dialogue they do little more than populate the plane. It might be a crowded flight but it’s a crowd lacking in depth, drama or personality.

Ultimately the film could have easily injected more paranoid doubt into audiences’ minds, without being solely reliant on Neeson’s frantic response to anonymous threats and a few lazy plot twists.

The Ugly Truth

Without Liam Neeson Non-Stop would certainly have crashed shortly after take-off, but thanks to his innate charisma and weary workmanship it remains a watchable addition to his growing catalogue of guilty action genre pleasures. A welcome distraction in particular for any fans eagerly waiting for Taken 3.

 

Awesome New Godzilla Trailer Unleashed

Check out the simply awesome new main trailer for director Gareth Edwards big screen Godzilla revival. Starring Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ken Wantanabe the new trailer reveals that in fact the new film is positioning itself as something of a sequel to the original 1950′s Godzilla movie which gave birth to the long running monster franchise.

Bryan Cranston’s character seems appropriately furious about the fact that the government has apparently been keeping Godzilla’s terrifying existence secret for half a century, whilst secretly trying to kill it with nuclear bombs under the guise of ‘weapons testing’. Evidently that didn’t work and the towering monster is now getting busy leaving a trail of devastation in his wake across the globe.

The trailer demonstrates exactly the kind technical accomplishment and emotional intensity that made Edward’s low budget debut Monsters such an auspicious directorial calling card. The new film looks set to finally deliver the kind of credible western blockbuster the Godzilla franchise has long deserved, banishing memories of the generally atrocious 1997 version.

Those that found Guillermo Del Toro’s recent Kaiju battling Pacific Rim a little too cartoonish will also be pleased to see Godzilla take the ominous tone of a truly dark and brooding disaster film.

Full Godzilla trailer below: