Tag Archives: Darren Aronofsky

Hollywood Storyteller hosts Raindance Masterclass

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Raindance is a Frost favourite. I have taken their 99 minute film school, and a couple of their other courses. We also cover their amazing film festival. Now they have one of Hollywood’s top story consultant doing a masterclass.

Raindance has announced that Christopher Vogler – one of Hollywood’s most celebrated story consultants – will host a weekend masterclass in London on 27-28 April.

Renowned as a leading expert in storytelling, Vogler is the guiding hand behind such films as The Wrestler, Black Swan, The Lion King, Fight Club and The Thin Red Line. Having worked for Disney, Warner Bros, Paramount and Fox, Vogler is in a unique position to share his insights into how powerful stories are made.

“We’re thrilled Christopher Vogler will be hosting this special Raindance masterclass in a rare appearance here in London,” says Elliot Grove, Director of Raindance. “He really is the stuff of screenwriting legend so this is a must for writers, directors, actors and producers interested in the entire story process from idea to script to screen,” he added.

Vogler’s best-seller, The Writer’s Journey, has been read by over 250,000 screenwriting students, establishing itself as one of the cornerstones of modern screenwriting theory and influencing a new generation of storytellers. Based on a memo he wrote while working at the Disney studios, the book has been translated into eight languages and its ideas were promptly put to use by a whole generation of screenwriters and novelists. Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky cites it as “the first book that everyone’s got to read”, while the LA Times describes the original memo as “the stuff of Hollywood legend… (Vogler’s) idea of a ‘mythic structure’ has been quickly accepted by Hollywood, and Vogler’s book graces the bookshelves of many studio heads”.

Daniel Craig's Former Fiancee Still Not Over Him.

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Daniel Craig’s former fiancee has banned anyone from mentioning him in her presence.

The James Bond star split from Satsuki Mitchell – who he got engaged to in 2007 – last November, and she was stunned to learn he had married actress Rachel Weisz in a secret ceremony last month following a whirlwind romance.

Satsuki’s father, Christopher Mitchell, said: “His sudden marriage came out of nowhere. We heard about it like everyone else, by reading the newspapers. She doesn’t mention his name now and tells me off if I do.”

According to Christopher, Satsuki had realised their relationship would never have worked out but had only just begun to get over her split from 43-year-old Daniel when the news broke about his marriage.

He told the Daily Mail newspaper: “Satsuki has only just reached a happy place. She has since said, more than once, that the break up was the best thing for her.

“She knew he was not the man she wanted him to be and there was something wrong in the relationship.”

Christopher is worried about the impact Daniel’s marriage will have on his daughter because he became concerned she had developed an eating disorder when they split up last year.

He said: “I have suggested to her on a number of occasions that she might have a disorder. Yet whenever we’re together she eats like a horse.”

Daniel and Rachel – who first went public with their romance in December when they spent Christmas together at a cottage in the English countryside – tied the knot in front of just four people, the actor’s daughter Ella, 18, the actress’ four-year-old son Henry and two friends at a pal’s house in New York state.

Rachel, 40, split from Henry’s father, ‘Black Swan’ director Darren Aronofsky last year, announcing in November they had been separated for some time but remained “close”.

The couple star together in upcoming horror movie ‘Dream House’ – to be released in September 2011 – which they shot throughout 2010.

Black Swan. {Film review/preview}

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Black Swan is a horror film. But a quiet one. You are not sure what is real, what is not. Neither does the protagonist, Nina, played to the hilt by Natalie Portman. It’s the role – and performance- of a lifetime. Portman does not let it down. She trained for 5 hours a day, for 10 months to take the role. She plays the anorexic, self harming, psychologically unravelling ballerina so well, at times, it is hard to watch. Though, a lesbian sex scene (in which Portman actually has sex with herself; a scene that is rumoured to have upset her father) should draw the crowds in.

Like Darren Aronofsky’s previous films, Black Swan is a head fuck. Nina lives with her mother. Her life is controlled by her mother and ballet. She is desperate to be perfect. Barbara Hershey is great as her mother. Vincent Cassel effortlessly brilliant as the cruel, cold artistic director. Winona Ryder is stellar as the retiring, washed up ballerina forced into retirement. Dealing with the winding down of the body clock, replaced by the younger model. It’s uncomfortable to watch, and important to note that there is only 10 years between Portman and Ryder. The truisms that strike with reality are painful. Times has let her down. The industry she has given her life to has tossed her out.

The brutality of pushing your body is heard in the film. The cracking of bones, the splintering toenails. This is a dark, gothic film. It’s not just about ballet. It’s also about an ageist society and an artist trying to lose themselves to the role. It is darkly beautiful, scarily apt and even just that little bit depressing. It’s definitely one to see.