Entertainment One has announced an upcoming documentary on Italian singer Andrea Bocelli. The documentary Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe is currently being filmed in Italy and the U.S. and will be released next year.
Directed by Cosima Spender, the film will go behind the scenes of Bocelli’s personal life and work, including never-before-seen insights into his story and off-the-stage scenes with his family and friends. Bocelli and his wife Veronica Bocelli are acting as executive producers alongside Scott Rodger, Francesco Pasquero, and eOne’s Tara Long, Malcolm Gerrie,...
Directed by Cosima Spender, the film will go behind the scenes of Bocelli’s personal life and work, including never-before-seen insights into his story and off-the-stage scenes with his family and friends. Bocelli and his wife Veronica Bocelli are acting as executive producers alongside Scott Rodger, Francesco Pasquero, and eOne’s Tara Long, Malcolm Gerrie,...
- 8/24/2023
- by Emily Zemler
- Rollingstone.com
Andrea Bocelli is getting the feature documentary treatment. The revered singer will be profiled in Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe, which eOne will produce and finance.
Blind since age 12, the Italian tenor has recorded some two dozen albums in the past three decades, bringing classical music to fans and charts around the world. He was a headliner at King Charles’ Coronation Concert this year, and Because I Believe will offer never-before-seen insights into his life story, with unprecedented access following him not only backstage but beyond the stage and into his private life with family and close friends.
“It’s always a privilege to be invited into someone else’s world,” said Cosima Spender, the film’s Italian director. “When that person is Andrea Bocelli, it’s an opportunity to delve into a landscape of sounds, memories and opera that are entirely unique to him. Andrea and I instantly recognized...
Blind since age 12, the Italian tenor has recorded some two dozen albums in the past three decades, bringing classical music to fans and charts around the world. He was a headliner at King Charles’ Coronation Concert this year, and Because I Believe will offer never-before-seen insights into his life story, with unprecedented access following him not only backstage but beyond the stage and into his private life with family and close friends.
“It’s always a privilege to be invited into someone else’s world,” said Cosima Spender, the film’s Italian director. “When that person is Andrea Bocelli, it’s an opportunity to delve into a landscape of sounds, memories and opera that are entirely unique to him. Andrea and I instantly recognized...
- 8/24/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Ex On The Beach will return to MTV, which renewed the dating series for seasons 5 and 6.
MTV also revealed that Season 5 will premiere on March 31 at 8 p.m. Et/Pt with a new crop of singles and exes. Featuring romantically embattled stars from Love Island, Big Brother, Too Hot To Handle, World of Dance, The Challenge, Double Shot at Love and Paradise Hotel, the cast navigates the excitement and heartbreak of romantic relationships with old lovers and new prospects while constantly being blindsided by the surprise arrival of their exes. As ex-lovers wash ashore, the daters will have to decide whether to rekindle a past flame or move on for good.
Season 5, which touts 12 hour-long episodes filmed at MTV’s global production villa on the Gran Canaria Island of Spain, will feature Derynn Paige, Ray Gantt, Da’Vonne Rogers, Bryce Hirschberg, David Barta, Kyra Green, Arisce Wanzer, Jonathan Troncoso, Ranin Karim...
MTV also revealed that Season 5 will premiere on March 31 at 8 p.m. Et/Pt with a new crop of singles and exes. Featuring romantically embattled stars from Love Island, Big Brother, Too Hot To Handle, World of Dance, The Challenge, Double Shot at Love and Paradise Hotel, the cast navigates the excitement and heartbreak of romantic relationships with old lovers and new prospects while constantly being blindsided by the surprise arrival of their exes. As ex-lovers wash ashore, the daters will have to decide whether to rekindle a past flame or move on for good.
Season 5, which touts 12 hour-long episodes filmed at MTV’s global production villa on the Gran Canaria Island of Spain, will feature Derynn Paige, Ray Gantt, Da’Vonne Rogers, Bryce Hirschberg, David Barta, Kyra Green, Arisce Wanzer, Jonathan Troncoso, Ranin Karim...
- 3/10/2022
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
Welcome to Career Watch, a vocational checkup of top actors and directors, and those who hope to get there. In this edition we take on Down Under actor Russell Crowe, who embodies road rage to terrifying effect in the first big movie to hit theaters in five months, “Unhinged.”
Bottom Line: Well past his movie-star prime, New Zealand-born Crowe, 56, is still chewing up screens in juicy character roles that show his range as an actor, from relentless Inspector Javert in Tom Hooper’s live musical “Les Miserables” (2012) to his Golden-Globe-winning turn as Fox News czar Roger Ailes in Showtime limited series “The Loudest Voice” (2019).
While Crowe is an exquisitely sensitive actor, his penchant for off-stage fisticuffs forged a bad-boy image that’s been hard to shake, merging with his most memorable action roles. “I am rage past the point of reason,” he promises in his promo clip, below. The risk...
Bottom Line: Well past his movie-star prime, New Zealand-born Crowe, 56, is still chewing up screens in juicy character roles that show his range as an actor, from relentless Inspector Javert in Tom Hooper’s live musical “Les Miserables” (2012) to his Golden-Globe-winning turn as Fox News czar Roger Ailes in Showtime limited series “The Loudest Voice” (2019).
While Crowe is an exquisitely sensitive actor, his penchant for off-stage fisticuffs forged a bad-boy image that’s been hard to shake, merging with his most memorable action roles. “I am rage past the point of reason,” he promises in his promo clip, below. The risk...
- 8/25/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Welcome to Career Watch, a vocational checkup of top actors and directors, and those who hope to get there. In this edition we take on Down Under actor Russell Crowe, who embodies road rage to terrifying effect in the first big movie to hit theaters in five months, “Unhinged.”
Bottom Line: Well past his movie-star prime, New Zealand-born Crowe, 56, is still chewing up screens in juicy character roles that show his range as an actor, from relentless Inspector Javert in Tom Hooper’s live musical “Les Miserables” (2012) to his Golden-Globe-winning turn as Fox News czar Roger Ailes in Showtime limited series “The Loudest Voice” (2019).
While Crowe is an exquisitely sensitive actor, his penchant for off-stage fisticuffs forged a bad-boy image that’s been hard to shake, merging with his most memorable action roles. “I am rage past the point of reason,” he promises in his promo clip, below. The risk...
Bottom Line: Well past his movie-star prime, New Zealand-born Crowe, 56, is still chewing up screens in juicy character roles that show his range as an actor, from relentless Inspector Javert in Tom Hooper’s live musical “Les Miserables” (2012) to his Golden-Globe-winning turn as Fox News czar Roger Ailes in Showtime limited series “The Loudest Voice” (2019).
While Crowe is an exquisitely sensitive actor, his penchant for off-stage fisticuffs forged a bad-boy image that’s been hard to shake, merging with his most memorable action roles. “I am rage past the point of reason,” he promises in his promo clip, below. The risk...
- 8/25/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Entertainment One has made its first acquisition of a U.K.-based television production company, it announced Monday. The independent studio has acquired a majority stake in British non-scripted specialist Whizz Kid Entertainment.
Founded by CEO Malcolm Gerrie and managing director Lisa Chapman in 2006, Whizz Kid has already collaborated with Entertainment One (eOne) on the U.S. adaptation of its format “Ex on the Beach” (pictured) for MTV, which eOne is producing. The U.K. company is also a leading live-event specialist, including producing the British Academy Film Awards for BAFTA and the BBC.
Gurrie and Chapman will continue to lead the team at Whizz Kid, reporting to eOne’s executive vice president, alternative, television, Tara Long. Long said the acquisition would give eOne “a strong footing in one of the most creative markets in the world and is a great first step in our ambitious non-scripted global expansion strategy.
Founded by CEO Malcolm Gerrie and managing director Lisa Chapman in 2006, Whizz Kid has already collaborated with Entertainment One (eOne) on the U.S. adaptation of its format “Ex on the Beach” (pictured) for MTV, which eOne is producing. The U.K. company is also a leading live-event specialist, including producing the British Academy Film Awards for BAFTA and the BBC.
Gurrie and Chapman will continue to lead the team at Whizz Kid, reporting to eOne’s executive vice president, alternative, television, Tara Long. Long said the acquisition would give eOne “a strong footing in one of the most creative markets in the world and is a great first step in our ambitious non-scripted global expansion strategy.
- 4/9/2018
- by Robert Mitchell
- Variety Film + TV
Marking its inaugural acquisition of a UK-based TV production entity, eOne has taken a majority stake in non-scripted outfit Whizz Kid Entertainment. The deal builds on a recent partnership between the two companies under which eOne has adapted a U.S. version of Whizz Kid format Ex On The Beach for MTV.
Further U.S. adaptations of Whizz Kid formats are also expected while the UK company will bring eOne’s U.S. slate to that market. The UK is already a hub for eOne’s Family and Brands business, with marquee property Peppa Pig, as well as film, scripted television and international distribution operations. The move also reps eOne’s continued growth and investment in the unscripted space and enhances development and production in new territories.
Founded in 2006, Whizz Kid’s other formats include Let’s Dance for BBC One and the Life On Screen specials for BBC Two.
Further U.S. adaptations of Whizz Kid formats are also expected while the UK company will bring eOne’s U.S. slate to that market. The UK is already a hub for eOne’s Family and Brands business, with marquee property Peppa Pig, as well as film, scripted television and international distribution operations. The move also reps eOne’s continued growth and investment in the unscripted space and enhances development and production in new territories.
Founded in 2006, Whizz Kid’s other formats include Let’s Dance for BBC One and the Life On Screen specials for BBC Two.
- 4/9/2018
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Can anyone beat Gary Oldman (“Darkest Hour“) for Best Actor at the Oscars? At this point it might take a miracle for anyone to upset the SAG, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Critics Choice winner. But if anyone can do it, it might not be who you’re thinking. After losing last year for “Fences” (2016) Denzel Washington could get retribution the same way he did 16 years ago when he cashed in an Oscar Iou for “Training Day” (2001). Can he beat the odds to snag his third trophy for playing a legal savant in “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”?
Washington won his first Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for “Glory” (1989). Twelve years later he became the first black performer since Sidney Poitier (“Lilies of the Field” in 1963) to win in the lead category, thanks to his role as a corrupt detective in Antoine Fuqua‘s police drama (incidentally, that was on the same...
Washington won his first Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for “Glory” (1989). Twelve years later he became the first black performer since Sidney Poitier (“Lilies of the Field” in 1963) to win in the lead category, thanks to his role as a corrupt detective in Antoine Fuqua‘s police drama (incidentally, that was on the same...
- 2/26/2018
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
Music documentary will mark the first feature for production company Whizz Kidd.
Indie TV production outfit Whizz Kidd Entertainemnt is working with Essential Arts Entertainment and Nitrate Film on the Ibiza - The Silent Movie, which is set to be released in 2017.
The film will provide a “compelling audiovisual journey into Ibiza’s bohemian soul”, featuring original material documenting the island’s club scene alongside unseen archive material.
Whizz Kid is in conversations with an undisclosed music label and a terrestrial television broadcaster about partnering on the project, which will have its own soundtrack.
Ibiza - The Silent Movie will be executive produced by Whizz Kid chief executive Malcolm Gerrie and agent David Levy. Essential Arts Entertainment’s Richard Conway and Andrew Curtis are the producers.
“It’s long been my dream to tell the real story of this magical island and I can’t think of a better person to realise that vision than Julien Temple,” Gerrie...
Indie TV production outfit Whizz Kidd Entertainemnt is working with Essential Arts Entertainment and Nitrate Film on the Ibiza - The Silent Movie, which is set to be released in 2017.
The film will provide a “compelling audiovisual journey into Ibiza’s bohemian soul”, featuring original material documenting the island’s club scene alongside unseen archive material.
Whizz Kid is in conversations with an undisclosed music label and a terrestrial television broadcaster about partnering on the project, which will have its own soundtrack.
Ibiza - The Silent Movie will be executive produced by Whizz Kid chief executive Malcolm Gerrie and agent David Levy. Essential Arts Entertainment’s Richard Conway and Andrew Curtis are the producers.
“It’s long been my dream to tell the real story of this magical island and I can’t think of a better person to realise that vision than Julien Temple,” Gerrie...
- 6/1/2016
- ScreenDaily
Music Documentary Ibiza - The Silent Movie will be directed by punk filmmaker Julien Temple.
Indie TV production outfit Whizz Kidd Entertainemnt is working with Essential Arts Entertainment and Nitrate Film on the Ibiza - The Silent Movie, which is set to be released in 2017.
The film will provide a “compelling audiovisual journey into Ibiza’s bohemian soul”, featuring original material documenting the island’s club scene alongside unseen archive material.
Whizz Kid is in conversations with an undisclosed music label and a terrestrial television broadcaster about partnering on the project, which will have its own soundtrack.
Ibiza - The Silent Movie will be executive produced by Whizz Kid chief executive Malcolm Gerrie and agent David Levy. Essential Arts Entertainment’s Richard Conway and Andrew Curtis are the producers.
“It’s long been my dream to tell the real story of this magical island and I can’t think of a better person to realise that vision...
Indie TV production outfit Whizz Kidd Entertainemnt is working with Essential Arts Entertainment and Nitrate Film on the Ibiza - The Silent Movie, which is set to be released in 2017.
The film will provide a “compelling audiovisual journey into Ibiza’s bohemian soul”, featuring original material documenting the island’s club scene alongside unseen archive material.
Whizz Kid is in conversations with an undisclosed music label and a terrestrial television broadcaster about partnering on the project, which will have its own soundtrack.
Ibiza - The Silent Movie will be executive produced by Whizz Kid chief executive Malcolm Gerrie and agent David Levy. Essential Arts Entertainment’s Richard Conway and Andrew Curtis are the producers.
“It’s long been my dream to tell the real story of this magical island and I can’t think of a better person to realise that vision...
- 6/1/2016
- ScreenDaily
Rochelle Humes and Alexander Armstrong will team up to host a new Frank Sinatra-themed competition.
Frank Sinatra: Our Way - a one-off special - will see seven relatively unknown acts from across the UK performing covers of Sinatra classics.
The winner will be chosen on the night by a panel of music producers, vocal coaches, critics, songwriters, musicians and celebrities, and will get the chance to perform at a special Frank Sinatra centenary concert in 2015.
Armstrong - who has recently performed Sinatra classics with his four-piece band - said that he is "so excited" to be involved in the competition.
"We're going to be throwing the spotlight onto some truly inspirational and dazzling acts from all around the country," he said. "I can't think of a better tribute to the legacy of one of the 20th century's most iconic figures."
Humes added: ""After hosting BBC Children in Need this year,...
Frank Sinatra: Our Way - a one-off special - will see seven relatively unknown acts from across the UK performing covers of Sinatra classics.
The winner will be chosen on the night by a panel of music producers, vocal coaches, critics, songwriters, musicians and celebrities, and will get the chance to perform at a special Frank Sinatra centenary concert in 2015.
Armstrong - who has recently performed Sinatra classics with his four-piece band - said that he is "so excited" to be involved in the competition.
"We're going to be throwing the spotlight onto some truly inspirational and dazzling acts from all around the country," he said. "I can't think of a better tribute to the legacy of one of the 20th century's most iconic figures."
Humes added: ""After hosting BBC Children in Need this year,...
- 11/28/2014
- Digital Spy
UK’s Sky Arts ‘Talks Music’ With The Stars Britain’s Sky Arts is launching a new music interview series, …Talks Music. The 10-part show will look at the careers of some of the world’s most iconic music legends. Confirmed guests so far include Nile Rodgers, Boy George, Jeff Beck and Blondie’s Deborah Harry and Chris Stein. Whizz Kid Entertainment is producing, with Malcolm Gerrie conducting the sit-downs in front of a live studio audience. Gerrie and guests will also take questions from the floor. Jeff Wurtz, of Inside The Actors Studio, is directing and Gerrie is exec producing. A fall debut is planned. Modern Times Group Buys Into UK Market For $23.6M Modern Times Group, an international broadcasting outfit that operates free and pay-tv in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Russia and Africa, has added a UK-based international distributor to its portfolio with the acquisition of 92.4% of Digital Rights Group...
- 6/14/2013
- by NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor
- Deadline TV
Sky Arts has announced new show ...Talks Music.
Each episode of the ten-part series will feature an hour-long exclusive interview with a guest who has been influential in the music industry.
Boy George, Jeff Beck, Nile Rodgers, Deborah Harry and Chris Stein have all signed up to appear on the show, which will be fronted by music TV producer Malcolm Gerrie.
The guests will discuss their passions and inspirations as well as the pressures of the industry.
The show will be filmed in front of a live studio audience of aspiring music students and fans, giving them the rare opportunity to pose questions to their idols.
Gerrie, who also acts as executive producer on the programme, said: "When Sky Arts asked me if I'd like to change my day job and talk to some of the coolest artists on the planet, in front of the camera not behind, I was pretty gobsmacked!
Each episode of the ten-part series will feature an hour-long exclusive interview with a guest who has been influential in the music industry.
Boy George, Jeff Beck, Nile Rodgers, Deborah Harry and Chris Stein have all signed up to appear on the show, which will be fronted by music TV producer Malcolm Gerrie.
The guests will discuss their passions and inspirations as well as the pressures of the industry.
The show will be filmed in front of a live studio audience of aspiring music students and fans, giving them the rare opportunity to pose questions to their idols.
Gerrie, who also acts as executive producer on the programme, said: "When Sky Arts asked me if I'd like to change my day job and talk to some of the coolest artists on the planet, in front of the camera not behind, I was pretty gobsmacked!
- 6/13/2013
- Digital Spy
Following on from my piece concerning the Best Picture statistics here is a look at some stats for the Best Lead Actor category and how they may favour or hinder this year’s five nominees.
The Age Game:
Adrien Brody is the only man in history to win this category under the age of thirty with his 2003 lead actor Oscar for The Pianist. Two thirty year olds have also won the prize with Marlon Brando’s 1954 win for On the Waterfont and Richard Dreyfuss’s 1977 win for The Goodbye Girl. This statistic does not bode well for nominated actor Jesse Eisenberg who is just twenty seven years of age and would become the category’s youngest ever winner were he to triumph on the night. It is also not a great piece of foreshadowing for the thirty two year old nominee James Franco.
The average age of the lead actor...
The Age Game:
Adrien Brody is the only man in history to win this category under the age of thirty with his 2003 lead actor Oscar for The Pianist. Two thirty year olds have also won the prize with Marlon Brando’s 1954 win for On the Waterfont and Richard Dreyfuss’s 1977 win for The Goodbye Girl. This statistic does not bode well for nominated actor Jesse Eisenberg who is just twenty seven years of age and would become the category’s youngest ever winner were he to triumph on the night. It is also not a great piece of foreshadowing for the thirty two year old nominee James Franco.
The average age of the lead actor...
- 2/18/2011
- by Laurent Kelly
- Obsessed with Film
Radio 4's Mark Lawson runs into trouble after detecting 'hints of Irish' in Russell Crowe's northern accent for Robin Hood
As Hollywood stars go, Russell Crowe is of the more opinionated variety. Just ask TV producer Malcolm Gerrie. So you could forgive Mark Lawson a little trepidation when he suggested to the actor that his accent in Robin Hood had "hints of Irish". The result: radio gold.
Lawson questioned Crowe for BBC Radio 4's Front Row. The Australian star was already in a bad mood after a book claimed he had refused to say one of the most famous lines in his Oscar-winning turn in Gladiator. It was about to get worse (hear for yourself 5 mins 45 seconds in).
Lawson: "The accent you've given him, there are hints to me of Irish but what were you thinking of in those terms?"
Crowe: "You've got dead ears mate. You've seriously got...
As Hollywood stars go, Russell Crowe is of the more opinionated variety. Just ask TV producer Malcolm Gerrie. So you could forgive Mark Lawson a little trepidation when he suggested to the actor that his accent in Robin Hood had "hints of Irish". The result: radio gold.
Lawson questioned Crowe for BBC Radio 4's Front Row. The Australian star was already in a bad mood after a book claimed he had refused to say one of the most famous lines in his Oscar-winning turn in Gladiator. It was about to get worse (hear for yourself 5 mins 45 seconds in).
Lawson: "The accent you've given him, there are hints to me of Irish but what were you thinking of in those terms?"
Crowe: "You've got dead ears mate. You've seriously got...
- 5/14/2010
- by John Plunkett
- The Guardian - Film News
A new book claims the Australian actor was not a model of courtesy on the set of Ridley Scott's Gladiator
Russell Crowe threatened to kill a veteran producer with his bare hands during a 3am phone call while filming his Oscar-winning role in Gladiator, according to a new book. Branko Lustig, 77, a Holocaust survivor, immediately telephoned Steven Spielberg in Los Angeles and asked to leave the production.
The claims are made in Nicole Laporte's The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies and a Company called DreamWorks, which is published next month. It chronicles the history of the film studio, founded by Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen in 1994, which bankrolled Gladiator.
Crowe's exact words, according to the book, were "You motherfucker. I will kill you with my bare hands". He was apparently angry at Lustig's refusal to pay his assistants what the actor...
Russell Crowe threatened to kill a veteran producer with his bare hands during a 3am phone call while filming his Oscar-winning role in Gladiator, according to a new book. Branko Lustig, 77, a Holocaust survivor, immediately telephoned Steven Spielberg in Los Angeles and asked to leave the production.
The claims are made in Nicole Laporte's The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies and a Company called DreamWorks, which is published next month. It chronicles the history of the film studio, founded by Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen in 1994, which bankrolled Gladiator.
Crowe's exact words, according to the book, were "You motherfucker. I will kill you with my bare hands". He was apparently angry at Lustig's refusal to pay his assistants what the actor...
- 4/28/2010
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
The first group of celebrities competing in Let’s Dance For Sport Relief, have been announced today.
Katy Brand, Rufus Hound and Shappi Khorsandi represent the world of comedy, alongside some of the nations favourite Grumpy Old Women, Jenny Eclair, Linda Robson, Lesley Joseph and Susie Blake.
Also taking to the dance floor will be sporting greats such as footballers Peter Shilton and Rodney Marsh, snooker legends Willie Thorne and Dennis Taylor and comedians confirmed so far are Jack Dee and Frank Skinner.
This year’s contestants will be judged by an all-new and exciting panel that sees the judging line-up change for all four shows.
Claudia Winkleman and Steve Jones return to host the show which kicks off Saturday 20 February 2010 on BBC One.
Each week a celebrity act (a mix of solo dancers, duos and groups) will perform a number of famous dances such as Single Ladies (Beyonce), Greased Lightning...
Katy Brand, Rufus Hound and Shappi Khorsandi represent the world of comedy, alongside some of the nations favourite Grumpy Old Women, Jenny Eclair, Linda Robson, Lesley Joseph and Susie Blake.
Also taking to the dance floor will be sporting greats such as footballers Peter Shilton and Rodney Marsh, snooker legends Willie Thorne and Dennis Taylor and comedians confirmed so far are Jack Dee and Frank Skinner.
This year’s contestants will be judged by an all-new and exciting panel that sees the judging line-up change for all four shows.
Claudia Winkleman and Steve Jones return to host the show which kicks off Saturday 20 February 2010 on BBC One.
Each week a celebrity act (a mix of solo dancers, duos and groups) will perform a number of famous dances such as Single Ladies (Beyonce), Greased Lightning...
- 2/3/2010
- by Lisa McGarry
- Unreality
Hollywood star Russell Crowe made a secret visit to Britain last week - but steered well clear of the BAFTA awards ceremony on Sunday night. The Gladiator actor flew into the country to pay a visit to fiancee Danielle Spencer's grandparents in Yorkshire, but returned to Australia on Friday. He had been invited to attend the glittering gala - which netted his pal Nicole Kidman a Best Actress award - but had insisted he was too busy on his farm in Australia to go. Crowe, 38, had been the subject of a media furor at last years' ceremony - when he pinned British TV executive Malcolm Gerrie against a wall for cutting short his poetry-reading speech.
- 2/25/2003
- WENN
Hollywood hunk Russell Crowe will be allowed to read poetry at this year's BAFTA awards - despite his verse prompting a violent altercation at last year's bash. The Antipodean hell-raiser was angered after his reading of a poem as part of his acceptance speech for the Best Actor award at the awards last year was cut from the BBC network's TV broadcast. Crowe - who has reportedly curbed his errant ways since recently proposing to girlfriend Danielle Spencer - was so infuriated at the perceived snub that he famously pinned BBC producer Malcolm Gerrie to a wall. However, the BBC have now stated that any verse Crowe wishes to read out at the London bash this year will be fully included in their program. A source on the show says, "Russell has been asked to present an award this year and they have said he can read his poetry without it being cut out. The move has been OK'd be Malcolm Gerrie, who is producing again."...
- 1/23/2003
- WENN
Hollywood star Russell Crowe will be on his best behavior at this years' British BAFTA awards - following last year's incident when he attacked a TV executive. Fiery Crowe was up in arms at the glittering ceremony in 2002 - he pinned Malcolm Gerrie to the wall and abused him for editing a poem from his acceptance speech. The ruckus was blamed for Crowe's failure to win the Best Actor Oscar the following month. However, newly-engaged Crowe is welcome at this year's event after assuring organisers he will toe the line. A source says, "He sees it as a good opportunity to show off how much he has grown up."...
- 1/20/2003
- WENN
Irreverent Russell Crowe parodied himself and his poetic bust-up at the BAFTAs, at yesterday's Oscar-nominees luncheon in Beverly Hills. The temperamental New Zealander picked on producer Malcolm Gerrie after the BAFTA awards in London last month after a poem he read as part of his Best Actor acceptance speech was cut from the TV broadcast. But, although Crowe was annoyed on the night, he has already started laughing about the incident. Upon arrival at the luncheon, Crowe said, "I might do some poetry for you: There was a young man from Australia, who painted his a**e like a dahlia. The colour was fine, likewise the design, but the aroma, that was a failure."...
- 3/13/2002
- WENN
Hollywood bullyboy Russell Crowe will have his Oscar acceptance speech cut short - if he starts reciting poetry. The Antipodean attacked British TV executive Malcolm Gerrie last month, after the BBC network omitted some footage of Crowe reciting a poem during his Best Actor acceptance speech at London's Bafta Awards, from their broadcast. However, Academy Awards director Louis Horvitz has vowed to repeat the performance if Crowe, nominated for his performance in A Beautiful Mind, repeats his. Horvitz jokes, "I'll be safe in my car!"...
- 3/11/2002
- WENN
Longtime Oscars producer Gil Cates has offered Russell Crowe support after he attacked BAFTA boss Malcolm Gerrie for cutting short his acceptance speech. While Cates, who has produced 10 Oscar broadcasts, doesn't approve of Crowe physically challenging Gerrie after a poem he read was cut from the TV broadcast of the BAFTAs last month, he thinks the Aussie has every right to be upset. He says, "In a way he's right. People want to hear those remarks from the winners. That's why they're watching. I let Al Pacino talk for two minutes when he won."...
- 3/6/2002
- WENN
Annoyed Russell Crowe threw a party so friends could finally hear his BAFTA poem broadcast on Australian television - only for it to be cut again. The astonished star, who went berserk when the poem was edited out of the British TV coverage of the awards in Britain, had been promised his Best Actor speech would be screened in full during the Australian broadcast. So he invited pals to hear at his farm near Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. But once again, the footage of his poem was missing from the final cut. According to British newspaper The Sun, a source says, "The party came to an abrupt halt. Russell couldn't believe the poem was axed again. He went sulky at first, then got angry." Crowe, 37, who won the BAFTA for his role in A Beautiful Mind, pinned TV executive Malcolm Gerrie to a wall after the poem was cut from the British Broadcasting Corporation's transmission. Malcolm says, "There were specific instructions Russell's poem would not be edited out of the Australian broadcast." But a spokesperson for ABC television in Australia says, "I don't know if it was cut out at this end or before it left Britain, but it was not in."...
- 3/5/2002
- WENN
Superstar actor Russell Crowe has apologized for pinning a television executive against a wall after last week's BAFTAs. In an astonishing phone call to British Broadcasting Corporation man Malcolm Gerrie, 51, Crowe said he was sorry for his behavior at last Sunday's event and promised to buy Gerrie a drink when he was next in London. He then spoke to Gerrie's 12-year-old son Oliver for 15 minutes, letting him in on the secrets behind the making of Roman epic Gladiator. At the BAFTAs - Britain's equivalent of the Oscars - Crowe was left ranting and raving after Gerrie was forced to cut short the broadcast of his acceptance speech for his Best Actor award. He pinned Gerrie against a wall and cursed at him, then refused to back down when asked about his behavior later in the week. But in the phone call on Saturday morning, Crowe told Gerrie, "I'm ringing to say I'm so sorry about what happened. My language was excessive because I was livid but I behaved inappropriately. I was over-reacting because I felt passionately about it at the time. I understand your family have been doorstepped by Australian television and I would like to know if there is anything I can do or say to make it up to them." Gerrie adds, "I told him I didn't get any satisfaction from the whole situation and if he wanted to make it up to any of the family he could speak to my son Oliver."...
- 3/4/2002
- WENN
Russell Crowe insists he was totally in the right when he roughed up a British TV executive. Crowe threw 51-year-old Malcolm Gerrie against a wall and verbally blasted him after director Gerrie cut part of his Best Actor acceptance speech from the TV broadcast of Sunday's BAFTA awards. And despite taking a lambasting in the British press for his behavior, the Australian actor feels no remorse. He insists, "He's not battered, he's not bruised, but I'm quite sure his ears are still ringing. Sure, I gave the guy a poke in the shoulders. He'd been trying to explain to me his problem with time, I was trying to explain to him that my problem was lack of respect. I have very little remorse for what I said. It wasn't about violence, it was about passion. I don't need or intend to apologize. Do I still think days later that the point I was making was valid? Absolutely." He continues, "Quite frankly, as the producer of a television awards show if you haven't allowed for at least two minutes per speech towards the end of your show, then you have done a very incompetent job. I'll grant you that my delivery may not have been perfect, but these are very adrenalized situations."...
- 2/28/2002
- WENN
The Isle of Wight Music Festival in 1970 made Woodstock seem like a intimate, elegant gathering. Some 600,000 people showed up at the remote island off England's south coast, accessible only by foot, to participate in the last concert event of its kind, at least until Woodstock '94. A financial disaster, it is of historical importance because it features the last stage performances by rock legends Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison, both of whom would die shortly thereafter. Other artists on display include the Who, Donovan, Ten Years After, Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and many others. Murray Lerner's film, compiled from 200 hours of film shot by nine crews at the fest, is receiving its U.S. theatrical premiere at New York's Film Forum.
Although it contains extensive performance footage, "Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival" is not so much a concert film as it is an all-inclusive documentary chronicling the misadventures and chaos that occurred. The proceedings are often hilarious, with the concert promoters desperately trying to forestall financial ruin by begging the crowd to pay the admission fee and not destroy the premises (only about 10% wound up paying). Among the interviewed subjects are a former naval intelligence officer who sees the festival as part of a Communist plot and a hippie who calmly discusses his decision to give drugs to his young child "so he won't feel left out." One of the concert promoters is interviewed while sitting on the toilet. At one point, an announcement is made that the police are offering an amnesty for any drugs turned in; not one person takes them up on it.
The musical performances range from brilliant to pathetic. The Who turn in one of their very best shows (recently released as a double CD on Legacy), as indicated here by their blazing renditions of "Young Man Blues" and "Naked Eye". Jimi Hendrix is at his charismatic best doing "Voodoo Chile" and "Foxey Lady", Free deliver their hard-rocking "All Right Now", Jethro Tull perform a rambunctious "My Sunday Feeling", and the Doors mesmerize with "The End". On the other hand, there's Tiny Tim warbling "There'll Always Be an England", Kris Kristofferson walking off the stage in a huff shortly into "Me and Bobby McGee", and Joni Mitchell tearfully imploring the audience not to misbehave.
Ultimately, though, the hysterical scenes backstage are what make "Message to Love" so hilariously riveting. Watching the promoters desperately trying to get a handle on the situation -- and slipping further into chaos -- it's as if the idealism of the '60s is evaporating right in front of your eyes.
MESSAGE TO LOVE: THE ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL
A Strand Releasing release
A Castle Music Pictures presentation
in association with Initial Film and Television
and the BBC
Director-producer:Murray Lerner
Executive producers:Geoff Kempin, Rocky Oldham, Malcolm Gerrie, Avril MacRory
Photography:Andy Carchrae, Jack Hazan, Nic Knowland, Norman Langley, Murray Lerner, Richard Stanley, Charles
Stewart, Mick Whittaker
Editors:Einar Westerlund, Stan Warnow, Greg Sheldon, Howard Alk
Color/stereo
Running time -- 128 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Although it contains extensive performance footage, "Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival" is not so much a concert film as it is an all-inclusive documentary chronicling the misadventures and chaos that occurred. The proceedings are often hilarious, with the concert promoters desperately trying to forestall financial ruin by begging the crowd to pay the admission fee and not destroy the premises (only about 10% wound up paying). Among the interviewed subjects are a former naval intelligence officer who sees the festival as part of a Communist plot and a hippie who calmly discusses his decision to give drugs to his young child "so he won't feel left out." One of the concert promoters is interviewed while sitting on the toilet. At one point, an announcement is made that the police are offering an amnesty for any drugs turned in; not one person takes them up on it.
The musical performances range from brilliant to pathetic. The Who turn in one of their very best shows (recently released as a double CD on Legacy), as indicated here by their blazing renditions of "Young Man Blues" and "Naked Eye". Jimi Hendrix is at his charismatic best doing "Voodoo Chile" and "Foxey Lady", Free deliver their hard-rocking "All Right Now", Jethro Tull perform a rambunctious "My Sunday Feeling", and the Doors mesmerize with "The End". On the other hand, there's Tiny Tim warbling "There'll Always Be an England", Kris Kristofferson walking off the stage in a huff shortly into "Me and Bobby McGee", and Joni Mitchell tearfully imploring the audience not to misbehave.
Ultimately, though, the hysterical scenes backstage are what make "Message to Love" so hilariously riveting. Watching the promoters desperately trying to get a handle on the situation -- and slipping further into chaos -- it's as if the idealism of the '60s is evaporating right in front of your eyes.
MESSAGE TO LOVE: THE ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL
A Strand Releasing release
A Castle Music Pictures presentation
in association with Initial Film and Television
and the BBC
Director-producer:Murray Lerner
Executive producers:Geoff Kempin, Rocky Oldham, Malcolm Gerrie, Avril MacRory
Photography:Andy Carchrae, Jack Hazan, Nic Knowland, Norman Langley, Murray Lerner, Richard Stanley, Charles
Stewart, Mick Whittaker
Editors:Einar Westerlund, Stan Warnow, Greg Sheldon, Howard Alk
Color/stereo
Running time -- 128 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 12/26/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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