To coincide with the BFI's 'Fight the Power: Do the Right Thing in Context' season, the BFI are pleased to announce that Spike Lee will be interviewed on-stage by David Lammy MP. The interview will focus on Lee's career to date, as well as exploring his thoughts around Do the Right Thing, 20 years on from its original release.

onedotzero_preview: Up 3D + Q&A with Pete Docter & Jonas Rivera

Join us at FRIGHTFEST the UK's Leading fantasy & horror film festival. For The premiere event of the year for horror fans - Time Out

This formidable documentary follows overweight, middle-aged, alcoholic Slovenian daredevil environmentalist Martin Strel on a journey down the Amazon. Facing crocodiles, toxic waste, whirlpools, giant anacondas and piranhas, Strel attempts to swim the length of the mighty river, a seemingly impossible challenge that John Maringouin (director of a coruscating 2006 documentary about his father, Running Stumbled) captures in vivid style.

Preview Wednesday 2 September with a Q&A session featuring Martin Strel.

Three Little Words. All males have pondered Three Little Words at some time or other. If we say them is it a life-long commitment? What if I can't live up the commitment? Careful consideration has to be given regarding Three Little Words. One can't go around spewing Three Little Words all the time it has to be forever! And let's not forget the timing of Three Little Words too early or too and the mark will be missed. Forget comedic timing, the timing of Three Little Words can result in long term happiness or the worst weekend eva!



Ed Lilly's short film entry to the Virgin Media Shorts competition encapsulates the above quandary superbly whilst making you cringe or smile. Making a short film is difficult enough but engaging your audience and taking them along for the ride whether it be horror, drama or comedy is the Holy Grail of short film-making you have but 2-3 minutes to bring your audience into a made up world and ask them to engage in a scenario and have emotional buy in as well to ensure a pay off.

Of the 3 (horror, Drama or Comedy) comedy has to be the most difficult horror and drama has crutches like blood, shock, black & white film or dark ambient music. whilst comedy relies on actor's expression and timing to pull it off. I'm in awe of Ed's stylings with little more than a handful of actors and 2 locations he has created a scenario that engages. Three Little Words and She Farted And Created The World… have to be my favourite films of the shortlisted 12 to win the Virgin Media Shorts competition.

There seems to be lots of support from real players in the industry to champion undiscovered or unknown talent. For the Virgin medioa Shorts competion Virgin are ponying up a £30,000 prize to be used to make a film as well as the opportunity for your work to be judged by some star talent like Kevin Spacey, Gemma Arterton, Noel Clarke and Daniel Barber as well as many others. I hope the support doesn't dry up moving forward.

Has there ever been a better time to be a filmmaker in the UK?

!!JUST ANNOUNCED!! Robot Chicken Premiere and Q&A Seth Green via Webcast

It’s time, once more, to get ANIMATED!

Teaming up with popular cable channel Adult Swim, and the London International Animation Festival, Curzon Soho bring you a night of titillating, shocking and absurd animations on the big screen. Check out the premiere of Robot Chicken Season 2. Brain child of Seth Green, the skits play around with cult film, cult TV and celebrity personalities. We also present a special selection of freaky animations as a taster for the LIAF which starts on 31st Aug at Renoir Cinema.

Before the film we will be hosting a Q&A via webcast with Seth Green. Come prepared with your questions whether it be anything Robot Chicken, Buffy or Scott Evil!

Defying the usual conventions of film, RAGE is the new cinematic creation from writer-director Sally Potter. Using a radical narrative structure focused entirely on individual performances, RAGE consists of a dynamic series of interviews, as if shot by a schoolboy on his mobile phone. He goes behind the scenes at a New York fashion show during a week in which an accident on the catwalk turns into a murder investigation.

Fourteen actors, both celebrated stars and emerging talents, play characters who each have a role in the show, from the designer (Simon Abkarian) and his models (Lily Cole and Jude Law), the fashion critic (Judi Dench) and photographer (Steve Buscemi), to the fashion-house financier (Eddie Izzard) and his bodyguard (John Leguizamo).

The radical style of RAGE is embraced in its unique distribution strategy, with the film premiering on mobile and internet alongside its digital screen and DVD release.



The premiere event will be broadcast live by satellite from London's BFI Southbank to dozens of cinemas across the UK. You can be part of the satellite broadcast of the Q&A after the film, sending your questions by Skype video and SMS direct from your local cinema live to Sally Potter and members of the RAGE cast, including Jude Law, Eddie Izzard and Lily Cole

RAGE (15)
A Film by Sally Potter
With Interactive Q&A Live via Satellite
Thursday 24 September, 8.30

The premiere event will be broadcast live from BFI Southbank. You can be part of the satellite Q&A by sending your questions via Skype video and SMS to Sally Potter and members of the RAGE cast, including Jude Law, Eddie Izzard and Lily Cole (line-up TBC).

To celebrate the year's two big Baroque anniversaries – and his own 65th birthday – the Michael Nyman Band makes its Proms debut with a new work echoing the Purcell and Handel pieces heard in Prom 53.



Best known for his soundtracks to such movies as The Piano, Gattaca and Wonderland, Michael Nyman started out as a musicologist, editing scores by Handel and Purcell; as a critic he coined the term 'Minimalism'; and, as a composer he first made his name by putting the music of classical masters through the Minimalist mill to generate raunchy, rhythmically propulsive, raucously energetic new works, such as his score for Peter Greenaway's 1982 film The Draughtsman’s Contract and the grief-frozen Memorial, (which featured in Greenaway's later The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover) – both of which are Purcell-based.

The Draughtsman’s Contract – selection 23’
The Musicologist Scores c20’
BBC commission: world premiere
Six Celan Songs – Blume; Psalm 10’
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover – Memorial 12’

PROM 54: MICHAEL NYMAN
Tuesday 25 August 2009 - 10:15 PM
Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore
London, SW7

As part of the second day goody bag from Movie -Con 2 (which included a rare/exclusive George Lucas (in Disguise) action figure now available on eBay). We each received a rather thick card with some odd characters and numbers printed on it. Most guessed that this was a promotional ploy for Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes as one could make out the words MR HOLMES on the card.

Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes memrobilia, originally uploaded by Craig Grobler.

The Wolf Man

Despite leaving nothing to the imagination the Wolfman trailer is compelling and let's us know that that Joe Johnston's The Wolfman is a quality production with top notch acting.

The Prop Store of London (http://www.propstore.com/), one of the world's leading vendors of movie props and costumes as memorabilia). Has 2 awesome items of cinematic history for sale.






Two pieces of the futuristic skyline used in the Ridley Scott masterpiece Blade Runner. This highly detailed brass section was used along with other similar pieces of varying sizes on a table top set to form a forced perspective miniature for the opening scene of the movie. Each panel was laid out to give a multi layered effect and had a fibre optic light glued to the back. They were saved after filming by Mark Stetson's crew and have been in storage ever since. The section has been custom framed with laser cut mount board featuring the film’s title and stills from the movie. The display also has three LED's built in which help silhouette the "building" perfectly. The lights are activated by a small concealed switch on the inside of the frame. The overall display measures 49.5cm x 43cm (19.5" x 17"). The skyline image along with Vangelis' haunting music is perhaps the most memorable scene in the movie and one of the great movie openings of all time.

For more info click here!

The full schedule for Movie Con 2 can be found over here on Empire's website. Below are my highlights from day 2:

Day 2 started with a flash of fury, explosions and red metal, that's right! Some seriously awesome clips from Iron Man 2 were on display introduced by Robert (I'm in town to shoot some additional scenes for Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes) Downey Jr. Unfortunately I was late and missed what was a highlight of day 2.


The legendary Kim Newman ran his now infamous Movie Quiz with the precision of a T800 which was loads of fun. One of the prizes was for a winner's name to be used in Mr. Newman's next novel.

Next up was a clip from the super tense Hurt Locker and Q&A with Director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal. Loosely based on Boal's experiences in Baghdad. Hurt Locker is refreshingly direct and will keep you on the edge of your seat. It could be seen as a natural progression to Point Break.

Optimum rolled out a hilarious and heartwarming presentation for Bunny And The Bull. Hosted by Director Paul King and Star Simon Farnaby. If you are looking for something that lands somewhere between a holiday, run by The Mighty Boosh filmed by Michel Gondry.

"Bunny & the Bull is a road movie set entirely in a flat. Stephen Turnbull hasn't been outside in months. Living with a painfully restrictive routine, he refuses to interact with the world or think about the past. When a sudden infestation of mice forces him to change his ways, he finds his mind hurtling back to the disastrous trek around Europe he undertook with his friend Bunny, a womanising, gambling-addicted booze-hound. Unable to stem the flood of memories, Stephen’s flat becomes the springboard for an extraordinary odyssey through landscapes made up of snapshots and souvenirs, from the industrial wastelands of Silesia to the bull fields of Andalusia. A story of love, disillusionment, stuffed bears and globalised seafood, Bunny & the Bull is an offbeat and heartfelt journey to the end of the room."

Next Director/Writer Stuart Hazeldine introduced Exam.


"Eight talented candidates have reached the final stage of selection to join the ranks of a mysterious and powerful corporation. Entering a windowless room, an Invigilator gives them eighty minutes to answer one simple question. He outlines three rules they must obey or be disqualified: don't talk to him or the armed guard by the door, don't spoil their papers and don't leave the room. He starts the clock and leaves. The candidates turn over their question papers, only to find they're completely blank. After the initial confusion has subsided, one frustrated candidate writes 'I believe you should hire me because...,' and is promptly ejected for spoiling. The remaining candidates soon figure out they're permitted to talk to each other, and they agree to cooperate in order to figure out the question: then they can compete to answer it. At first they suspect the question may be hidden in their papers like a security marker in a credit card, and they figure out ways to change their environment to expose the hidden words. But light, liquids and other plans all come to naught. Soon enough, the candidates begin to uncover each other's background, prejudices and hidden agendas. Tensions rise as the clock steadily descends towards zero, and each candidate must decide how far they are willing to go to secure the ultimate job." Tense stuff.

The end of the day closed with a 3D spectacular! You should know that I love 3D! Even the crappiest film in the world can become wonderful by either showing it in IMAX or 3D format. I have never seen a bad 3D film at the IMAX. Even the big screen 3D trailers are Worth the entry alone. So what if this new push towards 3D was engineered by Hollywood marketeers to revitalise the industry and shaft Movie piracy. I love it. The final hour and a half of of Movie Con was spectacular. In order:

Disney presented; The trailer & loads of footage from the mind boggling A Christmas Carol, the trailer for Toy Story 3, and footage from the much talked about Up.

Welcome back Flynn!
Then we were shown the 3D trailer/footage from Tron Legacy ! This was the same bootleg footage that haunted the net after Comic Con last year and was recently released onto the net in high def. Except that this was in 3D on a BIG screen! Tron Legacy looks like it will be worth the 27 year wait.



Finally we were treated to footage from Jim Cameron's 4 years in the making AVATAR. Stolen from Empire's blog:

"James Cameron recorded a short introduction, just for Movie-Con II, to two scenes of footage from Avatar, due out in December. We wouldn’t be exaggerating too far if we say that jaws hit the floor. The first, short scene gave a flavour to the threat in the film: Stephen Lang’s Colonel Quaritch explaining to newcomers just how dangerous the world of Pandora is, and telling them frankly that they won’t all make it out alive. Then we saw Jake Sully’s (Sam Worthington) Avatar alive and working in the jungles of the planet. Having faced off one rhino*/hammerhead shark added by me:)*-looking beastie, he’s surprised by the much more dangerous spider-lynx looking monster, and a spectacular chase scene occurs. We also get a glimpse there of Sigourney Weaver’s Grace in action: check the next issue of Empire for more on that.

Naturally, we had to see that again, so we rewound and went for a second go." The team also let us know that there would be more & different footage shown on AVATAR day this Friday. Info here!

All that is left for me to say is thank you Empire & BFI. I had a wonderful time. Next year please bring some display cases and props with you. I'm just saying.

In my previous round up of Movie Con 2 Day 1 I omitted to mention that Christopher Smith (Severance, Creep) gave us a taste of his new film Triangle. If the tension of Creep is maintained with the added dimension of Smith's intention to take you somwhere new, works out. Be prepared to have your mind thrown, dropped and kicked. Triangle will premiere as the opening film for the Film4 FrightFest on Thursday August 27, 2009. More info here!

Every year Virgin Media and it's partners run a Short film competition called the Virgin Media Shorts. While browsing the Virgin Media Shorts shortlist of 12 possible winners. I came across this exceptional animated film called "She Farted And Created The World". Odd name! Marvellous film.

It warms my heart when I see inventive film-making from young talent like this. Some of the other clips short listed are brilliant but the amount of time, effort and vision encapsulated in the 2:10 minute clip surely warrants it a mention of note. Anyone who has ever thought about making a film is aware of the logistics and pitfalls of such an endeavour but Director Scott Coello makes it looks easy and creates a visually compelling experience with depth at the same time. In case you are interested in what Scott is up to he can be followed on Twitter here.

Mr. Quentin Tarantino names his 20 favorite movies released since the year he became a director himself.

Battle Royale
Anything Else
Audition
Blade
Boogie Nights
Dazed & Confused
Dogville
Fight Club
Fridays
The Host
The Insider
Joint Security Area
Lost In Translation
The Matrix
Memories of Murder
Police Story 3
Shaun of the Dead
Speed
Team America
Unbreakable

This latest film from American director Nora Ephron (‘When Harry Met Sally…’, ‘Sleepless in Seatle’) is an adaptation of the autobiographical book 'Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen' by author Julia Powell. It sees Amy Adams as an amateur chef who adopts chef Julia Child (played by Meryl Streep) as her cookery guru and duly keeps a blog of the results.

Today the much anticipated Movie Con 2 kicked off. I'm still reeling from the mind blowing Film goodness of day 1.

The BFI & Empire Magazine have pulled off another collaborative coup for film lovers. The second Movie Convention is heading to all time greatness.

Movie Con is a annual collaborative effort between the BFI & Empire Magazine. It takes place just after after Comic Con (San Diego) at the BFI on the Southbank in London. This means that the organisers can cherry pick the best of Comic Con as well add some good stuff. It's held for film fans and the core content covers forth coming features in the Super Hero, Horror, Fantasy, Sci Fi, blood and Cult genres.

Empire have a much better run down of today's schedule over here. But today's events have roused me from my Blog laziness of late and mention must be made of some of the key events:

Trailers & footage from Astroboy. Over the last 18 months I have been hearing the buzz about the animated Astroboy feature but had no real interest in this remake of a 60s Japanese TV show. After today's clips I'll be seeing this gem. It will enthrall kids & older kids alike. It had the audience oohing, aahing & laughing in all the right places.




Harry Brown Presentation. Harry Brown is a new film from British filmmaker Daniel Barber and stars Sir Michael Caine. The film is about an elderly veteran that due to circumstances decides to do something about his neighbourhood that has been over run by young yobs.

Coming across as a modern day version of Michael Winner's Death Wish with big boots, genuinely threatening yobs, knuckledusters and big guns. The clip we saw made it clear this was a quality production with outstanding performances Sir Michael and the blinding Sean Harris as a very, very scary low life (think Drexel nastier brother, the love child of Travis Bickle & Myra Hindley on crack). I recently saw Tonto Woman the brilliant short that Daniel Barber adapted from an Elmore Leonard story. He received an Oscar nomination for it. I'm looking forward to seeing Harry Brown in full as well as anything else Daniel Barber serves up. Think Peckinpah with a social conscience.



Next up the indomitable genius "Still not a Sir" Terry Gilliam showed us some mind melting clips from The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus. Seems to be a true return to form for Mr Gilliam whose tribulations of getting his film made rival anything you have seen on screen. Doctor Parnassus recaptures the magic of Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen with a dash of sensibility from The Fisher King.

* When re-watching the classic Spies Like Us keep an eye out for Terry Gilliam as Dr. Imhaus.



Kick Ass Presentation. Put together by the Stardust team & Brad Pitt, independently financed, directed by Matthew Vaughn, written by Jane Goldman (Mrs Johnathan Ross but a super talent in her own right) & Mark Millar. Kick Ass promises to turn the Super Hero genre upside down. Referencing the both comic & film super heroes, eastern sensibilities and the slacker/Clerks space. The Kick Ass clips shown deliver in the holy Triumvirate of modern super hero genre: high action, humour & blood stakes.

I was surprised thaty neither Jane Goldman or Matthew Vaughn did not pitch up but enjoyed Editor Jon Harris' presentation and chat with Christopher Mintz-Plasse (yes that's right McLovin) and Jason Flemyng. I'm slightly annoyed I didn't get a chance to quiz Flemyng about Clash of the Titans & Solomon Kane both of which I am eagerly waiting for.

The super secret screening
I guessed that this year's secret screening was going to be District 9 - D9. I have been curious about D9 for awhile Weta and Peter Jackson's name should have made this a dead cert but South African films tend to do emotional small films well and haven't really shone in the high action or sci fi genre as yet. D9 changes that - whilst being true to it's African setting it shines at being a high adventure sci fi romp that has it's roots firmly planted in complex social issues. Google "District 6" & "Africa xenophobia" for sight of the bigger picture.


Originally Jackson and Director Neil Blomkamp were to make HALO: Combat Evolved when that fell through they decided to remake an earlier Blomkamp short film "Alive in Joburg".


<
* Sharlto Copley whio plays D9 lead Wikus Van De Merwe is not a trained actor and was a producer on Alive in Joburg.

Next up was Warner Bros screening of the Jonah Hex trailer. I've been waiting for this film for about 20 years.

Jonah Hex is a scarred Mad Max by way of Dirty Harry in the West that was on the wrong side during the Civil war. This makes fior an intresting character seeking redemption.

The trailer looked good but it could still go either way the newly added occult plot devices are a bit of a concern. I'm holding off on judgment for now.


Finally and "saving best for last" Robert Downey Junior & Guy Ritchie made an appearance to introduce an extended trailer for Sherlock Holmes. They were in good spirits and played off each other like a comedic duo rather than Star and Director. And well they should be in high spirits the Sherlock Holmes footage was everything it needed to be. My only query would be that it seemed fairly light and didn't really show any darkness that usually haunts Victorian era pea soap London. Possibly emulating the very successful Iron Man's formula? I'm holding thumbs.

UK Avatar Day


The 15-minute Avatar Day screenings, presented in 3D at “select cinemas and Imax theaters,” will provide regular moviegoers their first glimpse of Cameron’s highly anticipated sci-fi epic outside of footage screened last month at Comic-Con International in San Diego and Movie Con 2 at the BFI London hosted by Empire Magazine last weekend.

The big-budget sci-fi movie, conceived by Cameron 14 years ago and filmed in stereoscopic 3-D using cameras developed by the director, takes place on Pandorum, a strange and beautiful planet replete with bizarre creatures and plant life. Sam Worthington plays a paraplegic who is linked through a medical process to an “avatar,” a 10-foot-tall, blue-skinned creature that looks like Pandorum’s native Na’vi

Also rolling out on Friday’s Avatar Day:

- The official Avatar trailer, which will be shown in theaters and online. The worldwide trailer launch will be presented in all formats, including Imax 3-D, Imax 2-D, digital 3-D, digital 2-D and 35-mm 2-D, the studio said.
- 3D/lenticular one-sheet posters for the film.
- The trailer for Ubisoft’s videogame James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game.
- First look at Mattel action figures for the film’s avatar and alien Na’vi characters.

The showings will be limited to two on the 21st, except for the BFI Southbank, which is holding four.

Among the participating cinemas:

Cineworld Aberdeen
Cineworld Birmingham, Broad Street
Cineworld Brighton
Cineworld Cardiff
Cineworld Edinburgh
Cineworld Glasgow, Renfrew Street
Cineworld Sheffield
Odeon London IMAX Greenwich
Odeon London IMAX Wimbledon
Odeon Manchester Printworks
Odeon Southampton
Vue Bristol Cribbs
Vue London West End
BFI Southbank IMAX

Avatar hits theaters Dec. 18.

Friday August 21, 2009 at 1:30pm
BFI London IMAX
1 Charlie Chaplin Walk
London, England SE1 8XR

White Lightnin’ Special Preview and Q&A with director Dominic Murphy in London

Electric Sheep Magazine presents weird, wild and wonderful films every first Wednesday of the month at the Prince Charles Cinema.

A dark, surreal semi-biopic about glue-sniffing, hard-drinking, hell-raising Appalachian mountain dancer Jesco White (impressively played by newcomer Ed Hogg), British director Dominic Murphy’s controversial debut feature takes us deeper and deeper into Jesco’s crazed visions and wild religious fantasies, culminating in horrific revenge and violent redemption.

We are delighted to welcome Dominic Murphy for a Q&A after the screening.

With thanks to Momentum Pictures. White Lightnin’ starts its theatrical run at the ICA and Rich Mix (Bethnal Green), London, on September 25.

WORLD PREMIERE - Director John Landis’ classic 1981 horror, that set the standard for the modern werewolf movie, is back where it belongs. Fully restored, looking pristine and fabulous, and on the Big Screen just around the corner from where its stunning action climax was filmed in Piccadilly Circus. A brilliant meld of side splitting laughs, hair-raising terror and Rick Baker’s Oscar-winning man-into-wolf prosthetic special effects transformations, Landis’ lycanthropic masterpiece has never been bettered. David Naughton and Griffin Dunne are the two Americans backpackers attacked on the English moors by a snarling creature that changes their mortal lives forever. Jenny Agutter is the nurse Naughton moves in with before realising he’s roaming the West End committing brutal murders in werewolf disguise. One of the most influential horror movies ever in terms of gory comedy horror, Film4 FrightFest will be assembling as many of the cast and crew we can muster on the Empire stage.

FRIGHTFEST 2009 CLOSING FILM - WORLD PREMIERE

Terror mounts as fear cuts deeper in the chilling continuation to the globally successful horror hit THE DESCENT. Dazed, confused and traumatized, Sarah Carter emerges alone from the cave system where she confronted frightening enemies: herself and her darkest dread. With no rational explanation to what exactly happened or why she’s covered in blood, the authorities force her back into the subterranean depths to help locate her five missing girlfriends. But as the rescue party enters further uncharted domains, flashbacks start haunting Sarah as shocking memories of the recent past hideously hit home. Only she realizes the full horror of their futile mission. And only she knows what lurks to trap them in the eerie shadows of the labyrinthine warrens. For they are venturing into the habitat of a new tribe of Crawlers, inbred, deformed and even more viciously feral than Sarah faced before in the black recesses of her worst nightmares.

FRIGHTFEST: World Premiere - The Descent: Part 2
Monday August 31, 2009 at 9:15pm
Empire Cinema, Leicester Square
5-6 Leicester Square London
London, England WC2H 7NA

FILM4 FRIGHTFEST is the UK's premiere fantasy and horror film festival. Now in its tenth year, each August thousands of genre fans gather together in the heart of London's West End at the prodigious Empire Cinema for five packed days of premieres, previews, personal appearances, signings and surprises.

The Film4 FrightFest 2009 celebrates ten years of chills, thrills and kills by moving to the Empire Cinema, Leicester Sq, to serve up its distinctive and controversial mix of must-see and yet-to-be discovered genre movies from around the world. From Thurs 27 August to Monday 31 August the UK’s top event for horror fans will unveil thirty five new films in two screens. Empire 1 will house the main event while ‘FrightFest Discovery’ will play in Empire 4.

The Boat That Shocked! First came CREEP. Then SEVERANCE. Now Film4 FrightFest is delighted to premiere British director Christopher Smith’s latest spellbinding horror fantasy. When Jess (Melissa George) hits a seagull driving to her local harbour, it jangles her already distraught nerves. But little does she know it signals a harrowing omen for her yachting trip with friends. For their boat is overturned in a weird storm and they take refuge on a strangely deserted liner that suddenly cruises into view. All is not as it seems on board the SS Aeolus, yet Jess just can’t put her finger on why… From epic ocean vistas to poignantly shocking finale, TRIANGLE is Smith’s best, polished and most mature work. His sophisticated and intricate script is always kept on an intriguing angle, the sudden violence is jolting, the atmosphere remains continually creepy and Melissa George gives an exceptionally haunting and moving performance.

FRIGHTFEST: World Premiere Triangle - OPENING FILM
Thursday August 27, 2009 at 6:30pm
Empire Cinema, Leicester Square
5-6 Leicester Square London
London, England WC2H 7NA
OPENING FILM - WORLD PREMIERE

Kathryn Bigelow's first feature since K19: The Widowmaker follows US Army Delta company, a squad of adrenaline-soaked explosive specialists in Baghdad as they detect, defuse and sometimes inevitably detonate I.E.Ds (Improvised Explosive Device). A visceral treat to complete the Movie-Con II weekend. The Hurt Locker trailer can be seen here


Movie Con II Preview: The Hurt Locker + intro by Kathryn Bigelow
Sun 16 Aug 20:45 BFI

The BFI welcome the visionary director to the BFI Southbank stage.

As a highlight of this month's retrospective of the work of Terry Gilliam, we are delighted to welcome the director, writer, animator, occasional actor and former member of Monty Python's Flying Circus to the BFI Southbank stage, where he will discuss his films, his career and anything else that comes into his famously imaginative head. He will be interviewed by Dick Fiddy, curator of our Terry Gilliam season, before taking questions from the audience.



Terry Gilliam in Conversation
Fri 14 Aug 18:20 NFT1

Movie Con II Preview: Inglourious Basterds


Tarantino's hotly anticipated new flic makes its way to us in this very special Movie Con II Preview. Set in war ravaged, Nazi-occupied France during WWII, US Lt. Aldo Raine (Pitt) has assembled a Jewish-American guerrilla unit charged with the sole task of murdering Nazis. Meanwhile, in Paris Shosanna Dreyfus, manager of a cinema, plots revenge for her murdered Jewish family. When it is decided that a new Nazi propaganda film's premier is to be in Dreyfus' cinema, the perfect opportunity to wipe out the Nazi top brass is seized upon by both murderous bands. With a show stealing performance from new-comer Christoph Waltz as SS Colonel Hans Landa, Basterds presents Tarantino's ever uncompromising, stylised and visceral dialogue on cinema.



Movie Con II Preview: Inglourious Basterds
Sat 15 Aug 18:20 BFI

To celebrate the release of this summer's hottest thriller, A Perfect Getaway , in cinemas August 12th. We would like to invite you to a VIP advanced screening of the film – with special guest, Milla Jovovich!

Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Milla Jovovich) are an adventurous young couple celebrating their honeymoon by backpacking to one of the most beautiful, and remote, beaches in Hawaii. Hiking the wild, secluded trails, they believe they've found paradise. But when the pair comes across a group of frightened hikers discussing the horrifying murder of another newlywed couple on the islands, they begin to question whether they should turn back.. Paradise becomes hell on earth as a brutal battle for survival begins.

A vivid exercise in suspense and human drama set in Iraq that perfectly captures the addicitve nature of danger. Jeremy Renner plays a bomb disposal specialist who seemingly knows no fear as he methodically sets about dismantling deadly devices. A tense and immersive experience, and a unique portrait of a war zone and those who choose to work in it.



The screening will be followed by an onstage interview with director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal

On Wednesday 12th August, we are thrilled to be presenting a preview screening of Sin Nombre followed by a Q&A with director Cary Fukunaga. Winner of the award for Best Direction at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival as well as the Skillset New Director’s Award at the Edinburgh Film Festival, Fukunaga is being hailed as one of the most exciting new American directors.



Please join us for this advance screening and stay to hear more about the film from the talented first-time director.

When Terry Gilliam’s Tideland was awarded the FIPRESCI prize at Spain’s 2005 San Sebastian Festival, jurist Sergi Sánchez noted, ‘Gilliam’s was the only film that dared to propose a risky and radical image, without any concessions, on a specific matter: madness as the only way of escaping in the face of a hostile environment. All this is endlessly coherent with the director’s body of work, which has been frequently misunderstood by the critics, the industry, and audiences alike.’ The BFI reflects on just how Gilliam’s own brand of cinematic ‘madness’ has cast him as a true maverick, perhaps even caught on the cusp of genius, as they mount a comprehensive retrospective.


Born in Minnesota in 1940, Gilliam moved with his family to LA where he was brought up and, for a while, tried his hand as a (struggling) cartoonist. His chagrin at the US invasion of Vietnam was a catalyst for his move to England where he re-invented himself as an ‘animator’. Gilliam would often provide snippets of work for the BBC, which led to his meeting with the Monty Python team and the beginnings of his career as an imaginative and highly inventive director. In his first feature, Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975), he and fellow director Terry Jones managed to transform the lack of money for hiring horses into a joke (coconut sound-effects accompaniment to knights miming riding) fondly remembered even now. This was followed by the medieval fantasy Jabberwocky (1977) and the smash-hit Time Bandits (1981). Then came his Kafkaesque feature Brazil (1985), starring Jonathan Pryce and Robert De Niro, which has become a cult classic.

In the years that followed, Gilliam declined the opportunities to direct blockbusters such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Forrest Gump, amongst others. He suffered battles with studios, abandoned projects and outrageous bad fortune – including, most recently, the death of one of his lead actors, Heath Ledger. Despite this he has managed to persevere and deliver truly individual curiosities in a field often dominated by bland and predictable fare and has always been able to turn a drawback into an advantage in his cinematic world that’s part fairy tale, part Hieronymus Bosch, but all Gilliam, and populated by a strange but oddly compatible group of fellow eccentrics. Whether he’s following The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), The Fisher King (1991) or The Brothers Grimm (2005), his films can electrify audiences. Gilliam has never trod an easy route, his career path more obstacle race than 100-metre dash, but the results glitter with ambition and glorious imagination.