Beautiful Hot Fuzz Image

[EDIT: After you read this post, check out our other Hot Fuzz coverage, including plenty more stills, cast and plot info, and plenty more...]

This last Sunday, I was at the Zone Horror Frightfest, dahn Lahndan, when I saw Edgar Wright scuttling discretely down the steps in the Odeon Leicester Square. Knowing that the first released scene from Shaun of the Dead had been been premiered at Frightfest some three years ago, I expected that something similar was about to happen.

I asked Edgar if he was there on work or pleasure and he said "I'm just here to enjoy the films... or am I?", with the appropriate Vic & Bob derived wipe of a hand across his face.

No surprise then that we were treated to two Hot Fuzz trailers in the next screening - the incredible one on official release, and the even more incredible upcoming one, featuring the short-cut sequence in which Pegg comes on like Tony Jaa over a series of garden fences.

Bargain. I was only expecting to see The Lost (which, after ten minutes, wasn't much good at all).

Anyway, that's all there is to the story - apart fromt he bit where I talked to Derren Brown in the foyer - but I hope you enjoy the big Hot Fuzz still I'm sharing with you now. Click on it to make it larger.

Full-Body Optimus Prime With Giant Gun Thing

zzzZZZzzzZZZzzz...

Transformers is sending me to sleep. But in case you care, here's a picture of a robot, and you can make it bigger if you click on it.

And, yes, it is a real picture of the real design from the real film coming out next year, for real.

There are much better pictures to be had around here - including that beautiful new Hot Fuzz still and the Death Proof on-set snaps. And don't forget - you can subscribe to film ick to get all of this lovely stuff sent fresh.

[EDIT: If you don't want to read the really exciting film news, you could always check out these really clear, hi-res pictures of Optimus Prime just chillin', just hangin' about]

Eve Loves Pork Chops

These are some "viral marketing tools" created for film ick by Sledge of Eve Loves Pork Chops. Assuming that's around 2p worth of ink used there, it looks like we're now £20.02 over the marketing budget for the month.

They've gone out into the world via the drinking holes of Cardiff, but where they'll end up is anybody's guess. If you get one, send it to me and I'll give you a mention. And yes, I am aware that you could fake it by making your own end and sending that in - but I'll turn a blind eye, just this once.

The Last Winter From Larry Fessenden

I'm quite a fan of Mr. Fessenden, and his new film The Last Winter sounds like a treat: Ron Perlman, Connie Britton and James LeGros in a tense thriller about disturbances and delirium at a remote Alaskan station. Fessenden was writing in response to the events of "nine eleven", though not in the often tired, often superficial manner of those high profile, recent and more obviously "related" projects.

The official site for the film is now announcing that it will be premiered at the Toronto film festival on 11th September.

Christian Rivers To Make Dambusters Movie

Peter Jackson is to produce Christian Rivers' movie telling the story of the Dambusters and those... er... damn bouncing bombs.

Some folk had speculated Jackson would direct, but nope. Good to his word, he's deep in pre-production on The Lovely Bones, about which we can apparently expect some concrete announcements shortly.

Ed Benedict, 1912-2006

Ed Benedict was a very, very talented animator and animation designer. His initial design work on The Flintstones pushed the style so much it wasn't even allowed on air without being watered down, and his layouts for Tex Avery are truly legendary.

A few months back, John Kricfalusi wrote a piece on Ed and just a little of his work.

Sadly, Ed passed away this Monday. Cartoon Brew have a nice obituary, with more links.

[EDIT: Anybody reading the comments below will find out how comprehensively I failed in finding an image of Ed. if anybody can send me one, I'd very much appreciate it. Thanks.]

Red Apples And Jungle Julia Taking Turns

The Austin Movie Blog don't seem to be as clued up about Death Proof as you might have imagined.

In a new report, they detail a revolving billboard that will be featured in the film, advertising Red Apple cigarettes on the one side, and Jungle Julia's radio show on the other. They have no idea who Jungle Julia is - I guess that, unlike some people, they haven't been geekily trawling the web for every tiny mention of Grind House they can find.

Tarantino sure likes his billboards.

Marc Caro's Dante 01

After Jean-Pierre Jeunet made like a banana to do Alien Resurrection (a far smarter and more sophisticated film than Alien 3, and better than Aliens on almost every count, except, of course, Cameron's trademarked super smooth suspense-action hybrid mechanics), Delicatessen and City of Lost Children co-director Marc Caro disappeared from the world of feature films.

Now, however, the lastest issue of French Premiere is announcing his return with Dante 01.

According to Noel Megahey the film is a "dark science-fiction thriller" in which Lambert Wilson stars as "St. Georges, the sole survivor of a meeting between his spaceship and an alien entity."

Megahey goes on: "Found guilty of the death of his crew, St. Georges is imprisoned on Dante 01, a remote orbital space station housing six of the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy. However, St-Georges has been affected by his alien encounter and has a strange power that affects the brewing escape plots and power balance on the station."

Other reports call the film a cross between Cube and Gattaca, while one tells me that St. Georges' ship has an artificially intelligent computer onboard, and that this character plays a crucial role in the film. That these details aren't really mentioned by Noel Megahey perhaps hints at a particular twist ending, don't you think?

Sounds like good, solid genre stuff and I expect we can look forward to this film playing next year's Frightfest at least.

Dante 01 was originally to be called Mentasm (as in Mental Orgasm?). It was made on a very tight schedule with less than 8 million Euros in the kitty - just like so many more films should be.

Lots And Lots Of Diary Of The Dead Spoilers

There's a script review out there that contains very many plot spoilers for George Romero's Diary of the Dead - his upcoming fifth zombie film, again to be made and financed independently after Land of the Dead was made for and distributed by Universal.

The most important spoiler is that the entire film - I stress, the entire film - is seen through the various cameras that exist in the film's narrative, be they news cameras, security cameras or the camera of our main character, Jason, a would-be indie filmmaker.

Before the plot begins proper, the first sequence captures the moment when the dead very first came back to life. A whole family have been killed in a murder-suicide and a news crew are on the scene to cover the events. The shock reveal comes that the family aren't staying dead - they're the very first zombies in this film's world.

So, to extrapolate from that, this isn't a direct sequel to any of the previous Dead films, and in fact, it is much more clear in breaking away from their perceived chronology.

When we meet the main characters, they are filming a cheeseball mummy film. One line seems to criticise the recent fashion of fast-moving zombies. The quote goes:

How many times do I have to tell you? Dead things don’t move fast! You’re a corpse, for chrissake! If you try to run that fast, your ankles are gonna snap off!

I'm told that this line also works as set-up for a key scene that comes later.

The remainder of the film is a trio of escalating zombie siege scenes, and we know that Romero is a dab-hand at these kinds of sequences - in fact, he invented, refined and then perfected such set pieces. There's some fear in the review that this structure might make the film feel a little repetitive, but personally, I trust Romero, I know that he knows what he is doing.

The review tells more about the script, though not a great deal of further plot information. If anybody can send me a copy of the script, I'd truly appreciate it.

Shekhar Kapur And Terry Gilliam To Collaborate On Comic Books Of Unrealised Gilliam Films

Phil Stubbs at Dreams got the scoop. Here's the question and the answer.

Phil Stubbs: If any of your pictures look unlikely to be made, might you allow them to be done as comic books?

Terry Gilliam: Funnily enough, Shekhar Kapur and an Indian company have been talking to me about me handing over scripts and ideas for development as comic books, in the hope that Hollywood would then see enough to give money to make a film. It's actually a very clever business they're doing, because Hollywood seems to be so in love with comics these days. So let's start putting our scripts out as comic books, and see if Hollywood will bite. And if they don't, at least you've got a good comic book. So there's a couple of things that I've been thinking about…

Count me in.

Read the full interview in two parts - one, two.

Conan O'Brien On The Charlie Rose Show

Here's a full hour of Charlie Rose interviewing Conan O'Brien, recorded prior to Conan's hosting of The Emmy Awards (where My Name Is Earl rightly scooped best comedy writing and directing, though The Office - presumably on the strength of its cast, or maybe, editing, production design or make-up, won best comedy show).

Conan has produced the new show Andy Barker P.I, starring Andy Richter, one time controller of the universe, and my most anticipated new series of the US Networks' Autumn season.

Ratatouille Teaser Poster

This is the teaser poster for Pixar's next, Ratatouille. Sorry it's so small - currently, it's only out there as a weeny thumbnail on the Apple trailers site. Or at least I think so... anybody got any leads on a bigger and better version?

Paris Hilton Versus Ricky Gervais

Paris Hilton has had a crack at Ricky Gervais. Can't say I blame her - but her rationale isn't exactly perfect.

I wish she had been on Extras. Would have kept her out of my line of sight quite securely for half an hour at least.

Sweeney Todd Odds And Sods

When Jim Broadbent disappeared from the Hairspray cast list a couple of weeks back, he was rapidly replaced by Christopher Walken. Now we know why he went - he's joined Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, almost certainly as Judge Turpin. Superb.

Cinematical and Broadway World broke the news to me.

I've been wondering who might get cast as Nellie Lovett, Todd's accomplice and the role originated by Angela Lansbury on Broadway. I know who I thought would be good casting, so I started to trawl the internet. Could I find anything, one tiny rumour to back me up? Just a teeny weeny hint that my suspicions might be correct?

Of course, I found a tidal wave of gossip, the good news being that almost everybody else agreed with me. And I'm starting to think we might get our wish.

Yep, I'm starting to think Kate Winslet is going to be cast as Nellie Lovett, grisly pie-maker.

The Sandman And The Bad Librarian

I see from Neil Gaiman's blog that the 1st ever issue of his The Sandman series can now be downloaded, for free, from the DC comics website. Of course, this isn't the recoloured Absolute Sandman version, but the actually-pretty-brilliantlycoloured original.

He's also included a link to a very interesting interview written by a rather bad librarian.

The Cruise/Paramount Chalk Circle

Variety have posted a list of in-development projects that Cruise-Wagner were working on at Paramount. Let me quote:

"One Shot," a bestselling mystery by Lee Child about a Dirty Harry-like ex-military homicide investigator that was bought last year. It is the latest title in a long-running series that could hatch a franchise.

"The Few," a drama about American fighter pilots who fought for the British in WWII. John Logan wrote the script, and Cruise might reteam with his "Collateral" director Michael Mann.
"The War Magician," a drama Cruise developed with director Peter Weir, with Cruise keen to play British magician Jasper Maskelyne. He used illusions and sleight-of-hand to confound the Germans and protect British troops in North Africa. Peter Buchman wrote the script and Ari Ruben is rewriting.

"The Fall of the Warrior King," an Iraqi War drama based on a New York Times Magazine article about Lt. Col. Nathan Sassaman, an Army commander in Baghdad who resigned following a scandal in which men under his command caused the drowning of an Iraqi civilian. Stephen Belber ("The Power of Duff") is writing.

"The Devil's Banker," the Christopher Reich thriller novel that pairs a female British spy and a U.S. agent and forensic accountant in a cat-and-mouse game to stop a terrorist attack by tracking the mastermind moving vast sums of money from banks in various countries. C/W also holds the option to Reich novel "The Patriots Club," about a young banker who's framed for murder by a secret society that has manipulated world events for centuries.

A love story vehicle for Cruise that is being written by Marc Klein, who scripted the upcoming Ridley Scott-directed Russell Crowe starrer "A Good Year."

"Carter Beats the Devil," the Glen David Gold novel that is being adapted by "Little Miss Sunshine" scribe Michael Arndt as another vehicle for Cruise to play a magician.

It isn't clear yet which of these projects will stay at Paramount and which will go with Cruise-Wagner to new homes, like The Eye, the Jessica Alba-starring Pang Bros. remake which they've set up at Lionsgate for next year.

As I understand it, Robert Towne is, was or will be involved with Carter Beats the Devil too.

J. T Petty's S&Man

If just received an e-mail release from J. T Petty telling me that his film S&Man - pronounced Sandman - and "a study of voyeurism and underground horror" will be screening in the Midnight programme at this year's Toronto FilmFestival (September 7th-16th).

The film's offical site is up and features "info, reviews, links, trailers, and a soundtrack from the always brilliant On Fillmore."

J.T's words, not mine. The film is a documentary, first and foremost, but there do seem to be some fictional elements creeping in at the edges. To say much more would possibly spoil the film - and I haven't even seen it myself.

Soft, For Digging was J. T's first film, Mimic 3: Sentinel was his second, and now S&Man is his third. I rather liked both of his first two films and before Soft, For Digging was available on DVD I tried very hard to track a copy of my own down - to no avail. Hopefully S&Man will get a good release and I won't be trying to beg, borrow or steal a bootleg for months to come.

It seems that much of the film's study of voyeurism, gender, brutality and violence in horror films comes courtesy of interviews with Carol J. Clover, author of Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film - yet another book I've been meaning to read but always put aside to watch movies instead. Sigh.

Good luck, with the film, J.T. I hope to see it soon.

Exclusive Review Of The Borat Movie

Here's a damn fine review of Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. I was supposed to see the film last night, but I couldn't. Nonetheless, Rich Johnston did go on our pass, and he has now, very kindly, written a rather interesting review of the film. More than ever, I wish I could have been there. Guess I'll have to wait almost three months like the rest of us.

Oh - and as you read on through Rich's review, bear in mind that I have copy edited it myself and may have screwed it up. This man gets paid to copywrite, I don't get paid to edit, so for any errors you spot, I'll take the blame.

Here goes.

No one swings from high to low than Sacha Baron Cohen. Who else could take the perfect character and setup of Ali G and create Ali G: Da Movie? Are you shuddering? I'm shuddering.

Borat, successful on UK network television, US cable networks and coming soon to a YouTube sub-site, has been given a movie. Wisely - oh so wisely - Cohen chose to basically extend the prank filming idea of the original shorts into a movie rather than make up some half-arsed comedy film plot again.

But in making this movie, has he destroyed an essential satirical aspect of the original?

Borat is a fictional TV reporter from Kazakhstan working as an ambassadorial documentary maker in the West, with his very basic English and Western knowledge creating all manner of embarrassing situations for people who mistake him for the real deal. Not only does he expose bigoted opinions by letting people agree with the character's extreme anti-semitic, homophobic, sexist and racist views, but he also exposes a very ignorant tolerance. He shines a spotlight on those who will put up with the character's ludicrous antics and statements, simply because they believe that people from Eastern Europe could actually be this primitive or stupid. It's a wonderfully double edged sword.

And this is the only point where the film falters: for the first time, Borat shows us his home, his neighbours, his country. We are encouraged to believe that the ludicrous reality Borat painted in his TV shorts is indeed real - that his sister is the fourth best prostitute in the whole of Kazakhstan; that his wizened mother is 43; that the cars in Kazakhstan are pulled along by horses; that there is a village rapist - "naughty naughty – only animals!"; that there is a Running Of The Jew parade, where a Mrs Jew lays a massive egg, to be trampled on by children.

Now, this is all totally ludicrous and very funny, but by showing us this, and creating an actual reality for Borat to operate in, it blunts one edge of the blade. There is less of a wink to camera. And we are left laughing at these fictionalised stupid Eastern Europeans.

Of course we can also laugh at the very real stupid Americans too. Both at the bigoted opinions – especially when a rodeo organiser agrees with Borat's view that homosexuals should be hanged - and the extreme tolerance - when one politician has to explain to Borat that the man who stuck a rubber fist up his anus might be a member of "the gay community".

The plot, such as it is – a documentary to enlighten the population of Kazakhstan turns into a road movie with a mission to take Pamela Anderson's virginity – never gets in the way of some seriously funny jokes, juxtapositions, stunts and scenes of bears attacking young children. There are even moments of genuine pathos scattered around the film, and the timing of the what's-in-the-fridge reveal is a real highlight. And, yes, the now-infamous naked wrestling which explodes through an official conference is pure unfettered joy.

America is used to being mocked and has of late found the ability to self-mock in a way it never could before. It's a self confident move, and this movie could well succeed on the back of it. But what is going to be a real problem for some is the scene in the evangelical church where - and let's be frank about this - the Jewish comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, who is playing Borat, allows himself to be saved, with all the laying on of hands, speaking in tongues and prayer that this involves, from real church members unaware that this is a set up. I found that particularly disturbing and, in a way out, of keeping with the rest of the movie. That act alone could well see people leaving the cinemas. I can see the Fox Report right now.

So go. See this movie, Americans. Before it gets pulled and the cinemas burnt to the ground.

For the record, Rich, I'm not nearly as hard on Da Ali G Movie as you are. Thanks for enjoying Borat for me, you fiend.

Compare And Contrast: The Nightmare Poster, Before And After

Somebody is a whizz with Flash.

Death Proof Includes A None Too Subtle Snakes On A Plane Reference

According to The Austin Movie Blog, there's a blatant plug for Snakes on a Plane - if a bit after the fact - in Tarantino's currently-shooting Death Proof.

They say of Austin's Paramount Theatre, on South Congress Avenue:

"Instead of displaying the titles of The River and Black Narcissus, which were showing inside, the marquee screamed 'Sam Jackson in Snakes on a Plane.'

A sign at the box office explained that the marquee was styled for a film shoot on Congress, and apologized for the confusion."

Kevin Smith Hints At The Impossible

In a new interview with Moviehole, Kevin Smith talks up his next project - which as we all know by now is going to be a horror film.

He claims that "The one thing I’m happy about is the idea that I have, I haven’t seen it done before” - but what's the betting we have? It's all been done, eh?

He compares the tone of the as-yet-not-even-scripted film to The Wicker Man and Race With The Devil but also admits that it is "a bit of a slasher". Intriguing. Good luck, Mr. Smith.

See The Pilot For The Plastic Man TV Series Here And Now

Courtesy of a heads-up on Cartoon Brew, here's a pilot for a Plastic Man TV series. The show wasn't picked up, so this is likely to be the only way to watch it.

Enjoy.

Nightmare Before Christmas Redux Poster Redux

Trust me - that title does make sense once you know what I'm going on about here.

Some weeks back, a poster appeared for the 3D reissue of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Then, very quickly, it was pulled. Of course, it's still here, on film ick.

The poster above is the new version. What's the difference? Well, a few small details, mainly in colour, contrast and so on, ar all that I can see. There's a discussion waging online, however, that the old version contained some kind of rudy sexual reference, now deleted. Can you spot it? If so, please explain to me where it is and what it is - I'm feeling left out.

Ha Ha Ha Hahahahaha Ha Ha Hahaha Ha

There is some patently ridiculous nonsense out there.

Cruise And Co Give Paramount Some Backchat

Variety have some key info on the Paramount/Cruise-Wagner divorce.

Crucially, Wagner has claimed that Cruise called the deal off, not Viacom. Last week, a lower-value deal was offered and Cruise decided not to accept it. That's key, and I believe it shows either a) self respect or b) arrogance. Let's go with a) and give the Cruiser the benefit of the doubt.

The article also indicates that Cruise-Wagner projects resulted in a full 15% of Paramount's profit over the last ten years, rising to 32% over the last six years and really, that can't be sniffed at.

Cruise's agents - one of whom is married to Paula Wagner - are quoted as denouncing Viacom CEO Redstone's comments about Cruise as "shockingly offensive and graceless."

Cruise is, of course, just days from bouncing back. He has already selected his next acting role and is currently in neogtiations with another, as yet unnamed studio.

Pillow Talk Or Pillow Fight? Aniston And Vaughn On Same DVD Commentary Track

The Break-Up is one of the best films of the year. As of October 17th, Region 1 consumers will be able to pick it up on DVD, or if they prefer, HD-DVD/DVD hybrid, with all the special features on the DVD side to save the bitbudget on the other for a nice HD picture.

Two commentaries are included. Peyton Reed has recorded one commentary track, while the other features Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. We don't know yet if this track is one single recording of the two of them together, or two seperate sessions edited together.

Note that DVD commentary tracks are generally recorded before the film is even in cinemas - Samuel L. Jackson and David Ellis, for example, did theirs for Snakes almost two weeks ago now. Perhaps, then, this will turn out to be quite an interesting piece of the cinegossip fossil record - a loved up Aniston and Vaughn chattering away happily, just weeks, if not days, before their apparently acrimonious split.

When I do listen to this track, rest assured that I'll have enjoyed Peyton Reed's one first.

Film Ick On The BBC World Service

I will be on the BBC World Service tonight at 6.45pm, discussing Tom Cruise, his humorous antics and his split from Paramount. Tune in and check out my hypnotic voice.

The Oxford Movies Blog

In Oxford? Know anybody that is? The send them to The Oxford Movies Blog. I think they'll find it very useful - and they might even want to contribute.

The Wrong Guy

Apparently, a very simple, inconsequential case of mistaken identity is enough plot to fill a feature film.

Here's the story. In May of this year, a man named Guy Goma was interviewed on BBC News 24 by mistake. He was just there for a job interview, but mistaken for 'internet expert' Guy Kewney, he went on air. And that's it. That's the whole story. It doesn't suddenly turn into North by Northwest or A Comedy of Errors, it simply begins and ends with a little-seen, barely interesting interview on BBC News 24.

How long is this film going to be? Here's the original interview, courtesy of You Tube.

Tom Cruise Stars In Hollywood Versus The Indies

What's wrong with Hollywood? I don't mean the place - that's a hole and no mistake. Stinks and everything.

I'm asking what's wrong with the collection of movie studios we collectively name after the location where many of them are or were?

People don't like Hollywood, do they? Look at Tom Cruise. He is pretty much the public face of that much-hated monster. His teeth, his eyes, his tan, his shades, each of them virtually an icon of all that is repeatedly slated in the American movie industry (and all this despite him being in one of the best American films of the last ten years/the most subversive studio film since Vertigo - Vanilla Sky).

I like Hollywood. It's where many of the greatest films in the history of cinema were made. Billy Wilder worked in Hollywood. Alfred Hitchcock. Arthur Penn. Orson Welles. Terry Gilliam. John Lasseter. Hal Ashby. Stanley Kubrick. Tim Burton. Chuck Jones. I could go on and on and on and on...

It's the place where filmmaking advances from around the world gather, and advance even further.

I'm pretty much alone in thinking this way, though. Many of the great directors I listed above would disagree, even though they are (living) proof that I have a point.

At the end of July, Tom Cruise's production deal with Paramount expired. Now, The Wall Street Journal have reported that negotiations faltered and the deal was not renewed. Well, congratulations Cruise - you're no longer the face of Hollywood, you're the face of American Indie Cinema.

I dare say another studio might offer Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner a replacement deal, but even if they don't, the films that the pair produce are doubtlessly going to get picked up by the studios for distribution when ready.
Cruise's recent public behaviour might be... offputting... to say the least, but his star is only tarnished, not extinguished. He's looking like a prize coconut, but he's still the most bankable movie star out there - if there even is such a thing.

From a selfish point of view, I like the idea of Cameron Crowe having independent producers to greenlight his films, and the studios picking them up later, for distribution. At the very least, it might mean the greenlight comes on sooner, or more often.

This Paramount/Cruise parting of the ways is hardly news, if you ask me. Nothing's going to change much at all - not as concerns the subject matter or quality of films produced by either Paramount or Cruise and Wagner. Inevitably, people are enjoying Cruise's apparent fall from grace, and that, not the business deal, is the real interest in this story for most.

The Trailer For Nightmare Detective

Thanks to Twitch, I visited the site for Shinya Tsukamoto's Nightmare Detective once more and saw that the trailer is live. Go, see.

Not quite what I was expecting, I have to admit.

Heathers Again

Jo Blo have another new quote from Entertainment Weekly regarding a possible Heathers 2.

Apparently, Winona Ryder told the magazine: "I don't know how much is official; it's a ways away. But it takes place in Washington and Christian Slater agreed to come back and make an Obi-Wan-type appearance. It's very funny."

Daniel Waters is scripting again so you can guarantee a top quality screenplay (unless somebody gets Wesley Strick to rewrite it).

The Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit Of Hot Fuzz

Edgar Wright dot Co dot UK is a fansite of guess-who. The best thing they have on offer, so far, is an exclusive interview with the man himself.

Enjoy.

Thirdhand Story About Secondhand Secondhand Lions

I read on Cinematical - who linked Broadway World as their source - that Tim McCanlies' Secondhand Lions is to be turned into a musical. New Line, please - put a cork in it.

The original film is somewhat underrated - a Big Fish-y yarn from the screenwriter of The Iron Giant that has some beautiful, poingnant references to Calvin and Hobbes included could be nothing but a best-kept-secret kinda film - though, perhaps, the inevitable "not as good as the film" comparisons will do it some favours in the coming years.

The show's credits are somewhat worrying* - the composer and lyricist team have contributed to the direct-to-DVD Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True and another spin on Cinders, Twice Charmed, which, I believe, has been performed only to the oh-so-discerning audiences that populate the Disney cruise liner.

*or, to put it another way, absolutely terrifying.

2x3D

One story on 3D for your left eye, another for the right.

A 3D TV set that requires no glasses, and a hi-def 3D horror film starring Angela Bettis. Good day for stereo-optifans.

Death Proof Filming Report

Courtesy of the Grind House messageboard, here's the first Death Proof set report I've caught wind of.

The set was very busy and several QT fans were watching him work in the lot. He wore his grindhouse t-shirt which was the AC/DC logo on the front except instead of AC/DC it says RR/QT.

There were only three actors on set today. They were Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, and Sydney Poitier. They all looked AMAZING. Very sexy yet bad ass looking. short shorts! They drove a red honda civic hatchback with several humorous bumper stickers. a few of them referenced Jungle Julia. Jordan was in the drivers seat, Vanessa in the passenger and Sydney was laid out in the back with her feet hanging out the window. everything seemed to go really well with no major problems. the crew seem extremely on point and efficient.

Tomorrow (today) they are shooting more driving scenes but this time with a different car. one of the new mustang GTOs i think. bright yellow.

I did a double take at the Sydney Poitier reference too, and then remembered what's what - this is the daughter of the Oscar winner, not the man himself.

Expect to see Grind House - all three and a half hours of it - next April.

22 Shots That Always Work

Click on the image above to make it bigger. That's Wally Wood's 22 Panels That Always Work, a treasured, dependable crib sheet for the illustrators and writers of comics.

I believe filmmakers will also benefit from taking a good look at the images, considering what connects them, and importantly, what sets each apart from the others.

I came to this scan through Neil Gaiman's blog, Gaiman was guided to it by Mark Evanier. Somehow it feels like a secret treasure handed down, and I'm happy to have it and to be able to offer it to you.

What's In A Name?

I think it's pretty clear to anybody sensible that a film called Snakes on a Plane wasn't exactly going to set the box office alight. For most people, a name as ridiculous as that one appears to be a pretty clear indicator of low quality - wrongly or rightly it will put lots and lots of people off.

Of course, we all know this already, we bloggers, blogreaders, the film geek chapter of the active internet. And that's why we wanted to love the film - the title, in all of it's plain and simple snakes and plane-ness. A title that was so brilliantly, instantly obviously awful we could smell the badness before we knew even a single other fact about the film at all.

And the second fact we learned about the film fizzed with the first like alchemy - Samuel L. Jackson was going to be in it. The internet carried out a very reasonable act of closure really very quickly: this film was going to be a B movie - capital B, in bold, underlined and possibly even italic. And Samuel Jackson was going to be in Pulp Fiction mode.

The Snakes fans weren't special - everybody else sensed this too, however unconsciously, once they finally heard about the film - but, of course, how many folk really want to see such a thing?

The very reason the internet took Snakes to their heart is at the heart of the reason the film failed to appeal to a broader audience.

Prooir to release, it looked like the film's lack of appeal on a broader platform was completely lost on the busily blogging hordes. Everybody the webheads knew had heard of the film, sure - they'd heard of it from them. But was the word of mouth actually spreading any further?

Well, I must have told countless people about Snakes on a Plane. My sister, my dad, his carer, my niece, a couple of my brothers, some work colleagues and friends of friends. I promise you, not a single person on that list had an ounce of enthusiasm for it, nor any way to understand the anticipation the message board crawlers were experiencing. As a result, my sister, my dad, his carer, my niece... and so on... every one of them proved to be the end of the line. They didn't go on to sell Snakes to any of their friends or colleagues or relatives.

The Snakes mavens may have broken their internet circles with the news, but what they were broadcasting was not an appealing message. There was a film coming, it was called Snakes on a Plane and it featured snakes, on a plane. Oh, and Samuel L. Jackson was going to swear in it - Oh, whoopee doo.

What this weekend's box office take suggests, truthfully, is some sense of the buying power represented by the internet addicts and film site junkies of the world. How much can a site like Aint It Cool, Jo Blo, Chud, film ick, Cinematical or Dark Horizons actually do?

After Serenity, Slither and Snakes we've finally gotten a pretty good sample, a pretty clear suggestion that the answer is about ten million dollars worth. Time for some web-friendly B-movies with two-million dollar budgets, maybe? Well, I've got a script coming along nicely here (no snakes, no planes, but a genre film and very web friendly) and I'm only looking for a hundred thousand...

Make Up Your Mind, Internet

Is Snakes on a Plane a hit or not?

Thirteen million dollars and some are calling it a failure. Are you honestly claiming the film cost much more to make?

Well, actually, I expect it did. But why? And how?

Indiana Jones Part Four - The Big News

I tried to write a very neutral piece on Indiana Jones The Fourth for Bits of News. How did I do?

Here at film ick I'm not afraid to admit how frightening a prospect I consider this film.

A Scanner Darkly

If the aim in a narrative film is to tell a story, very few fail as comprehensively as Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly.

There's a lot to say about the film, much of it positive, but overall, I'm left with the immediate impression that Linklater has made a series of very serious mistakes. One of the greatest novels of all time has become, cinematically, a genuine folly.

I'm mourning the once mooted Terry Gilliam/Richard LaGravanese take on Scanner particularly darkly this morning.

Official Transformers Info Is Here

During a webcast yesterday, the names of the various Transfo...

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Superman Returning Again, Singer Not Signed

Alan Horn has told the LA Times that a Superman Returns sequel can be expected in 2009. Good news. Now, all his studio needs to do is sign Bryan Singer.

But not Jude Law.

Spiders On A Subway

John Heffernan, one of the many, many writers with a hand in Snakes on a Plane, dropped a jokey reference to Spiders On A Subway in a recent interview. He suggests that he'd expect more from a sequel than 'just' that... but I still keep hearing that spiders it will be, or if not spiders, at least scorpions. And a subway train is considered a very likely setting, too.

We'll soon see, I dare say.

Tiny Bits Of INLAND EMPIRE News

David Lynch's new film INLAND EMPIRE is 163 minutes long. I'm even more worried now than I was before.

Even worse, Justin Theroux has discussed how the film was made without a script in a recent interview.

He also mentioned that he is playing an actor in the film, and that this actor is given a role as a 'southern gentleman'.

Please, please, please David - somehow pull this one off.

The Best Of DavidLynch.Com

Subversive cinema are behind Dynamic 1: The Best of DavidLynch.com, a DVD compilation of seven shorts from the great director's website.

There's also a 20 minute feature in which Lynch answers questions sent to him by website subscribers, as well as some epxeriments in time lapse filming. You'll be able to pick this up from November 14th, at a little under thirty dollars.

Expect the Season 2 set of Twin Peaks to launch soon afterwards - and, apparently, a remastered, retooled Season 1 set to go with it. These are coming from Paramount.

All of this should help remove the nasty taste in the mouth that INLAND EMPIRE is threatening.

Dick On A Scanner Darkly

Jiffy alerted me to a video interview with Phillip K. Dick that is well worth your time and effort.

A Scanner Darkly opens across the UK today. Faithful adapatation? Snoozy and bloated? Insufferably pretentious? All of the above? Now we'll see for ourselves.

An Open Letter To Kaleem Aftab Of The BBC

Hi, Kaleem,

What were you thinking? No, really. What were you thinking? You misattribute spurious motivations to Gilliam, make a frankly baffling comparison to David Lynch - as though any American story that involves fantasy or surrealism alongside seediness is cast in Blue Velvet's image - and seem to imagine that "the first 20 minutes" portray "a freaky heroin-addicted Jeff Bridges lording over his isolated manor", which, as we both really know isn't what happens in the first 20 minutes at all.

Hope you enjoyed looking at your notepad throughout the film. Next time you are offered a film to review, do the world a favour and pay attention.

Yours,

Angry From Oxford

Terry Gilliam Video Interview With Phil Stubbs Of Dreams

This deserves your time.

The Hills Are Confused By The Sound Of Gossip

That's the worst headline ever. Apologies. It's worth reading on, though - there's a big surprise twist coming later.

So, we know, for sure, that the BBC's How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? is nothing more than a publicity stunt. Andrew Lloyd Webber's new stage version of The Sound of Music probably doesn't need any more hype than simply being that which it already is - his version of that musical - but, the BBC have been suckered in and every Saturday night, Lloyd Webber gets over an hour of free advertising.

First of all there was the Scarlett Johansson controversy. Apparently, she was offered the lead in the show, actually accepted it and then got the boot because her management made unreasonable requests. Whether or not any or all of this actually happened the publicity certainly spewed forth.

Now comes the revelation that the talent-show winner isn't getting half of what she bargained for. Sure, she'll get to play Maria - but only in Matinees, and not many of them, at that. Hopefully she'll be able to segue into other stage roles and maybe, slowly make a name for herself, but I expect these talent shows are leaving quite an indelible stigma and we're going to see almost no genuine successes from any of them.

Apparently, the 'real' Maria has been cast and it is... Emma Watson. Now, I don't know for sure if this is the same Emma Watson as plays Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, but I suspect it is. Makes sense. She's a big name, she's all stage-schooled up and ready to go, she's young enough to get Lloyd Webber into trouble - and that's what he wanted, apparently. A younger Maria.

I think - think - this is a big scoop. Somebody tell all of the Harry Potter fanatics.

The White Hotel

David Lynch was very interested in filming DM Thomas' novel The White Hotel. Apparently so were Cronenberg, Kubrick, Almodovar and Jodorowsky.

It tells the tale of Sigmund Freud's famous case study Anna G, an Opera singer who suffers from mysterious dreams of the titular white hotel. The plot also includes her apparent prophecies, in one of which she even managed to foretell the Holocaust.

The film is at last to go into production with Simon Monjack directing. Lynch, Kubrick... Monjack? He's in good company, suddenly, but who is he?

Not the most exciting director in the world, unfortunately. Monjacks' film Two Days, Nine Lives is a kind of Breakfast Club in rehab, and it stars Luke Goss, formerly of Bros. So far so potentially ho-hum, I suppose, but the film does take a terrifying dip into legendary dreadfulness when Goss performs a duet with young Sienna Guillory. Their rendition of "The Addiction Centre Blues" is the kind of surrealist cinematic disaster only a Snakes on a Plane fanatic could love.

The White Hotel begins filming in a couple of months, and the cast and crew's tour of duty will take in Prague, Milan and Latvia (wot no Vienna?)

Expect a low-key release somewhere in 2008. Here's hoping Goss gets the role of Freud.

Some Casting, Quickly

Daniel Craig is to play Lord Asriel in The Golden Compass (sorry Paul Bettany). Mia Farrow is to play the eccentric video store customer that the entire plot of Be Kind Rewind hinges upon. I rather like them both, so I'm not too displeased at all.

Thanks to the trades for the news.

Ian McShane Likes The Kiddies

Look at Ian McShane's upcoming roster of performances and you'll be forgiven for thinking he's sick of the sight of himself.

A voice in Coraline, a voice in Kung Fu Panda, the voice of Iorek Byrnison in The Golden Compass. Family films, and not one requiring more than a little bit of mic time in the studio.

After those, however, he'll be getting his mug back on the silver screen as Andy Samberg's evil stepfather in The Lonely Island's Hot Rod. It's a good role, but then I'd say that about Rip Torn's part in Freddy Got Fingered and he refuses to acknowledge that the film even exists.

It's nice to see ol' Lovejoy can still get good roles.

You Want More Spider-Man 3 Spoilers? Come Get Some

Spider-Man 3 spoilers - don't you love 'em?

There's been a lot of talk about the clips in the Spider-Man 3 teaser trailer that show Harry and Peter fighting in mid-air. Here's what I can tell you about this major, exciting scene.

Neither Peter or Harry is in any kind of superhero mode at this time, but each of them knows the score with the other. That is to say, Harry knows Peter is also Spider-Man and Peter knows just who Harry's father was, of course. This isn't simple, four-coloured stuff and keeping the costumes out of it a minute helps remind us.

About Harry's get-up, and role, in the film. To be clear, he doesn't become the New Green Goblin, Hobgoblin or GG2 any more than I'd become King Arthur if I picked up Excalibur - he's just Harry and he's using stuff he's collected from home to attack Peter.

Of course, his home isn't quite like everybody else's home so he's collected quite a tasty little arsenal - a big long sword and a shorter one, some pumpkin bombs and the glider.

He's dressed accordingly - masked his face, put on a snowsuit and goggles, put on the best gloves he could find, strapped pumpkin-bomb belts on his legs, and so on. For one thing, he's going to get cold up there.

As they tussle, Peter does pretty well - even reducing Harry to short-sword attacks - but he does take a good whupping.

Remember the shot of the ring falling in the teaser? That comes from this scene, and sets up the importance of the ring. That ring is used quite sweetly to reflect Peter's fortunes as he later becomes seduced by his power, then later still battles back against it to show "great responsibility".

Overall the Harry/Peter fight is looking pretty special. It comes rather early - but don't worry, the action scenes that come later are even more spectacular. Very interesting to see Raimi and co strip back another layer of the superhero trappings and play the situation for real here. People who were assuming Harry would adopt a Villain-alias were missing the way these films work - he has no interest in such kitsch silliness as costumes and an alter ego name, Harry just wants to get his revenge.

There's less I can tell you so far about Harry's final fight. It takes place on a building site, all of the villains are there but Harry fights on Spider-Man's side and, sadly, dies. When I can get the full details on that - and on how Venom and The Sandman are involved, of course - I'll post them to film ick promptly.

So there you go, some more Spider spoilers to tide you over. Spread the word - Spider-Man 3 is looking like the best film of 2007.

Surprise Daphne And Celeste/Hal Hartley Collaboration

Daphne of Daphne and Celeste is in Hal Hartley's Henry Fool. Well I never...

Her real name is Karen DiConcetto and she doesn't appear to be a secretary from the Isle of Dogs after all. Sigh. How disappointing.

Walken Versus Broadbent

I did another post in another place.

Jimmy Tarbuck Meets Melissa Joan Hart

Winner explains it all.

An interview with Jeff Winner about Satellite, his romantic fantasy.

Peter Hewitt's Zoom

A long time ago, Peter Hewitt was giving interviews to promote his film Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. He talked about his planned next film - something that, if I remember correctly, sounded rather like The Truman Show. Of course, Peter Weir got there first and the film was never made.

Since then, though, Hewitt has brought us The Borrowers, Thunderpants, Whatever Happened To Harold Smith? and Garfield. Of course, critical reception has been mixed but he does seem to get an awful lot of bad reviews.

As I write, his latest film Zoom is scoring 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. Surely this is a bit harsh?

Let's take a look at Garfield, shall we, as an example of what might have gone wrong? That film was pretty much slaughtered by the critics too, but did it really deserve it? Isn't there anything positive to say about the film?

Well, there's Bill Murray of course, but critical opinion was divided when it came to his performance. Some said Murray's turn was the only good thing in the film, while others said he was slumming it. Neither was entirely right, I believe.

Murray did okay, just okay, nothing to be ashamed of, it was clearly just a 'paying job' - but the qualities of Garfield certainly don't end with him.

There's some cunning design work in the film. Here's a challenge: discounting the CG lead, find me one more orange thing in the film. Just one. In fact, there's very little that is even half-way towards the red end of the spectrum in most scenes. It's subtle, but it keeps Garfield alone. In a perverse way it even helps him merge with the backgrounds more completely - we read the colour contrast boldly enough that any minor imperfections in the compositing are overlooked. Of course, dreadful compositing would have only been compounded by the starkly contrasting colour strategy - but we're past that in CG now, for the most part.

There's the odd good gag in the film too. A fair sized handful of them, and though most are pitched at that terribly unfashionable "light entertainment" level, some of them are quite sly. The sight gag in which Garfield ends up compressed against the window of a car combines slapstick for the kids with a twisted wink to the over-popular Garfield merchandise of yesteryear for the rest of us. It's pretty representative of the sort of light-smile standard you can expect, but there's nothing any funnier in Nacho Libre, for example, but that's escaped such a wrathful clean sweep of criticism.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Garfield is not the greatest film ever made, certainly not, but nor is it a total wash out. The general level of craftsmanship on display is certainly higher than in, say, Minority Report or House of 1000 Corpses. A copy of Garfield on DVD is nothing to be sniffed at.

I expect that when I get to see Zoom, as redundant as the film probably is, and as paltry a script as Hewitt was most likely landed with, there will be a lot of good things to say for it. Sure, there might be more to say against it - but as long as there are points in a film's favour, I would hope that they are shared and discussed.

And while there are points in a film's favour, then the utter bottom-out of a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes looks rather inappropriate.

In My Own Write

Hey, I wrote something somewhere else. Check it out.

Gizza Job

Creative young man with passion for cinema seeks gainful employment.

I'm looking for work. There's a lot I can do - I've written and directed plenty, and want to write and direct more (are you listening, agents and producers?) but other than that, I do fancy a year or five in the videogame industry perhaps, so I can bring my skills to bear in a new way. I did work in videogame QA for a while but game design, even level design, is very tempting to me right now.

I've been writing film ick for a good while now, and I've written for plenty of other places too. That's always fun - and grammatically speaking, I'd be on better behaviour if writing for somebody else. I'd even go so far as to invest in one of those house sized style guides, not just a flimsy pamphlett like the ones I usually ignore.

I programmed for an independent cinema before and that was incredible. Doing that again would be a thrill. For a while I was very close to running my own but it wasn't to be, what with curses, jinxes and those darn factors outside of my control - it's a conspiracy, I tell you.

Right now, this second, I'm looking for a great job. Basically, I'm just looking for something I'd believe in. If you've read this blog at all you'll have some idea what that is.

Anybody going to make me an offer? I'd love to speak to you and show you how I could be of use to you/your company.

Drop me a line.

You're Topical, You're Controversial, You're All Mine

In view of bottles, cans and jars not being allowed onto flights out of the UK at the moment, one rather short film has taken on a whole new level of topicality. Raises an even more wry smile than one week ago, I hope you agree.

Please spread the link as far and wide as you can. E-mail it out, put it on messageboards or websites.

Once Upon A Weird Al

A long time ago now, Peyton Reed was the director of The Weird Al Show. Since then, of course, he's brought us Bring It On, Down With Love, The Break-Up and a TV Herbie film with Bruce Campbell. He's clearly a very, very talented director.

Out now on DVD, every episode of The Weird Al Show comes with a commentary, featuring Mr. Yankovic and Mr. Reed, plus guests. Great stuff, I'm sure. Sadly, though, the show isn't so hot...

It needed a better star, for one thing, but apparently, deeper problems also sprang out of budgetary, scheduling and censorship issues - all of which are covered in the commentaries.

You can check out clips, courtesy of DVD Talk, to see if you're tempted - there's one, two, three, four at least.

An Open Letter To Wes Anderson From Steely Dan

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have written an open letter to Wes Anderson, a nice sequel to their previous missive to Luke Wilson (but actually about Owen Wilson).

Here's my own open letter to Wes:

Dear Wes,

I wondered why it all went down hill for you after Rushmore, and then I saw a picture of you and Scorsese together in Premiere magazine. Then I knew for sure. He'd infected you.

Craftsmanship and artisanry are so often mistaken. Once, you walked the line and I hoped you'd walk away from it - but then, two films in, you fell over it. Enough already. Enough making things up, time to make things work.

Yours Faithlessly,

Brendon Connelly

Win Beckham's Vagina

Come blow the Time Trumpet - the prize is too good to ignore.

Cars Has Legs

Cars has legs, Colin Farrell does not.

Legendary Scheduling

The shoot for Francis Lawrence's I Am Legend has now been set, and is to begin on September 23rd then continue until March 31st next year. That's over six months - even allowing a week or so off for "The Holidays". What sort of price tag is this film going to carry?

Depp To Face Tough Test

According to Ananova, who quite often seem to get things a little bit wrong, and are here quoting IOL.com, who I have never heard of myself, Johnny Depp is to face a singing exam before he can sign up for the title role in Sweeney Todd.

Apparently a spokesman for Stephen Sondheim, the musical's genius lyricist and composer "wants to make sure that all versions of his works are the best possible."

Sounds fair enough. Perhaps we won't be seeing Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd in 2008 after all.

Put A Sock In It, Gilliam

Terry Gilliam has been talking again - this time, to audience members of Tideland that were sharp enough to corner him in the foyer as they left. As he signed posters and shook hands, a few tidbits were spilled.

First of all, he let slip just who he is considering for Don Quixote on the second go around. Now, a few people heard this, I swear you can trust in it, it came straight from the horse's mouth. Doesn't mean the casting will necessarily go this way, just that Gilliam has intentions and that they are intentions toward Christopher Plummer. Sounds pretty darn good to me.

Secondly (and there were fewer witnesses to this, apparently) Gilliam was allegedly asked about any possible adaptation of Geek Love, the Katherine Dunn novel that has very often been linked with Tim Burton. Terry replied that both he and Johnny Depp were big fans of this book, and that they had discussed it as a future collaboration, for sure. Of course, there was the small matter of Burton being interested too, but when it became clear no studio was going to front the film, Burton apparently lost interest. Gilliam, however, sees the possibility to make it away from the studios and promises to keep shopping the pitch around.

Don't hold your breath, however. Even if the money is forthcoming on promise of Depp, nailing Johnny down might prove impossible.

And here concludes the latest film ick update on Mr. Terry Gilliam and his ongoing tussles in the world of cinema.

HD-DVD Has It's Day

Seems like October 24th is an exceptionally good day for early-ish adopters of the HD-DVD format.

That's the day that Out of Sight, Spartacus, The Thing and Twelve Monkeys are all being released in the US. Four great, great films and not one of them priced at over 30 dollars.

Of course, October 24th 2007 is scheduled to be a very bad day for HD-DVD early adopters, as they celebrate the first anniversary of such a wonderful spending spree by looking backk and wondering "Where did it all go wrong? At which moment in time did the HD-DVD format die, leaving me with hundreds of dollars of obsolete silicon?"

Because, face it, we all know that Blu-Ray is going to win, in the end.

Heather Matarazzo To Star In Hostel 2

That's right - Heather Matarazzo from Welcome to the Dollhouse. She was also in The Princess Diaries (both parts), Scream 3 and an episode of Strangers With Candy, but I don't recall seeing her anywhere else... nope. And I daren't IMDB her for fear of making a fool of myself.

To myself.

According to Aint it Cool, Bijou Phillips is also in, as is Lauren German who, frankly, means nothing to me. Yet.

Hostel 2 is due to start filming imminently for a release next year. Matarazzo sounds like great casting, the other two... I'm not sure about.

Romancing The Stone

Why no Robert Zemeckis anywhere on the Romancing the Stone Special Edition DVD? Maybe he doesn't feel he can come out and talk honestly about his film in a culture where Spielberg must be held aloft and never criticised.

For the record, Romancing the Stone is a much, much better film than Raiders of the Lost Ark, despite the good work and best intentions of Lawrence Kasdan, Harrison Ford and ILM.

Terry Gilliam Video Interviews

You can now watch two big fat chunks of Terry Gilliam talking to a mini DV camera on the BBC website. The questions were suggested by readers of the BBC website - see if you can hear the ones of mine they use when they pop up. They're read out word-for-word.

1. Your films are undervalued, it seems, for an average of five years, and then their reputations start to bloom. How long until Brazil finally removes Citizen Kane from the top spot of the critical canon? I reckon it'll be some point circa 2014.

2. Both Brothers Grimm and Tideland have been criticised by short sighted critics - but in totally contrary ways. Do you feel that people are trying to hedge you in and tell you what a Terry Gilliam film should be like?

3. You seem to like rather scatological films. What did you make of Freddy Got Fingered, Tom Green's work of visionary genius? (I know that's a leading question, but this film was slaughtered by the critics - and it's far more clever than any of them ever even suspected. You've been there - you know what it's like)

4. There's a lot of anti-CG sentiment amongst critics and viewers, but to me, it's just another tool, like a pen, or a filter, or greenscreen. What do you think? And where do you think the technology of cinema is going next? Are you going with it?

5. Almost as a footnote to question 4, a number of previously 2D films are getting the 3D treatment - Chicken Little, pieces of Superman Returns and the whole of Nightmare Before Xmas were upconverted from 2D to 3D. Which of your films would you like to see - or even just consent to seeing - transformed into three dimensions? (By the way, the new Real-D process is very convincing and you can quite easily forget the glasses/gimmick if the film is good)

6. Apparently there have been plans to turn The Baron and Brazil into musicals. Neither has happened yet. How about just giving us a new musical film, from the ground up. Something with your old chums the Tiger Lillies, perhaps?

7. You've had a number of regular collaborators over the years, but you no longer seem to work with Roger Pratt, amongst them. Why not? Is it personal, professional or a creative decision? Pratt is still, for my money, the most talented DP out there, despite working on some less... exciting films - though I'm sure that Nicola Pecorini is, as well you know, quite the genius also.

8. In reading about Tideland I keep hearing the same few reference points again and again - Alice in Wonderland, Andrew Wyeth's paintings, Psycho, A Rose For Emily - but I dare say that there's some more, possibly very esoteric, ways of looking at Tideland's relationship to other works. Care to share any with us now?

9. What's happening with Dan Leno? Anything for Billy? The Defective Detective?

10. Is Stephen Evans really going to make a million dreams come true and get you the money together for Good Omens? like, really really? It's almost too good to be true.

11. Good Omens is, in prose form, very funny - but apparently quite hard to translate into a visual narrative without coming up with a whole new load of jokes - which I'm sure you have. Are people going to see this as a Pythonesque film? Do you care?

12. Is filmmaking an art, craft, science, labour, chore...? All of the above?

13. Why don't you plant a time capsule now so that when Tideland is properly feted in about five years time, you can dig it up, remove the DVD inside, play it back and show people a clip of you saying "Told you so". We both know that it's going to happen.

14. Enough.

Terry Gilliam Changes People's Lives

Listen again to last Friday's Simon Mayo show from BBC Radio 5 and you will hear not Simon Mayo but stand-in boy Phil Williams, and his guest is Terry Gilliam.

Terry is there to discuss Tideland, his citizenship, America and, most controversially, Johnny Depp in the woeful Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Johnny Depp fans were not pleased and neither were the disciples of Terry and Ted, Pirates scribes.

You only have until this Friday - the 18th - to listen in, unless anybody can rip it and turn it into an mp3 for the world to keep for posterity.

Bad Behaviour In Communist China

According to The Guardian, there's coverage in The Beijing News of an upcoming crackdown on internet films that lampoon hit movies.

Films given a wide release in China have to be officially sanctioned by The State Administration for Radio, Film and Television. As a result, there's very little dissent to be found in any of them, and, amongst other things, this most often leads to ridicule. Other times, though the ridicule is less overtly political it is still seen to chip away at the respectability of these approved films, stars and directors.

Murder Over a Steamed Bun was Hu Ge's skewering of Chen Kaige's The Promise. The 20-minute spoof made him instantly infamous in China, though unlike, say, the director of My Space: The Movie or the re-editor of that wonderful Shining trailer, an apparent insurrectionist like Hu Ge might just find big studio work impossible under his government's sanctions.

Chen Kaige has sued Hu Ge, calling him "unimaginably shameless". This created even more publicity, of course, when the film had already been viewed by millions.

I think this daft parody strikes a small, silly gong of success for the freedom of speech in China.