Stars shine in Glasgow

 

A host of star names will grace the Glasgow Film Festival red carpet as the festival returns for its 19th edition from 1 - 12 March.

Famous faces include:

 ·         Trainspotting and Line of Duty star Kelly Macdonald, joining BAFTA-winner Monica Dolan and director Carol Morley for a special International Women’s Day Gala premiere of Typist Artist Pirate King (8 March)

·         Two-time Oscar-nominee Emily Watson at the UK premiere of new drama God’s Creatures (2 March)

·         Game of Thrones and Braveheart actor James Cosmo at the UK premiere of his new romance My Sailor, My Love (3 March)

·         Star impressionist Alistair McGowan at the UK premiere of Mark Cousins new documentary My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock, featuring a pitch-perfect Hitchcock voiceover from McGowan (4 March)

·         Joe Thomas, The Inbetweeners and Fresh Meat star and alumni of the Isle of Skye-based Young Film Foundation will help launch the fourth edition of the unique talent scheme that aims to identify and support a new generation of screenwriting talent (9 March, part of GFF Industry Focus)

 

GFF23 will also welcome acclaimed and up-and-coming behind-the-camera talent including:

·         Glasgow writer-director Adura Onashile at the UK premiere of her feature debut, the Glasgow-filmed Girl (1 March). This is the first time a Scottish film has opened GFF and the festival is thrilled to welcome Adura to the red carpet alongside young star Le’Shantey Bonsu and local talent featured in the film.

·         Canadian actor and director Matt Johnson attending the UK premiere of his hotly anticipated tale of the rise and fall of a tech giant, Blackberry (3 March)

·         Fife director Andrew Cumming at the Scottish premiere of his highly anticipated Highlands-shot Stone Age horror The Origin (5 March)

·         US director Daniel Goldhaber at the UK premiere of his politically charged new eco-thriller How To Blow Up a Pipeline (2 March)

·         US director Muta’Ali Muhammad and Scottish broadcaster and writer Stuart Cosgrove at the World premiere of their new documentary Cassius X: Becoming Ali (8 March)

·         Director Chloé Raunet and protagonist Andrew John ‘W.I.Z’ Whiston at the World premiere of I Am Weekender, exploring the enigma that was the controversial and banned Acid House film Weekender (11 March)

·         The creators and cast at the UK premiere of one of the most viral movies of 2023, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (10 March)

RAI Festival back in Bristol

RAI Film Festival, which showcases groundbreaking documentary filmmaking from around the world, is back in Bristol after four years as it makes a welcome return with an exciting live programme of films, high-profile filmmaker events, workshops and exhibitions.

 

Live in Bristol takes place at the Watershed cinema and Arnolfini arts centre from 22 – 25 March, complementing RAI Film Festival 2023’s four-week online festival throughout March.

 

The in-person festival welcomes visitors from all over the world, as well as the local community in Bristol. Full festival pass holders access an online festival programme of over 80 films, and gain entry to all screenings and events in Bristol. Single tickets to live film screenings go on sale from 28 February.

 

The festival gathers storytellers from every corner of the world, whose films shine a light on the people, places and stories that are too often lost in the spotlight of global media.

 

Festival co-director, Caterina Sartori, said, “The return of a face-to-face festival is such a boost, allowing plenty of opportunities to socialise, network, and of course return to our beloved cinema and arts spaces in Bristol.”

Golden oldies - Genesis top the high earners list

 

Forbes Magazine's list of the 10 highest-paid entertainers over the last year includes filmmakers, musicians, TV creators and more – collectively earning about $1.35 billion – and it looks like longevity pays off big time in showbusiness.

Topping the list is the rock band Genesis ... coining $230 million after selling their back catalogue to Concord Music in September for a reported $300 million. Forbes says the $70 million difference represents fees to managers, agents and lawyers.  

At No 2 is Sting, earning $210 million. Last year, he also sold his and The Police’s music catalog for around the $300 million.

TV and film mogul Tyler Perry came in at number 3, pocketing an estimated $175 million from all his projects and his huge studio in Atlanta.

South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone came in at number 4 ahead of The Simpsons creators James L. Brooks and Matt Groening.

Brad Pitt was number 6 with $100 million, followed by the Rolling Stones, who at their advanced ages still earned $98 million last year from a European tour.

James Cameron -- now one of the highest-grossing directors of all times -- earned at least $95 million from Avatar: The Way of the Water to come in at No 8, followed by Taylor Swift with $92 million and Bad Bunny collecting around $88 million from his massive tour.

Simply the best - the critics' verdict

 

Writer and comedian David Mitchell had some trenchant things to say in his column in The Observer last week about awards ceremonies and the inclusion of Andrea Risborough in the list of best actress nominees.

He said he had not realised the Oscar system involved luxury dinners, private Academy screenings, meet-and-greets, splashy television spots and magazine profiles. He knew there was a ”bit of schmoozing” but not an official schedule during which film-makers were required to proclaim themselves deserving of an Oscar. Whoever decided awards should just watch the films and vote for what they thought was best, he said.

That is what some 120 or thereabouts of Britain’s film critics did last night when they held their annual Critics’ Circle Film Awards in London – they were honouring films and performances they had watched. I can assure you there is no schmoozing.

Both Marianne Gray, who reviews for Movies1, and I chaired the awards for about ten years in total. The nominees were chosen by ballot and the second ballot was held to find a winner who was in due course invited to attend the awards ceremony. Sometimes the invitation was accepted and they turned up in person, sometimes they accepted on video from Hollywood because they were busy – not working on a film but doing that Oscar round of schmoozing.

One Oscar nominee this year who did attend, however, was Paul Mescal , in the best actor list for Aftersun. He has just ended a run in Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida in London and is shortly about to transfer in it to the West End.

Mitchell argued that the surrounding events at the Oscars undermined the integrity of the process. Well there are no surrounding events for the Critics’ Circle Film Awards so read the list of winners for what it is – the result of votes cast by an unbiased, uninfluenced electorate.

WILLIAM RUSSELL

• You can see the full list of Critics’ Circle award winners at https://movies1.tv/awards

I want to star in a rom-com, says tough guy Dave

 

Tough guy Dave Bautista, currently scaring everyone in the horror thriller Knock at the Cabin, has come clean about one of his greatest wishes – to land a lead role in a romantic comedy.

"I know I'm not your typical rom-com lead," the 54-year-old WWE star turned actor told the New York Post . "I’m a little rough around the edges." But he’s wondering just what it is about him that's keeping him from landing these parts. "I look in the mirror and I say, I ask myself, ‘Am I that unattractive? Is there something that unappealing about me that excludes me from these parts?"

Ultimately, he admitted that he doesn't know why it's not happening for him. "I don't know," he said. "It's just never come my way." But he also said he still has "high hopes," and he'll "just keep searching."