Matthew Vaughn May Direct New Star Wars Film

Matthew Vaughn recently dropped out of directing X-Men First Class sequel Days Of Future Past, allowing Bryan Singer to step in to take over the franchise. He also turned down the lucrative chance to direct his other obvious superhero sequel in Kick-Ass 2. Now rumour are starting to circulate this may actually be due to the fact that he’s in line to direct Star Wars Episode VII.

Matthew Vaughn is reported to be in talks with Lucasfilm and Disney about scripting and directing next chapter in the Star Wars Saga. It’s been suggested that he and screenwriting partner Jane Goldman may have been among the writers that George Lucas was meeting about the project in August.

It would certainly seem to fit with the initial statement from Lucasfilm spokespersons that they had been talking to leading writers with a background in delivering Hollywood blockbusters. In particular Vaughn’s magnificent work in rebooting the X-Men franchise to critical acclaim, under intense time pressure and budget restrictions, may have made him an obvious candidate.

Though it’s all pretty much unconfirmed speculation at this stage, it’s a rumour that many fans may be hoping proves to be true. Let us know what you think

 

Rust And Bone Review

The Plot:

Put in charge of his young son, Ali leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Ali’s bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.

The Good:

Rust and Bone is a slow moving tale of self discovery for two people, Stephanie (Marion Cotillard) and Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts). The film tackles the very plausible notion of two people from different paths, meeting and becoming friends who become lovers. It a common story but adding  the intense themes of coping with disability is what helped the film take top prize at this year’s London Film festival.

The film’s main strength  lies in Marion Cotillard’s performance, with  her vulnerability and fragility displayed in award winning fashion throughout. The Oscar winning actress expertly pulls on audiences heartstrings as her character comes to terms with her traumatic accident and slowly allows herself to become emotionally dependent on her unlikely new friend. It’s easy for audiences to empathise with Stephanie’s growing need for Ali as she searches for someone who treats her as an equal not an invalid.

Matthias Schoenaerts proves a good sparing partner for  Cotillard in this film and his matter of fact attitude provides an interesting contrast. Scenes where it is just the two of them manage to bring home a sense of realism and unexpected but welcome humour in the situation that is presented.

The cinematography must also be applauded. In some of the beach scenes, you can almost feel the summer breeze as you watch it and forget about the blistery UK Autumn outside. It also allows the audience to feel part of this world, not just a spectator.

The Bad:

Rust an Bone is not without it’s flaws. There are too many elements which makes the overall plot messy and difficult to understand. The struggles of fatherhood, love and the aftermath of a tragic accident  are all strong topics in themselves but it’s a tough challenge to combine them. Characters are wasted, and story elements seem carelessly placed in order to give an excuse for the narrative to move in implausible directions.

It would have been interesting to focus more on Stephanie’s  battle to overcome her fears and work with killer whales again. But this is only explored briefly as the film jumps between different stories. It’s jarring and frustrating as key parts of the film simply aren’t explored in enough depth.

The Ugly Truth:

The film’s strong performances, particularly the brilliant Marion Cotillard, connect well with an audience and make the most of a disjointed narrative. A clunky and confused storyline poses a few too many problems to allow the film to ever be totally enjoyable and may leave some wondering exactly where the film was supposed to be going in the first place.

My Brother The Devil Review

The Plot:

Two very different teenage brothers must face their prejudices head on if they are to survive the perils of being young, British Arabs on the streets of gangland London.

The Good:

For a debut feature film, My Brother The Devil is gripping, engaging, thought provoking and beautifully shot. All the characters and the surrounding situations are believable and as an audience member you can get completely engrossed in what you are watching, which is always a sign of a good film.

Sally El-Hosani picked up the much deserved Best Newcomer Award at the London Film Festival and most certainly is a star director for the future with this film and vision prooving testament to that talent.

My Brother the Devil, takes the audience on a very real journey of discovery for two brothers, Mo and Rashid – played expertly by newcomer Fady Elsayed and James Floyd. The beauty of this film is its self contained aspects. Not venturing much further than its urban council estate setting, the cinematography sheds a hallowed light on what is often depicted in film as a dark, dank and gruesome part of London.

The storyline also takes the film away from its opening generic ‘urban film’ feel and makes a strong social commentary sure to provoke equally strong reactions from audiences. The film is clever without trying to be too clever and Hosani’s passion for the project is obvious. It’s particular interesting to see a young female director tackling such a male focused route.

The Bad:

Although the film provides an interesting twist on the London gang culture genre, the topical and popular subject matter unavoidably brings a certain predictability regardless of budget or plot specifics.

These kinds of films follow a familiar pattern, a violent incident provokes some form of gang rivalry. Audiences will find that this film’s later stages in particular fall prey to being formulaic in a way that distracts from the film’s more original elements. Over hyped-enthusiasm from boastful marketing and word of mouth praise may worsen this feeling of disappointment. It’s ultimately not quite as distinguished from similar films like Victim or Kidulthood as it could have been.

Despite it’s faults My Brother The Devil is still lead strongly by its performances, and may prove to be the stepping stone for much bigger things for Floyd and Elsayed. It is also better than many feature debuts on a shoe string budget, so deserves the majority of praise already garnered.

The Ugly Truth: 

Beautifully shot, an unexpected twist on the tale you were expecting, but sadly not far enough away that it stands on its own two feet.  Most impressive however, is that My Brother The Devil is yet another shining example of UK talent both in front and behind the camera with praise well deserved.

British Independent Film Awards Nominations List 2012

Here is the full nominations list for this year’s British Independent Film Awards 2012 announced today in London. The actual awards ceremony will take place on 9th December.

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM

Sponsored by Moët & Chandon

Berberian Sound Studio

Broken

Sightseers

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

The Imposter

 

BEST DIRECTOR

Sponsored by AllCity & Intermission

Bart Layton – The Imposter

Ben Wheatley – Sightseers

John Madden – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Peter Strickland – Berberian Sound Studio

Rufus Norris – Broken

 

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR]

Sponsored by 3 Mills Studios

Bart Layton – The Imposter

Ben Drew – Ill Manors

Rowan Athale – Wasteland

Rufus Norris – Broken

Sally El Hosaini – My Brother the Devil

 

BEST SCREENPLAY

Sponsored by BBC Films

Abi Morgan – The Iron Lady

Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Amy Jump – Sightseers

Mark O’Rowe – Broken

Paul Andrew Williams – Song for Marion

Peter Strickland – Berberian Sound Studio

 

BEST ACTRESS

Sponsored by M.A.C

Alice Lowe (Tina) – Sightseers

Andrea Riseborough (Colette McVeigh) – Shadow Dancer

Elle Fanning (Ginger) – Ginger & Rosa

Judi Dench (Evelyn Greenslade) – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Meryl Streep (Margaret Thatcher) – The Iron Lady

 

BEST ACTOR

Riz Ahmed (Aaron) – Ill Manors

Steve Oram (Chris) – Sightseers

Terence Stamp (Arthur) – Song for Marion

Tim Roth (Archie) – Broken

Toby Jones (Gilderoy) – Berberian Sound Studio

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Alice Englert (Rosa) – Ginger & Rosa

Eileen Davies (Carol) – Sightseers

Maggie Smith (Muriel Donnelly) – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Olivia Colman (Queen Elizabeth) – Hyde Park on Hudson

Vanessa Redgrave (Marion) – Song for Marion

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Sponsored by Sanderson & St Martins Lane

Billy Connolly (Wilf) – Quartet

Cillian Murphy (Mike Kiernan) – Broken

Domhnall Gleeson (Connor) – Shadow Dancer

Rory Kinnear (Bob Oswald) – Broken

Tom Wilkinson (Graham Dashwood) – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

 

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER

Sponsored by Studiocanal

Elliott Tittensor (Tits) – Spike Island

Eloise Laurence (Skunk) – Broken

James Floyd (Rashid) – My Brother the Devil

Paul Brannigan (Robbie) – The Angels’ Share

Zawe Ashton (Joyce Vincent) – Dreams of a Life

 

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION

Sponsored by Company3

Berberian Sound Studio

Ill Manors

Sightseers

The Imposter

The Sweeney

 

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

Sponsored by LightBrigade Media

Nic Knowland Bsc– Cinematography – Berberian Sound Studio

Joakim Sundström, Stevie Haywood AMPS IPS– Sound Design – Berberian Sound Studio

Electric Wave Bureau – Music – Broken

Robbie Ryan – Cinematography – Ginger & Rosa

Andrew Hulme – Editing – The Imposter

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Dreams of a Life

London: The Modern Babylon

Marley

Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir

The Imposter

 

BEST BRITISH SHORT

Supported by the BFI

Friday

Junk

Skyborn

Swimmer

Volume

 

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM

Amour

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Rust & Bone

Searching For Sugar Man

The Hunt

 

THE RAINDANCE AWARD

Frank

Strings

Love Tomorrow

City Slacker

Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet

 

THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD (for outstanding contribution by an actor to British Film)

To Be Announced

 

THE VARIETY AWARD

To Be Announced

 

THE SPECIAL JURY PRIZE

Announced at the Moët British Independent Film Awards on Sunday 9th December

British Independent Film Awards 2012 Nominations

The nominations for the  Moët British Independent Film Awards 2012 were announced today, at St Martins Lane, London by actor and BIFA Patron, Adrian Lester.

The highest number of nominations this year goes to Broken with 9 nominations including Best Film, Best Director and Best Debut Director for Rufus Norris, Best Actor for Tim Roth and two Best Supporting Actor nominations for Cillian Murphy and Rory Kinnear. Sightseers and Berberian Sound Studio both picked up 7 nominations each.

Nominations for Best Actress go to Alice Lowe for Sightseers, Andrea Riseborough for Shadow Dancer, Elle Fanning for Ginger & Rosa, Judi Dench for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady.

Along with Tim Roth for Broken, leading men hoping to take home the Best Actor award include Riz Ahmed for Ill Manors, Steve Oram for Sightseers, Terence Stamp for Song for Marion and Toby Jones for Berberian Sound Studio

Directors who have delivered dynamic debuts this year and are fighting for the Douglas Hickox Award are Bart Layton for The Imposter, Ben Drew for Ill Manors, Rowan Athale for Wasteland, Sally El Hosaini for My Brother the Devil and as mentioned previously Rufus Norris for Broken.

Best supporting Actor nominations go to Billy Connolly for Quartet, Domhnall Gleeson for Shadow Dancer, Tom Wilkinson for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and the two Broken actors Cillian Murphy & Rory Kinnear.

Alice Englert for Ginger & Rosa, Eileen Davies for Sightseers, Maggie Smith for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Olivia Colman for Hyde Park on Hudson and Vanessa Redgrave for Song for Marion are all nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Award.

The Moët British Independent Film Awards’ co-directors  Johanna von Fischer & Tessa Collinson said:

“In this our 15th year, we are delighted to welcome back six-time former host James Nesbitt. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated Pre-Selection Committee who watched over 200 films in order to produce the 2012 Nominations, which once again reflect the diverse range of British film talent, and also welcome this year’s appointed independent Jury who will now spend the next month considering the nominated films.”

Emelie De Vitis, Marketing Director for Moët & Chandon added:

“Moët & Chandon is delighted to support BIFA for the third year running. The nominations again reveal the amazing depth of film talent in Britain and we look forward to toasting the winners’ success along with BIFA’s 15th birthday on December 9th’.