I just saw "Being Michael Madsen" at its World Premier at the Raindance Film Festival in London - Madsen gives further straight talk on Inglorious Bastards & you heard it here first - "The Philistine" cometh.

After the screening the cast & crew attended & did a short Q&A afterwards. This is Bold & Ballsy independent film making. The film touches on many themes of celebrity culture whilst being engaging enough to keep you entertained (tongue firmly in cheek).

I'm not entirely sure how to define the film itself e.g. film within a film, contemporary Fellini on a shoe string (think La Dolce Vita), reality film, pseudo documentary - its all in there with a heavy dash of satire.

It is a lot of work but the performances from the cast are rock solid. This is a complete departure from Michael Madsen's usual hit or miss fare. It really shows many facets of the man beyond his Quentin Tarantino screen persona. I hope he gets some decent roles soon that do not involve throwing Segal out of windows :-). On the whole an enjoyable coaster ride but you do have to do some work - this is not just eye candy.

If I had to crit: The final scene (not the climax) may be a little weak - in the context of viewing it at the Raindance Film Festival with the cast & crew doing a Q & A afterwards it was awesome. However I suspect for anyone not watching the film with the live accompaniment may not be swept away by the final scene.

Standout performances by Virginia Madsen, Jason Alan Smith, Doug Tompos, Davis Mikaels & Kathy Searle. Harry Dean Stanton is hilarious.

I had the opportunity to ask the director Michael Mongillo what was next? To paraphrase he said he was keen on doing some action films and that his graphic novel "The Philistine" would be interesting to see on the screen. Now I had not heard of The Philistine previously but after a little net rummage discovered that The The Philistine is a highly rated graphic novel. With similar elements to Batman & The Punisher. After seeing Being Michael Madsen I can't wait to see Mongillo translate a clever caped crusader film to screen.

Naturally I asked Madsen about Inglorious Bastards, (which is listed on IMDB as having production kicked off in 2008). He played in coyly saying something to the effect that it's all in Quentin Tarantino's head/hands at this stage. He also mentioned that Tarantino was meant to be at the Premiere but was in Manila for a Death Proof screening.

Seriously cant you see Madsen in greens with one of those GI helmets (tilted to the side), holding a rifle in one hand and about to throw a pineapple grenade with the other - from behind a bunker while protecting his company?

Wyclef Jean free flows at a secret gig to launch his new album Carnival Vol.2 Memoirs of an immigrant.

This was at the Crystal Club, London. Spotted in the crowd; Jakki Degg, Will.i.am (from the Black Eyed Peas), Westwood and Craig Grobler.

Microsoft's vastly anticipated Halo 3 for the Xbox 360, is about to be launched in the UK at a star-studded Halo 3 Launch Party in London.

The red carpet premiere will be taking place at the BFI IMAX Cinema in Waterloo on the 25th September.

As well as having a chance to play Halo 3 before anyone else in the UK, lucky guests will also be able to witness an epic battle over Xbox Live, with Pharrell Williams hosting and representing the UK against other celebrities based at premieres around Europe.



About Halo 3
The epic saga continues with Halo 3, the hugely anticipated third chapter in the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo franchise. Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict between the Covenant, the Flood, and the entire human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax.

Halo 3 represents the third chapter in the Halo trilogy—an international award-winning action series that grew into a global entertainment phenomenon, selling more than 14.5 million units worldwide, logging more than 650 million hours of multiplayer action on Xbox Live, and spawning action figures, books, a graphic novel, apparel, an upcoming film adaptation, and more.

Transformers Bumblebee Camaro, originally uploaded by Craig Grobler.

Transformers Bumblebee Camaro

The 1977 Camaro from the Transformers movie was on display at London Comicon 2007.

The vehicle has a rebuilt V8 engine with a modified high rise double pump carburetor and modified headers. The Camero has an automatic transmission, power steering, with “Craigers” wheels up front and “American” wheels in the back. The dash has been modified with new gauges, a spruced up interior, and the “Autobots” logo on the steering wheel! The car comes with a title from the State of Oklahoma.

In 2007 the Camaro was sold on eBay for $60,101.00.

Photo taken at London Comicon 2007.

300 is a historically-inspired 1998 comic book limited series (later collected into a single hardcover volume) written and illustrated by Frank Miller with painted colors by Lynn Varley.

301, originally uploaded by Craig Grobler.

The comic is a fictional retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae and the events leading up to it from the perspective of Leonidas of Sparta. 300 was particularly inspired by the 1962 film The 300 Spartans, a movie that Miller watched as a young boy. The work was adapted into a film with 2007's 300.

In 480 BC, King Leonidas of Sparta gathers 300 of his best men to fight the upcoming Persian invasion. In what is likely a suicide mission, they and their allies plan to stop King Xerxes's invasion of Greece at the narrow cliffs of the "Hot Gates" (Thermopylae). The terrain prevents the Greeks from being overwhelmed by Xerxes' superior numbers.

Before the battle starts, Ephialtes, a deformed Spartan, begs Leonidas to let him fight but is rejected due to his hunchbacked form, which prevents him from lifting his shield high enough for the phalanx.

The Spartans and their allies successfully hold off the Persians for two days and nights. During a break in the fighting, Xerxes meets with Leonidas and offers wealth and power in exchange for his surrender. Leonidas declines, and battle continues. In his depression, Ephialtes betrays the Greeks by telling the Persians about the existence of a small pass that allows Xerxes to attack them from behind.

Learning of the Persian maneuvers, the Greeks realize their position is indefensible, but the Spartans and a few others refuse to retreat. Before engaging the Persians for the last time, Leonidas orders one Spartan (Dilios) to leave, so that he might survive to tell their story.

On the third day Xerxes has the Spartans surrounded, their remaining allies (Thespians) already dead. He gives Leonidas one final chance to surrender and kneel to him. After some hesitation, Leonidas finally complies and throws down his arms. This, however, turns out to be a ruse and Leonidas throws his spear at Xerxes, intending to kill. However, he only wounds his face. The Spartans are killed to the last man by arrows.

The story then shifts about a year later and ends as now-Captain Dilios relates the heroic sacrifice of Leonidas and his Spartan comrades to his troops before the Battle of Plataea. Which is rumoured to be the the basis for the cinematic sequel to 300.

Le Chiffre

Le Chiffre is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. On screen Le Chiffre has been portrayed by Peter Lorre in the 1954 television adaptation of the novel for CBS's Climax! television series, by Orson Welles in the 1967 spoof of the novel and Bond film series, and by Mads Mikkelsen in the 2006 film version of Fleming's novel.

Le Chiffre or Mads Mikkelsen, 007, James Bond, originally uploaded by Craig Grobler.

Le Chiffre
Gender: Male
Occupation: Terrorist banker
Affiliation: SMERSH, Quantum
Status: Deceased
Portrayed by: Peter Lorre (1954), Orson Welles (1967), Mads Mikkelsen (2006)

In French, le chiffre means "the figure" (i.e. "the number") or "the cipher." Fleming based the character on occultist Aleister Crowley.
Le Chiffre, alias "Die Nummer", "Mr. Number", "Herr Ziffer", "Ochiu Spart" and other translations of "The Number" or "The Cipher" in various languages; is the paymaster of the "Syndicat des Ouvriers d'Alsace" (French for "Syndicate of the Alsatian Workmen"), a SMERSH-controlled trade union.

He is first encountered as an inmate of the Dachau displaced persons camp in the U.S. zone of Germany in June 1945 and transferred to Alsace-Lorraine and Strasbourg three months later on a stateless passport. There he adopts the name Le Chiffre because as he claims, he is 'only a number on a passport'. Not much else is really known about Le Chiffre's background or where he comes from, except for educated guesses based on his description.

“ Height 5 ft 8 ins. Weight 18 stones. Complexion very pale. Clean shaven. Hair red-brown, 'en brosse'. Eyes very dark brown with whites showing all round iris. Small, rather feminine mouth. False teeth of expensive quality. Ears small, with large lobes, indicating some Jewish blood. Hands small, well-tended, hirsute. Feet small. Racially, subject is probably a mixture of Prussian or Polish strains. Dresses well and meticulously, generally in dark double-breasted suits.”

Casino Royale, Chapter 2: Dossier for M
He is also fluent in French, English, and German with traces of an Occitan accent.

In the novel, he makes a major investment in a string of brothels with money belonging to SMERSH. The investment fails after a bill is signed into law banning prostitution. Le Chiffre then goes to the casino Royale-les-Eaux in an attempt to recover all of his lost funds. There however, Bond bankrupts him in a series of games in Chemin de Fer. Le Chiffre kidnaps Bond's assistant, Vesper Lynd, to lure him into a trap and get his money back. The trap works, and Le Chiffre tortures Bond by striking his testicles with a 3-foot long carpet beater to force him to reveal where he has hidden the money. Upon determining, however, that Bond will not give in to torture, Le Chiffre produces a knife with the implied purpose of castrating Bond. He is interrupted by a SMERSH agent, however, who shoots him between the eyes as punishment for losing the money. The torture Bond suffers at the hands of Le Chiffre briefly upsets 007's confidence in his profession, and he toys with the idea of leaving the service until the novel's conclusion, when a new threat emerges.

Le Chiffre's death is seen by the Soviet government as an embarrassment, which in addition to the death and defeat of Mr. Big in Live and Let Die, leads to the events of From Russia with Love. In the novel SMERSH attempts to get revenge by killing Bond in an elaborate plot that would embarrass the British Secret Service within the intelligence community.