Lilian has added 3 more videos to our extensive video collection on our YouTube channel, 2 from Frighfest 2008 and 1 from a Talking Movies Hunger special, which can be viewed here .
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Movie trailer for the film 'Eden Lake' A romantic break turns into a nightmare when a nursery teacher and her boyfriend are targeted by a group of violent yobs. Steve (MICHAEL FASSBENDER) finds an idyllic spot for a break with girlfriend Jenny (KELLY REILLY) and plans to propose. But when he challenges a rowdy group of youngsters they turn on the couple, stealing their belongings, vandalising their car and launching a violent attack on Steve. Jenny is forced to run for help through the remote woods as the vicious kids attempt to track her down. Eden Lake is released on September 12
NEWS AND UPDATES
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(Posted on 2008-08-25 18:46:00 by )
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Monster's and critics.com have a new extreme 'Eden Lake' trailer up on their site, view it here !
(Posted on 2008-08-23 08:45:00 by ) -
I've added new images to the Eden Lake gallery here
(Posted on 2008-08-22 08:37:00 by ) -
according to Variety.com
Fox Searchlight has arrested production on Brit cop thriller "The Sweeney" following concerns about its international prospects.
Project was being produced by DNA Films, the U.K. venture backed by Fox Searchlight, and had been set to start lensing in the next few weeks.
DNA reps said Fox execs are believed to have had doubts the $16 million pic, while looking a sure-fire hit in Blighty because it's based on a cult 1970s TV series, would sell elsewhere without a major star.
Thesps being considered for the main roles of a seasoned detective and his younger partner were Ray Winstone and the up-and-coming Michael Fassbender.
Rather than continue with pre-production in the hopes of nabbing a big name at the last minute, Fox and DNA mutually agreed to step back and wait. They are still hoping to go into production next year. Cult writer-director Nick Love remains attached to direct.
Pic is about the Flying Squad, a London police unit dedicated to fighting violent crime. The TV show, starring John Thaw and Dennis Waterman, was to U.K. auds what "Miami Vice" was to U.S. viewers.
The unit was known locally by the Cockney rhyming slang term for Flying Squad -- Sweeney Todd.
The seminal show, created by Ian Kennedy Martin who is involved in the pic, helped invent the blueprint for gritty cop dramas in the U.K., with its salty dialogue and tough action scenes.
"We're confident we'll get the film made next year," DNA production chief Allon Reich told Daily Variety.
(Posted on 2008-08-22 08:14:00 by ) -
The new Eden Lake website is now up and running with trailers , synopsis , gallery and cast details, to view go here
(Posted on 2008-08-22 08:11:00 by ) -
Shocktilyoudrop.com has some new hi res images from Eden Lake on their site which can be viewed here.
(Posted on 2008-08-22 08:09:00 by ) -
Michael Fassbender has climbed aboard Quentin Tarantino's latest project, Inglorious Bastards.
According to Variety, Simon Pegg had been in talks for the role (Lt. Archie Hicox), but was forced to ankle after what he described on his website as "insurmountable scheduling difficulties."
Brad Pitt has signed on for the lead role as a Tennessee hillbilly who assembles a team of eight Jewish-American soldiers to take on the Nazis. Also on board are Mike Myers and Eli Roth. Tarantino is courting Nastassja Kinski, David Krumholtz and B.J. Novak.
The role would arguably be the highest-profile yet for Fassbender, who has begun to draw comparisons to Daniel Day-Lewis for his intense dedication to his work. The actor emaciated himself to play Sands in the latter stages of his hunger strike.
Production is said to begin on October 14 in Germany.
(Posted on 2008-08-20 18:14:00 by ) -
Not sure if i have mentioned this article before but got this from the BBC Press office about 'Fish Tank', which Michael is currently "very busy" with according to dad Josef, whom i heard from a few days ago. Josef is also hoping Michael will win a prize for Hunger at the Toronto Film Festival , we hope he does too and are keeping our finger's tightly crossed !! heres the article below !!
BBC Films, the UK Film Council and Limelight are pleased to announce that principal photography has begun on Fish Tank, Academy Award-winning writer and director Andrea Arnold's follow-up feature to Cannes Prix du Jury winner, Red Road.
Artificial Eye has acquired the UK theatrical rights; ContentFilm International is handling worldwide sales.
Following his critically acclaimed performance in Hunger, Michael Fassbender (300, Angel) takes the central role in Fish Tank, opposite talented newcomer Katie Jarvis.
Rounding out the principal cast are BAFTA-nominated Kierston Wareing (It's A Free World), who is joined by Rebecca Griffiths and Harry Treadaway (Control). Produced by Kees Kasander (Prospero's Books, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover, The Pillow Book), for Kasander Films, and executive produced by Paul Trijbits (Ruby Films) and Christine Langan and David M Thompson for BBC Films, Fish Tank will be shot entirely on location in the UK.
Fish Tank is the story of Mia (Katie Jarvis), a volatile 15-year-old, who is always in trouble and who has become excluded from school and ostracized by her friends.One hot summer's day her mother (Kierston Wareing) brings home a mysterious stranger called Connor (Michael Fassbender), who promises to change everything and bring love into all their lives. Touching on the themes of Andrea Arnold's Academy Award-winning short Wasp, Fish Tank is an original and unique modern tale of our times. Paul Trijbits, Executive Producer, says: "Andrea is the UK's most exciting new female director, whose work is embraced by audiences and festivals all over the world.
"Having commissioned both Andrea's Oscar-winner Wasp and Cannes prize-winner Red Road, I am delighted to have been a part in putting Andrea's next film together."Christine Langan, Executive Producer for BBC Films, says: "BBC Films prides itself in providing a home for some of the most distinctive talent working today."We are especially pleased to team up with Andrea once again and to help bring her unique vision to the screen."David M Thompson, Executive Producer for BBC Films, says: "We were delighted to be involved in Andrea's Red Road, which is one of the most startling films I have ever seen from a first-time feature director. "Naturally we were thrilled at the opportunity to develop Andrea's next project, which we think will result in a highly distinctive and compelling film, from one of Britain's most exciting film talents." Lenny Crooks, Head of the UK Film Council's New Cinema Fund, says: "Andrea has proved herself to be one of the most exciting film-makers to have come out of the UK for years. "She received international acclaim for her first feature and her shorts work and we are delighted that we can help her to progress her career.â
BBC Films and the UK Film Council in association with Limelight present a Kees Kasander production.
(Posted on 2008-08-19 20:00:00 by ) -
According to www.francois-ozon.com
Angel will be released in UK cinemas by Lionsgate from August 29 2008. Ozon's website has been updated and also has a new movie poster which can be viewed here
(Posted on 2008-08-12 19:12:00 by ) -
Here's the link for the official Eden Lake website , although nothing up on it yet but the release date but you can view it here
(Posted on 2008-08-12 14:06:00 by ) -
I've just made screencaps for Eden Lake and put them in gallery 3 here
(Posted on 2008-08-11 18:23:00 by ) -
View the new 'Eden Lake' movie trailer here
(Posted on 2008-08-11 17:28:00 by ) -
From The Observer , 10/08/08
Stars to refight England's civil war in new TV drama
A passionate revolutionary saga will sweep across British television screens this autumn. The lavish four-part drama, The Devil's Whore, from the pen of Peter Flannery, creator of the hit serial Our Friends in the North, stars Dominic West, of The Wire, as Oliver Cromwell. Andrea Riseborough, fresh from her role as Margaret Thatcher in BBC4's The Long Walk to Finchley, will play alongside him as a young gentlewoman of the court, drawn into the English Civil War.
And right at the centre of this story of Roundhead versus Cavalier is a family legacy that has become increasingly personal to Martine Brant, co-writer of the £7m Channel 4 epic. Researching the screenplay for more than a decade, she discovered that her beautiful Oxfordshire home, Wytham Abbey, played a key part in the conflict that ripped England apart during the 17th century.
'Cromwell actually stayed here as he planned the siege of Oxford,' said Brant this weekend. 'It was originally a manor that belonged to Abingdon Abbey and provided fruit and veg for the monks. It then became the seat of the Earls of Abingdon, before being sequestrated during the Civil War.'
The Devil's Whore chronicles the life of the fictitious Angelica Fanshawe, who was born into the Royalist camp. The name is taken from that of the diarist Anne, Lady Fanshawe, a direct ancestor of Brant's three daughters through their paternal grandmother.
'The real Lady Fanshawe was the daughter of a wealthy merchant and part of the court entourage that travelled to Oxford, where she met her husband, Sir Richard,' said Brant. 'This was the kind of ancestry I had always wanted for myself. In my heart of hearts I had thought I must be a princess as a child, as many girls do, so the idea that my daughters are part of all this history is wonderful.'
The youngest, 15-year-old Miranda, will make her debut in the drama as Princess Elizabeth, grief-stricken daughter of the executed King Charles I, who is played by Peter Capaldi, the New Labour spin doctor in the hit BBC4 comedy The Thick of It
The Devil's Whore, which has been co-funded by the American network HBO, also stars Michael Fassbender as the political firebrand Thomas Rainsborough. Fassbender won acclaim at this summer's Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal of Bobby Sands in Hunger. John Simm, who starred as Sam Tyler in the BBC's popular Life on Mars, plays the Puritan anti-monarchist Edward Sexby.
For Flannery the opportunity to bring this period to life - and with such a cast - is long overdue. 'It is absolutely extraordinary how the English have forgotten their revolution and how under-dramatised it has been,' he said. 'There has been nothing on television that actually tells it as it happened. We killed a monarch, after all, and ours was the first revolution in Europe.'
Flannery argues that, if the revolution had played out differently, the country would not have returned to the monarchy. 'This movement went on to inspire the French and Soviet revolutions and we might have had an early Soviet-style government ourselves. In British history it is still referred to as the Interregnum, a blip... but it was much more than that.'
Although Fanshawe is at the centre of the story, Flannery did not want it to revolve around one figure. 'I almost consciously modelled it on Our Friends in the North. I didn't want it to be told from a single perspective,' he said. 'I wanted a group of characters to help explain a period of history, but we needed one character to take us through it. Both politically and emotionally, Angelica becomes attached to the other side, and this completely changes and radicalises her life. One of the important things about the revolution is that it gave women a voice.'
Fanshawe Manor is crucial to the plot and is modelled on Brant's home, but the production team had to re-create it in South Africa for cost reasons. 'We filmed entirely in South Africa, in a valley full of oak trees not far from the Cape,' said Flannery. 'It looks very dramatic and very like Wytham Woods.'
The cast visited Brant and her family to rehearse at Wytham Abbey, which is set in 3,000 acres of woodland now owned by Oxford University. 'When Dominic West walked through the main gate I said to him, "Cromwell would have ridden his horse in here",' said Brant. 'He just seemed to fill out and from that moment he took on the mantle of Cromwell, I think.'
(Posted on 2008-08-10 09:37:00 by ) -
You will notice a new site banner which i finally made to go with the colour scheme and i've uploaded more audio clips of Michael to the player here , thanks to Lilian for these !! and also more pics have been added to gallery 3 here.
We have nearly finished uploading all the pics from the old site, so can then concentrate on organising them so that each project has it's own page.
I have also added a guestbook, so feel free to leave any feedback or comments if you wish. This is located here under the contact us heading on the menu bar.
(Posted on 2008-08-07 14:36:00 by ) -
From the Daily Mail 1/8/08 -
THE high-profile movie production of Wuthering Heights has had more drama behind the scenes than the plot of Emily Bronteâs famous novel â and thatâs before a single scene has been shot.
Natalie Portman was cast as the movieâs heroine Catherine Earnshaw, then withdrew under mysterious circumstances; Keira Knightley dismissed overtures because she didnât want âsloppy secondsâ; Sienna Miller was courted for about a minute but that dalliance was ditched on the Yorkshire Moors; and now I can reveal that the pictureâs director John Maybury has withdrawn because, itâs claimed, he didnât like the screenplay. The search is now on for another filmmaker to take hold of the literary classic. The new director, whoever he or she may be, will at least find actors in place to play the leading roles. Fast-rising thespian Michael Fassbender (pictured, right) is already signed to play the brooding Heathcliff, and Australian actress Abbie Cornish has agreed to play Cathy. In fact, they make an ideal cast to bring Bronteâs revered characters to life on celluloid. All they need now is a director to shout: âAction!â
Itâs a shame about Mayburyâs quitting because he would have injected a dangerous edginess to the costume drama, the producers must find a new director who possesses a visual flair and a sense of daring.
I hope Fassbender remains with the project because he is an exciting actor, and when I last spoke to him he was brimming with ideas on how he would bring Heathcliff to life.
Fassbender plays Bobby Sands in Steve McQueenâs recent Cannes Film Festival prize-winning Hunger, a magnificent and deeply felt drama about the IRA hunger protests at Maze Prison in Northern Ireland.
McQueen explores the incident not just from the prisonersâ perspective, but also from the viewpoint of the gaolâs guards, particularly one officer, played superbly by Stuart Graham, who seems like the loneliest man in the world.
Hunger, a work of cinematic art produced by Film 4, will demand an audienceâs participation. To be sure, itâs harrowing, but I found it, strangely, a most fulfilling movie experience.
Hunger opens on October 31, but expect it to be in the Times BFI London Film Festival earlier that month.
Fassbender has a powerful screen presence â just what Wuthering Heights will need, whoever directs it.
For the full article with pic go to the Daily Mail site here
(Posted on 2008-08-03 10:23:00 by ) -
According to Variety.com Michael will be starring in a new film called 'Fishtank', playing a character called 'Connor' .
Fassbender plunges into 'Fish Tank'
Andrea Arnold shoots second feature
By ALI JAAFAR
Rising Brit thesp Michael Fassbender has boarded Andrea Arnoldâs sophomore feature âFish Tank.â
Other cast members include newcomer Katie Jarvis, who plays the lead role of Mia, a troubled 15-year-old excluded from school and ostracized by her friends.
Kierston Wareing (âItâs a Free Worldâ), Rebecca Griffiths and Harry Treadaway (âControlâ) complete the lineup.
Fassbender garnered plenty of critical kudos for his tragic portrayal of I.R.A. hunger striker Bobby Sands in Brit helmer Steve McQueenâs âHunger,â which won the Camera dâOr at Cannes this year. Fassbender is also set to take on the iconic role of Heathcliff in a new version of Emily Bronteâs classic novel âWuthering Heights.â
In âFish Tank,â Fassbender takes on the role of a mysterious stranger who romances Miaâs mother.
âFish Tankâ is a BBC Films, U.K. Film Council and Limelight co-production.
Kees Kasander is producing for Kasander Films, with Ruby Filmsâ Paul Trijbits exec producing along with BBC Filmsâ Christine Langan and David M. Thompson.
Artificial Eye has already acquired U.K. theatrical rights. ContentFilm Intl. is handling worldwide sales.
Also, www.4rfv.co.uk have a piece about it also
28 July 2008
Principal Photography Commences On 'Fish Tank'
BBC Films, the UK Film Council and Limelight, have announced that principal photography has begin on 'Fish Tank', Academy-Award-winning writer and director Andrea Arnold's follow-up feature to Cannes' 'Prix du Jury' winner, 'Red Road'.
Artificial Eye has acquired the UK theatrical rights; ContentFilm International is handling worldwide sales.
Following his critically acclaimed performance in 'Hunger', Michael Faasbender ('300', 'Angel') takes the central role in 'Fish Tank', opposite talented newcomer Katie Jarvis. Rounding out the principal cast are BAFTA-nominated Kierston Wareing ('It's A Free World'), who is joined by Rebecca Griffiths and Harry Treadaway ('Control').
Produced by Kees Kasander ('Prospero's Books', 'The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover', 'The Pillow Book'), for Kasander Films, and executive produced by Paul Trijbits (Ruby Films) and Christine Langan and David M. Thompson for BBC Films, 'Fish Tank' will be shot entirely on location in the UK.
'Fish Tank' is the story of Mia (Katie Jarvis), a volatile 15-year-old who is always in trouble and who has become excluded from school and ostracized by her friends. One hot summer's day her mother (Kierston Wareing) brings home a mysterious stranger called Connor (Michael Fassbender) who promises to change everything and bring love into all their lives. Touching on the themes of her Academy Award-winning short 'Wasp', 'Fish Tank' is an original and unique modern tale of our times.
Paul Trijbits, Executive Producer, said: "Andrea is the UK's most exciting new female director whose work is embraced by audiences and festivals all over the world. Having commissioned both Andrea's Oscar-winner 'Wasp' and Cannes prize-winner 'Red Road', I am delighted to have been a part in putting Andrea's next film together."
Christine Langan, Executive Producer for BBC Films, said: "BBC Films prides itself in providing a home for some of the most distinctive talent working today. We are especially pleased to team up with Andrea once again and to help bring her unique vision to the screen."
David M. Thompson, Executive Producer for BBC Films, said: "We were delighted to be involved in Andrea's 'Red Road', which is one of the most startling films I have ever seen from a first time feature director. Naturally, we were thrilled at the opportunity to develop Andrea's next project, which we think will result in a highly distinctive and compelling film, from one of Britain's most exciting film talents."
Lenny Crooks, Head of the UK Film's New Cinema Fund, said: "Andrea has proved herself to be one of the most exciting filmmakers to have come out of the UK for years. She received international acclaim for her first feature and her shorts work and we are delighted that we can help her to progress her career."
BBC Films and the UK Film Council in association with Limelight present a Kees Kasander production.
(KMcA)
(Posted on 2008-07-28 19:09:00 by ) -
He acquired a cult following on the back of TV series such as Band of Brothers, which launched his career in 2001, and Sky One's Hex, but Michael Fassbender's days of marginal fame are coming to an end.
In Cannes this year, excited commentators were calling him 'the British Brando' - disregarding the fact that the 31-year-old was born in Heidelberg, Germany, raised in Killarney, County Kerry, and speaks with a distinct Irish accent. The label was applied because of his performance as IRA hunger-striker Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen's Hunger (released on 31 October). Fassbender lost more than two stone in preparatio nuts, berries and sardines.
He was considerably more buff as Stelios ('Then we shall fight in the shade') in last year's muscle-porn epic 300, and his roles in two imminent releases show just how versatile an actor Fassbender is. In François Ozon's romance Angel, he is a painter of negligible talent who woos Romola Garai's novelist in Edwardian England. And in British shocker Eden Lake, he plays a man menaced by a gang of kids.
Other projects in the pipeline include a new version of Wuthering Heights from director John Maybury, in which Fassbender will play Heathcliff, a role tailor-made for the charismatic Irishman.
Angel is released on 25 August; Eden Lake on 5 September.
(Posted on 2008-07-28 08:40:00 by ) -
Site Update: More pics added !
I've just added more pics to gallery 2, so now we have all the caps up from Carla, William and Mary, Wedding Belles, Poirot and Michael's appearance on TRL Romania. View them here
Once i've finished uploading all the pics from the old site, each project will have it's own page , with maybe( not decided yet ), a synopsis and role info and i will also be putting a links page to all the pics up to make navigating to them easier.
(Posted on 2008-07-23 19:23:00 by ) -
'Hunger' Set For UK Release On October 31
'Hunger', the winner of the Camera d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival and the directorial debut of acclaimed British visual artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen, is to be released in cinemas on October 31, Pathé Distribution has announced.
'Hunger' is an intimate portrayal of life in Northern Ireland's Maze Prison at the time of the 1981 IRA hunger strike, led by Bobby Sands.
The film explores what happens when the morality of people, whether prisoners or prison guards, is tested to the limit, when the body itself is used as a weapon for people not being heard.
Co-written by Enda Walsh and Steve McQueen and produced by Laura Hastings-Smith and Robin Gutch, 'Hunger' stars Michael Fassbender as Bobby Sands, Liam Cunningham as Father Dominic Moran and Stuart Graham as prison officer Raymond Lohan.
The cast also includes Brian Milligan. Liam McMahon and Lalor Roddy.
'Hunger' is a Blast! Films production developed and majority funded by Film4 and Channel 4 and filmed on location in Northern Ireland with finance from Northern Ireland Screen.
'Hunger' also received support from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland 'Sound & Vision Fund') and the Wales Creative IP Fund.
'Hunger' received its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year where Steve McQueen won the prestigious Camera d'Or for best first feature. The film was also awarded the Fipresci International Critics Prize at the festival.
It also won the Sydney Film Prize at this year's Sydney Film Festival.
(Posted on 2008-07-22 07:55:00 by ) -
Watch out for Donkey Punch, Eden Lake and Better Things: starring the new villains of the big screen
The new cinema baddie looks very familiar. Our correspondent discovers how the hoody skulked to the big screenKevin Maher
One of the most terrifying movie moments of 2008 occurs early in the new British thriller Eden Lake. Kindly, middle-class thirtysomething Steve (Michael Fassbender) is lounging by the titular Midlands lake with his girlfriend and prospective fiancée Jenny (Kelly Reilly). Their tranquillity is disturbed by the deafening boom-box and roaming Rottweiler of five local hard-knock teens. Steve decides to do the unthinkable â ask them to turn their music down! Itâs a heart-stopper of a scene and, as he walks tentatively over to the stony-faced gang, every fibre in the being of every single audience member screams out: âNo, Steve, donât do it! Leave them alone!â
That Steve ends up beaten by the gang, tied, gruesomely tortured and has his âhappy-stabbingâ recorded on their mobile phones is testament both to the power of slick horror film-making and that the best contemporary screen villains are now not psychopaths and mutant zombies but contemporary British youth. The hoody has made it to the big screen and we should be scared.
âThis is a film that has hit its moment,â says Richard Holmes, the producer of Eden Lake. âIt has resonance with a youth crime phenomenon thatâs not going to fade away. We are probably the first film out there of this type, although thereâs quite a few in the pipeline.â
The movies that Holmes is referring to are Donkey Punch and Better Things. The former focuses on a group of hedonistic youths who turn a drug-fuelled sex orgy into a homicidal killing spree; the latter is about heroin-addicted teens in the Cotswolds. They are movies that, if not quite demonising youth culture, certainly express a profound unease with what they see around them. And they are films that seem to mainline scandalous
âFacebook teen orgyâ headlines and daily knife crime tragedies directly into their narratives. Indeed, the Eden Lake scenario has an eerie and disturbing similarity to the murder last year of Gary Newlove, the Warrington man kicked to death after intervening in teen vandalism.
His murder happened after the film was made, says James Watkins, the writer-director of Eden Lake, but he feels that his movie is tapping into something thatâs in the ether. Itâs ultimately a fear of children, he says. And itâs everywhere. âRecently, some kids passed my place with a pitbull terrier,â he says, âand it crapped right outside my house. I was pretty much standing there in front of them, and I thought: âShould I say something?â And I didnât because it wasnât worth it. And it was probably the right decision. But when did standing up for common decency become the wrong decision?â
Similarly, David Bloom, the co-writer of Donkey Punch, says that his film was inspired by looking at youth culture and seeing âa change in sexual morality and behaviour that I just didnât understandâ.
His filmâs title refers to a mythical sex act, derived equally from the internet and from playground chatter, in which a sexual partner is surprised, mid-coitus, by a punch to the back of the neck, thereby inducing involuntary muscular spasms and limitless pleasure all round. In the film, it is committed by young English thrill-seekers on a yacht off the coast of Spain, but with fatal consequences. The resulting chaos, like a cross between Dead Calm and Lord of the Flies, shows the remaining party kids, male and female (including Jaime Winstone and Nichola Burley) turning on each other ever more gruesomely.
âWe werenât trying to scandalise,â Bloom says. âWe didnât want people to go, âOh my goodness, look at those awful kids!â We just wanted to make a film that showed how itâs a complicated thing to be young now.â
Better Things, the debut feature from the writer-director Duane Hopkins, also takes a hard look at life in smalltown England, and of how disaffected teens have turned to Class A drugs to overcome the lack of love in their lives. It opens with a fatal overdose and doesnât get any brighter.
But isnât there a danger that these movies will appear crass and opportunistic, piggybacking on media obsessions for the sake of cheap thrills? Watkins thinks so. âIâm nervous that there are all these horrible things going on around us and that weâll be seen as glibly exploiting them,â he says. âBut I hope that Iâve made a film that plays to wide audiences but will also be troubling to them. And it should be. Iâve seen people come out of it looking quite battered.â
On the other hand, Angus Lamont, the producer of Donkey Punch, says that his movie is just holding up a mirror to society. âWeâre representing something thatâs already here, rather than creating it,â he says, and adds that the notion of rebellious youth is hardly a new one. âThereâs always been a degree of moral panic, where older people are scared of younger people,â he says. âI think young people have always been demonised. But I donât see our film in that category. Itâs a genre film.â
The irony, of course, is that these films work precisely because of their social context, and not despite it. They are beautifully shot and intensely acted, yes, but itâs their queasy approach to youth culture that gives them their fascinating attraction. Weâve had troubled youth movies in the past, everything from The Blackboard Jungle to Clockwork Orange to Kidulthood, but this bold marriage of topicality and slick genre for-matting is startling and defiantly unHollywood.
âYou canât just walk away from our film and go, âOh itâs just a monster movieâ,â Watkins says. âIt has a sense of reality about it, and itâs English. And I donât want to sound like Iâm being preachy, but if people discover a moral voice in the movie then thatâs fantastic, because itâs in there too.â
Hollywood, meanwhile, ever averse to reality and moral voices, continues to peddle teenage delusion in the form of loveable wiseacres such as Charlie Bartlett and Juno â the latterâs Oscar spoils seems to hint at a certain kind of wish-fulfilment within the American Establishment. Itâs hardly surprising, then, that Hollywood is behind that other teen talking point of the British summer season, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Adapted from the Louise Rennisonâs novels, funded by Paramount Pictures, and set in an England of chaste teen kissers, it is as authentic as Beverly Hills and as English as Madonna.
But lest you think itâs all gloom, and that these new homegrown movies are luxuriating in their own nihilism, Watkins at least feels that Eden Lake offers a note of hope, or instruction, for the nationâs generation of adolescent sociopaths. âI donât want to overstate any of this,â he says, âbut itâs very deliberate that in the film the very first and the very last act of violence that you see on screen is a slap perpetrated by a parent on a child.â
Thus, in a closing twist worthy of a genre thriller itself, the real villains are not the hoodies, the heroin addicts, the hedonists and the donkey-punchers taking to our screens, but their negligent parents. Holmes agrees. âItâs not about messages or lessons or political statements,â he says. âItâs about how you bring up your kids. Basically, weâre saying: âKnow where they areâ.â
Donkey Punch opens on July 18. Eden Lake opens on Sept 5. Better Things is released later this year
(Posted on 2008-06-26 12:15:00 by ) -
Epic earner
No fewer than 2 506 locals are appearing as extras in a four-part BBC mini-series, the splendidly titled The Devil's Whore, being filmed in and around Cape Town.
t's an epic production in other ways, too. Thousands of costumes have kept sewing machines whirring throughout the Cape and a three-storey plywood and plaster replica of a 17th century manor house has been constructed on a Grabouw farm.
The drama revolves around the life of a fictional character called Angelica Fanshawe at the time of the Civil War.
Oliver Cromwell can never have imagined that his exploits would provide a significant boost to the economy of the Western Cape early in the 21st century.
For info on The Devil's Whore, Go to Company Pictures website here
(Posted on 2008-06-23 13:44:00 by ) -
MORE SCARES AS FILM4 RENEWS DEAL WITH FRIGHTFEST
"The line up for the FILM4 FrightFest 2008 is coming along nicely and will be posted here on Friday 27th of June at 2.00 p.m., just before the tickets for the event go on sale. However, we can announce that Eden Lake has been chosen as the opening night film and will receive its world premier on Thursday the 21st of August. Destined to be one of the most controversial British movies of the year, this âhoodie horrorâ is written and directed by first-timer James Watkins, and stars Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender as a holidaying couple who cross paths with a gang of local kids â with chilling consequences."
http://www.frightfest.co.uk/films.html
MORE SCARES AS FILM4 RENEWS DEAL WITH FRIGHTFEST
Film4 have agreed a further one-year deal with FrightFest to remain the horror and fantasy film festivalâs headline sponsor for the third year running. 2009 will be the 10th year anniversary year for the UKâs premiere genre event and the partnership will further expand with major on-air and off-air initiatives. The deal for this yearâs event (Odeon West End, Aug 21-25) will include a proposed late night FrightFest season on Film4, on-air trails across all four channels, a fully supported website and a tie-up with Channel 4âs new initiative, Generation Next.
Katie Hayes, Marketing Manager Drama, Acquisitions and Film4, says: âFilm4 is delighted to continue its sponsorship of Frightfest. We remain committed to the genre through our strand Saturday Night Shocks and through this festival. Film4 Frightfest is also the perfect place to discover and show new talent both in front of and behind the cameraâ.
Alan Jones, joint director of FrightFest added: â"FrightFest is committed to showcasing new talent and trends, giving our audiences the full range of exciting discovery within the genre they love. We showcase the names to watch well before they appear on anyone else's radar. Film4âs forward-looking thinking in cinematic and production areas mean we are the perfect fit".
This year British horror is given the thumbs-up as Eden Lake is chosen as the Opening night film and will receive its world premier on Thursday Aug 21. Distributed by Optimum Releasing, Eden Lake is destined to be one of the most controversial British movies of the year. The âhoodie horrorâ is directed by first-timer James Watkins, and stars Kelly Reilly (Pride & Prejudice, Othello at the Donmar Warehouse) and Michael Fassbender (300, Hunger) as a holidaying couple who cross paths with a gang of local kids â with chilling consequences.
The five-day festival, which showcases over 25 new films from across the world, is seen as the UKâs leading genre event; helping to launch the careers of directors such as Christopher Smith (Creep, Severance), Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel) and Simon Hunter (Mutant Chronicles).
More info on Frightfest here
(Posted on 2008-06-22 09:10:00 by ) -
I've added 2 new pics from the upcoming film 'Eden Lake' in gallery 2 here.
(Posted on 2008-06-22 09:00:00 by ) -
Hunger takes inaugural Sydney film prize
A graphic movie about an IRA hunger striker has won the inaugural Sydney Film Prize, while Australian Matthew Newton was commended for Three Blind Mice.
Directed by Britain's Steve McQueen, Hunger beat 11 films - including just two Australian offerings - to pick up the internationally recognised award at an exclusive black tie function at the Sydney Opera House on Monday night.
A who's who of the Australian film industry attend the event, including Newton, the Edgerton brothers, Joel and Nash, as well as Oscar winning Australian producer George Miller.
Australian director and jury president Gillian Armstrong presented Hunger producer Laura Hastings-Smith with a cake-shaped aqua resin award, and a cheque for $60,000.
She said it was a unanimous decision from the judges.
"Hunger was selected for its controlled clarity of vision, its extraordinary detail and bravery, the dedication of its cast and the power and resonance of its humanity," Armstrong said.
Hunger tells the story of Irish republican Bobby Sands, who died in the notorious and now demolished Maze Prison in Northern Ireland in 1981 after a 66-day hunger strike in which he and fellow prisoners were campaigning to be treated as political prisoners.
The contentious film shows urine filled prison corridors and excrement filled cells and a graphic portrayal of Sands' final physical deterioration.
Armstrong also commended the Mexican movie Silent Light and Australian film Three Blind Mice, which was directed by Newton, for "its energy, passion, superb ensemble cast and as such a fine collaboration by a talented group of young filmmakers".
Nash Edgerton's The Square was the only other Australian film in contention.
Alongside Armstrong, the jury included Australian actress Essie Davis, LA film writer and critic Scott Foundas, Iranian director/writer/producer Majid Majidi and Hong Kong producer Nansun Shi.
The movies were all shown at this month's Sydney Film Festival (SFF).
The SFF is the first Australian film festival to be recognised by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations.
The event also took in the 20th annual Dendy Awards for Australian Short films.
Summer Breaks directed by Sean Kruck and produced by Caroline Barry won the prestigious Rouben Mamoulian Award.
Read 2 more articles on this subject below
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/16/2276552.htm
http://www.smh.com.au/news/sydney-film-festival-2008/hunger-strikes-it-big-with-international-award/2008/06/16/1213468326085.html
(Posted on 2008-06-16 20:10:00 by ) -
SIENNA Miller, who stars as a kick-arse baroness in the G.I.Joe movie, seems set to play Cathy to Michael Fassbender's Heathcliffe in the new Wuthering Heights.
It is being widely reported that director John Maybury has given her the iconic role which Natalie Portman dropped last month.
If this is true, then it could be Sienna's big break to show she's something more than one of the world most beautiful woman with a stormy love life.
It would also be a proving ground for Michael Fassbender, best known for playing Stelios in The 300.
Photos: Michael Fassbender and Sienna Miller
Sienna is well-known more for her love life than for any role she has played to date.
She walked away from the cheating Jude Law, who she met when she played a small part in Alfie in 2004.
She's been in a few movies which kind of flopped: Cassanova, with Heath Ledger; Factory Girl, with Guy Pearce; and more recently Stardust.
And she's in the news again for breaking the heart of Notting Hill actor Rhys Ifans. This time Rhys's good friend Kate Moss has stepped in to chastise Miller.
Most recently, she has been working with Wuthering Heights director John Maybury on another film (The Edge of Love) which also stars Keira Knightley - the other actor in the running to play the iconic character from Emily Bronte's classic novel.
The poor director must have thought all his Christmases had come at once when Natalie Portman agreed to play Cathy - but it was too good to last.
After Portman dropped out last month, he went back to square one - but at least they had found their Heathcliffe.
Michael Fassbender's performance as IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands has impressed the critics.
The Times Online says: "Fassbender, who dropped from 73kg (166lb) to 57kg, survived on a diet of nuts, berries and sardines - about 500 calories a day."
Wuthering Heights was written in 1847 and at least three feature film versions have already been made.
Sir Laurence Olivier played Heathcliffe to Merle Oberon's Cathy in 1939.
Fassbender has "a touch of genius about him" - Wuthering Heights producer Tim Haslam told Variety.
"âHeâll be a revelation â brooding, wild and dangerous â he could be a Brando for Britain."
Have a look at the 300 trailer:
(Posted on 2008-06-16 20:07:00 by ) -
New Links page added , with various links to Michael related sites, view here
(Posted on 2008-06-12 19:26:00 by ) -
Creek and Eden Lake news from Fangoria.com added . view here .
(Posted on 2008-06-12 19:24:00 by ) -
Our online shop ( in association with Amazon.co.uk) is now open here for all MF related merchandise!!
(Posted on 2008-06-09 19:22:00 by ) -
Angel is now available to buy on dvd. See inside the shop here for details!!
(Posted on 2008-06-09 19:09:00 by ) -
New videos up on the video's page
(Posted on 2008-06-07 11:52:00 by ) -
Michael Secures Role of ' Heathcliff', read more here
(Posted on 2008-06-04 20:55:00 by )
Welcome to The Michael Fassbender H'experience .
This is a fan site for fans of German - Irish actor Michael Fassbender.
Michael has played a variety of roles both on tv and on film. Band of Brothers, A Bear named Winnie, Poirot as well as movies 300 , Angel and Hunger, to name but a few. Michael's most notable role though, is that of fallen angel Azazeal, in the former Sky One drama Hex.
© 2004 /2008 The Michael Fassbender Hexperience
Northern Ireland shot features âHungerâ and âFifty Dead Men Walkingâ have been selected for the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival which runs 4-13 September.
The Toronto Film Festival is considered on a par with other premier world film festivals such as Cannes, Venice and Berlin, and has a highly competitive selection process. It is considered a great launch pad for the North American market.
âHungerâ, directed by Steve McQueen will compete in the Discovery section for Best Feature Film which is a showcase for new and emerging filmmakers. Starring Michael Fassbender (300, François Ozonâs Angel), and Liam Cunningham (The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Breakfast on Pluto), the film is an interpretation of the last six weeks in the life of Bobby Sands (Fassbender), during the 1981 IRA hunger strike at the notorious Maze prison.
âHungerâ has already won the prestigious Camera dâOr and the Critics Award at the Cannes Film Festival as well as Best Film at both the Sydney and Jerusalem festivals. Produced by Laura Hastings-Smith from Blast! Films and executive produced by Robin Gutch, the film will be released in Ireland on 31st October.
âFifty Dead Men Walkingâ will enjoy a Gala Screening at Toronto along with other high profile Canadian and international films. Produced by Future Films Ltd and directed by Kari Skogland (The Stone Angel), the film set in the 1980s Northern Ireland stars Jim Sturgess (21, The Other Boleyn Girl) and Sir Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Schindlerâs List). Based on a true story, the follows nineteen year-old Marty McGartland, who was recruited by the British police to spy on the IRA and subsequently lives his life on the run after being discovered.
Richard Williams, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Screen who help fund both films states: âThe inclusion of âHungerâ and âFifty Dead Men Walkingâ in one of the worldâs most prestigious film festivals is fantastic news and we send our congratulations to everyone involved. The film and television sector has strong support in Northern Ireland â not least through the substantial investment from Invest NI.â