2018 A NEW YEAR

First Blog of a new Year….2018….very happy to still be here!    Life ….. wonderful, exciting…. so full of possibilities, new adventures, new people…..new things to learn.

Our world is changing very quickly..largely due to technology.  I am getting ready to shoot a new short… About Andy…….we shoot this coming weekend…..excited…… it is a sort of love story of course, but much about technology.  Won’t say anymore, don’t want to give the story away…but will let you all know when you can watch it.

Now also busy watching as many films as  I can, to vote the SAG awards and the Academy.  Lucky to belong to both.  I was short listed for an Oscar nomination, for The Lion in Winter and it gave me entry into the Academy.  I served on the Academy Events Committee in London for a while and met some of the best amazing talent in our business….list includes great Gary Kurtz, Producer of the original Star Wars, Pam Godfrey, Producer (The Man who Knew Infinity)… Hugh Hudson Director (Chariots of Fire), Steve Kenis, Super Agent formerly William Morris, etc, etc….felt very privileged.   Best of all these people love the industry, have fought hard to achieve what they have and maintain and still take great pleasure and interest in the business.

 I recommend you don’t miss Darkest Hour, which moved me to tears, especially Gary Oldman’s extraordinary performance.  And in all honesty is much more accurate in its brief inclusion of Dunkirk, than the movie Dunkirk, good as it is, but it appears to have only one boat for the evacuation, when there were over 800.  I loved Mudbound, a wonderful, moving very dark movie and I hope it wins many awards…I am disappointed that Carey Mulligan seems to be overlooked for her performance so far in the nominations, she and some of the other actors too, seem to be been left by the wayside.  Another film I really liked is Wonder Wheel, with another amazing female performance from Kate Winslett.   All the Money in the World is an excellent film… a horrific story, beautifully directed and performed, of course Ridley Scott can do no wrong for me, think he’s one of the very the best in the business.   I won’t go on about all that I have liked so far, but can’t leave the subject without mentioning The Shape of Water, the moving and unusual offering from Guillermo de Toro, with a lovely performance from Sally Hawkins and a frightening one from talented Michael Shannon.  There are other performances/films I like. Jake Gyllenhaal in Stronger, Mark Wahlberg..Patriots Day and All the Money in the World…of course the amazing Frances McDormand in Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri.  

It’s a very strong year for independent films and performances….I for one am happy that Netflix and Amazon are giving such great opportunities for some good films to be made.   Left to the vagaries of Hollywood, they may never have seen the light of day.

However if you like simple, inexpensive and truly wonderful, listen to BBC Radio 4 and hear friend,  Martin Jarvis seen here read the Just William stories by Richmal Compton.   Yesterday I listened to Violet Elizabeth Runs Away and I was in tears of laughter…pure joy.  You can also find Martin reading the stories on Amazon and Audible.  There are TV shows and other readings, but Martin is the one you should listen to, he gets the stories just right!