Avatar, Terminator, Stan Winston and what he’s been doing for the last 12 years.In a great guest blog, Scyfi Love’s man in London Craig Grobler – aka @ckc1ne on Twitter and a top bloke all around – tells of meeting up and spending three hours in the company of James Cameron ahead of the release of his latest blockbuster, Avatar.

In that time Cameron and Craig talked about the origins of his most famous creation, The Terminator, his hopes for Avatar and the technology behind it, the death of Stan Winston and what the future may hold.

Big thanks to Craig for what is a tremendously detailed and involving blog post, so sit back, relax, take the phone off the hook and read on …..

James Cameron in conversation

story-teller; (stawr-ee-tel-er) n.

- A storyteller is someone who tells or writes stories.

- One who relates anecdotes.

James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian film director, producer, screenwriter and film inventor. His writing and directing work include The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Aliens and Titanic. To date, his directorial efforts have grossed approximately US$1.3 billion in North America (adjusted for inflation) and close to US$3.5 billion worldwide. After several feature films, Cameron turned his focus to documentary filmmaking and the co-development of the digital 3-D Fusion Camera System. He returned to feature filmmaking with the epic science fiction film Avatar, which made use of the Fusion Camera System technology.” – From Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cameron)

I HAVE been a fan of James Cameron since about 1985 when my mind was melted by The Terminator. At the time The Terminator was like nothing we had seen before – fresh, original and a budget that kept it edgy.

Mashing together science fiction memes, The Terminator tapped into man’s fear of technology by bending genres, clever raw visual effects and the merging of complex plot elements into a neat rollercoaster ride. I still rate it as one of my favourite films of all time; it’s one of those films that are so fresh it pulls the carpet out from everything that has gone before.

I had seen and enjoyed some of his previous works (at the time had little to no idea that he was involved) such as Roger Corman’s 1980 Battle Beyond the Stars, Kurt Russell’s outstanding 1981 Escape from New York, his directorial debut Piranha II: The Spawning, Galaxy of Terror and Android in 1982.

Since The Terminator, Cameron has gone on to conquer the world.

I have enjoyed most of his recent works, but The Terminator will always epitomize James Cameron and science fiction for me.

Clearly the work of a man consumed by his passion, with little budget and a lot of talent the man created a genre, a cultural icon, a sci-fi phenomenon, groundbreaking special effects, a merchandising Empire, a cult following, a successful line of sequels (I didn’t say good), one of the most memorable quotes in cinema and careers for himself and his team.

All this from a screenplay he sold for $1 with the condition that he could direct it.

Love or just tolerate his films, I think it can be agreed that the world he creates on screen to support his tales are believable and immersive. He is a brilliant film all-rounder who loves what he does.

A lot is made about his love of technology and technical detail, but above all he is a master storyteller that creates a believable environment to enable his vision.

I admire James Cameron’s dedication to getting it right. I am also mildly obsessed with the process of creativity, specifically the process of story development from concept to screen.

So when the opportunity to meet Jim Cameron and hear him in conversation about his life in pictures came up I didn’t need to be asked twice.
What were James Cameron’s early influences?

Cameron was born near the Arctic Circle moving to Niagara Falls when he was about two, two and a half. His time in this location embedded a deep respect for nature and the outdoors.

This combined with the influence of his father,, an engineer made him a bit of a science geek. Water, nature and man vs. nature are all constant themes throughout his films. As an aside, his love of the ocean became apparent, he has clocked 2,500 hours underwater, 500 of those hours in a submersible.

Early on he loved the works of film legend Ray Harryhausen (remember the stop motion in the climax of The Terminator?) this lead to “Whenever he saw something that made a strong impression on him he would draw it, as well as embellish it and create his own story around it.”

2001 was another trigger point for him; he would have been about 14/15 when he saw this. The slit scan scene inducing vertigo and causing him to wretch. He had seen nothing like 2001 before and created a desire to emulate technique. This was a direct influence on him making models and setting them up for filming with his dad’s camera. A friend had a still camera so they started experimenting with stop animation.

At this point I should mention (as you may be unaware) that James Cameron started his film career as a miniature model maker at Roger Corman Studios.
How was The Terminator born?

I had heard various versions of how The Terminator came about and was keen to hear in Cameron’s words how The Terminator unfolded.

James Cameron, in Craig's pictureDuring a stressful period editing Piranha II: The Spawning in Rome “he was having weird dreams of a chrome skeleton/ death image coming out of a fire, kind of like a Phoenix”. He sketched it and around this nucleus he created a story that included what it was, where it came from and who it was after. It all fell into place.

From this idea, when he got back to LA and was sleeping on a friend’s coach he talked an agent into representing him.

The agent’s response to his idea of a hit man from the future that comes back to kill a girl who is nobody in the present, but will be important in future events? “Terrible idea, don’t do it.”

He added: “The producers wanted me to talk to O.J. Simpson for the role of The Terminator and Arnold Schwarzenegger for the role of Kyle Reese. I didn’t want to cast either of them but didn’t feel comfortable blowing off the studio heads’ idea either.”

At the time he did not think that people would have believed a nice guy like OJ could be a ruthless killer. So he went to pick a fight with the relatively unknown Conan instead. Schwarzenegger was charming, passionate and loved the script. He was liked for the Kyle Reese part but the whole time Cameron was talking to him he was thinking he was perfect for The Terminator.
What is The Terminator about?

I couldn’t say it better than Cameron himself:

James Cameron talking about The meaning behind The Terminator from Craig Grobler on Vimeo.
What has James Cameron been doing in the 12 years since the release of Titanic?

There is something very real, yet in a science fiction/fantasy kind of way, about exploring inner space. He always wanted to go to space which he wasn’t able to do, but he could go to the bottom of the ocean.

So he wound up working with the Russian submersibles on six deep ocean expeditions over a five-year period, making four documentary films in that time

He was having an amazing time and “perfecting” the 3D technique at the same time, shooting both Ghosts of The Abyss and Aliens of the Deep in 3D. He was also raising a family, which the kind of commitment he has when making a film would not have allowed him to do.
James Cameron in conversation
Avatar

I had been careful to avoid all written information about Avatar as I want to see it fresh and unencumbered with expectations on the 3D IMAX screen, as intended.

Sure, I was fortunate enough to see early previews on a regular digital 3D screen, the 3D IMAX screen and Hi Def Zune via Xbox in 2D.

As an aside I was surprised as I preferred the quality of screen movement of the BFI’s smaller 3D screen to the IMAX. I thought that the characters’ motion seemed to be a little clearer where as the IMAX’s version seemed a little blurred particularly on fast movement.

For the record I am a fan of the IMAX and believe that any film can be made better by screening it at the IMAX. If it’s in 3D at the IMAX it’s bound to be great. I’m hoping that this issue relates directly to the preview versions themselves rather than the BFI having better projection facilities.

But this post is not about Avatar, rather the road to Avatar.

Although unconfirmed – it does seem as if James Cameron wants to make a virtual reality film. Not a film about virtual reality but a film that immerses its audience in the film itself. I guess this the final atmospheric/environment barrier stopping an immersive audience experience. With Avatar he has almost achieved this.

Bearing that in mind Cameron has been supporter of the immersive experience/3D as early as 1996 when he created the T2 3-D: Battle Across Time ride for Universal Studios Theme parks ( a bad 2D copy of the show intro can be seen here).

In 2003 he mentioned in various interviews that he was “going to do everything in 3D now”.

With piracy on the rise, competition from the online world and the increase in quality of home entertainment systems, cinema visiting market share has been shrinking. Clearly he sees 3D as a great way “to reinvigorate “the spectacle of cinema”.
More on Avatar

Avatar started off as an idea as early as the mid 1970s. The story was written in 1995 as his dream project that he always wanted to do, a fantasy story taking place on another planet with cool creatures; it was intended as the ultimate creature movie.

The design alone was attractive enough for him to be involved, but the technologies required for photorealism were still years off.

So he went off and shot Titanic, and after Titanic his company was supposed to have all the answers as how to shoot Avatar.

Their response was that it wasn’t possible without a lot of money and time.

Cameron knew that computer graphics would get where they needed to be for Avatar to be created – it was just a question of when it would be.

When it looked like the CG was mature enough Cameron started shooting in 2005. It took Digital Domain two years to get the performance capture pipeline to where it needed to be, before starting to work with actors in 2007. Two major advances (there are more) that Cameron’s Avatar has brought us are:

Perfcap: The human body has 200+ muscles; over half of them are in the face.

A mistake that previous motion capture techniques had laboured under was capturing the movement of bodies but not being able to capture the key emotional touch point – the human face. The resultant dead eye effect mooted efforts.

So Cameron’s team invented a “facial image-based facial performance capture system” – in essence a head rig worn by the actor with a camera accurately photographing the detail of facial expressions in close-up, 100% of the time (including eye movement). Cameron coined the phrase “performance capture” as opposed to motion capture. Abbreviated: Perfcap, which works neatly as each Perfcap rig is individually modeled on the actor’s skull cap.

Simulcam: To truly understand Simulcam, one needs to know that Cameron’s team created a virtual world that was filmed from the inside. Imagine taking a camera into a 3D virtual environment like a game and making a film.

To be honest this is pretty much how regular 3D rendering works anyway, however the Simulcam system allows filmmakers to view a virtual scene (exotic jungle, strange planet, airship interior) in real time, while simultaneously viewing the actor’s virtual character in real time as they perform their scenes.

This is exciting stuff and may change the way films are made moving forward.
How has Stan Winston’s passing affected him personally & professionally?

When I asked this question, James Cameron was visibly touched and thanked me for asking it.

Stan Winston and James Cameron first worked on The Terminator together and had been friends ever since. They continued their relationship working on Aliens and Terminator 2 before forming Digital Domain and working on Titanic.

Cameron and Winston had a shared dream to create the most realistic characters and CG was a key to achieving this.

Winston had been struggling with cancer for some years and became very ill prior to the making of Avatar. When the first footage of Avatar had been completed, Winston was too ill to come around to see the results.

So Cameron loaded it onto his laptop and went over to his house, but unfortunately Winston was too ill to see anybody.

Winston died the next morning without seeing the result of what they set in motion with their shared dream of [realistic] CG characters.

“Stan’s company was integrally involved in the creation of the characters; they actually formed a new company called Legacy in Stan’s honour to carry on the legacy of everything he had created,” Cameron said. “His passing is a great loss because he would have stayed active and creating new creatures from his imagination for the next 20 years if he could.”
What are the next big challenges in filmmaking?

Well, earlier on talking about Avatar, Cameron said: “In terms of CG we have successfully created water, fire, smoke, creatures, musculature and faces and although the characters in Avatar are not strictly speaking human, they are driven by human actors, so the human emotional aspect has been created within the characters.

“We always figured that was the last hurdle or the Holy Grail of CG and we have done that now.

“There are a couple of little things we still need to work out, but it is sort of all there now as a vocabulary. We are only limited by what you can imagine, by what the artist can imagine, how they actors do the performance and the story you want to tell.

“[However] making Avatar we made a lot of mistakes, went down some blind alleys and meandered a bit and it took us a lot to work out exactly how to do everything. I think the next big challenge honestly is a process challenge.

“For me it is a challenge of being able to get the same end result as Avatar in less time, more efficiently for less money. And we’ll do that be carefully analyzing what we have done and cleaning up the process.”

When asked about the idea of real in relation to how realistic Pandora looks, e responded with the idea that real is meaningless now and the lines between CG and photography will continue to blur.
What will he be working on next?

I asked James Cameron point blank what he will be working on next, even throwing in how he had alluded to both the terms “Innerspace” and “Fantastic Voyage” during his talk.

His response was that he’ll be waiting for the dust to settle from Avatar before moving on and his lip are sealed.

Earlier on Cameron had spoken about how he lays his seeds deep and having them pay off later. He also said that he pitched the concept of Avatar to the studio with the idea that they were going to spend money on the first one, but on the second one we’ll be able to advertise that, and we can focus on the story and they went for it.

For Avatar Cameron’s team created a huge library of assets that can now be used at a much smaller cost, as the majority of the work has already been done.

It seems the sky is the limit, but ust where that sky is is still open to debate!
Final thoughts

In the three hours I was in James Cameron’s company – including a one on one chat – he came across as a passionate, insightful and affable storyteller with a contagious smile. Nothing like the ego driven megalomaniac that we have come to expect.

I think that the biggest surprise for me was the way he viewed Avatar’s release.

I may enjoy it, I may not – that remains to be seen. Either way I had assumed that Avatar was going to be a phenomenal success and possibly the biggest film ever made, etc, etc.

It did sound like although Cameron had put his best into it and had made his dream project the way he wanted to – he was aware that its success is not a certainty. He seemed genuinely relieved and pleased that early reviews had been positive.

I’m really glad that I finally met one of my heroes.

His passion for storytelling may not have diminished and each of his projects may be a huge challenge, but too be honest, I would have loved to have met Jim Cameron 25 years ago when he was less established, full of fire and working on smaller less polished creative projects. I guess cream will always rise to the top though.

And now I’m off to watch The Terminator again!

The David Lean Lecture

The lecture series serves to carry on the legacy of the great director David Lean, one of the founders of the British Film Academy (as it was then known) in 1947 and continuing inspiration to many through his exceptional body of work. The David Lean Lecture in 2007 was presented by American Director David Lynch.

Previous lectures have been delivered by:
2007: David Lynch
2006: Oliver Stone
2005: Woody Allen
2004: John Boorman
2003 Ken Loach
2002 Robert Altman
2001 Sydney Pollack

The 2009 lecture will be given by Atom Egoyan. Over the course of three decades at the forefront of the international film industry, Egoyan has become one of contemporary cinema’s most celebrated auteurs. With feature films including The Adjuster, Calendar, Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter, Felicia’s Journey, Ararat, Where the Truth Lies and 2008’s Adoration Egoyan has garnered countless prizes and nominations, led by Grand Prix and International Critics Awards from the Cannes Film Festival and two Oscar® nominations for The Sweet Hereafter.

Egoyan’s elegant and inventive films feature lonely hearts and isolated figures of unfulfilled desire in often surreal and gloomy scenarios, yet all of his characters are redeemed by his extraordinary compassion for them and insight into their thoughts and feelings. His films are a rare mix of intellect, style and great heart.

Following the UK premiere of his Chloe at the London Film Festival, Egoyan joins the Academy for the prestigious Lean Lecture. With generous support by the Lean Foundation, the lecture is an event in which the world’s most celebrated and compelling directors provide insight into their experiences and into their unique take on cinema and the industry.

Where:
BAFTA
Princess Anne Theatre, 195 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LN

When:
7:45pm Friday 23 Oct, 2009

CLIVE BARKER will be signing his new DVD, 'Midnight Meat Train' at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR, on Thursday 15th October 6:30 - 7:30 pm.

Featuring Vinnie Jones and based on the short story by Clive Barker, Midnight Meat Train is the horrific tale of Leon, a New York photographer who saves a woman from being attacked. The woman then disappears and the police show no interest in Leon's story, forcing him to track down the killer on the subway system himself.


Please note that Clive Barker will only sign copies of 'Midnight Meat Train' and one other item per customer on the day. Due to time constraints, limits may change and Forbidden Planet cannot guarantee that every customer will be seen.

Where:
London Megastore
179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR

When:
6:30 - 7:30 pm, 15 Oct, 2009

The highly acclaimed artist and filmmaker comes to the BFI to discuss her career transition from gallery to cinema with Tim Marlow.



Whilst creating her first major artwork Killing Time in 1994, and the subsequent 1996 multi-screen works Travesty of a Mockery and Pent-Up, Sam Taylor-Wood gained valuable experience working with actors, and she has applied a cinematic sensibility to her still photographic work as well as her films ever since. Her diagnosis and recovery from both colon cancer in 1997 and breast cancer in 2001, influenced her already melancholic work, exploring and reflecting on the theme of mortality in such works as Still Life (2001) and A Little Death (2002) while experimenting with the distortion of time and motion. Pieces from 2005-2006; David, Prelude in Air and The Last Century, focus on moments of vulnerability and intimacy and remind us of elements now lost from our culture. Taylor-Wood's impressive short narrative film Love You More (LFF 2008) has much in common with her artwork, in as much that it is a simple idea, beautifully executed, and as with all of her work, it is the visual expression of the idea that is so original. We are proud to present the World Premiere of Sam's first feature Nowhere Boy as our Closing Night film, and very excited that she will be in conversation to discuss her work. Timothy Smith








Where
BFI NFT1

When
18:30 Tues 27 October

In a remote and forgotten wilderness, one of nature's last great mysteries unfolds: the birth, life and survival of a million crimson-winged flamingos. Against the dramatic backdrop of unforgiving, never-before filmed landscapes, we follow the birth of a tiny flamingo hatchling, and the perils and fortunes of her life in the extraordinary 'other world' of Lake Natron in northern Tanzania.



The first title to be released under the new Disneynature label, THE CRIMSON WING will take you on a breathtaking and beautiful journey through a story that only nature itself could tell.

To download tickets simply go to www.seefilmfirst.com and enter code: 482610

The film starts at 6.30pm. Seefilmfirst tickets must be changed for cinema tickets at the cinema Box Office by 6.15pm. There will be a Q&A with the films producers and director at the end.

Where
Cineworld Haymarket
63-65 Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4RL

When
6.15 for 6:30pm, 21 September, 2009

Curzon Cinemas is proud to welcome ANDREA ARNOLD in a post screening discussion along with the film on Sunday 13 September 3pm at Curzon Soho.

Justly picking up another Cannes Grand Jury Prize, Andrea Arnold’s follow-up to Red Road is an intense and surprising story of love, lust and family.


Fifteen-year-old Mia (Jarvis) is at war with everything: her family, her school, and the girls on her estate. Her one release is dancing, a passion that she practices in secret. Things change when her mother (Wareing) introduces charismatic new boyfriend Connor (Fassbender, Hunger) – but Arnold’s subtle and unpredictable script keeps us guessing as to just what influence the newcomer will bring to bear. Drawing a fantastically raw and yet immensely accomplished performance from newcomer Katie Jarvis, Arnold, who draws on her own background growing up in London’s East End, has crafted a potent and poetic British film that places her at the vanguard of world cinema.




Where
Curzon Soho
99 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 5DY

When
3pm, Sunday 13 October, 2009

Master animator Nick Park discusses his illustrious career and helps us celebrate 20 years since Wallace & Gromit hit our screens.



As a child, Nick Park's career aspirations included being an artist for the Beano comic and an inventor. By far, his best invention has been Wallace & Gromit, who first appeared on our screens 20 years ago. In 1985, Park became an invaluable addition to Aardman Animations, and A Grand Day Out (which he began as a student at the NFTS) earned him his first of many BAFTA awards. Four Academy Awards followed, not just for his much-loved shorts Creature Comforts, The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave, but also for his feature Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Park's perfectionist attention to detail and his ability to infuse his plasticine characters with humanity and humour (not to mention giving an immense vocabulary and emotional range to a dog that never speaks a word) is testament to the genius of his imagination and to his unsurpassed talent as an animator. To celebrate Park's 'cracking' achievements we are delighted to be able to screen A Grand Day Out, digitally remastered for the occasion. Nick Park will be interviewed on stage after the screening by journalist David Gritten. Timothy Smith








Where
BFI NFT1

When
15:15 Sat 24 October

Get yourself a ticket for the biggest party the unfashionable end of the galaxy has ever seen and join best-selling author Eoin Colfer – creator of criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl – and actor Simon Jones, the original Arthur Dent, in a celebration of 30 years of the late, great Douglas Adams’ classic British comedy. This’ll be your first chance to see, hear and buy the sixth instalment, And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer.

With other out-of-this-world entertainment throughout the day – including special free screenings of the Hitchhiker’s series in The Clore Ballroom – this is one event no self-respecting lover of classic British comedy will want to miss.

One of the best dystopian sci-fi movies to come out of the 70s, Rollerball focuses on an ultra-violent sport used to keep an overpopulated planet under control and probes its links to politics, the media and big conglomerates. When a star player refuses to obey the owners of his team, the stage is set for a Gladiator-like confrontation between a rebellious individual and the corporate power that seeks to crush him.

Events include:
Photo Call
Start the day at a photocall of the largest number of Hitchhiker's fans ever.

Session 1: The Douglas Adams Chat Show
A full panel of Hitchhiker’s experts and friends of Douglas Adams discusses the great man and his work.

Booksigning: Mega-signing of the fantastic new edition of the first five Hitchhiker's novels.

Sessions 2 & 3 (And Another Thing... & Hitchhikers Live On Stage!)
The sixth book in the series, special guests and a live gig – Sessions 2 & 3 of our day-long celebration of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Booksigning: Eoin Colfer
Buy the new sixth book in the series a day before everyone else and get it signed by Eoin Colfer.



Where
The Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX

When
Sunday 11 October, 2009

Held in the highest regard by everyone he's worked with, Coventry's favourite son comes to the BFI for a discussion about his career.



Straight out of drama school, Clive Owen landed a starring role in his first feature Vroom (LFF 1988) and within two years he was starring in TV crime drama Chancer. Concerned that he would be stereotyped into television roles, he chose to take a controversial role in Stephen Poliakoff's Close My Eyes which fed his desire to explore a more interesting career path in both film and theatre. Since then, Owen has taken particular care to work with scripts that he feels passionate about, and has the highest regard for the actors and directors that he works with. This strong work ethic has seen repeat collaborations with director Mike Hodges on Croupier and I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, and he has enjoyed working more than once with Julia Roberts and Paul Giamatti. The hard work was rewarded with both a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for his performance in Closer, and Owen went on to impress as anti-hero Dwight McCarthy in Sin City. His work on Children of Men was also highly acclaimed, and writer-director Alfonso Cuaron has personally credited Owen with contributing to the script. The Boys Are Back sees Owen in a very different acting role (as well as Executive Producer), and working once again with a wonderful script. We are very pleased to welcome such a dedicated actor to take part in the BFI Screen Talks series. Timothy Smith







Where
BFI NFT1

When
18:30 Thu 22 October

The Oscar winning director comes to the BFI to discuss her impressive career.

There is often a deliberate ambiguity in a Jane Campion film which allows the audience to focus on what is unseen or unsaid and openly interpret the narrative possibilities. Since Campion's first short film Peel won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1982, she has made her mark internationally as a filmmaker with a distinctive visual and narrative style. Her use of strong female characters has undoubtedly contributed to her films becoming marked as powerful texts for feminist analysis. The recurring themes of madness and desire in Campion's work are prevalent in her debut feature Sweetie (LFF 1989), and a fascination with the darker side of romance is demonstrated by her declared passion for the Gothic literature of the Brontës, and exemplified in The Piano (for which Campion was nominated for a Best Director Oscar in 1993 and won for Best Screenplay, in addition to many other awards, including her second Palme d'Or). In the beautiful Bright Star, Campion sews her signature style poetically through the narrative to help create a sensitive portrayal of a tragic love story in a way that only Jane Campion could. Timothy Smith







Where
BFI NFT1

When
18:30 Tue 20 October

One of the most daring and talented actors of her generation comes to the BFI to discuss her diverse slate of work.



When she first appeared in feature films, Julianne Moore garnered much attention for her talent and her presence on screen, with roles in films such as Short Cuts (LFF 1993) and [Safe] (LFF 1995). A number of Oscar nominations and a slew of other awards followed, for her roles in Boogie Nights (LFF 1997), The End of the Affair, Far from Heaven (LFF 2002) and The Hours. By cleverly positioning her career across both the mainstream studio system and independent film, Moore has been able to use her status at the box office to help independent directors find funding for projects that otherwise may not have been made. Although she always brings individuality and originality to the diverse range of roles that she chooses, Moore has a rare skill of being able to play characters in a natural and believable way that audiences often relate to, whilst at the same time highlighting the complexities of a character (few other actors could play a porn-star cokehead with such tenderness and sensitivity). The range and diversity in her talent are especially evident in her portrayal of a wife and mother in Atom Agoyan's Chloe and almost the antithesis of that in Tom Ford's A Single Man. Timothy Smith







Where
BFI NFT1

When
18:30 Fri 23 October

The remarkably gifted producer-turned-director discusses his work, including his powerful new feature Precious.



Few people have the qualities needed to be a successful producer and even fewer have those needed to be a successful director. Lee Daniels' natural skills as a producer allowed him to make Monster's Ball (for which Halle Berry won an Oscar) as his first film. He then went on to gain further critical acclaim as a producer with The Woodsman (LFF 2004). Daniels is an extremely creative producer with a strong vision. He is so secure and determined in the way he envisages his films, and so hands-on as a producer that it was natural (and inevitable) that he would try his hand at directing. Daniels believes that he learned a great deal from his debut directorial experience on Shadowboxer, and that this made him an even better producer on his next project, Tennessee. This also started his fruitful collaboration with Mariah Carey, who stars in that film as well as playing a supporting role in his new offering Precious which he has directed and produced. In this deeply moving and powerful film, Daniels expertly balances the absolute horror of the title character's experience with humour and fantasy, and proves that all of the heart and soul he puts into his films is definitely paying off. Timothy Smith

Where
BFI NFT1

When
13:00 Sat 24 October

On Friday 11th September The Prince Charles Cinema (Leicester Sq) have a VERY Special Q&A with Duncan Jones, Director of Moon!

Moon is playing upstairs all week on their brand new screen, however grab this chance to talk to the man who made this spectacular film.


MOON
Sam Bell has a three year contract to work for Lunar Industries. For the contract's entire duration, he is the sole employee based at their lunar station. His primary job responsibility is to harvest and periodically rocket back to Earth supplies of helium-3, the current clean and abundant fuel used on Earth. There is no direct communication link available between the lunar station and Earth, so his only direct real-time interaction is with GERTY, the intelligent computer whose function is to attend to his day to day needs. With such little human contact and all of it indirect, he feels that three years is far too long to be so isolated; he knows he is beginning to hallucinate as the end of his three years approaches...



Director: Duncan Jones
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey (voice), Matt Berry, Robin Chalk

Where
The Prince Charles Cinema
7 Leicester Place, WC2
Just north off Leicester Sq & up from Häagen-Dazs

When
21:00 Fri 11th Sep Moon plus Q&A
Tickets onsale 5pm Today (Tuesday 8 September)

Preview of Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee and Q&A with Shane Meadows, Paddy Considine and Mark Herbert.

Rock roadie, Le Donk, has lived, loved and learned. Along the way, he's lost a classy girlfriend but gained a sidekick, Scorz-Ayz-Ee. He sets out to make Scorz a star with a little help from the Artic Monkeys.

 A freewheeling, no-budget experiment by one of the UK’s most prominent and successful producer/director teams, LE DONK was born out of Shane Meadows’ and Mark Herbert’s frustration at the sheer expense of time and money required to get a new project off the ground. Why not just get together an enthusiastic team (including the actor often cited as the De Niro to Meadows’ “Scorsese of the Midlands”, Paddy Considine), cobble together a skeleton script, and simply play for a few days? So, Considine broke out an earlier comic creation of his, an endearing/repellent rock’n’roll roadie known as Donk; an Arctic Monkeys gig provided the backdrop; and Meadows played himself, as a documentary-maker seeking to capture the secrets of a life lived just beyond the reach of the bright lights. Irrepressible fun.



When:
Curzon Soho
99 Shaftesbury Avenue, London ,W1D 5DY
Where:
Sunday 11 October, 4:00pm

Clapham Picturehouse are delighted that director Sam Mendes (AMERICAN BEAUTY, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD) will be joining them for a satellite Q&A following a preview of his new comedy, AWAY WE GO (15).

Thirty-something Burt (Krasinski, JARHEAD) and his heavily pregnant partner Verona (Rudolph) decide to leave Colorado and travel across America in search of the perfect place to bring up baby. Their road trip takes them to Arizona, Wisconsin, Montreal and Florida, and into eye-opening experiences in the company of assorted friends and relatives.



Where
Clapham Picturehouse
76 Venn Street, London SW4 0AT
Tel: 0871 704 2055

When
10-6pm Monday-Friday, 10-2 Saturdays

Douglas Coupland on What Words Look Like



A lecture from the Canadian author about what words look like, and the power of text as an art object. He will be in conversation with Rick Poynor, founder of Eye magazine.

Thursday 3 September 2009, 6:45 pm
ICA The Mall,
London,
SW1Y 5AH

Curzon Mayfair proudly welcomes director Terry Gilliam to the stage in a post screening discussion to answer
all audience questions.

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUS
Dir: Terry Gilliam Starring: Christopher Plummer, Heath Ledger, Tom Waits.

A director seemingly affiliated with bad luck, that Terry Gilliam got to complete this at all is a minor miracle. A fantastical morality tale set in present-day London (for the most part at least), the alternate realities Gilliam spins will be more than familiar to fans of TIME BANDITS and BRAZIL. With more than a hint of Doctor Faustus, the film’s kernel is an ambitious travelling magician whose ambition has caused him to
enter a number of deals with the devil, the most personally damaging of which has seen Parnassus (played
impeccably by Plummer, THE NEW WORLD) trade immortality for his daughter (Lily Cole) on the occasion of her 16th birthday. A characteristic feast for the senses, the film is a fitting epitaph to Ledger, whose character is also ably portrayed in its transformative states by Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp.

Extremely entertaining, the film also has at its heart a larger than life turn from Tom Waits as the devil.


Tickets go on general sale on the Curzon website on Friday 4 September.
Wednesday 7 September, 6:10pm
Curzon Mayfair
38 Curzon St London W1J 7TY

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.

 NB - Do the Right Thing screens at 18:30 in NFT1. Tickets to be booked separately.
The Independent Interview with Spike LeeMonday September 21, 2009 at 8:45pm
BFI Southbank NFT1
Belvedere Road
London, England SE1 8XT Get Directions

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

 Carl Fredericksen, a curmudgeonly 78-year-old balloon salesman, is not your average hero. When he ties thousands of balloons to his house and floats to the wilds of South America, he finally fulfills his life-long dream of adventure. But on discovering an 8-year-old stowaway named Russell, an unlikely duo, they soon find themselves on an hilarious journey in a lost world filled with danger and surprise.



The BFI are delighted to welcome director Pete Docter and producer Jonas Rivera for a Q+A after the screening of this Cannes-opening crowd pleaser.

Oliver Parker directs a strong cast in this adaptation of Oscar Wilde's classic novel of youth, excess and vanity. Adored for his beauty, Dorian Gray can seemingly have anything or anyone his heart desires. When this power is captured in a painting, Dorian wonders what he wouldn't do to stay as beautiful. As the painting begins to show the excesses of an indulgent lifestyle and Dorian himself stays ageless, it seems his wish come true...

The BFI are pleased to announce that this preview will be followed by a Q&A with director Oliver Parker and screenwriter Toby Finlay.

Preview: Dorian Gray and Q&A with director Oliver Parker and screenwriter Toby Finlay
Wednesday September 9, 2009 at 6:20pm
BFI Southbank NFT1
Belvedere Road
London, England SE1 8XT