Video: 100 Years of Visual Effects Inspiration

Visual Effects: 100 Years of Inspiration. A collection of clips and making-of footage from notable visual effects films of the past century.

Sam Rockwell, MOON, Great Performance, Oscar? I'm just saying. Spread the word.

A case study in making things happen. many believe that Sam Rockwell’s performance in sleeper hit MOON deserves an Oscar nod. Below Duncan Jones director of the Moon takes this belief one step further and chats with LAGenX.

Something that Duncan Jones doesn’t mention that is if you
want to see more great inventive film making like MOON.
These guys need our support. Spread the word!

More info & deets on getting involved can be found on Duncan Jones’ blog here!

SCI-FI-LONDON: OKTOBERFEST 2009 Festival

Every October SCI-FI-LONDON hold OKTOBERFEST, a Sci Fi based extravaganza. Arguably the most fun and varied Sci-Fi festival in the world. This year you’ll be able to catch special events, screenings and their popular All-nighter events.

This year they have some really cool stuff happening including “a co-production we are doing with the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Yup, the home of GMT and all things astronomical, we have created SCI-FI-UNIVERSE, a planetarium show from an SF perspective. Also, at the Observatory we will have some talks and a writing workshop. And to celebrate the release of the DVD and Blu-ray, we will do an invite only screening of the new STAR TREK. Click here for details of how to register for this screening and how to buy tickets for this unique night at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich Park. Buy a planetarium ticket and you can attend on of the talks or workshop for free – places are very limited and on a first-come-first served basis, so get there early.”

This years line up:
Friday 23rd October, 2009
Events held at the Royal Observatory Greenwich

6.30pm: Sci-Fi-Universe
8.15pm: Star Trek (2009)

Saturday 24th October, 2009
Events held at the Apollo Piccadilly Circus

9:00pm: SCI-FI-STAND-UP
Midnight: Anime All-nighter
11:00pm: Aliens and Predators All-nighter
11:30pm: MST3K All-nighter

Friday Film Location: Flashbacks of a Fool – Cape Town, South Africa

Takes me right back when you were young….

Flashbacks of a Fool
Stars: Daniel Craig, Emile Robert, Olivia Williams, Mark Strong, Claire Forlani

Daniel Craig stars as Joe, a hedonistic British actor whose Hollywood career is starting to nosedive. The death of his best friend from his English childhood causes him to journey back home for the funeral, and prompts flashbacks to his teenage experiences – including the tragedy that forced him to flee to the United States and a new life.

As well as playing the lead role, Daniel Craig is the executive producer of this film. It has been a pet project for a while. With the success of his new Bond fame the money came into place.

The part of the bitter and twisted film star was written with Craig in mind by his friend, Baillie Walsh, before the Bond star got famous.

“When he wrote the part for me about five or six years ago, I certainly didn’t have the success I did now,” says Craig, keen to stress that the tale of a successful but arrogant film star is not about him.

The film was mainly shot in Cape Town, South Africa and Malibu, California.

For the scene where Joe meets his agent and director of his potential next role. He meets the two at an upmarket restaurant overlooking the sea. Both the interior and exterior scenes were filmed at Salt Restaurant at The Ambassador Hotel in Bantry Bay, Cape Town, South Africa.

Where:
34 Victoria Road, Bantry Bay, Cape Town, South Africa, 8005

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Classic screening: Norman Jewison's Rollerball

In the not-too-distant future, wars will no longer exist…

Wha-hey! It’s all happening this month. There have been loads of classic screenings from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Once upon a time in the west and 3 of my all time favourite films; The Warriors, The Thing and now Rollerball. Action overload!

One of the best dystopian sci-fi movies to come out of the 70s, Rollerball focuses on an ultra-violent sport used to keep an overpopulated planet under control and probes its links to politics, the media and big conglomerates. When a star player refuses to obey the owners of his team, the stage is set for a Gladiator-like confrontation between a rebellious individual and the corporate power that seeks to crush him.

Where
The Prince Charles Cinema
7 Leicester Place, WC2
Just north off Leicester Sq & up from Häagen-Dazs

When
8pm, Wednesday 7 October, 2009

Tickets for Monday's screening of Disney's Crimson Flight & QA available

One lake, a million birds, an incredible story

In a remote and forgotten wilderness, one of nature’s last great mysteries unfolds: the birth, life and survival of a million crimson-winged flamingos. Against the dramatic backdrop of unforgiving, never-before filmed landscapes, we follow the birth of a tiny flamingo hatchling, and the perils and fortunes of her life in the extraordinary ‘other world’ of Lake Natron in northern Tanzania.

The first title to be released under the new Disneynature label, THE CRIMSON WING will take you on a breathtaking and beautiful journey through a story that only nature itself could tell.

To download tickets simply go to http://www.seefilmfirst.com and enter code: 482610

The film starts at 6.30pm. Seefilmfirst tickets must be changed for cinema tickets at the cinema Box Office by 6.15pm. There will be a Q&A with the films producers and director at the end.

Where
Cineworld Haymarket
63-65 Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4RL

When
6.15 for 6:30pm, 21 September, 2009

Classic Screening: The Prisoner (All Nighter)

No Man Is Just A Number.

Become a part of world history! To mark the Blu-Ray release of The Prisoner the first 125 Network customers who pre-order the Blu-Ray edition from the Network web site will receive a pair of tickets to “The Prisoner All Nighter”, an all night extravaganza taking place at the Prince Charles Cinema in Central London on Saturday 26th September 2009 starting at 8.30pm, where every episode of The Prisoner will be screened in High Definition for the first time anywhere in the world. Will you still feel like a free man after being subjected to 17 TV hours in the village plus special guests who appeared in the show?

To obtain tickets you simply need to purchase a copy of The Prisoner the Complete Series (RRP £59.99) fromwww.networkdvd.co.uk.

• Tickets to this event for the pre-order DVD will be issued on a first come first serve basis.
• As well as these special tickets each attendee will also receive a 1967 reproduction ITC brochure exclusive to this event.

The Prisoner All Nighter will be opened by Prisoner Loudspeaker Announcer Fenella Fielding and closed by an additional special guest. Attendees will also be entered into a prize draw t win some unique Prisoner merchandise.
Please note the Prince Charles Cineme are NOT taking any bookings for this, to obtain a ticket you MUST go via www.networkdvd.co.uk

Where
The Prince Charles Cinema
7 Leicester Place, WC2
Just north off Leicester Sq & up from Häagen-Dazs

When
8:30pm, Saturday 26 September, 2009

Preview: Fish Tank and Q&A with director Andrea Arnold

Curzon Cinemas is proud to welcome ANDREA ARNOLD in a post screening discussion along with the film on Sunday 13 September 3pm at Curzon Soho.

Justly picking up another Cannes Grand Jury Prize, Andrea Arnold’s follow-up to Red Road is an intense and surprising story of love, lust and family.

Fifteen-year-old Mia (Jarvis) is at war with everything: her family, her school, and the girls on her estate. Her one release is dancing, a passion that she practices in secret. Things change when her mother (Wareing) introduces charismatic new boyfriend Connor (Fassbender, Hunger) – but Arnold’s subtle and unpredictable script keeps us guessing as to just what influence the newcomer will bring to bear. Drawing a fantastically raw and yet immensely accomplished performance from newcomer Katie Jarvis, Arnold, who draws on her own background growing up in London’s East End, has crafted a potent and poetic British film that places her at the vanguard of world cinema.

Where
Curzon Soho
99 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 5DY

When
3pm, Sunday 13 October, 2009

Hitchcon'09 – Celebrating 30 Years of The Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy

Get yourself a ticket for the biggest party the unfashionable end of the galaxy has ever seen and join best-selling author Eoin Colfer – creator of criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl – and actor Simon Jones, the original Arthur Dent, in a celebration of 30 years of the late, great Douglas Adams’ classic British comedy. This’ll be your first chance to see, hear and buy the sixth instalment, And Another Thing… by Eoin Colfer.

With other out-of-this-world entertainment throughout the day – including special free screenings of the Hitchhiker’s series in The Clore Ballroom – this is one event no self-respecting lover of classic British comedy will want to miss.

One of the best dystopian sci-fi movies to come out of the 70s, Rollerball focuses on an ultra-violent sport used to keep an overpopulated planet under control and probes its links to politics, the media and big conglomerates. When a star player refuses to obey the owners of his team, the stage is set for a Gladiator-like confrontation between a rebellious individual and the corporate power that seeks to crush him.

Events include:
Photo Call
Start the day at a photocall of the largest number of Hitchhiker’s fans ever.

Session 1: The Douglas Adams Chat Show
A full panel of Hitchhiker’s experts and friends of Douglas Adams discusses the great man and his work.

Booksigning: Mega-signing of the fantastic new edition of the first five Hitchhiker’s novels.

Sessions 2 & 3 (And Another Thing… & Hitchhikers Live On Stage!)
The sixth book in the series, special guests and a live gig – Sessions 2 & 3 of our day-long celebration of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Booksigning: Eoin Colfer
Buy the new sixth book in the series a day before everyone else and get it signed by Eoin Colfer.

Where
The Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX

When
Sunday 11 October, 2009

The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival: Clive Owen Talk

Held in the highest regard by everyone he’s worked with, Coventry’s favourite son comes to the BFI for a discussion about his career.

Straight out of drama school, Clive Owen landed a starring role in his first feature Vroom (LFF 1988) and within two years he was starring in TV crime drama Chancer. Concerned that he would be stereotyped into television roles, he chose to take a controversial role in Stephen Poliakoff’s Close My Eyes which fed his desire to explore a more interesting career path in both film and theatre. Since then, Owen has taken particular care to work with scripts that he feels passionate about, and has the highest regard for the actors and directors that he works with. This strong work ethic has seen repeat collaborations with director Mike Hodges on Croupier and I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, and he has enjoyed working more than once with Julia Roberts and Paul Giamatti. The hard work was rewarded with both a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for his performance in Closer, and Owen went on to impress as anti-hero Dwight McCarthy in Sin City. His work on Children of Men was also highly acclaimed, and writer-director Alfonso Cuaron has personally credited Owen with contributing to the script. The Boys Are Back sees Owen in a very different acting role (as well as Executive Producer), and working once again with a wonderful script. We are very pleased to welcome such a dedicated actor to take part in the BFI Screen Talks series. Timothy Smith

Where
BFI NFT1

When
18:30 Thu 22 October