Gwilym Hughes, RIP

Back in the early 90s, I spent one Saturday driving from London to North Wales to interview Gwilym Hughes for Empire magazine.

Gwilym (pictured above with the late Roy Castle) had recently made it into the Guinness Book Of World Records for having seen the most films.

He was an interesting chap who, as it turned out, rarely went to the cinema, doing most of his watching on TV. And while I wasn't convinced he had seen more films than anybody else, he had records dating back to 1953 of every film he'd seen, up to 14 a week, which helped cement his claim as a record-breaking film fan.

I was sad to see that Gwilym, whose favourite film was Lawrence Of Arabia, passed away earlier this week.

Here's the BBC's obit.

Never Let Me Go posters

Download these from the film's official website.

Teaser trailer : 127 Hours

Danny Boyle's a unique talent (and a lovely bloke) and from this brief look, his latest looks to be typically Boylesque. He shot 127 Hours with two DPs — Anthony Dod Mantle and Enrique Chediak — and the tiny HD cameras he and Dod Mantle first used on Slumdog Millionaire. Interesting to note that Boyle gets screenplay credit for the first time, together with Simon Beaufoy.

Online

Thanks to the sterling efforts of a Virgin TV repairman by the name of Dan, I now am online and my TV channels are working. Hallelujah!

Offline

I have been experiencing Internet problems for the last few days and posting from an iPhone isn't much fun. Hopefully things will be sorted in the next couple of days. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves. See any good films lately?

Fair Game trailer

It's been close to two-and-a-half years since Doug Liman's last film Jumper was released in cinemas and while I wasn't a fan of that particular movie, I have liked everything else he's made and am looking forward to this one. If memory serves, this garnered better than average reviews when it premiered at Cannes in May. Not sure when we'll get to see it in the UK, though. Possibly at the LFF.

There is no bad news

Yesterday's Mad Men post, or rather the title of said post — "First, the good news..." — seemed to cause a little concern among some of you and for that I must apologise. The title was meant to be a film reference and not a precursor of doom and gloom to come. And certainly not to signify that I was about to head off for another two weeks (although another holiday would be nice). So there you have it. There is no bad news. Unless you count Samir Nasri's knee injury. And the fact that the Venice schedule has confirmed my fear that I wouldn't be there when Somewhere screens...

First, the good news...

The BBC has decided to bring forward the UK release of Mad Men season 4 from its planned January start to early September. For this, I thank you.

Bloodbath

I haven't bought Rolling Stone in a very long time. And certainly not since it changed format. But this latest cover has actually got me itching to purchase myself a copy.

Edgar Wright vs Joe Cornish

Last night at the BFI Southbank, gregarious genius Edgar Wright was "grilled" onstage by his friend and sometime co-writer Joe Cornish. Both host and interviewee were in fine form and the two-hour plus chat featured footage galore, including a couple of the Scott Pilgrim director's schoolboy/college films — the hilarious Rolf Harris 2: The Bearded One and Hot Fuzz precursor Dead Right — his Bugsy Malone-inspired music video for The Bluetones, as well as two clips from his debut feature A Fistful Of Fingers which, as Edgar recalled later, was given one-star by Empire magazine when I was editor. What was very apparent from his earliest work, even before Spaced, was how refined and confident and developed and cinematic his style was at such a young age. The event was filmed by the BFI and will be available on its website at a later date.

Black Swan trailer

I love the look of this. That shot with the red eyes. And the one of Natalie Portman pulling the feather (?) out of her skin. Reminds me of good Argento.

I'm Still Here teaser

Bonkers or bluff? You decide.

Monsters trailer

Check it out, over at Apple. I saw this last week and while I'm not allowed to review it yet, I will say it lived up to all expectations.

UPDATED Meet Fincher's girl with the dragon tattoo

Her name's Rooney Mara, she was in the Nightmare On Elm Street remake, she's in The Social Network and she's officially been cast as Fincher's Lisbeth Salander.

UPDATE: I have been reliably informed that the previous photo posted here was actually of Kate Mara, sister of Rooney who can be seen below.

If you go down to the woods today...

127 Hours to close LFF

With his 28 Days Later and Sunshine collaborators Alex Garland and Andrew Macdonald's latest Never Let Me Go opening the 54th London Film Festival, it seems fitting that Danny Boyle's latest 127 Hours will close the event on Thursday October 28.

“Having closed the festival with Slumdog Millionaire in 2008, it is unprecedented for us to choose a Closing Night film from the same director only two years later," said LFF Festival’s Artistic Director Sandra Hebron. "But 127 Hours was the obvious choice for us — with filmmaking as bold and adventurous as its subject matter, it confirms Danny Boyle as one of the world's finest and most visionary directors, and will be a very fitting close to the festival.”

"I am honoured and delighted that 127 Hours has been selected to close the BFI London Film Festival," said Boyle. LFF played a vital role in the journey of Slumdog Millionaire in 2008 and it's great to be bringing new work here and renewing a happy partnership. I can't wait to unveil the new film and I hope it provides a worthy climax to what will hopefully be two weeks of great movies for our city."

The full list of this year's films will be announced on September 8.

Tonight's viewing...

Tonight's viewing...

Needless to say, I'm very excited.

Duh

Hopefully, the teachers can spell better than the painters in North Carolina...

Even more Fincher

Again, as seen through the lens of Mark Romanek.

Back back back

Sorry for the two-week absence, I was on my summer hols, enjoying a near internet-free existence in sunnier and warmer climes than I normally inhabit.

And as to rub further salt into the post-holiday blues wound, it's pouring with rain as I write this in London. Boo-hoo.

Anyways, here's some stuff I missed while I was gone, beginning with two trailers of films that have guilty pleasure writ large all over them: Sucker Punch and Unstoppable. 

I was also thrilled to learn that Never Let Me Go has been announced as the opening film of the 54th London Film Festival on October 13. It's a no-brainer really. And an astonishing film.

New Let Me In trailer

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

The Avengers. Assembled.

Nerdvania*

* The headline I stole, but I couldn't think of anything more fitting.

Monsters trailer

More Monsters Videos

Sucker Punch ladies

I don't know much about Zack Synder's Sucker Punch other than it's a variation on Alice In Wonderland set in an asylum that features robots and big guns and young women and seems to have a steampunk/WWI feel to it judging by the official website. Empire has posted a set of character banners for the Sucker Punch ladies. Click here to see them all. The film's out next March in Synder's usual release slot.

New Red trailer

New Tron Legacy trailer

Venice opener: Black Swan

Venice has been good to Darren Aronofsky. The Fountain premiered there in 2006, while The Wrestler picked up the Golden Lion two years later. And now it's been announced that Aronofsky's latest, Black Swan, will open the 67th Venice Film Festival on September 1.

USA Today has debuted a series of photos from the film which it describes thus: "The dark tale with psychological twists stars Natalie Portman as Nina, a technically brilliant ballerina whose life takes some strange turns after being picked as the lead in a [NYC] production of Swan Lake. Pressures mount as her overbearing mother (Barbara Hershey) pushes her to succeed and her manipulative dance master commands her to be more seductive and loose in her performance. Complicating that is the arrival of Lily (Mila Kunis), a sultry dancer who exhibits all the innate ease and sexuality that Nina lacks. Nina begins to fixate on the newcomer as the two forge an unusual relationship."

Some have described it as a supernatural thriller; others have, I seem to recall, pegged it as a horror film. Either way, I can't wait. Although I'm going to have to, since I won't be in Venice in time to see it.

Dredd rumour

Growing up, 2000AD was one of my favourite comics. I bought it religiously from issue one (or rather my dad bought it for me) and, inevitably, Judge Dredd has remained up there with my favourite comic characters.

As such, I can't begin to tell you how wrong and lumpen-headed I felt the Danny Cannon-directed, Stallone-starring Judge Dredd movie was. I remember being on set, interviewing those making it, and yet, all the while, a voice in my head was screaming at me: "No. No. No. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong."

The movie was released and died the death it deserved, although it also put pay to the idea of any other 2000AD characters being adapted for the cinema for a long, long time.

I am very optimistic for the Judge Dredd reboot that Alex Garland for many, many reasons. Garland loves and respects the material and the movie is being put together from that place.

The Stallone movie cocked up Dredd in so many ways, not least by showing Dredd (ie Stallone's) face. The new film won't be making that mistake, and so I was always intrigued by who would they get to play the title character bearing that in mind. If the casting rumours are to be believed, and Karl Urban is in negotiations to play Dredd, that's a great choice.

Urban can definitely act and has done good work in films as diverse as The Bourne Supremacy, Lord Of The Rings and as Bones in JJ Abrams' Star Trek. And he's certainly got the jaw.