RAY HARRYHAUSEN and TONY DALTON will be signing An Animated Life at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR, on Saturday 24th October 1 – 2pm.
The last great animator before the introduction of CGI, Ray’s book takes us through sixty years of bringing dreams to life. From harpies and skeletons in Jason and the Argonauts to the six-armed Kali in Sinbad, Ray explains the films' journeys, from original concept through to the critics' reviews, as well as the basics of special effects and stop-motion animation. Now re-issued in softcover, An Animated Life is a wonderland guide through a golden age of SFX magic.
Mr Harryhausen is responsible for the barrier breaking animation in much loved classic films such as; Clash of the Titans, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, One Million Years B.C., First Men in the Moon, Jason and the Argonauts, Mysterious Island, The 3 Worlds of Gulliver, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and many more.
Where Forbidden Planet London Megastore 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR
The lecture series serves to carry on the legacy of the great director David Lean, one of the founders of the British Film Academy (as it was then known) in 1947 and continuing inspiration to many through his exceptional body of work. The David Lean Lecture in 2007 was presented by American Director David Lynch.
Previous lectures have been delivered by: 2007: David Lynch 2006: Oliver Stone 2005: Woody Allen 2004: John Boorman 2003 Ken Loach 2002 Robert Altman 2001 Sydney Pollack
The 2009 lecture will be given by Atom Egoyan. Over the course of three decades at the forefront of the international film industry, Egoyan has become one of contemporary cinema’s most celebrated auteurs. With feature films including The Adjuster, Calendar, Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter, Felicia’s Journey, Ararat, Where the Truth Lies and 2008’s Adoration Egoyan has garnered countless prizes and nominations, led by Grand Prix and International Critics Awards from the Cannes Film Festival and two Oscar® nominations for The Sweet Hereafter.
Egoyan’s elegant and inventive films feature lonely hearts and isolated figures of unfulfilled desire in often surreal and gloomy scenarios, yet all of his characters are redeemed by his extraordinary compassion for them and insight into their thoughts and feelings. His films are a rare mix of intellect, style and great heart.
Following the UK premiere of his Chloe at the London Film Festival, Egoyan joins the Academy for the prestigious Lean Lecture. With generous support by the Lean Foundation, the lecture is an event in which the world’s most celebrated and compelling directors provide insight into their experiences and into their unique take on cinema and the industry.
Where: BAFTA Princess Anne Theatre, 195 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LN
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
A To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the very first ALIEN movie (and their 10th All-nighter!) SCI-FI-LONDON is giving you the chance to see these iconic movies as they should be seen - on a big screen from 35mm prints.
The event starts around 10.30 with DJ's in the bar and the first movie starts just after 11.00 - the whole. show ends around 10am the next day. There will be some very cool spot prizes and give-aways and a packed goody-bag. Throughout the night we keep you full of Redbull, Ice-Cream and coffee to help you make it 'til morning.
The line up: ALIEN ALIENS ALIEN3 PREDATOR PREDATOR 2 (Oops! Sorry) AVP: Alien vs. Predator Tickets here! Where Apollo Piccadilly Circus 19 Regent Street London SW1Y 4LR
Disney's A Christmas Carol World Premiere and London's Christmas Light Switch-Ons
London will celebrate the launch of a traditional festive season with one of the capital's biggest-ever Christmas events on 3 November. This year, the Christmas Lights across the West End and in the City of London will be switched on simultaneously.
There'll also be a fantastic Christmas concert, and a unique light show at St Paul's Cathedral.
All this will be followed by the world premiere of Disney's A Christmas Carol, attended by the major stars of the movie.
Where & When Christmas Lights Switch-on and Street Concert
London's Christmas lights will be switched on alongside street concerts between 5pm and 6.30pm on 3 November. Three locations across the city will come together to create London's first ever co-ordinated street concerts and Christmas light switch-on.
Oxford Circus – live concert with major performing artists from 5pm, switch-on of Disney's A Christmas Carol lights by Jim Carrey – finishes at 6.30pm
Regent Street – live concert with major performing artists from 5pm, switch-on of Disney's A Christmas Carol lights by Colin Firth and Robin Wright Penn – finishes at 6.30pm
St Paul's Cathedral – live concert with major performing artists from 5pm, light show on St Paul's Cathedral switched on by Bob Hoskins
All events are free to the public – get there early to grab a good viewing spot.
Sing Your Way into the Record Books Following the Christmas lights switch-on, the three stages will be linked for Londoners to join together to break the Guinness World Record for the largest number of people carol singing at one time! The singing will be led by the St Paul's Cathedral Choir.
The World Premiere of Disney's A Christmas Carol: Leicester Square 7.30pm After the Christmas lights switch-on, the focus will shift to Leicester Square for the world premiere of Disney's A Christmas Carol.
The film's world premiere will be one of the most glittering and star-studded premieres that London has ever seen, attended by all the major stars including Jim Carrey and director Robert Zemeckis.
The film will be screened in three of London's leading cinemas – the Odeon Leicester Square, the Empire Leicester Square and the Odeon West End, all in cutting-edge Disney Digital 3D – creating the biggest-ever 3D screening.
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
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
Coinciding with the 75th Birthday of Brigitte Bardot on 28th September 2009, James Hyman Gallery presents an exhibition of 75 vintage photographs by some of the most famous paparazzi photographers.
Presented at the same time as London Fashion Week (18-22 September) Brigitte Bardot and the Original Paparazzi focuses on one of the greatest fashion icons of the twentieth century.
Brigitte Bardot . In her day she was quite something, as this exhibition of vintage photos shows. She had a very different relationship to the paparazzi than today; no peeping nips here, she oozed coquettish sophistication.
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.
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUS AND THE FANTASTIC WORLDS OF TERRY GILLIAM
This Curzon Screen Salon will look back over Terry Gilliam’s career, which has featured as many tragedies and disappointments as it has successes. The Curzon Screen Salons are a series of illustrated lectures before our regular screenings hosted by Ian Haydn Smith, Editor of the International Film Guide.
Dir: Terry Gilliam Starring: Christopher Plummer, Heath Ledger, Tom Waits,
A director seemingly affiliated with bad luck, that Terry Gilliam got to complete this at all is a minor miracle. A fantastical morality tale set in present-day London (for the most part at least), the alternate realities Gilliam spins will be more than familiar to fans of TIME BANDITS and BRAZIL. With more than a hint of Doctor Faustus, the film’s kernel is an ambitious travelling magician whose ambition has caused him to enter a number of deals with the devil, the most personally damaging of which has seen Parnassus (played impeccably by Plummer, THE NEW WORLD) trade immortality for his daughter (Lily Cole) on the occasion of her 16th birthday. A characteristic feast for the senses, the film is a fitting epitaph to Ledger, whose character is also ably portrayed in its transformative states by Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp. Extremely entertaining, the film also has at its heart a larger than life turn from Tom Waits as the devil
Where: Curzon Soho 99 Shaftesbury Avenue London W1D 5DY
Restoring the Midnight Movie to Chelsea, Curzon’s popular strand of late-night attractions hosts a special screening of cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with full audience participation. Join Janet and Brad as they enter the musical world of alien transvestites and Time Warps in one of the must-do events in life! Dressing up is essential and don’t forget to bring the essentials: rice, newspapers, water pistols, torches, rubber gloves, confetti, toilet paper, toast, party hat, bells and cards. Plus, all ticket holders receive a complimentary Jameson cocktail.
Where: Curzon Cinema Chelsea 206 Kings Road London SW3 5XP
Ok. This one is for all you summer drifters. Are you ready? There are 40,000 of you out there. 17,000 more on Facebook. Are you with us? Then send the word. Send the word...
The Secret Cinema meet will take place on Sunday 6th of September in a secret outdoor London location. 6pm till late.
Move fast to survive.
Good Luck.
Secret Cinema.
Remember. Tell No-one.
Please Note: This is an outdoor event, so be prepared come rain or shine.
Based on the above clues (usually a complete red herring) I'm guessing that the great American classic "The Warriors" is up for a little immersive experience. If it is - this is the ideal opportunity to see this Walter Hill masterpiece.
SECRET CINEMA September 2009 Sunday September 6, 2009 at 6:00pm Secret Location London, England
Raindance is the UK’s leading independent film festival and each year more and more films achieve success after Raindance screenings. Recent triumphs include IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS (Independent Spirit Award-winner, 2009), TOYLAND (Oscar-winner, Best Short 2009) and ONCE (Oscar-winner, Best Song, 2008).The 2009 Festival line-up can be found here! Short Films will be announced on the 4th of September.
Over the years, the festival has hosted such guests and filmmakers as Christopher Nolan, Shane Meadows, Ken Loach, Marky Ramone, Iggy Pop, Anton Corbijn, Mick Jones, Andrea Arnold, Adam Yauch, Quentin Tarantino, Faye Dunaway and Lou Reed.
But we’re here for the little guys too. Our big-name successes ensure that attention is on the whole programme. Everyone’s looking for the next big indie hit. Our audience of film fans, journalists, acquisition executives, actors, producers and directors know that a screening at the Raindance Film Festival is a sign of quality.
onedotzero_preview: Up 3D + Q&A with Pete Docter & Jonas Rivera
Carl Fredericksen, a curmudgeonly 78-year-old balloon salesman, is not your average hero. When he ties thousands of balloons to his house and floats to the wilds of South America, he finally fulfills his life-long dream of adventure. But on discovering an 8-year-old stowaway named Russell, an unlikely duo, they soon find themselves on an hilarious journey in a lost world filled with danger and surprise.
Oliver Parker directs a strong cast in this adaptation of Oscar Wilde's classic novel of youth, excess and vanity. Adored for his beauty, Dorian Gray can seemingly have anything or anyone his heart desires. When this power is captured in a painting, Dorian wonders what he wouldn't do to stay as beautiful. As the painting begins to show the excesses of an indulgent lifestyle and Dorian himself stays ageless, it seems his wish come true...
The BFI are pleased to announce that this preview will be followed by a Q&A with director Oliver Parker and screenwriter Toby Finlay.
Preview: Dorian Gray and Q&A with director Oliver Parker and screenwriter Toby Finlay Wednesday September 9, 2009 at 6:20pm BFI Southbank NFT1 Belvedere Road London, England SE1 8XT
This formidable documentary follows overweight, middle-aged, alcoholic Slovenian daredevil environmentalist Martin Strel on a journey down the Amazon. Facing crocodiles, toxic waste, whirlpools, giant anacondas and piranhas, Strel attempts to swim the length of the mighty river, a seemingly impossible challenge that John Maringouin (director of a coruscating 2006 documentary about his father, Running Stumbled) captures in vivid style.
Preview Wednesday 2 September with a Q&A session featuring Martin Strel.
Preview of Big River Man and Q&A Wednesday 2 September 2009 at 6:30pm ICA Institute of Contemporary Arts 12 Carlton House Terrace London, England SW1Y 5AH
!!JUST ANNOUNCED!! Robot Chicken Premiere and Q&A Seth Green via Webcast
It’s time, once more, to get ANIMATED!
Teaming up with popular cable channel Adult Swim, and the London International Animation Festival, Curzon Soho bring you a night of titillating, shocking and absurd animations on the big screen. Check out the premiere of Robot Chicken Season 2. Brain child of Seth Green, the skits play around with cult film, cult TV and celebrity personalities. We also present a special selection of freaky animations as a taster for the LIAF which starts on 31st Aug at Renoir Cinema.
Before the film we will be hosting a Q&A via webcast with Seth Green. Come prepared with your questions whether it be anything Robot Chicken, Buffy or Scott Evil!
The full schedule for Movie Con 2 can be found over here on Empire's website. Below are my highlights from day 2:
Day 2 started with a flash of fury, explosions and red metal, that's right! Some seriously awesome clips from Iron Man 2 were on display introduced by Robert (I'm in town to shoot some additional scenes for Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes) Downey Jr. Unfortunately I was late and missed what was a highlight of day 2.
The legendary Kim Newman ran his now infamous Movie Quiz with the precision of a T800 which was loads of fun. One of the prizes was for a winner's name to be used in Mr. Newman's next novel.
Next up was a clip from the super tense Hurt Locker and Q&A with Director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal. Loosely based on Boal's experiences in Baghdad. Hurt Locker is refreshingly direct and will keep you on the edge of your seat. It could be seen as a natural progression to Point Break.
Optimum rolled out a hilarious and heartwarming presentation for Bunny And The Bull. Hosted by Director Paul King and Star Simon Farnaby. If you are looking for something that lands somewhere between a holiday, run by The Mighty Boosh filmed by Michel Gondry.
"Bunny & the Bull is a road movie set entirely in a flat. Stephen Turnbull hasn't been outside in months. Living with a painfully restrictive routine, he refuses to interact with the world or think about the past. When a sudden infestation of mice forces him to change his ways, he finds his mind hurtling back to the disastrous trek around Europe he undertook with his friend Bunny, a womanising, gambling-addicted booze-hound. Unable to stem the flood of memories, Stephen’s flat becomes the springboard for an extraordinary odyssey through landscapes made up of snapshots and souvenirs, from the industrial wastelands of Silesia to the bull fields of Andalusia. A story of love, disillusionment, stuffed bears and globalised seafood, Bunny & the Bull is an offbeat and heartfelt journey to the end of the room."
Next Director/Writer Stuart Hazeldine introduced Exam.
"Eight talented candidates have reached the final stage of selection to join the ranks of a mysterious and powerful corporation. Entering a windowless room, an Invigilator gives them eighty minutes to answer one simple question. He outlines three rules they must obey or be disqualified: don't talk to him or the armed guard by the door, don't spoil their papers and don't leave the room. He starts the clock and leaves. The candidates turn over their question papers, only to find they're completely blank. After the initial confusion has subsided, one frustrated candidate writes 'I believe you should hire me because...,' and is promptly ejected for spoiling. The remaining candidates soon figure out they're permitted to talk to each other, and they agree to cooperate in order to figure out the question: then they can compete to answer it. At first they suspect the question may be hidden in their papers like a security marker in a credit card, and they figure out ways to change their environment to expose the hidden words. But light, liquids and other plans all come to naught. Soon enough, the candidates begin to uncover each other's background, prejudices and hidden agendas. Tensions rise as the clock steadily descends towards zero, and each candidate must decide how far they are willing to go to secure the ultimate job." Tense stuff.
The end of the day closed with a 3D spectacular! You should know that I love 3D! Even the crappiest film in the world can become wonderful by either showing it in IMAX or 3D format. I have never seen a bad 3D film at the IMAX. Even the big screen 3D trailers are Worth the entry alone. So what if this new push towards 3D was engineered by Hollywood marketeers to revitalise the industry and shaft Movie piracy. I love it. The final hour and a half of of Movie Con was spectacular. In order:
Disney presented; The trailer & loads of footage from the mind boggling A Christmas Carol, the trailer for Toy Story 3, and footage from the much talked about Up.
Welcome back Flynn! Then we were shown the 3D trailer/footage from Tron Legacy ! This was the same bootleg footage that haunted the net after Comic Con last year and was recently released onto the net in high def. Except that this was in 3D on a BIG screen! Tron Legacy looks like it will be worth the 27 year wait.
Finally we were treated to footage from Jim Cameron's 4 years in the making AVATAR. Stolen from Empire's blog:
"James Cameron recorded a short introduction, just for Movie-Con II, to two scenes of footage from Avatar, due out in December. We wouldn’t be exaggerating too far if we say that jaws hit the floor. The first, short scene gave a flavour to the threat in the film: Stephen Lang’s Colonel Quaritch explaining to newcomers just how dangerous the world of Pandora is, and telling them frankly that they won’t all make it out alive. Then we saw Jake Sully’s (Sam Worthington) Avatar alive and working in the jungles of the planet. Having faced off one rhino*/hammerhead shark added by me:)*-looking beastie, he’s surprised by the much more dangerous spider-lynx looking monster, and a spectacular chase scene occurs. We also get a glimpse there of Sigourney Weaver’s Grace in action: check the next issue of Empire for more on that.
Naturally, we had to see that again, so we rewound and went for a second go." The team also let us know that there would be more & different footage shown on AVATAR day this Friday. Info here!
All that is left for me to say is thank you Empire & BFI. I had a wonderful time. Next year please bring some display cases and props with you. I'm just saying.
On Wednesday 23rd September, Terry Gilliam will be talking, at an exclusive event at the Soho Hotel in London, about the people, relationships and film moments that made him the eccentric genius he is today.
This Is Who I Am with Orange : Terry Gilliam
Wednesday September 23, 2009 at 6:00pm
The Soho Hotel 4 Richmond Mews London, EnglandW1D 3DH
Today the much anticipated Movie Con 2 kicked off. I'm still reeling from the mind blowing Film goodness of day 1.
The BFI & Empire Magazine have pulled off another collaborative coup for film lovers. The second Movie Convention is heading to all time greatness.
Movie Con is a annual collaborative effort between the BFI & Empire Magazine. It takes place just after after Comic Con (San Diego) at the BFI on the Southbank in London. This means that the organisers can cherry pick the best of Comic Con as well add some good stuff. It's held for film fans and the core content covers forth coming features in the Super Hero, Horror, Fantasy, Sci Fi, blood and Cult genres.
Empire have a much better run down of today's schedule over here. But today's events have roused me from my Blog laziness of late and mention must be made of some of the key events:
Trailers & footage from Astroboy. Over the last 18 months I have been hearing the buzz about the animated Astroboy feature but had no real interest in this remake of a 60s Japanese TV show. After today's clips I'll be seeing this gem. It will enthrall kids & older kids alike. It had the audience oohing, aahing & laughing in all the right places.
Harry Brown Presentation. Harry Brown is a new film from British filmmaker Daniel Barber and stars Sir Michael Caine. The film is about an elderly veteran that due to circumstances decides to do something about his neighbourhood that has been over run by young yobs.
Coming across as a modern day version of Michael Winner's Death Wish with big boots, genuinely threatening yobs, knuckledusters and big guns. The clip we saw made it clear this was a quality production with outstanding performances Sir Michael and the blinding Sean Harris as a very, very scary low life (think Drexel nastier brother, the love child of Travis Bickle & Myra Hindley on crack). I recently saw Tonto Woman the brilliant short that Daniel Barber adapted from an Elmore Leonard story. He received an Oscar nomination for it. I'm looking forward to seeing Harry Brown in full as well as anything else Daniel Barber serves up. Think Peckinpah with a social conscience.
Next up the indomitable genius "Still not a Sir" Terry Gilliam showed us some mind melting clips from The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus. Seems to be a true return to form for Mr Gilliam whose tribulations of getting his film made rival anything you have seen on screen. Doctor Parnassus recaptures the magic of Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen with a dash of sensibility from The Fisher King. * When re-watching the classic Spies Like Us keep an eye out for Terry Gilliam as Dr. Imhaus.
Kick Ass Presentation. Put together by the Stardust team & Brad Pitt, independently financed, directed by Matthew Vaughn, written by Jane Goldman (Mrs Johnathan Ross but a super talent in her own right) & Mark Millar. Kick Ass promises to turn the Super Hero genre upside down. Referencing the both comic & film super heroes, eastern sensibilities and the slacker/Clerks space. The Kick Ass clips shown deliver in the holy Triumvirate of modern super hero genre: high action, humour & blood stakes.
I was surprised thaty neither Jane Goldman or Matthew Vaughn did not pitch up but enjoyed Editor Jon Harris' presentation and chat with Christopher Mintz-Plasse (yes that's right McLovin) and Jason Flemyng. I'm slightly annoyed I didn't get a chance to quiz Flemyng about Clash of the Titans & Solomon Kane both of which I am eagerly waiting for.
The super secret screening I guessed that this year's secret screening was going to be District 9 - D9. I have been curious about D9 for awhile Weta and Peter Jackson's name should have made this a dead cert but South African films tend to do emotional small films well and haven't really shone in the high action or sci fi genre as yet. D9 changes that - whilst being true to it's African setting it shines at being a high adventure sci fi romp that has it's roots firmly planted in complex social issues. Google "District 6" & "Africa xenophobia" for sight of the bigger picture.
Originally Jackson and Director Neil Blomkamp were to make HALO: Combat Evolved when that fell through they decided to remake an earlier Blomkamp short film "Alive in Joburg".
< * Sharlto Copley whio plays D9 lead Wikus Van De Merwe is not a trained actor and was a producer on Alive in Joburg.
Next up was Warner Bros screening of the Jonah Hex trailer. I've been waiting for this film for about 20 years.
Jonah Hex is a scarred Mad Max by way of Dirty Harry in the West that was on the wrong side during the Civil war. This makes fior an intresting character seeking redemption.
The trailer looked good but it could still go either way the newly added occult plot devices are a bit of a concern. I'm holding off on judgment for now.
Finally and "saving best for last" Robert Downey Junior & Guy Ritchie made an appearance to introduce an extended trailer for Sherlock Holmes. They were in good spirits and played off each other like a comedic duo rather than Star and Director. And well they should be in high spirits the Sherlock Holmes footage was everything it needed to be. My only query would be that it seemed fairly light and didn't really show any darkness that usually haunts Victorian era pea soap London. Possibly emulating the very successful Iron Man's formula? I'm holding thumbs.
RAY HARRYHAUSEN and TONY DALTON will be signing An Animated Life at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR, on Saturday 24th October 1 – 2pm.
