I feel sorry for you, you zeros, you nobodies. What's going to live on after you die? Nothing, that's what!
This house will become a shrine! And punks and skins and Rastas will all gather round and all hold their hands in sorrow for their fallen leader! And all the grown-ups will say, 'But why are the kids crying?' And the kids will say, 'Haven't you heard? Rick is dead! The People's Poet is dead!'
And then one particularly sensitive and articulate teenager will say, 'Why kids, do you understand nothing? How can Rick be dead when we still have his poems?'.
Rik Mayall as Rick in The Young Ones
Rik Mayall has died at the age of 56.
As tributes pour in from the world of entertainment, Digital Spy pays homage to Rik in a way we hope that a man with an autobiography called Bigger than...
This house will become a shrine! And punks and skins and Rastas will all gather round and all hold their hands in sorrow for their fallen leader! And all the grown-ups will say, 'But why are the kids crying?' And the kids will say, 'Haven't you heard? Rick is dead! The People's Poet is dead!'
And then one particularly sensitive and articulate teenager will say, 'Why kids, do you understand nothing? How can Rick be dead when we still have his poems?'.
Rik Mayall as Rick in The Young Ones
Rik Mayall has died at the age of 56.
As tributes pour in from the world of entertainment, Digital Spy pays homage to Rik in a way we hope that a man with an autobiography called Bigger than...
- 6/9/2014
- Digital Spy
The director's new film is an elegy for pit workers, while up in the north-east the theme of this year's Av is 'extraction'. Together they explore the legacy of a hammer blow to workers' power
Film-maker Bill Morrison is feeling a little rueful. "Striking was once an effective means of leveraging power. Today's striking worker may feel fortunate to wake up and still have a job." He's reflecting on his film The Miners' Hymns, a collaboration with Icelandic musician Jóhann Jóhannsson, which trawls through hundreds of hours of archival footage of mines in the north-east of England to fashion an elegy for the workers, brass bands, local communities and unions that sustained the region throughout much of the 20th century. This month there will be many articles, radio programmes and TV documentaries marking the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the miners' strike: few will be as beautiful or as...
Film-maker Bill Morrison is feeling a little rueful. "Striking was once an effective means of leveraging power. Today's striking worker may feel fortunate to wake up and still have a job." He's reflecting on his film The Miners' Hymns, a collaboration with Icelandic musician Jóhann Jóhannsson, which trawls through hundreds of hours of archival footage of mines in the north-east of England to fashion an elegy for the workers, brass bands, local communities and unions that sustained the region throughout much of the 20th century. This month there will be many articles, radio programmes and TV documentaries marking the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the miners' strike: few will be as beautiful or as...
- 3/8/2014
- by Sukhdev Sandhu
- The Guardian - Film News
It's been a whopping 30 years since Spitting Image first hit our screens on ITV in 1984. The satirical puppet show quickly became one of the most-watched shows of the 1980s and early 1990s.
I wasn't able to fully appreciate the series when it was first on TV. When I watched it in the early '90s as a child, I found it funny mainly because of the silly puppets, even if I didn't quite understand what was going on. But in retrospective viewings, it still holds up as a genuinely hilarious satire of politics, entertainment, sport and general UK culture of the era.
It's quite incredible to think that Spitting Image hasn't been on air since 1996. To put that into perspective, the Spice Girls had only just been unleashed, Tony Blair hadn't been elected yet, and Lorde had only just been born.
As a show that is heavily reliant on topical...
I wasn't able to fully appreciate the series when it was first on TV. When I watched it in the early '90s as a child, I found it funny mainly because of the silly puppets, even if I didn't quite understand what was going on. But in retrospective viewings, it still holds up as a genuinely hilarious satire of politics, entertainment, sport and general UK culture of the era.
It's quite incredible to think that Spitting Image hasn't been on air since 1996. To put that into perspective, the Spice Girls had only just been unleashed, Tony Blair hadn't been elected yet, and Lorde had only just been born.
As a show that is heavily reliant on topical...
- 2/26/2014
- Digital Spy
Tomorrow People might have more shirtless Amell than Arrow, Dan Savage explains why monogamy discussions matter in marriage debate, Baroness comes out
At a fundraiser in Washington, D.C., Michelle Obama encountered a heckler who demanded action on an executive order barring discrimination against Glbt workers for federal contractors. But Flotus don’t play that. She came into the audience confronted the heckler and said “listen to me or you can take the mic, but I’m leaving. You all decide. You have one choice.”
The Los Angeles County school district is making an app available to seventh and ninth graders that will allow them to access their Std reports from certain clinics, then share them with specific people, SnapChat-style. The school district says that STDs are a problem in schools, and they’re just trying to make students safer, but I can’t imagine how conservatives are going to react.
At a fundraiser in Washington, D.C., Michelle Obama encountered a heckler who demanded action on an executive order barring discrimination against Glbt workers for federal contractors. But Flotus don’t play that. She came into the audience confronted the heckler and said “listen to me or you can take the mic, but I’m leaving. You all decide. You have one choice.”
The Los Angeles County school district is making an app available to seventh and ninth graders that will allow them to access their Std reports from certain clinics, then share them with specific people, SnapChat-style. The school district says that STDs are a problem in schools, and they’re just trying to make students safer, but I can’t imagine how conservatives are going to react.
- 6/5/2013
- by Ed Kennedy
- The Backlot
Feature Andrew Blair 6 Jun 2013 - 07:00
Andrew counters the Twelfth Doctor speculation with ten actors who could, but almost certainly won't be playing the next Doctor...
After the news of Matt Smith's departure broke on Saturday evening, fans took to Twitter (or were already on Twitter anyway) to propose possible replacements. The breadth and calibre of the actors suggested was reassuring – we have a long and plausible list of candidates for the Twelfth Doctor, still leaving space for a relative unknown to turn up at the last minute.
If anything, the sheer number of people who could, in the public's eyes, convincingly play the Twelfth (probably) incarnation of a fictional alien (probably) makes the pressure of casting harder. Doctor Who's casting director Andy Pryor has done a damn good job since 2005, though, and the process of giving the showrunners a shortlist of actors then letting them pick the...
Andrew counters the Twelfth Doctor speculation with ten actors who could, but almost certainly won't be playing the next Doctor...
After the news of Matt Smith's departure broke on Saturday evening, fans took to Twitter (or were already on Twitter anyway) to propose possible replacements. The breadth and calibre of the actors suggested was reassuring – we have a long and plausible list of candidates for the Twelfth Doctor, still leaving space for a relative unknown to turn up at the last minute.
If anything, the sheer number of people who could, in the public's eyes, convincingly play the Twelfth (probably) incarnation of a fictional alien (probably) makes the pressure of casting harder. Doctor Who's casting director Andy Pryor has done a damn good job since 2005, though, and the process of giving the showrunners a shortlist of actors then letting them pick the...
- 6/5/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Unemployment figures may be sneaking up, but worry not! Julian Clary has an opening he's desperate for you to fill.
On Sunday (June 2), Clary brings his second run of Position Vacant: Apply Within to an end with a closing show at London's Palace Theatre.
To mark the occasion, Digital Spy got in touch with Julian to talk gay marriage, Big Brother and Norman Tebbit, and here's what he had to say.
What's the show all about?
"It's Julian Clary's search for a husband among the audience. A crowd of men are herded onto the stage with a cattle prod and put into a sheep pen, and through a series of elimination rounds we end up with my husband for the evening. Then there's a rather beautiful wedding ceremony with confetti and bridesmaids and a bishop."
How much is it all about the laughs and how much it is a serious political point?...
On Sunday (June 2), Clary brings his second run of Position Vacant: Apply Within to an end with a closing show at London's Palace Theatre.
To mark the occasion, Digital Spy got in touch with Julian to talk gay marriage, Big Brother and Norman Tebbit, and here's what he had to say.
What's the show all about?
"It's Julian Clary's search for a husband among the audience. A crowd of men are herded onto the stage with a cattle prod and put into a sheep pen, and through a series of elimination rounds we end up with my husband for the evening. Then there's a rather beautiful wedding ceremony with confetti and bridesmaids and a bishop."
How much is it all about the laughs and how much it is a serious political point?...
- 5/30/2013
- Digital Spy
Oscar-winner Meryl Streep has come under fire for not mentioning Margaret Thatcher in her acceptance speech. The 62-year-old, who won the 'Best Actress' prize for her portrayal of Thatcher in The Iron Lady, thanked her colleagues and friends at Sunday night's ceremony. Former Conservative MP Norman Tebbit, a close aide to Thatcher within her cabinet between 1981 and 1987, criticised her decision not to pay credit to the former British Prime Minister. "I'm not at all surprised she (more)...
- 2/28/2012
- by By Paul Millar
- Digital Spy
One of Margaret Thatcher's former aides has criticised Meryl Streep for failing to mention the ex-British Prime Minister in her Oscars acceptance speech.
The Hollywood icon walked away with her third Academy Award after winning the Best Actress prize at Sunday's ceremony for her portrayal of the U.K.'s first female leader in The Iron Lady.
Streep thanked her husband, Don, and her Hollywood pals, but did not remember Thatcher in her emotional speech, and Lord Norman Tebbit, who served with Thatcher in government for six years, has been left fuming by the exclusion.
He tells Britain's The Sun, "I'm not at all surprised she didn't mention her.
"The film was about Meryl Streep, not Lady Thatcher. If Margaret Thatcher had been like the woman portrayed by Meryl Streep, she wouldn't have lasted six months as Prime Minister."
Meanwhile, Thatcher's former press spokesperson Sir Bernard Ingham also slammed the movie for focusing on her deteriorating health and battle with dementia.
He adds, "I don't propose to see somebody making money out of somebody's age. I think it demonstrates poor taste."...
The Hollywood icon walked away with her third Academy Award after winning the Best Actress prize at Sunday's ceremony for her portrayal of the U.K.'s first female leader in The Iron Lady.
Streep thanked her husband, Don, and her Hollywood pals, but did not remember Thatcher in her emotional speech, and Lord Norman Tebbit, who served with Thatcher in government for six years, has been left fuming by the exclusion.
He tells Britain's The Sun, "I'm not at all surprised she didn't mention her.
"The film was about Meryl Streep, not Lady Thatcher. If Margaret Thatcher had been like the woman portrayed by Meryl Streep, she wouldn't have lasted six months as Prime Minister."
Meanwhile, Thatcher's former press spokesperson Sir Bernard Ingham also slammed the movie for focusing on her deteriorating health and battle with dementia.
He adds, "I don't propose to see somebody making money out of somebody's age. I think it demonstrates poor taste."...
- 2/28/2012
- WENN
Close aide Cynthia Crawford laments film's lack of realism and says portrayal of Thatcher's dementia is 'disproportionate'
Margaret Thatcher's private secretary has become the latest member of the former prime minister's inner circle to label Oscar-tipped biopic The Iron Lady as a work of fantasy.
On Sunday, Meryl Streep's portrayal of Britain's longest serving postwar leader earned her a Golden Globe for best actress in a drama. Streep was revealed as a Bafta nominee this morning, and is seen by many as a clear frontrunner to take the best actress Oscar next month.
But Cynthia Crawford, who has worked for Thatcher since 1978 and still visits her every other week, said scenes in Phyllida Lloyd's film depicting her suffering from dementia in later life were highly inaccurate.
"I can assure you that the domestic scenes, and in fact all the domestic scenes in the film, are just absolutely inconceivable,...
Margaret Thatcher's private secretary has become the latest member of the former prime minister's inner circle to label Oscar-tipped biopic The Iron Lady as a work of fantasy.
On Sunday, Meryl Streep's portrayal of Britain's longest serving postwar leader earned her a Golden Globe for best actress in a drama. Streep was revealed as a Bafta nominee this morning, and is seen by many as a clear frontrunner to take the best actress Oscar next month.
But Cynthia Crawford, who has worked for Thatcher since 1978 and still visits her every other week, said scenes in Phyllida Lloyd's film depicting her suffering from dementia in later life were highly inaccurate.
"I can assure you that the domestic scenes, and in fact all the domestic scenes in the film, are just absolutely inconceivable,...
- 1/17/2012
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Meryl Streep and state papers may portray a more nuanced Thatcher – but her divisive legacy should not be rewritten
My new year's resolution for 2012 is easily stated. Avoid lazy labels and simplistic stereotypes in political commentary, even when it is about Margaret Thatcher. As with all such resolves, this one is easier to say than to do, since few reputations have become so set in stereotypical aspic as Thatcher's. She remains worshipped on the right and excoriated on the left, with almost no middle ground. What more is there to say?
Quite a large amount, in fact, if the state papers from 1981 – released by the National Archives at midnight last night under the 30-year rule – are a guide. Documents from one of the most embattled early years of Thatcher's 11-year premiership depict a rather more nuanced and pragmatic politician than the officially sanctioned labels of visionary or villain would allow.
My new year's resolution for 2012 is easily stated. Avoid lazy labels and simplistic stereotypes in political commentary, even when it is about Margaret Thatcher. As with all such resolves, this one is easier to say than to do, since few reputations have become so set in stereotypical aspic as Thatcher's. She remains worshipped on the right and excoriated on the left, with almost no middle ground. What more is there to say?
Quite a large amount, in fact, if the state papers from 1981 – released by the National Archives at midnight last night under the 30-year rule – are a guide. Documents from one of the most embattled early years of Thatcher's 11-year premiership depict a rather more nuanced and pragmatic politician than the officially sanctioned labels of visionary or villain would allow.
- 12/30/2011
- by Martin Kettle
- The Guardian - Film News
Wishy-washy and unfocused, Phyllida Lloyd's Margaret Thatcher biopic fails to embody the indomitable spirit of its subject
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Entertainment grade: C+
History grade: C
Margaret Thatcher was prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990.
Structure
The Iron Lady tells its story as a series of flashbacks experienced by the ageing Thatcher (Meryl Streep), suffering from dementia and haunted by the imagined ghost of her late husband, Denis (Jim Broadbent). Streep is terrific, carrying off Thatcher in her prime and Thatcher in her dotage with equal aplomb. Regrettably, however, so much of the film's screentime has been devoted to the dotage – and so many of the flashbacks are, unlike Thatcher herself, preoccupied with her role as a wife and mother – that little time is left for the interesting stuff. A few of those who are relegated to blink-and-you'll-miss-'em status, or don't appear at all: Cecil Parkinson, Nigel Lawson,...
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Entertainment grade: C+
History grade: C
Margaret Thatcher was prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990.
Structure
The Iron Lady tells its story as a series of flashbacks experienced by the ageing Thatcher (Meryl Streep), suffering from dementia and haunted by the imagined ghost of her late husband, Denis (Jim Broadbent). Streep is terrific, carrying off Thatcher in her prime and Thatcher in her dotage with equal aplomb. Regrettably, however, so much of the film's screentime has been devoted to the dotage – and so many of the flashbacks are, unlike Thatcher herself, preoccupied with her role as a wife and mother – that little time is left for the interesting stuff. A few of those who are relegated to blink-and-you'll-miss-'em status, or don't appear at all: Cecil Parkinson, Nigel Lawson,...
- 12/29/2011
- by Alex von Tunzelmann
- The Guardian - Film News
Meryl Streep has spoken of how her admiration for Lady Margaret Thatcher grew as she made a film about Britain's former prime minister.
There has been praise - and talk of an Oscar win - for Streep's role in The Iron Lady, although the controversial movie has drawn criticism from the ex-Tory party leader's former colleagues.
The actress says making the film has given her greater respect for a woman who succeeded against overwhelming odds.
"The more I learned, the more my view of her changed. Wherever you stand on her policies, and many people didn't like her, the scale of her influence and the fact that she got things done was extraordinary," she told the Radio Times.
"And the mental, physical, spiritual energy that it took to live every one of those days as head of the government was phenomenal. It's really humbling to consider that she was at 10 Downing Street for 10-and-a-half years.
There has been praise - and talk of an Oscar win - for Streep's role in The Iron Lady, although the controversial movie has drawn criticism from the ex-Tory party leader's former colleagues.
The actress says making the film has given her greater respect for a woman who succeeded against overwhelming odds.
"The more I learned, the more my view of her changed. Wherever you stand on her policies, and many people didn't like her, the scale of her influence and the fact that she got things done was extraordinary," she told the Radio Times.
"And the mental, physical, spiritual energy that it took to live every one of those days as head of the government was phenomenal. It's really humbling to consider that she was at 10 Downing Street for 10-and-a-half years.
- 12/28/2011
- by David Bentley
- The Geek Files
Oscar-winner and Hollywood liberal says playing former Pm in The Iron Lady has made her see the woman behind the politics
She is firmly a part of Hollywood's liberal elite, who describes herself as part of "the Left", but Meryl Streep has confessed developing a strong admiration for Margaret Thatcher after playing her in a film.
Streep – who is in the running for her third Oscar for her role in The Iron Lady – said playing the role had given her a greater respect for a woman who succeeded in a male-dominated world.
"I was aware of her very early on and, even though her policies were not popular, to say the least, in my circles, people were kind of thrilled that a woman had become leader," she told the Radio Times.
"When I was in college the professions open to women were so few – there were very few women that went to law school,...
She is firmly a part of Hollywood's liberal elite, who describes herself as part of "the Left", but Meryl Streep has confessed developing a strong admiration for Margaret Thatcher after playing her in a film.
Streep – who is in the running for her third Oscar for her role in The Iron Lady – said playing the role had given her a greater respect for a woman who succeeded in a male-dominated world.
"I was aware of her very early on and, even though her policies were not popular, to say the least, in my circles, people were kind of thrilled that a woman had become leader," she told the Radio Times.
"When I was in college the professions open to women were so few – there were very few women that went to law school,...
- 12/28/2011
- by Alexandra Topping
- The Guardian - Film News
Tory complaints over 'intrusive and unfair' nature of Oscar-tipped Margaret Thatcher biopic lead to calls for Commons debate
Conservative MPs have called for a House of Commons debate over The Iron Lady, the Oscar-tipped film about Margaret Thatcher which stars Meryl Streep as Britain's formidable first female Pm.
Ahead of the movie's release in UK cinemas next month, Tory MP for Reading East Rob Wilson said Phyllida Lloyd's biopic presented an "intrusive and unfair" picture of Thatcher, having chosen to depict her as "old, lonely, fragile and suffering from dementia" in some segments. He argued that Lloyd and screenwriter Abi Morgan ought to have focused more closely on the younger years of the Lincolnshire-born grocer's daughter, who became the UK's longest-serving 20th century leader.
Wilson, a parliamentary private secretary to the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, called for a Commons debate on "respect, good manners and good taste". While accepting...
Conservative MPs have called for a House of Commons debate over The Iron Lady, the Oscar-tipped film about Margaret Thatcher which stars Meryl Streep as Britain's formidable first female Pm.
Ahead of the movie's release in UK cinemas next month, Tory MP for Reading East Rob Wilson said Phyllida Lloyd's biopic presented an "intrusive and unfair" picture of Thatcher, having chosen to depict her as "old, lonely, fragile and suffering from dementia" in some segments. He argued that Lloyd and screenwriter Abi Morgan ought to have focused more closely on the younger years of the Lincolnshire-born grocer's daughter, who became the UK's longest-serving 20th century leader.
Wilson, a parliamentary private secretary to the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, called for a Commons debate on "respect, good manners and good taste". While accepting...
- 12/19/2011
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Biopic starring Meryl Streep has been criticised by John Campbell, who wrote the book on which the film is based
It has already been dismissed by Norman Tebbit, despite Meryl Streep being discussed as a shoo-in for an Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher. Now The Iron Lady, Phyllida Lloyd's much-discussed biopic of Britain's first female prime minister, has been criticised for inaccuracy by Thatcher biographer John Campbell.
The accusation holds some weight because Campbell's book, also titled The Iron Lady, was used as the basis for Lloyd's film. The author is concerned that screenwriters chose to enhance the prime minister's role in important affairs of the 1980s at the expense of other key figures, such as her foreign secretary Geoffrey Howe.
"Like any film of that sort, it simplifies and it dramatises her as a great individual, fighting against all these things as if it was just her on her own,...
It has already been dismissed by Norman Tebbit, despite Meryl Streep being discussed as a shoo-in for an Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher. Now The Iron Lady, Phyllida Lloyd's much-discussed biopic of Britain's first female prime minister, has been criticised for inaccuracy by Thatcher biographer John Campbell.
The accusation holds some weight because Campbell's book, also titled The Iron Lady, was used as the basis for Lloyd's film. The author is concerned that screenwriters chose to enhance the prime minister's role in important affairs of the 1980s at the expense of other key figures, such as her foreign secretary Geoffrey Howe.
"Like any film of that sort, it simplifies and it dramatises her as a great individual, fighting against all these things as if it was just her on her own,...
- 12/16/2011
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
London, Dec 2: Meryl Streep has defended her portrayal of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as an old woman suffering from dementia in her latest movie 'The Iron Lady'.
The film has drawn criticism from Thatcher's former colleagues; including former Conservative party chairman Lord Tebbit.
He has called the performance "half-hysterical, over-emotional".
"I wanted to capture whatever it was that drew people to her or meant people have a special venom for her," the BBC quoted Streep as saying.
"I felt that if we did it in the right way, it would be Ok
"There is a feeling that the walls are just.
The film has drawn criticism from Thatcher's former colleagues; including former Conservative party chairman Lord Tebbit.
He has called the performance "half-hysterical, over-emotional".
"I wanted to capture whatever it was that drew people to her or meant people have a special venom for her," the BBC quoted Streep as saying.
"I felt that if we did it in the right way, it would be Ok
"There is a feeling that the walls are just.
- 12/2/2011
- by Amith Ostwal
- RealBollywood.com
Meryl Streep has responded to criticism of her performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. The Mamma Mia! star's portrayal of the ex-British Prime Minister has been criticised by some former Tory politicians, with Norman Tebbit writing last week that Thatcher was "never, in [his] experience, the half-hysterical, over-emotional, over-acting woman portrayed by Meryl Streep". However, the Oscar-winning actress has insisted that the biopic was tackled genuinely. "I felt that if we did it in the right way, it would be okay," she told BBC News. "There is a feeling that the walls are just more permeable between the present and the past and one (more)...
- 12/1/2011
- by By Paul Millar
- Digital Spy
Filmmaker Phyllida Lloyd has shrugged off criticism of Meryl Streep's performance as Margaret Thatcher in Iron Lady. The Oscar-winning American actress has provoked a negative reaction from former politicians in the UK for her portrayal of the British Prime Minister. Director Lloyd told The Hollywood Reporter: "People have been arguing about her for months and months, She certainly burns brightly as a still very divisive character." Former Conservative MP Norman Tebbit (more)...
- 11/27/2011
- by By Paul Millar
- Digital Spy
Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, The Iron Lady Oscar veteran Meryl Streep may have her name already engraved on the Best Actress statuette for the 2012 Academy Awards — well, barring a Glenn Close upset — but those associated with former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher are none too pleased with Streep's performance as the free-marketeering Thatcher in Phyllida Lloyd's The Iron Lady, as reported in The Huffington Post. Norman Tebbit, a member of Thatcher's cabinet and former Conservative Party leader, hasn't seen The Iron Lady, but he has been irked by the movie's trailer. "She was never, in my experience, the half-hysterical, over-emotional, over-acting woman portrayed by Meryl Streep," he wrote in London's The Telegraph. (You can judge for yourself if Thatcher got half-hysterical and/or overacted by watching her defending her government's pro-big business policies here.) Another former Thatcher buddy who hasn't seen The Iron Lady, but already has a...
- 11/18/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
This week we're reminding you of your invitation to join us at 7pm tonight when Peter Bradshaw (and a reader) will be liveblogging Three Colours Red on the site. And did anyone mention a drinking game … ?
The big story
And so we face the final frontier. Last night Andrew Pulver chuckled his way through Three Colours White. On Tuesday, Xan Brooks juggled pizza and existentialism during Three Colours Blue.
Tonight, Peter Bradshaw is in the hotseat, squished up alongside competition winner Joe Websper and Catherine Shoard, who'll be wrangling comments and overseeing the incredibly classy Three Colours Red drinking game (see below).
The third in the trilogy, Three Colours Red is also the most acclaimed. It's about a student (Irene Jacob) who befriends a retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who is spying on his neighbours.
The big story
And so we face the final frontier. Last night Andrew Pulver chuckled his way through Three Colours White. On Tuesday, Xan Brooks juggled pizza and existentialism during Three Colours Blue.
Tonight, Peter Bradshaw is in the hotseat, squished up alongside competition winner Joe Websper and Catherine Shoard, who'll be wrangling comments and overseeing the incredibly classy Three Colours Red drinking game (see below).
The third in the trilogy, Three Colours Red is also the most acclaimed. It's about a student (Irene Jacob) who befriends a retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who is spying on his neighbours.
- 11/17/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
One might think that if someone is going to portray you on screen, you'd want it to be perennial Oscar nominee and two-time winner Meryl Streep. But those who know Margaret Thatcher are not impressed with her performance in "The Iron Lady."
Norman Tebbit, who worked with Thatcher throughout her time as the Prime Minister of England, writes in the Telegraph:
"I do not know whom the makers of the Meryl Streep film talked to ... I found her self-assured on the principles of her politics, but open-minded on tactics, although sometimes utterly naive about the impact of what she might say in that cockpit of male humour, the House of Commons ... However, she was never, in my experience, the half-hysterical, over-emotional, over-acting woman portrayed by Meryl Streep."
Tim Bell, a PR adviser to Thatcher, says of the film, "I can't be bothered to sensationalise this rubbish. I can't see the point of this film.
Norman Tebbit, who worked with Thatcher throughout her time as the Prime Minister of England, writes in the Telegraph:
"I do not know whom the makers of the Meryl Streep film talked to ... I found her self-assured on the principles of her politics, but open-minded on tactics, although sometimes utterly naive about the impact of what she might say in that cockpit of male humour, the House of Commons ... However, she was never, in my experience, the half-hysterical, over-emotional, over-acting woman portrayed by Meryl Streep."
Tim Bell, a PR adviser to Thatcher, says of the film, "I can't be bothered to sensationalise this rubbish. I can't see the point of this film.
- 11/16/2011
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Margaret Thatcher is by far one of Britain's most polarizing figures over the last half century, and so it is no surprise that the upcoming film about her life is already causing debate and anger.
Starring Meryl Streep as the former British Prime Minister and conservative icon, the film depicts both Thatcher's professional life, including her hold on power between 1979 and 1990, as well as her personal journey, which includes her rise to the top and the years following her exit from office. The film isn't out to the public yet, and only a limited number of people have seen it, but just the idea of it has some of her allies up in arms.
"She was never, in my experience, the half-hysterical, over-emotional, over-acting woman portrayed by Meryl Streep," Norman Tebbit, a member of her cabinet and former Conservative Party head, wrote in the Telegraph of London. She could be difficult and demanding,...
Starring Meryl Streep as the former British Prime Minister and conservative icon, the film depicts both Thatcher's professional life, including her hold on power between 1979 and 1990, as well as her personal journey, which includes her rise to the top and the years following her exit from office. The film isn't out to the public yet, and only a limited number of people have seen it, but just the idea of it has some of her allies up in arms.
"She was never, in my experience, the half-hysterical, over-emotional, over-acting woman portrayed by Meryl Streep," Norman Tebbit, a member of her cabinet and former Conservative Party head, wrote in the Telegraph of London. She could be difficult and demanding,...
- 11/16/2011
- by Jordan Zakarin
- Huffington Post
Margaret Thatcher wasn't 'half-hysterical' leader film portrays, says former Tory MP – but reviewers rave regardless
It has drawn ecstatic notices from early screenings, but Meryl Streep's performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady has been dismissed by one of the former prime minister's most loyal supporters, Norman Tebbit.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the one-time Conservative party chairman and trade and industry secretary said he failed to recognise the woman on screen as his former leader. He also said he was surprised that the film's director and screenwriter, Phyllida Lloyd and Abi Morgan, had not spoken to him about his experiences working with Thatcher by way of research.
"You might think that if you were setting out to make a so-called 'biopic' about such a dominant figure on the political stage of the late 20th century, your researchers would have sought out those who were closest to her...
It has drawn ecstatic notices from early screenings, but Meryl Streep's performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady has been dismissed by one of the former prime minister's most loyal supporters, Norman Tebbit.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the one-time Conservative party chairman and trade and industry secretary said he failed to recognise the woman on screen as his former leader. He also said he was surprised that the film's director and screenwriter, Phyllida Lloyd and Abi Morgan, had not spoken to him about his experiences working with Thatcher by way of research.
"You might think that if you were setting out to make a so-called 'biopic' about such a dominant figure on the political stage of the late 20th century, your researchers would have sought out those who were closest to her...
- 11/16/2011
- by Norman Tebbit, Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Alert! Alert! Mick Jagger has gone reggae again. Incredibly, it could have been a lot worse, says Alexis Petridis
Over on the SuperHeavy website, there is a short video of the freshly minted supergroup in the studio. It opens not with their most celebrated member, Mick Jagger, but the youngest, Joss Stone. "Aaaah-yeeeeeaaaah-a-hey-a-yay," she sings, as is her wont. "What the fuck is going on?"
The listener might be forgiven for asking the same thing when confronted with SuperHeavy, whose baffling lineup features not only Jagger and Stone, but former Eurythmic Dave Stewart, Bollywood composer Ar Rahman and Damian "Jr Gong" Marley. On the band's debut single, Miracle Worker, the latter seems as bewildered as Stone by the turn his career's taken. "I bet you never would believe that you'd 'ear Damian Marley, Dave Stewart, Ar Rahman, Mick Jagger and Joss Stone in a rub-a-dub version!" he cries at the song's conclusion.
Over on the SuperHeavy website, there is a short video of the freshly minted supergroup in the studio. It opens not with their most celebrated member, Mick Jagger, but the youngest, Joss Stone. "Aaaah-yeeeeeaaaah-a-hey-a-yay," she sings, as is her wont. "What the fuck is going on?"
The listener might be forgiven for asking the same thing when confronted with SuperHeavy, whose baffling lineup features not only Jagger and Stone, but former Eurythmic Dave Stewart, Bollywood composer Ar Rahman and Damian "Jr Gong" Marley. On the band's debut single, Miracle Worker, the latter seems as bewildered as Stone by the turn his career's taken. "I bet you never would believe that you'd 'ear Damian Marley, Dave Stewart, Ar Rahman, Mick Jagger and Joss Stone in a rub-a-dub version!" he cries at the song's conclusion.
- 9/15/2011
- by Alexis Petridis
- The Guardian - Film News
• James Murdoch 'misled' culture select committee
• Questions mount over Coulson's mid-level security check
• Sun features editor sacked over his work at NotW
• Click here for a summary of today's key events
9.45am: Welcome to today's live updates on the still-unfolding repercussions of the phone hacking scandal. Following yesterday's Commons statement and debate, the house in now in recess. Rupert Murdoch has left the UK following his testimony to MPs on Tuesday.
So, on the face of it today could appear a slight respite following an almost absurdly dramatic fortnight. A majority of English daily papers – five against four – lead on other stories, including the unfolding crisis in the eurozone.
But rest assured there will be more to come. Nick Clegg is scheduled to give an end-of-term press conference imminently. Perhaps someone could ask why he looked so detached – disinterested, even – during David Cameron's phone hacking statement. There is also surely...
• Questions mount over Coulson's mid-level security check
• Sun features editor sacked over his work at NotW
• Click here for a summary of today's key events
9.45am: Welcome to today's live updates on the still-unfolding repercussions of the phone hacking scandal. Following yesterday's Commons statement and debate, the house in now in recess. Rupert Murdoch has left the UK following his testimony to MPs on Tuesday.
So, on the face of it today could appear a slight respite following an almost absurdly dramatic fortnight. A majority of English daily papers – five against four – lead on other stories, including the unfolding crisis in the eurozone.
But rest assured there will be more to come. Nick Clegg is scheduled to give an end-of-term press conference imminently. Perhaps someone could ask why he looked so detached – disinterested, even – during David Cameron's phone hacking statement. There is also surely...
- 7/22/2011
- by Peter Walker, Paul Owen, David Batty
- The Guardian - Film News
A remarkable documentary by rising British director Lucy Walker offers terrifying insights into an issue many people think is a political dead letter – nuclear war. Plus the best of the rest
Countdown to Zero (dir Lucy Walker) ★ Star pick
Lucy Walker is fast becoming one of Britain's most remarkable, and remarkably prolific, film-makers. It has hardly been a month since she was on the Oscar red-carpet as an Academy Award nominee for her fascinating documentary Waste Land. Now she gives us an extraordinary and quite terrifying documentary about a subject that most of us think is a political dead letter: nukes.
You might believe that worrying about nuclear war went out in the 1980s with Norman Tebbit and Katharine Hamnett T-shirts. Wrong. Walker talks to a range of interviewees including Mikhail Gorbachev and Tony Blair – who appears to rediscover his leftist youth with a plea to reduce nuclear weapons to...
Countdown to Zero (dir Lucy Walker) ★ Star pick
Lucy Walker is fast becoming one of Britain's most remarkable, and remarkably prolific, film-makers. It has hardly been a month since she was on the Oscar red-carpet as an Academy Award nominee for her fascinating documentary Waste Land. Now she gives us an extraordinary and quite terrifying documentary about a subject that most of us think is a political dead letter: nukes.
You might believe that worrying about nuclear war went out in the 1980s with Norman Tebbit and Katharine Hamnett T-shirts. Wrong. Walker talks to a range of interviewees including Mikhail Gorbachev and Tony Blair – who appears to rediscover his leftist youth with a plea to reduce nuclear weapons to...
- 4/6/2011
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Your chance to buy a Stallone-stamped red carpet; Streep is in the frame to play Thatcher; and transatlantic problems with 'the world's biggest bender'
Glamour footprint
You can own the ground Sylvester Stallone walked on. The Hollywood action legend will be in Leicester Square next month for the premiere of his new film The Expendables, joined by Jason Statham and Jet Li. Other action Gods such as Dolph Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis are rumoured to be joining them on the red carpet — a patch of which you, dear Trash reader, can then purchase. Can you imagine… it would be like having a rock from Mount Olympus in your back garden. The 10x10ft section of carpet will be taken from just in front of the cinema, where the stars gather for their photo calls, and you even get to own the pics of the actors posing on your patch.
Glamour footprint
You can own the ground Sylvester Stallone walked on. The Hollywood action legend will be in Leicester Square next month for the premiere of his new film The Expendables, joined by Jason Statham and Jet Li. Other action Gods such as Dolph Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis are rumoured to be joining them on the red carpet — a patch of which you, dear Trash reader, can then purchase. Can you imagine… it would be like having a rock from Mount Olympus in your back garden. The 10x10ft section of carpet will be taken from just in front of the cinema, where the stars gather for their photo calls, and you even get to own the pics of the actors posing on your patch.
- 7/5/2010
- by Jason Solomons
- The Guardian - Film News
Piers Morgan is simply a British celebrity that Britain does not get - whereas the Us, well, it thinks it does
While sounding increasingly like an avenging renegade from an 80s movie – probably one starring Bruce or Mel – Barack Obama has been passionate in his criticism of a certain British embarrassment. He has described its terrifying, contaminating, congealing invasion up America's innocent virgin shoreline as being "like 9/11", and he is quite right. He says that, for inflicting this slimy horror on poor, hapless Americans, the Us is owed £14bn – and I would say that is pretty modest. I just cannot understand why certain factions of the British press (and Norman Tebbit) have been so outraged about this: for God's sake, wouldn't you be demanding heavy reparations if some snooty little country dumped a load of Piers Morgan on you?
News that Morgan is likely to take over from Larry King...
While sounding increasingly like an avenging renegade from an 80s movie – probably one starring Bruce or Mel – Barack Obama has been passionate in his criticism of a certain British embarrassment. He has described its terrifying, contaminating, congealing invasion up America's innocent virgin shoreline as being "like 9/11", and he is quite right. He says that, for inflicting this slimy horror on poor, hapless Americans, the Us is owed £14bn – and I would say that is pretty modest. I just cannot understand why certain factions of the British press (and Norman Tebbit) have been so outraged about this: for God's sake, wouldn't you be demanding heavy reparations if some snooty little country dumped a load of Piers Morgan on you?
News that Morgan is likely to take over from Larry King...
- 6/16/2010
- by Hadley Freeman
- The Guardian - Film News
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