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
Play: Kurt & Sid at Trafalgar Studios
Kurt & Sid, starring Danny Dyer and Shaun Evans. From 9 September – 03 October 2009 at the Trafalgar Studios, London.
Roy Smiles witty and beautifully poignant new play explores exactly what it means to dice with death when being alive proves to be all too painful and peace seems elusive…
April 1994. A man sits alone in an attic extension on the cusp of becoming a Seattle suicide statistic. This man is no ‘number and name’ to be reported in a local newspaper. He is an icon, albeit a reluctant one. The frontman of Nirvana. is about to pull the trigger of the gun in his hand and join the leagues of rock star deaths down the ages. Without invitation, Kurt has the curious company of a man purporting to be the Sex Pistol’s Sid Vicious, Kurt’s hero.
Whether he is a ghost, a figment of Kurt’s imagination, an hallucination, a dream, or a Punk impersonator remains to be seen as the two musicians, trade quips and quotes about the emptiness of fame, a mutual understanding of drug addiction and self-destruction.
Where
Trafalgar Studios
Whitehall, London, SW1A 2DY
When
Weds 9 September – Saturday 3 October
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival: Julianne Moore Talk
One of the most daring and talented actors of her generation comes to the BFI to discuss her diverse slate of work.
When she first appeared in feature films, Julianne Moore garnered much attention for her talent and her presence on screen, with roles in films such as Short Cuts (LFF 1993) and [Safe] (LFF 1995). A number of Oscar nominations and a slew of other awards followed, for her roles in Boogie Nights (LFF 1997), The End of the Affair, Far from Heaven (LFF 2002) and The Hours. By cleverly positioning her career across both the mainstream studio system and independent film, Moore has been able to use her status at the box office to help independent directors find funding for projects that otherwise may not have been made. Although she always brings individuality and originality to the diverse range of roles that she chooses, Moore has a rare skill of being able to play characters in a natural and believable way that audiences often relate to, whilst at the same time highlighting the complexities of a character (few other actors could play a porn-star cokehead with such tenderness and sensitivity). The range and diversity in her talent are especially evident in her portrayal of a wife and mother in Atom Agoyan’s Chloe and almost the antithesis of that in Tom Ford’s A Single Man. Timothy Smith
Where
BFI NFT1
When
18:30 Fri 23 October
Play: Speaking in tongues, Duke of York's Theatre
In the highly charged thriller SPEAKING IN TONGUES, the basis for the film Lantana, the seemingly random confessions of a group of strangers are pieced together by a detective investigating the disappearance of a leading psychiatrist. A powerful study of infidelity and interwoven lives, the play stars John Simm (Life on Mars, State of Play), returning to the stage to lead an exciting cast including Ian Hart (The Virgin Queen, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone), Lucy Cohu (The Queen’s Sister, Torchwood) and Kerry Fox (An Angel at my Table, Shallow Grave).
SPEAKING IN TONGUES will have its West End premiere at the Duke of York’s Theatre. Writer Andrew Bovell’s previous work includes Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom, When The Rain Stops Falling at the Almeida Theatre and his own adaptation of SPEAKING IN TONGUES into the internationally acclaimed film Lantana.
Where
Duke of York’s Theatre
St. Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4BG
When
From 18 September to 12 December.
Preview of Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee and Q&A
Preview of Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee and Q&A with Shane Meadows, Paddy Considine and Mark Herbert.
Rock roadie, Le Donk, has lived, loved and learned. Along the way, he’s lost a classy girlfriend but gained a sidekick, Scorz-Ayz-Ee. He sets out to make Scorz a star with a little help from the Artic Monkeys.
A freewheeling, no-budget experiment by one of the UK’s most prominent and successful producer/director teams, LE DONK was born out of Shane Meadows’ and Mark Herbert’s frustration at the sheer expense of time and money required to get a new project off the ground. Why not just get together an enthusiastic team (including the actor often cited as the De Niro to Meadows’ “Scorsese of the Midlands”, Paddy Considine), cobble together a skeleton script, and simply play for a few days? So, Considine broke out an earlier comic creation of his, an endearing/repellent rock’n’roll roadie known as Donk; an Arctic Monkeys gig provided the backdrop; and Meadows played himself, as a documentary-maker seeking to capture the secrets of a life lived just beyond the reach of the bright lights. Irrepressible fun.
When:
Curzon Soho
99 Shaftesbury Avenue, London ,W1D 5DY
Where:
Sunday 11 October, 4:00pm
VIP screening of A Perfect Getaway
To celebrate the release of this summer’s hottest thriller, A Perfect Getaway , in cinemas August 12th. We would like to invite you to a VIP advanced screening of the film – with special guest, Milla Jovovich!
Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Milla Jovovich) are an adventurous young couple celebrating their honeymoon by backpacking to one of the most beautiful, and remote, beaches in Hawaii. Hiking the wild, secluded trails, they believe they’ve found paradise. But when the pair comes across a group of frightened hikers discussing the horrifying murder of another newlywed couple on the islands, they begin to question whether they should turn back.. Paradise becomes hell on earth as a brutal battle for survival begins.
Charlotte Street Hotel Screening rooms
15-17 Charlotte Street
London, England W1T 1RJ
Preview of Home and appearance of Isabelle Huppert & director Ursula Meier
We wanted you to be the first to know that Isabelle Huppert will be joining director Ursula Meier for a preview screening of Home on Tuesday.
Ursula Meier’s debut feature is a darkly funny story of an oddball family living happily in an isolated house at the edge of an unfinished motorway. Isabelle Huppert and Olivier Gourmet star as the parents going to great lengths to protect their family from the infernal noise and dangers that are presented when the road is finally, and abruptly, opened to traffic. Their grumpy eldest daughter continues to don her bikini and languish in a deckchair despite the cars whizzing close by; the middle daughter studies the effect of the noxious fumes; and the youngest child sees it all initially as an adventure. As time goes by, the tone of the film shifts, becoming less comic as Meier introduces elements of melodrama and horror. This adds to the mystery of the story, which gives only vague hints as to what drives the family so determinedly to stay put in the face of such adversity.
Preview of Home and appearance of Isabelle Huppert & director Ursula Meier
Tuesday August 4, 2009 at 6:20pm
BFI Southbank
Belvedere Road
London, England SE1 8XT
UK Premiere Of Inglourious Basterds
Warner Brothers is pleased to invite you to the UK Premiere of Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds”.
“In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as “The Basterds” are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis.
The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a cinema in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.”
No names have been confirmed to attend, but we are hoping that attending will be: Pitt, maybe his equally famous lady love Angeline Jolie, and the movie’s other stars including Roth, Kruger, 300’s Michael Fassbender and Mike Myers (yes, he of the Austin Powers and Shrek movies).
UK Premiere Of Inglourious Basterds
Thursday July 23, 2009 at 6:00pm
Odeon Leicester Sq.
24-26 Leicester Square,
London, England WC2H 7JY
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen UK Premiere
We were fortunate to crack the nod for the UK Premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
“It is with great pleasure Paramount Pictures invite you to the UK Premiere of Transformers Revenge of the Fallen.
In aid of Starlight in association with Sky Movies HD on 15th June 2009 at the Odeon Leicester Square, London.
In the highly-anticipated Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) again joins with the Autobots against their sworn enemies, the Decepticons. Michael Bay directs from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger & Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman.
In attendance will be director Michael Bay plus the stars Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Tyrese Gibson and Josh Duhamel. This epic event will take place on the evening of Monday 15Th June in London’s Leicester Square.”
Being a little over the expected age limit for Transformers and not being a fan at all. I was completely blown away by the first Transformers film (incidentally this was Michael Bay’s finest film to date). 3 Other Blockbuster releases this year were really good i.e. Terminator Salvation, Star Trek & Watchmen. So I was really quite keen to see the TROTF. Plus the Leicester Square Odeon has the best cinematic sound in the UK combined with the special effects this was going to be a pretty good evening.
The evening was a spectacular star studded event. With appearances by; Shia LaBouef, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Jasmine Guiness, Danielle Lloyd, Tyrese Gibson, John Turterro,VV Brown,Michael Bay,Matthew Marsden, Ramon Rodriguez, Sam Branson, Bianca Gascoigne, Kate Walsh, Aston Merrygold, Ortise Williams, JLS, Sarah Cawood, Danny O’Donoghue, Ozwald Boateng, Dizzee Rascal, Beverley Knight, Tiny Iron, Jamie O Hara, Lemar, Phillip Taylor and Bumblebee
In the video you can see the backs of Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson and if you place your eyes as close to your computer screen as possible and squint Megan Fox at the far end of the Blue Carpet.
I really wanted to enjoy the film. But ultimately it is aimed at a younger audience and more in line with the Transformers toys target market. For many of the wrong reasons I did feel like I had just watched a George Lucas film.
But it is big, loud, has lots of big robots fighting loudly and is quite the big screen spectacle. It is really a great Saturday matinee kids popcorn flick. The special effects will not disappoint.
European Premiere Of Public Enemies
Universal Pictures is honoured to invite you to the European Premiere of Public Enemies.
On Monday 29 June, the stars of Universal Pictures’ PUBLIC ENEMIES, Johnny Depp and Marion Cotillard, and acclaimed film director Michael Mann, will be bring some ‘30s gangster glamour to the West End, when they attend the European Premiere at London’s Empire, Leicester Square.
Empire Cinema, Leicester Square
5-6 Leicester Square London
London, England WC2H 7NA
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