Following their triumphant return to the live UK music scene viagogo has recorded a 268 per cent surge in overnight demand for Fleetwood Mac as fans search Everywhere to get their hands on tickets.
With Rumours rife that band member Christine McVie will also join the group on stage for two nights of the UK leg of the tour, it seems die-hard fans are desperate to get hold of last minute tickets to catch a rare glimpse of the full line-up in action.
As the stage lights flick on and off to separate each scene of PVT Wars, we capture a glimpse of the mundane activities and conversations of three Vietnam War veterans recovering in hospital.
On the outside world, they wouldn’t have been friends, but circumstance has bought them together and their friendship is marked by satire, violence and a desire to get better rather than die or rot in hospital.
Gately, the most personable character, frustratingly slowly attempts to fix a radio piece by piece.
But it seems his physical task also plays an important part in his mental psyche: ‘If a guy like me can make a radio work than the whole of America will work.’
Setting about this task helps restore Gately’s own mind as each screw, nut and bolt restored to the radio makes him believe he’s one step closer to helping America too.
But his colleagues Natwick and Silvio don’t lend themselves to helping him; each pockets different essential parts making it nearly impossible for Gately to accomplish his important job.
Somehow as the three men celebrate Silvio’s impending release back home, Gately pushes the switch and the radio starts playing music.
Silvio is the Italian Catholic predator going around the hospital wards flashing the nurses.
He’s arrogant, cocky and torments Natwick. But we see his vulnerable side as he relates his concerns to Gately about wearing floppy underwear and kilts for better sperm count.
While the bravado and bragging underlies his character, we later learn shrapnel blew off his penis and testacles so in reality, he’s all talk and no action.
Natwick is the thinker out of the trio. From a privileged background, he’s intelligent and sensitive, often heard reciting poetry.
While his family had high hopes for his career, he feels a failure in hospital and attempts a suicide bid as ‘when you’re rich you only have one way to go; down’.
Despite his wealth and intelligence, in hospital with the other men, he’s an equal in every sense and he’s seen as nothing more than an ‘asshole’. His recital of TS Eliot’s ‘peach on a beach’ may have been applauded back home, but here, it’s laughed at.
PVT Wars, a Bare Bones project, written by James McLure and directed by Naomi Wirthner is about fighting your own wars rather than interfering in others. Each character is fighting their own personal battle as well as helping others to fight their own demons. Slow in pace and filled with ramblings from each man, PVT Wars at The Space, gives an insight into the state of mind of soldiers following every war, not just Vietnam.
Gary Wright who played Gately portrayed him with a real sense of compulsion with just the right expressions of confusion. But Jim Pople (Natwick) and Laurie Wilson (Silvio) played their parts with equal triumph too.
David Mitchell – Was It Something I Said? Coming soon to C4
Was It Something I Said? – what’s it all about?
It’s a comedy panel show about quotations. A quiz where people have to work out who said certain things or what certain people have said. So it’s about celebrities, historical figures, currents affairs and history. We’ve tried to make it jolly and irreverent and funny but also a bit informative and interesting. An amusing way of watching some comedians trying to solve a quiz about famous people and vaguely impart some interesting information about them at the same time.
And there is a Twitter element to the show too – how do you feel about Twitter?
Broadly speaking I’m against the internet. I don’t like it; I wish it wasn’t there. Nevertheless things change, the ice caps melt some changes are irreversible and the internet is definitely here to stay. Of all the aspects of the internet I’ve always found Twitter to be jollier, friendlier and more human than most. So, I quite like Twitter but I’m not of the internet generation. When I was a teenager and a student the internet didn’t really exist and I was fine with that and I feel when it comes to Twitter I’m very happy to sometimes chat, it’s a very useful way of telling people who are interested in stuff I do what I’m doing, but I don’t want to bare my soul.
People who grew up with the internet are much more open about their whole lives on Twitter or Facebook but I think we are in the early days of a learning process of how best to use it as an individual and I’m definitely erring on the side of caution and holding back as much of my privacy as I can.
I do think Twitter is quite useful when you’re not sure whether a news story is terrifying or not. Have a look at Twitter and see what the mood is. It is like taking the pulse of a whole civilisation. At the same time it can be fun, informative and inspiring yet it can be bullying and weird and reminds you crowds aren’t always wise.
Nevertheless I am 100% behind the interactivity of WISIS, you can play along to every question to every show, a world first apparently. What more harmless way of using the internet than allowing people to take part in a quotations based TV quiz…
Did you enjoy filming WISIS? and being the host?
I’d done a Big Fat Quiz of the Year with Richard Ayoade but had never done anything with Micky Flanagan and I like that over the course of the series the three of us got on well, interacted together and there was a nice chemistry between us. We had lots of great guests and tremendous people like Charles Dance, John Craven and Brian Blessed reading out the quotations so it was great fun to do. It was a little bit more nerve wracking than doing a series like Would I Lie To You for the fourth time, thinking I don’t know the ropes yet, haven’t figured out how it all works but still lots of fun and ultimately probably more satisfying. And particularly being the host is a very different role, chipping in some of the time but while managing the quiz and working out what to say to link the rounds. The great thing about being in the host’s chair is that you can make yourself look so knowledgeable.
But can be tricky, usually the panellists are people who are bright and want to talk and you need them to keep talking so you can’t slap them down hard because they might go quiet and then you’re stuck. So it is my policy generally to let them talk and drift…you never know in that kind of comic situation where a chat is going and some of the best material comes when things are allowed to run and breathe. We wanted it off the cuff and as organic and natural as possible so I tried not to be too school masterly about things. Fortunately I have no natural authority so very easy for me to do that.
You combine acting, writing and hosting seamlessly – how do you manage that?
I do like the range of work. They’re jobs I find satisfying in different ways. Going on a show as a panellist is the easiest fun in my job, you don’t have to think about it in advance. Whether hosting or writing or acting it takes a lot more preparation so in a sense it’s a lot more like work. But when you’ve written something that is performed and it gets laughs that is the most amazingly satisfying ‘I love it when a plan comes together’ sort of feeling.
I feel very lucky that my life involves all these different elements. I’ve recently been filming the comedy drama Ambassadors which is a very different process, long filming days, having to think about how a character would behave in situations I’ve never been in myself. I enjoy acting but I wouldn’t want to only do that, I’d also want to go along to a studio in the evening and make rude jokes. I would get bored doing any one thing exclusively. And of course the other thing is I don’t have to get too much work in any of them as I can build up a living across all four…”
Do you have a favourite moment from recording the show?
There are loads. I like the bits where we all get a bit silly and irreverent. I remember there was a quote from Catherine Zeta Jones about playing golf with her husband Michael Douglas. We essentially all started to imagine the scene of the two of them playing golf and that was very enjoyable and turned into a really fun bit of TV. It is moments like that, which for me, justify the existence of panel shows because no one would ever have written those words, it purely came out of that combination of people which proves panel shows can produce funny TV in a way you could never write into a sitcom or a sketch show and thereby justifies its place on screen. I think it is a great form of entertainment and we shouldn’t lose sight of that.
I hope people like WISIS? We want viewers to have a feeling of irreverence and warmth. Not a shouty, hostile environment but a chatty and interesting one.
Lastly are there any quotes you are particularly fond of?
One of my favourite quotes is attributed to Voltaire but people say it wasn’t actually him…either way it is a very wise thing – ‘I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it’.
I think that’s a very important idea especially for the internet. The idea too often at the moment is that people think those who say horrible things should be silenced rather than answered. I think we’d be a more healthy society if people used their freedom of speech to, as it were, reply to and rebuke people who say things they hate rather than use the law to silence them.
Jay Alvarez’ debut feature is being heralded as a genuine first; the first film to be composed entirely of phone calls between characters. With a micro budget obtained via crowdsourcing and Craigslist sales, the filmmakers collaborated with a group of friends, family and first time actors in the Portland area where filming took place. In line with its niche, contemporary framing device the film was shot on an Iphone. It centres primarily on Jake (Will Hand), a young neurotic tempted to the big city by his old friend Sean (Alvarez), a wannabe poet. Sean’s life is far from comfortable and wholesome; he lives in a squalid flat and earns his money by conning naive Internet shoppers. When Jake arrives to find Sean missing and uncontactable he struggles to fit in to the cities bleak, nocturnal landscape as the lengthy phone conversations in each scene detail strained relationships with distant friends, former lovers and forgotten family.
On first impressions, I Play With The Phrase Each Other sounds like its central premise would be an obstacle to connecting with it. There is the danger of being too distant to engage or the incredibly lo-fi shooting style proving too amateurish. Thankfully on a filmmaking level every penny of the fund raising has paid off. Filmed in a stark monochrome against a backdrop of recession stricken America, the film relentlessly probes the nights and urban decay of the characters environment. I was reminded of In Search Of A Midnight Kiss and, to a lesser extent, Clerks in its visual style. Production value and cinematography are terrific and show off the filmmakers skills with such limited resources. Along with the Web Fest also taking place at Raindance this year, its films like this which really show off the advancing availability of resources and technology to today’s independent filmmakers.
Alvarez claims that the films unique structure is ‘ an announcement of youngness’ and that it would ‘scream our modern nausea’. It’s a bold claim that does initially strike very effectively. There’s a swift flow to the opening passages of the film as we are introduced to the key players and the framing device of phone calls creates a sense of distortion and isolation that feels frighteningly contemporary. An early shot boosts a central character’s bookshelf comprised of Hemingway, Thompson and Heller. There’s no disguising the scripts incredibly literary background; the dialogue is at once profane and witty with a fine line of pathos running throughout. Where things do begin to falter somewhat is in the meandering manner of the conversations themselves. Alvarez throws such a large group of characters into the mix that it starts to become difficult to keep track of who is who and more worryingly, who to care about. Characters discuss everything from employment to sexuality, media and the economy yet only a small amount of it sticks. Characters are introduced then dropped completely just as they are starting to become engaging or memorable. The cast of unknowns and first time actors do an extremely impressive job with the material that does work and lingers in the mind. One notable example is hustler Jamario, played with a volatile mix of humour and intimidation by ‘Big Dogg’, an acquaintance of the director. Its a piece of casting that rings with utter authenticity. Another is an unnamed retail manager portrayed by Robert Thrush, featuring in a running series of deadpan vignettes before a climactic and lengthy voice message plays out across a tight close up. Its a beautiful yet uncomfortable scene that really gets to the heart of the notion of disconnect via modern communication. The film is desperately crying out for other scenes of this immediacy and tenderness.
All in all I Play With The Phrase Each Other is an eye catching debut and certainly bodes well for Jay Alvarez. Although ultimately it may be a film that is easier to admire than to love.
BRAVE TV PRESENTER KATIE PIPER GIVES HER FIRST INTERVIEW SINCE ANNOUNCING HER PREGNANCY IN THIS SUNDAY’S FABULOUS MAG
In this week’s Fabulous magazine’s special Inspiration Issue, acid attack survivor, Katie Piper opens up about her pregnancy joy: “I just feel very blessed. It’s incredible really. When I go into hospital to have the baby, it’ll be the first time I’ve been there for something nice.”
In the exclusive interview, which is accompanied by a photoshoot by legendary photographer, David Bailey, the 29-year-old presenter and model says she finds it strange when people say she’s inspired them: “I was put in a situation and had to decide whether to sink or swim, and I think most people would fight and get through it. It’s not until we get tested that we know how strong we are.”
Katie, whose baby is due in the Spring, also opens up about the moment she found out she was pregnant and the morning sickness she’s been suffering from ever since.
Also in this week’s edition, brave Michelle Heaton opens up about her decision to have a double mastectomy after she was told she had an 80 per cent chance of contracting breast cancer, while award-winning Sky News foreign correspondent Alex Crawford reveals what it’s like reporting from some of the world’s most dangerous war zones.
Fabulous magazine is available free in The Sun every Sunday.
Concept films either work or they don’t. Luckily R.I.P.D takes a fresh and original idea and runs with it. The film is funny and Ryan Reynolds is a great comedic actor with excellent comic timing, delivering his lines with aplomb. Jeff Bridges is a legendary comic actor. If you don’t believe me then just watch the Big Lebowski. He plays his comedy straighter in R.I.P.D, playing a lawman who died in the 1800s and was eaten by coyotes. (You’ll get it when you see the film)
Laugh out loud funny, the film has a clever plot and great characters. I found it hugely entertaining.
Spoiler Alert
Ryan Reynolds stars as a recently murdered cop who joins a team of undead police officers working for the Rest in Peace Department. This supernatural comedy film directed by Robert Schwentke is based on the comic book Rest in Peace Department by Peter M. Lenkov.
The fact that Reynolds and Bridges appear to the outside living world as an ‘old Chinese man’ and a beautiful blonde woman brings more comedy. Reynolds is still grieving his life. He misses his wife and he had an attack of conscious after taking and burying the gold he took with his crooked partner, after telling his partner, played by Kevin Bacon, that he is going to turn it in, his partner shoots and kills him. Unable to let go, he goes to his own funeral and tries to make contact with his wife.
The gold has significance and it is left to Reynolds and Bridges to save the world. Will they do it? Well, you’ll have fun finding out.
Four out of five stars.
The technology of the ’60s was nothing compared to what we have today — I mean, they were just inventing the first answering machines — and Don Draper was not impressed. He called technology a glittering lure and hinted that they were mostly just for show.
Still, it’s interesting to see how Don Draper would use the technology of today for his life in the ’60s. Read on for the four ways in which Don Draper would use a smartphone’s convenience.
Image via Flickr by Tim G. Photography
Okay, okay, I know this one isn’t groundbreaking. But let’s face it — Don Draper has never experienced the simple, taken-for-granted convenience of owning a cellular or portable phone. Just think, with a phone by his side, Draper could call a taxi instead of driving drunk. Countless lives could be saved.
Like in his carousel photo gallery presentation, Draper has to have an itch to go back, a yearning for the nostalgic, a longing to “travel the way a child travels.” He could store photos of his terrible parents for those moments where he wants to drink and forget, or he could keep stock in all the women in his life.
In between his multiple extramarital affairs, a smartphone would allow Draper to love his kids from afar. Just how he wants it.
Image via Flickr by mezclaconfusa
Of course Don Draper loves his office — who wouldn’t? But he sometimes likes to venture out. He takes long breaks that have nothing to do with work and everything to do with mistresses, but maybe with a smartphone, he could stay focused and enjoy the flexibility he feels he deserves.
Working away from your office, or workshifting, is one of the great features of a series of newer smartphones. The new BlackBerry smartphones, for example, claim to reinvent the idea of enterprise mobility management. Draper could have the whole creative team from Sterling, Cooper & Partners working simultaneously.
Perhaps Draper can take advantage of this technology while sitting in a booth alone, sipping a lonely scotch, while getting some work done on his newest ad campaign.
The popular app, Evernote, is available on pretty much any platform of computer and smartphone. This app allows you to save ideas from most websites, as well as jot down notes of your own. After you save the notes, it’s extremely easy to access from any device, including smartphones. It’s all right there on the cloud.
With Evernote, Don would be able to capture those wild epiphanies he has in his everyday life — you know, the ones that usually result in a brilliant presentation that leaves the client (and the audience) in awe, thinking, “I want to be like that guy. Minus all the negative stuff.”
Don Draper could benefit from a smartphone, even if he would first try to resist the temptation. Just think of how much safer the roads would be after one of Draper’s many happy hours.
The 21st Raindance Film Festival started with a richter scale bang. The great and the good of the International Film Industry congregated at the Vue West End in the iconic film centre of Leicester Square.
Elliott Grove, Raindance founder and champion of independent cinema, was in his element and shiny with success. Elliot looked incredibly happy and rightly so; his achievement is vast.
After the red carpet we were greeted with champagne and mingled.
Deatheater and prominent British Actor Jon Campling
Raindance founder Eliott Grove.
Catherine Balavage, editor of Frost, and James Yardley, Frost Writer.
We then headed into the cinema, grabbed our goody bags filled with popcorn and Pop Chips and waited to watch Michael Cooke’s documentary How to Make Money Selling Drug.
The controversial titled documentary, supported by addiction services is a brilliant satire on how to sell drugs, but don’t worry, it is an anti-drug film. With an excellent format of going from street dealer to kingpin, it highlights the injustice of law enforcement and social economics. I cannot rave about this documentary enough. It completely changed my thinking and is now my favourite documentary. This is a very important documentary and everyone should see it. It starts off in a light-hearted way but it carries a very serious message. It does not shy away from difficult issues. Definitely go and see it.
The Opening Night After Party Gala at Café de Paris from 9pm with a performance from the wonderfully unique and talented band, Pepe Deluxé. was also great. Raindance is now part of the London fabric, a film festival deeply in the very fabric of the British Film Industry itself. Don’t miss it.