Juliet Bravo

Here's my Juliet Stevenson interview from this week's Sunday Times Culture.

Hey Hey, JJ

Here's my JJ Abrams interview in Sunday Times Culture.

The Day The Earth Stood Still

All Smiles Chez JJ

Just got off the phone with JJ Abrams, director of Star Trek, creator of Lost, Alias, Cloverfield, Fringe, etc. Historic date today as Star Trek opens globally. At the time of speaking it had done a full day's business in Australia/New Zealand and the matinees had already concluded across the UK and Europe. East Coast USA was just rolling up the shutters. An effervescent chap but incredibly modest. Breakfast time in LA, he was just going to hang out with his son, who's off school, wait for the studio returns tomorrow morning and "Hope that people like it." If the reviews are anything to go by, he'll be sleeping soundly.

Space Academy: First Assignment

Star Trek

As mentioned previously, I was in LA doing interviews for the new Star Trek film back in March. It has yielded something of journalistic bonanza, with not just my Sunday Times Culture feature but spin-offs for the Daily Mail, Yorkshire Post, Scotland's Sunday Herald. and a syndicated piece on Simon Pegg which has cropped up all over the place, including such far-flung outposts as Malaysia's The New Straits Times. More will follow. With frothing advance reviews out there already (and from people who are normally quite restrained), it's a rare and definite case of "do believe the hype" for this film. And not a single trite Trek reference in this post (damn it Jim, I'm a journalist, not a cliché-monger).

And, purely gratuitously, did you ever see this Tenacious D tribute?

Desperately Seeking Screenplays

Matchmaking Heaven

You could be sitting on the hottest script ever written, but if you can't get connected with the right people, the chances of it ever getting made remain, sadly, zero. As part of the development of this website, we're trying to encourage writers, directors, producers, filmmakers in any capacity, to get in touch with others, get their stuff out there, share advice, just talk to people. If you have a screenplay you want read, post it here (remember to register if first, of course!). If you have a short film or feature you want viewed, link it here. Agents get inundated with stuff sent blind, so let's get creative.

Revenge Of The Nerds

Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Adaptation

Saw this truly charming film this week, which enjoyed its low-key UK premiere. In a nutshell, back in 1982, three kids from Mississippi set out to film their own tribute to Raiders Of The Lost Ark — not just a mess-around, play-acting version, but a serious shot-for-shot remake including all the stunts. It took them seven years, cost $5,000 and was all captured on a Betamax camcorder. 

Until it was unearthed in December 2002 and sneak-previewed at a film festival in Austin, it had long been forgotten about. But, lo and behold, Spielberg himself now hails it as the biggest professional accolade he has ever been accorded. The chaps themselves have since been hauled out of obscurity and have become filmmakers in their own right, with a Paramount production about their lives in the works to boot.

The end result is not just a staggering technical accomplishment, remarkable given that the boys were just 12 when they started making it, but is an enchanting journey through that endless summer of youth. 

Here's the weblink which leads to footage, interviews and articles. 

My own piece appears in The Sunday Times (Culture), Sunday (May 3).

Wildmutt

This Week's Reviews

Poor old Hugh Jackman. After that razzle-dazzle at the Oscars it's back to the day job.

Released — Friday, May 1

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Guardian

The Times

Daily Telegraph

Independent

Daily Mail

The Sunday Times

Observer

Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past

Guardian

Daily Telegraph

Daily Mail

The Sunday Times

Observer

Is Anybody There?

Guardian

The Times

Daily Telegraph

Independent

Daily Mail

The Sunday Times

Observer

Helen

Guardian

Independent

Observer

Brace Yourself For Melvin

Wheels Turn On Film Production

The interesting personal news this week is that my screenplay "Melvin Smarty" appears a good way down the road to being realised as a movie. For fear of tempting fate, I would hesitate to say it's a dead cert, and I've probably gone and done that just by talking about it here. But after numerous knock-backs over too many years, the long-suffering producers have the finances and director in place, scouted the California locations and met with a casting director. This is only the beginning of what will be a long old haul. Keep you posted.