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Ken Loach says he has “great respect” for Jonathan Glazer in raising the subject of Gaza in his Oscars acceptance speech for “The Zone of Interest,” asserting that the director was “very brave” to say what he did. “And I’m sure he understood the possible consequences, which makes him braver still, so I’ve got great respect for him and his work,” he tells Variety.

The veteran filmmaker and campaigner is speaking ahead of the U.S. release of “The Old Oak,” a feature that also happens to be his last. After a career of more than 60 years, the British director — a two-time Palme d’Or winner who is behind a library of beloved films including “Kes,” “The Wind That Shakes the Barley,” “Land and Freedom,” “Sweet Sixteen,” “My Name is Joe” and “I, Daniel Blake” — is calling it a day.

Loach has announced his retirement before, of course,...

“After the Party” star Peter Mullan tells it like it is.

“The thing with acting is that it’s fun when you are playing. A footballer can relive the moment of scoring the goal, but it’s not as much fun as scoring the goal. Kevin Spacey would watch himself all day long. He never fucking stops. The man is an asshole,” he told the crowd at Series Mania.

They worked together on “Ordinary Decent Criminal.”

“We would barely finish and he would run to the monitor to check if it worked. If the cheat worked, because he was so fake. I didn’t like him at all. Horrible human being, but fascinating to watch, because he was so mannered. It was like working with Bette Davis.”

Spacey wasn’t the only one who got a drubbing during expletive-filled masterclass, with Mullan’s very own nose in “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power...

The 1970 edition of the Cannes Film Festival was noted for giving rise to several bold new voices. Robert Altman arrived as an established (and notoriously troublesome) TV director but left a Palme d’Or winner with M*A*S*H, his launchpad to becoming one of the most pivotal figures of contemporary cinema. In the Directors’ Fortnight competition, then a year old, the German absurdist comedy Even Dwarfs Started Small gave audiences a hint of what a 20-something festival first-timer named Werner Herzog might have up his creative sleeve.

Over in the Critics’ Week sidebar, a rising English director named Ken Loach also was making his Cannes debut (like Herzog with his second feature).

The bespectacled 33-year-old had arrived as part of what he describes as a “rather snooty” U.K. delegation that didn’t have much time for someone then known for hard-hitting TV docudramas and not considered part...

Ken Loach has said that The Old Oak, his latest feature, will be his last. Probably.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter ahead of what will mark his 15th film premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, the veteran filmmaker, who turns 87 in June, acknowledged that “realistically, it would be hard to do a feature film again.

“Films take a couple of years and I’ll be nearly 90,” he said. “And your facilities do decline. Your short-term memory goes and my eyesight is pretty rubbish now, so it’s quite tricky.”

Loach said that while he had little issue on The Old Oak dealing with the physical demands of long working days required during production, it has become harder to sustain, “with good humor,” the “nervous emotional energy” he needs to set the tempo during a shoot and to keep that momentum going.

Loach, of course, has “retired” before. When he brought...

Having tackled homelessness, drug addiction, failing social services and other woes plaguing the working class, it was only a matter of time before social realist British writer-director team Paul Laverty and Ken Loach took on the gig economy.

The frequent creative partners (who together created the Cannes Palme D'Or winners I, Daniel Blake and The Wind That Shakes the Barley as well as My Name Is Joe and Sweet Sixteen, among other titles) depict the underside of independent contract work without traditional work benefits or workplace protections in their latest film, Sorry We Missed You. The film, 83-year-old Loach's 42nd including ...

Having tackled homelessness, drug addiction, failing social services and other woes plaguing the working class, it was only a matter of time before social realist British writer-director team Paul Laverty and Ken Loach took on the gig economy.

The frequent creative partners (who together created the Cannes Palme D'Or winners I, Daniel Blake and The Wind that Shakes the Barley as well as My Name Is Joe and Sweet Sixteen, among other titles) depict the underside of independent contract work without traditional work benefits or workplace protections in their latest film, Sorry We Missed You. The film, the 83-year-old Loach's 42nd ...

German filmmaker R.W. Fassbinder once remarked, “I would like to build a house with my films. Throughout his career, Cannes staple Ken Loach, has likewise constructed a monument to the dignity of the working class. Building this metaphorical domicile since the 1960s, his corpus investigates the workers building that home and the families inhabiting it. This parable is at play in the literal construction in “Riff-Raff,” or the neighborly decorating that takes place in “My Name Is Joe.” Loach’s latest film “Sorry We Missed You”—the director’s 14th Competition selection at the Cannes Film Festival—is yet another look at the household of a family under great financial strain and dehumanizing labor standards.

Continue reading ‘Sorry We Missed You’: Ken Loach Is Back With A Tender, Devastating Working Class Drama [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.

Sorry We Missed You

One of Britain’s most notable filmmakers of all time, the two-time Palme d’Or winning Ken Loach will be set with his new social issue drama Sorry We Missed You in 2019. Produced by his regular collaborator Rebecca O’Brien and is the director’s fourth consecutive film handled by eOne. His latest stars Kris Hitchen (who previously had a supporting role in Loach’s 2001 title The Navigators) along with Debbie Honeywood, Katie Proctor, Alfie Dobson and Rhys Stone. As mentioned, Loach is one of a select few auteurs to win thePalme d’Or twice, having competed a total of thirteen times winning the Ecumenical Jury Prize in 1981, 1990, 1995, 2009, and 2016, a Fipresci Prize for 1991’s Riff Raff and 1979’s Black Jack, and the Jury Prize in 1993 and 2012.…...

At last year’s Emmys, “Westworld” became the first series in four years (since “Downton Abbey” and “Homeland”) to be nominated for Best Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress. The science fiction western did not receive any guest nominations; it had not submitted for consideration. For its in-progress second season, HBO is campaigning Ben Barnes, Zahn McClarnon, Peter Mullan and Jimmi Simpson for Best Drama Guest Actor. This quartet debuted this season in flashbacks in this past weekend’s episode titled “Reunion,” which featured a surprise cameo by Emmy-nominated “Breaking Bad” actor Giancarlo Esposito, whom HBO is not campaigning.

Jimmi Simpson was one of the seven main cast members that HBO campaigned last year, having appeared in eight out of the ten episodes in a linear arc, usually opposite Ben Barnes. Both Barnes and Simpson are billed as guest stars this season and appear in asides that take place...

American Honey, Notes On Blindness, Adult Life Skills, Under The Shadow also score multiple noms.

Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake leads this year’s British Independent Film Awards (Bifa) nominations, which were announced this morning by British actors Ophelia Lovibond and Douglas Booth in London.

Loach’s timely social drama - which won Cannes’ Palme d’Or earlier this year - was nominated in seven categories including Best British Independent Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay.

Co-stars Hayley Squires and Dave Johns are each nominated twice – for Best Actress and Best Actor and will also go head to head in the Most Promising Newcomer category.

The other nominees in the Best British Independent Film category are American Honey (six nominations), Couple in a Hole (two nominations), Notes on Blindness (six nominations) and the Under The Shadow (six nominations).

Other titles with receiving multiple nominations but in other categories included Adult Life Skills (six nominations) and zombie...

MaryAnn’s quick take…

Lefty, loud, proud (and heartbreaking and infuriating with it). Rages against systems once meant to help people that have become machines intended to crush them. I’m “biast” (pro): I’m a raging angry lefty

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

I’ve often said that there’s no such thing as “just a movie,” and it’s true. Even the most ineptly produced piece of disposable cinematic junk does not spring from a cultural vacuum… and in fact, entertainment deliberately offered up as mindless pabulum can be the most revealing about the underlying unspoken assumptions upon which our society operates.

But when I say that I, Daniel Blake is not just a movie, I’m talking about something on a whole ’nother level. This is a fictional story, yes, but it is about truth with a capital T,...

Bulgarian drama won the Golden Leopard as well as Best Actress for star Irena Ivanova.

Bulgarian director Ralitza Petrova’s debut feature Godless has won the top prize, the Golden Leopard, at the 69th Locarno Film Festival.

The drama also took the Best Actress award for Irena Ivanova’s performance as a nurse looking after elderly patients with dementia in a remote Bulgarian town.

In addition, the production by Klas Film’s Rossitsa Valkanova with Denmark’s Snowglobe and France’s Alcatraz Films and Film Factory, received the Ecumenical Jury’s Prize, which comes with a cash award of $20,500 (CHF20,000).

The screenplay for Godless - which is being handled internationally by Greek-based Heretic Outreach - had been supported by Torino FilmLab’s FrameWork, Sarajevo’s CineLink and the Women in Film Finishing Fund in Los Angeles.

“This prize was unusual among juries because it was a unanimous decision between all the members of our team,” the International...

Cinemax has had great success with its recent run of original programming. First, there was Steven Soderbergh’s historical medical drama “The Knick,” which concluded its second season last year, and then supernatural horror series “Outcast,” which will conclude its debut season on August 12th. Now, the network is set to debut its new crime drama “Quarry,” loosely based on the series of novels by mystery writer Max Allan Collins.

Read More: ‘Quarry’ Trailer: Logan Marshall-Green Is a Wayward Vietnam Veteran in Cinemax’s Drama Series

The series follows Mac Conway (Logan Marshall-Green), a Marine who returns home to Memphis from Vietnam in 1972 and finds himself shunned by his family and demonized by the public. Alienated by his surroundings and other people, Conway becomes drawn into an underground network of contract killers that spans the length of the Mississippi River. The series also stars Jodi Balfour (“The Best Laid Plans...

Read More: Venice Champ 'Court' Acquired by Zeitgeist Films Venice Critics' Week, an independent section of the Venice Film Festival, has announced its lineup of debut features that will be in competition alongside official selections for the festival's Lion of the Future award, worth $100,000. The 30th edition of Venice Critcs' Week will also open with a tribute to Scottish director and actor Peter Mullan ("My Name is Joe," "Trainspotting"), who will have his 1998 directorial debut "Orphans" screened. The seven works in competition have been selected by Italian film critic Francesco Di Pace. All synopses have been provided by the Venice Critics' Week website. "Banat" Director: Adriano Valerio From Puglia to Romania through a reverse migration process, agronomist Ivo drags with him the destiny of Clara. "Montanha" Director: João Salaviza David, a 14 year old boy who is living a crucial moment of his existence,...

All week long our writers will debate: Which was the greatest film year of the past half century. Check here for a complete list of our essays. Just one glance at the Oscar nominees for 1998 might make it seem less a questionable choice for “best year in film” — and more an insane one. Instead of a 1974 – The Godfather II, The Conversation, Chinatown, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, etc – or even a 1994, where Shawshank, Quiz Show, and Pulp Fiction lost to Gump – you choose a year where the Oscars would allow Roberto Benigni to climb atop both the figurative and literal chairs of the Shrine? Fine, step away from the Oscars. Would you still celebrate a year that saw not one, but two movies about asteroids threatening the Earth? A year that saw such scars carved across cinematic history as Patch Adams, My Giant, Stepmom, and Krippendorf’s Tribe? It bears repeating: Krippendorf’S Tribe?...

A tale told in two volumes and eight chapters, Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac finally has a trailer that encapsulates the double release about one woman’s erotic journey. “My name is Joe, and I'm a nymphomaniac… and I love my dirty, filthy lust,” Charlotte Gainsbourg’s self-described sex addict utters at a wide-eyed support group in this new exclusive TV spot. “There was a world I had to explore,” she tells us as scenes of her character bent over a sofa, about to be whipped, play on. Of course, it wouldn’t be von Trier without tongue planted firmly in cheek, which we get a taste for when Jamie Bell’s “K” quips back to the wriggling, shrieking Joe: “Most people don't scream until I hit...

Read More...

Ken Loach, the realist director who has dramatized the plight of people living on the fringes of society in such films as “My Name is Joe” and “Sweet Sixteen,” will be honored with the Honorary Golden Bear award for lifetime achievement at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival. Also read: Ken Loach Slams Margaret Thatcher, Says Funeral Should Be ‘Privatized’ In a career that has spanned more than four decades, Loach’s films have examined homelessness, incarceration, drug abuse in an unflinching documentary-like style. They form an indelible portrait of working class England, but Loach’s gaze has moved beyond his native country.

Homage to the British filmmakers work to feature at the festival in February, where he will receive an honorary Golden Bear.

British director Ken Loach is to be awarded the Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 6-16).

The award ceremony will be accompanied by a screening of Raining Stones, Loach’s film about a man who makes disastrous choices in trying to raise the money for his daughter’s first Communion dress. It won the jury prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.

Berlin will also host a homage to Loach’s work, including 1966 TV drama Cathy Come Home, about a young mother who becomes homeless after her husband loses his job.

It was seen by 12 million people on its first broadcast - a quarter of the UK population - and is regularly cited as one of the best, most influential British TV dramas and led to the setting up of the...

In case you’re out of the loop (and if you’re a fan of the Outlander series, I’m rather certain that you aren’t), Starz is bringing you an Outlander TV series in 2014, and you now have a couple more names to add to your list.

Graham McTavish will be playing Dougal MacKenzie, and Gary Lewis is Colum MacKenzie.

It’s alt-fiction, time travel, bodice-ripping, Scottish warfare… ok, actually, I barely know what it is. But, I know Diana Gabaldon’s series is massively popular, and we have another cable network hoping to spin a series into the next thing everyone has to talk about. The cast seems to be shaping up nicely.

Starz in association with Sony Pictures Television has announced today that Graham McTavish (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, “24”) will play Dougal MacKenzie and Gary Lewis (Billy Elliot, Gangs of New York) will play Colum MacKenzie...

Ken Loach will retire from making feature-length films after he completes his latest project Jimmy Hall.

According to Loach's long-time producer Rebecca O'Brien, the critically-acclaimed director is "unlikely" to continue making films for the big screen, but will still direct documentaries and TV programmes.

"This is probably the last narrative feature for Ken," O'Brien told Screen Daily.

"There are a few documentary ideas kicking around, and that will probably be the way to go, but this is a serious period drama with a lot of moving parts so it's a big thing to put together. I think we should go out while we're on top."

She continued: "It's such a huge operation and Ken doesn't sit in a director's chair, telling people what to do; he runs around. It requires a lot of physical and mental stamina. Realistically, I'd be very surprised if we made another feature after this one.

Exclusive: Jimmy’s Hall, which has begun shooting in Ireland, is likely to be Ken Loach’s last narrative feature - but he will continue to direct documentaries.

Ken Loach’s upcoming drama, Jimmy’s Hall, will likely be his last, according to regular producer Rebecca O’Brien.

“This is probably the last narrative feature for Ken,” O’Brien told ScreenDaily. “There are a few documentary ideas kicking around, and that will probably be the way to go, but this is a serious period-drama with a lot of moving parts so it’s a big thing to put together. I think we should go out while we’re on top.”

O’Brien, who has produced more than a dozen features with Loach since 1990, said that the 77 year-old director is likely to continue to make documentaries and TV work but that he is “unlikely” to make another narrative feature.

“It’s such a huge operation and Ken doesn...

Exclusive: Jimmy’s Hall, which has begun shooting in Ireland, is likely to be Ken Loach’s last narrative feature - but he will continue to direct documentaries.

Ken Loach’s upcoming drama, Jimmy’s Hall, will likely be his last, according to regular producer Rebecca O’Brien.

“This is probably the last narrative feature for Ken,” O’Brien told ScreenDaily. “There are a few documentary ideas kicking around, and that will probably be the way to go, but this is a serious period-drama with a lot of interconnecting elements so it’s a big thing to put together. I think we should go out while we’re on top.”

O’Brien, who has produced more than a dozen features with Loach since 1990, said that the 77 year-old director is likely to continue to make documentaries and TV work but that he is “unlikely” to make another narrative feature.

“It’s such a huge operation and Ken doesn...

If you've been following the ongoing saga of Ghost Brothers of Darkland County from Stephen King, John Mellancamp, and T Bone Burnett, here's some new news about the project: This week it's being released as an illustrated interactive digital book with exclusive video and graphics.

Sounds cool, right? Hopefully you have iBooks because it was created especially for that particular app. It's marks King's first digital book conceived and designed especially for Apple's iBooks. Also, a 20-city tour of the play is kicking off in October.

From the Press Release:

Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (Hear Music/Concord Music Group), the long-awaited Southern Gothic supernatural musical from co-conspirators Stephen King, John Mellencamp and T Bone Burnett, will be released as an illustrated digital book created and designed especially for Apple's iBooks on June 3rd, 2013. Blending the special project’s Stephen King-penned libretto, original songs and lyrics written by John Mellencamp,...

One truly great thing we have here in Britain is our film Industry. We have made some of the greatest films of all time on our Isles, films such as Trainspotting, Withnail & I, The Ladykillers and so on. Conversely, we then have the hidden gems that seem to go unnoticed by the rest of the world.

I know there will be a lot of people reading this article who probably have seen all five of these films and wouldn’t class them as underrated – this is just my personal pick. If it was up to me, everybody would have seen these 5 films at least once in their life.

Here are 5 underrated British classics you need to watch…

5. My Name Is Joe

My Name Is Joe is one of Ken Loach’s finest achievements. It’s the story of Joe Kavanagh (Peter Mullan), a reformed alcoholic who can’t forget that he once hit a woman.

It seems like we've been talking about the Stephen King/John Mellencamp collaboration Ghost Brothers of Darkland County for years now, but finally we can all get a look - and listen - at it when a deluxe edition DVD/CD is released next year.

Per Rolling Stone, the DVD/CD, featuring the soundtrack, handwritten lyrics, and a mini-documentary about the making of the musical, is hitting shelves on March 19, 2013. The soundtrack features guest singers Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Taj Mahal, Kris Kristofferson, and Mellencamp himself. See the full track listing and listen to Costello's "That's Me" below.

Track Listing:

"That's Me," Elvis Costello

"That's Who I Am," Neko Case

"So Goddamn Smart," Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin, Sheryl Crow

"Wrong, Wrong, Wrong About Me," Elvis Costello

"Brotherly Love," Ryan Bingham, Will Dailey

"How Many Days," Kris Kristofferson

"You Are Blind," Ryan Bingham

"Home Again," Sheryl Crow, Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin,...

The top three won't budge, thanks to distributors wary of Euro 2012, while Rock of Ages crumbles and Red Lights flickers out

The immovable objects

For the third successive week, the top three places at the UK box-office are occupied by Prometheus, Men in Black 3 and Snow White and the Huntsman. The current market is the most becalmed since January 2010, when Avatar, Sherlock Holmes and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel dominated over a lengthy period. It's a case of strong product arriving for the half-term holiday, followed by two successive weekends of weaker films, with studios deterred by competition for eyeballs from Euro 2012 football. Prometheus leads the pack with a solid £19.45m, ahead of the likes of X-Men 3: The Last Stand (£19.22m) and Angels and Demons (£18.79m) in the all-time UK rankings. Top earner for the year remains The Avengers, in 17th place in the all-time chart, with £50.96m.

Ken Loach expertly combines comedy with politics – and a drop of the hard stuff – in a warm, deftly-plotted heist movie

Though not generally considered a comedy director, Ken Loach has made films that have contained some of the funniest moments and sequences of the past 50 years, and he has regularly employed club comedians in serious roles (Crissy Rock in Ladybird Ladybird, John Bishop in Route Irish) and developed the talents of people such as Ricky Tomlinson not previously considered comics. It's just that Loach is a master of sudden, disturbing shifts of mood, and the comedy is embedded in works that are often deeply sad or tragic. The football game, for instance, that Brian Glover referees in Kes is at once hilariously funny and a brilliant study of bullying, bad education and humiliation that illuminates the film's larger context.

The background of The Angels' Share, his latest collaboration with the...

Ken Loach has always had a flair for comedy. Whether it's the football match in Kes (one of Brian Glover's finest moments) or Ricky Tomlinson trying to catch a sheep in Raining Stones or Peter Mullan up to mischief in My Name Is Joe, his work abounds in lively, comic business. However, the humour is invariably counterbalanced by bleakness.

As much as people have quibbles with (much more democratically voted-on) awards like the Oscars, the decisions by juries at film festivals tend to be even more contentious. Usually drawn from practitioners and actors, with a few other curious participants in there as well, jurors often come in with their own likes, dislikes and agendas, and in the absence of a unanimous choice, often end up settling for compromises.

Indeed, this year's Cannes Film Festival jury president Nanni Moretti said, after the awards were unveiled this past weekend, that none of the them were unanimously voted for (word is Andrea Arnold in particular was a fervent opponent of Leos Carax's "Holy Motors"). That being said, their Palme D'Or winner was a popular one: while a few critics were rooting for "Holy Motors," almost everyone was delighted that Michael Haneke's "Amour" picked up the prize (his second in four years,...

The Talking City and Wolf’s Clothing

A little over two years ago, I was fortunate enough to attend a convention in Glasgow entitled Scottish Students on Screen, an event based around giving young film scholars a better familiarity with the workings of the British Film Industry and general movie making as well as a presentation of their own work. The highlight of this excursion, a series of talks and exhibits inter-cut liberally with group visits to a Wetherspoons chain drinking hole across the street, was the champagne event: an interview and Q&A with Peter Mullan.

To those unfamiliar with Mullan, he is a highly renowned actor and director best known to UK and international film goers as the face of various memorable movie psychos and extreme, flawed anti-heroes. A native of said city, Mullan is regarded as one of the finest acting exports Scotland has ever produced, and...

Chicago – She first finds him hiding behind a rack of clothes in her small charity shop. He’s the sort of a battered soul that her Christian instincts naturally desire to protect. The way he crouches on the floor and snarls at her causes him to resemble a threatening animal, but the calming prayer that she recites quickly reduces him to tears. Even before their eyes have had the chance to meet, a vital connection has been made between the two strangers.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

This is an early scene from the Sundance darling, “Tyrannosaur,” a brutally raw but deeply moving drama that marks the directorial debut of chameleon-esque character actor Paddy Considine. He appears to have followed in the footsteps of his fellow countryman, Tim Roth, whose first (and only) feature, 1999’s “The War Zone,” was uncompromisingly grim but also exhilaratingly well acted. It’s clear that both Roth and Considine...

★★★★☆ An unconventional, surreal comedy set in the suburbs of Glasgow, Orphans (1998) is Peter Mullan's first film behind the camera. Best known for his role as a recovering alcoholic in Ken Loach's My Name Is Joe (1998) and currently seen in Paddy Considine's Tyrannosaur (2011), Mullan's acting career has seen him working alongside some of the best British directors of recent times and their teachings have clearly helped him hone his talents to produce Orphans, his profoundly moving directorial debut.

Read more »...

Empire Magazine has issued the a list of what they determine to be the 100 Best British Films of All-Time and as far as how they decided "What was a British film?" it seems sort of arbitrary in some cases as the Terry Gilliam-directed Brazil and Michelangelo Antonioni-directed Blow-Up both make the list despite the helmers being of American and Italian descent. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 appears on the list as well, despite being a big Hollywood production. I'm not sure if you'll be nitpicking on those facts too hard though as I'm sure the overall placement of the films will bother you more in some cases. Personally, looking over the list there are a few films I just plain don't like. I know it's not popular to say it, but I don't like Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now and it's ranked number four...

Rage and violence are the subjects of Paddy Considine's directorial debut, but his film is more than a collection of miserablist cliches

Six years ago, Paddy Considine gave an interview to the Observer in which he talked about Dog Altogether, the short film he was developing with Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman; it was to be the starting point for this debut feature. Considine used an expression that was new to me: saying his lead character "goes out on the rage for the day". Not on the booze, or on the pull, but on the rage. Rage is not merely a boiling inner inferno, but a socially created habit, a taste, an addiction, something to be indulged or kept under control like drink: an addiction that erodes the spirit the way chronic bulimia rots the teeth. More than this, rage is a poisonous way of managing or regulating your relationship with the world.

In an opening scene which sees Peter Mullan’s character kick his faithful mutt to death after a night (and indeed day) on the tiles, it’s safe to say Paddy Considine’s feature-length directorial debut (he won a BAFTA in 2007 for the short which formed the basis of what’s on offer here) won’t be touted as the feel-good hit of the Autumn.

This is British cinema which has its roots firmly in that type of oppressive, downbeat kitchen sink drama which first gained prominence in the 60’s. It’s brought bang up to date here, with a steadfast refusal to pull any emotional punches. For those who have the stomach for miserablist drama (granted, this isn’t everyone’s idea of an evening out at the cinema), the film offers a gruelling, yet ultimately cathartic experience.

Mullen is Joseph, a jittery misanthropic alcoholic who has recently been...

The Film:

From Scotland–the land of shortbread, kilts, golf, and the Loch Ness Monster–comes a magnificent Killer Film in Neds from acclaimed actor (My Name is Joe) and director (The Magdalene Sister) Peter Mullan. In this Coming-of-Age story, criticism falls squarely upon the 1970′s style of UK secondary education in general, showing not much had changed since the kitchen-sink realism of “Look Back in Anger” two decades before. In classrooms, student regularly forward their hands for swats from their teachers; dons who exalt in learning also relish in their own whims and mean-spirited behavior; and persistent school-boy bullying occasions an adolescent Survival-of-the-Fittest, as John McGill (Conor McCarron) de-evolves from a brilliant student into a brutish punk. Director Mullan plays a drunken McGill père who at the dining room table asks this son to become the Angel of Death and “finish” him off.

An admission: Though in English, the...

Having recently doubled up as Philadelphia for a Brad Pitt zombie movie, the city is about to transform into San Francisco

Glasgow in the chill air of autumn may not be your idea of a dead ringer for northern California. But the makers of Cloud Atlas, the film adaptation of David Mitchell's 2004 novel, disagree.

This weekend film crews begin shooting San Francisco-set scenes in the city with Oscar-winner Halle Berry; the film also stars Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon and Ben Whishaw, and is co-directed by the Matrix trilogy's Wachowski brothers and German filmmaker Tom Tykwer.

It is only weeks since Glasgow was the location for another high-profile shoot, as scenes from World War Z, a zombie film starring Brad Pitt, were shot around the city's grandiose George Square, doubling as Philadelphia. Unlikely as it may seem, Glasgow appears to have become the latest favourite location for Hollywood producers.

Just...

From Peep Show to Rev, Olivia Colman usually brings out the comedy in her hapless onscreen husbands. But this time her role as an abused wife in Paddy Considine's Tyrannosaur is deadly serious

Olivia Colman says that the first time they met, she opened the door to Paddy Considine, grinned and that was that. He knew he wanted her. Love at first sight.

But it's not quite as dreamy as it sounds. Hannah, the female lead in Considine's first feature, Tyrannosaur, is possibly the most humiliated woman in the history of cinema. A good Samaritan who runs a local charity shop, she is verbally eviscerated by the raging stranger who bullies his way into her life. He berates her goody-goody Christianity and cosy values, while the reality is that at home her husband horrendously abuses her. Astonishingly, Colman manages to bring a sense of hope, transcendence even, to this unremittingly bleak world.

In 2007 Paddy Considine tried his hand at directing a short film with Dog Altogether. A few years later he decided to extend that into a full-length feature called Tyrannosaur (fellow Twitch contributor Aaron Krasnov got a chance to see and review the film back in March). A success at Sundance and soon to play at Tiff, this is looking like one of the year's must sees. To affirm that a new trailer for the film has been released online, courtesy of The Guardian, which you can view below. Starring the likes of Peter Mullan (My Name Is Joe) and Olivia Colman (UK comedy Peep Show), here is the synopsis: Joseph (Mullen) is a man plagued by violence and rage that is driving him to self-destruction....

Here at HeyUGuys we like to live our lives a quarter mile at a time, so we jumped at the opportunity to attend a Fast & Furious 5-themed, day-long event at the Santa Pod Raceway in Northamptonshire.

Europe’s first permanent drag racing venue, Santa Pod hosts both the first and last round of the European Drag Racing Championship, along with the British championships.

Am

An action-packed day, the typically dour British weather put paid to a potentially thrilling Drag Strip race during the first part of the morning, but a stunt fighting school was still on the agenda, to which our group of excitable bloggers were more than happy to participate in.

The class room session was delivered by two of the UK’s best-known stuntmen, Paul Heasman and Jason Hunjan. Smart gave us a brief guide and lesson in how to choreograph a fight scene, whilst Hunjan showed the...

Neds; Route Irish; Tangled; Barney's Version; Morning Glory; Get Low

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Peter Mullan's Neds (2010, Entertainment One, 18), a hard-hitting tale of "non-educated delinquents" street-fighting in 70s Glasgow, is just how stylishly cinematic it manages to be. Mullan may have earned his acting spurs working with Ken Loach on the gritty Cannes prize-winner My Name is Joe, but his directorial style here owes more to the colourful choreography of Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and Boyle's Trainspotting than to any grim social-realist tradition. He is greatly aided by the presence of screen newcomer Conor McCarron who excels as the super-bright schoolkid led astray by a classist slight which turns him against authority and education. It's that crushing sense of wasted youth married with a fearsomely kinetic portrayal of adolescent anarchy which powers the film's infernal combustion engine. Having wrestled with the Catholic church in The Magdalene Sisters,...

Entertainment One UK have given us this new exclusive clip from their movie, Neds, which is released on both DVD and Blu-ray this Monday, 23rd May. In the scene, we get to see John McGill walking through a park. Wee T then tries to mug him before realising who his brother is is backtracking rather swiftly!

Neds is written and directed by Peter Mullan and stars Marianna Palka, Steven Robertson, David McKay, Douglas Russell, Linda Cuthbert, Martin Bell. If you missed it, check out our interview with Peter Mullan & Conor McCarron for Neds that we conducted for the theatrical release.

Synopsis: Peter Mullan’s third feature as a writer and director, after Orphans and The Magdalene Sisters, returns him to the 1970s Glasgow of his youth, although the Trainspotting and My Name is Joe actor stresses that Neds (which stands for ‘Non-Educated Delinquents’) is ‘personal but not autobiographical’.

We meet confident,...

To celebrate the May 23rd release of Route Irish, we are giving away a copy of the film on DVD to 5 lucky winners. You can check out our interview with Ken Loach and Mark Womack from the theatrical release right here.

Directed by British film-making legend Ken Loach (Looking For Eric, The Wind that Shakes the Barley), Route Irish is a fast-paced conspiracy thriller that delivers a fresh insight into the moral and political corruption at play in Iraq. As well as exploring the abuses perpetrated by private security firms on the ground in Iraq, Loach, and long time collaborator, screenwriter Paul Laverty (Looking For Eric, My Name is Joe) examine the effects of combat on security contractors – the new ‘soldiers’ of modern warfare – who witness the horrors of combat and are subject to post-combat stress yet receive no support from the state upon their return home.

Fergus (Womack) returns...

“From Britain with Love” – a curated program of six independent UK films will screen across ten Us cities from June 11 – July 9, 2011, as part of a partnership between Film Society of Lincoln Center, UK Film Council and Emerging Pictures.

The showcase’s premiere constitutes a component of the Film Society’s celebration of its new Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, and the screenings will run contemporaneously to online webcast conversations with the film’s key talent.

A similar program, named “From Blighty with Love” was run across India in 2010.

Featured in the program are the following films, three of which will be making their Us premieres:

· A Boy Called Dad (80min)

Director: Brian Percival

The debut feature from BAFTA short film winner Brian Percival follows the story of a boy thrust into early adulthood when he becomes a father at the age of 14. Newcomer, Kyle Ward, delivers an impressive performance as...

“From Britain with Love” – a curated program of six independent UK films will screen across ten Us cities from June 11 – July 9, 2011, as part of a partnership between Film Society of Lincoln Center, UK Film Council and Emerging Pictures.

The showcase’s premiere constitutes a component of the Film Society’s celebration of its new Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, and the screenings will run contemporaneously to online webcast conversations with the film’s key talent.

A similar program, named “From Blighty with Love” was run across India in 2010.

Featured in the program are the following films, three of which will be making their Us premieres:

· A Boy Called Dad (80min)

Director: Brian Percival

The debut feature from BAFTA short film winner Brian Percival follows the story of a boy thrust into early adulthood when he becomes a father at the age of 14. Newcomer, Kyle Ward, delivers an impressive performance as...

Film Society of Lincoln Center, UK Film Council & Emerging Pictures presents From Britain With Love

June 11 . July 9

6 indie UK films will screen in 10 Us cities launching with Toast starring Helena Bonham Carter

The Film Society of Lincoln Center, UK Film Council and Emerging Pictures announced the details today for plans to showcase six recent independent films produced in the United Kingdom for a release in more than ten cities stateside from June 11 . July 9.

Curated by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and in partnership with Emerging Pictures – the largest all-digital specialty film and alternate content theatre network in the United States – the showcase will premiere at the Film Society of Lincoln Center on June 11 as part of the opening celebration for its state-of-the art Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center. Each of the films will be shown once at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and once downtown at the IFC Center.

Neds is a gritty period film set on the streets of 1970s Glasgow. Young John McGill is a good student, keeping his head down and trying not to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, a petty street criminal. However, with his home life deteriorating around him, the pull of gang membership and street cred becomes too hard to resist. Over the period of a few years (and with two young actors spanning the role's adolescence), John becomes one of the title characters: a Non Educated Delinquent. The realism of the film is impressive, and to learn more about its real-life inspiration, we sat down with actor/director Peter Mullan (actor: My Name is Joe, Trainspotting, Harry Potter, Boy A; director: The Magdalene Sisters, Orphans) during Neds' recent run at the Tribeca Film Festival. We also wanted to hear about his transformation into John's terrifyingly alcoholic father, and...

Of all the expressions Peter Mullan is capable of, it may be his smile that's most unsettling. An incredibly warm, gregarious and articulate gentleman in person, he's still intimidating in nearly every way, whether you're treated to his ferocious intellect on subjects as diverse as his approach to acting or the collapse of American imperialism or learn that he was part of a street gang in his teens. So when he grins you can't accept it as simply that, there has to be something more.

That's why "Neds," Mullan's third film as a writer/director, which is also his first to resemble a comedy - and an alternately hysterical and grim one at that, is a coming-of-age story that refuses to bask in any kind of nostalgia around 1970s Glasgow as it illustrates the plight of John McGill, a young man whose attempt to escape an abusive father and the...

Says 'Neds' Is 40% Autobiographical & Talks About His Issues With Arthouse Cinema From bit parts in "Braveheart" and "Shallow Grave" to winning Best Actor at Cannes for Ken Loach's "My Name Is Joe," not to mention working with Steven Spielberg on the upcoming "War Horse" and securing the role of Death Eater Yaxley for the final two "Harry Potter" films, Scottish actor Peter Mullan has come a long way in a short time. Though he's well-known for his work as an actor, he's had a passion for filmmaking ever since he was 19. His first feature, "Orphans," made rounds…...

Tribeca Film Festival has announced the line up of this years competition categories, including World Narrative Feature, World Documentary Feature, and the brand new Viewpoints which highlights eleven independent features and nine documentaries.

Tribeca Film Festival is one of leading film festivals located in New York City, showcasing many films not screened in any other U.S. film festival along with forty three world premieres and fifty four directorial debuts. Cameron Crowe’s premier of his concert documentary, The Union, will start the festival followed by a performance by Elton John. The rest of the lineup will be announced March 14th, and look out for coverage of the festival in April. Below you can find the complete press release on the lineup.

10th Tribeca Film Festival Announces World Narrative

And Documentary Competition Selections, And New Viewpoints Section

Tribeca Expands Awards Scope

2011 Festival to Present 88 Feature-Length and 61 Short Films April 20 – May...