Venice Film Festival opens with ATONEMENT

Here's one way that producers can get their movie sold around the world. Have it as the opening night at the oldest film festival.

The free publicity it generates around the world is invaluable and will certainly get international sales agents beating a path to your door.

Of course you need to get a great story to start with, add some of the today's top British actors, and get it directed by a rising star.

Director Joe Wright and his cast, including Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, were at the opening night of Atonement, based on the Ian McEwan novel of the same name.

Article in Screen International this week

.Net Magazine article on UKTheatre.Net

UKFilm.TV - The talents of Paul Greengrass (Bourne Ultimatum)

Paul Greengrass delivers again.

It's such a delight to see one of Britain's top directors competing with the best in Hollywood and pulling together yet another film worthy of awards. Too often we forget the mammoth like proportions taking on the task of creating great movies actually is.

Filmed in Madrid, Morocco, London and New York. With an international cast, crew and production team with hundreds of stunt people in each city, not to mention the immense travel arrangements needed to make it happen, makes a project like this a significant adventure and business proposition at the same time. Considering this as one of many of the career of Paul Greengrass, makes the feat even more significant.

Matt Damon delivers the goods again in the lead role as he defies attempts to wipe him out by the CIA. A place he thinks he used to work but he has no absolute recollection. As each piece of the story unfolds for him, he gains a little more knowledge, and so the energy to find out consumes every waking moment. Something that he has lots of in his insomniac world.

I loved the selection of Waterloo Station as the London venue. It's a place I've been in and out regularly this year and it brought a realism to it that I personally enjoyed. Julia Stiles plays one of his former CIA colleagues and is key to his support mechanism in finding the truth.

It's in choices of camera movements and angles followed up by hair-splitting accuracy in the editing that makes this film exciting. These are clear director choices working closely with an army of production resources.



Paul Greengrass.
5 STARS from UKFILM.TV

Join the UKFILM.tv celebration

Hi there

It seemed appropriate that you should join me tonight and share a bottle of virtual champagne. You have helped support, encourage and spread the news about the network and I am delighted to say that BBC/Film London have accepted 'little india' into the final stages of the funding scheme.

The next steps are to work with some top directors and producers over a three day period in September. Only three films get the funding but being part of the final stage is clearly a result in itself.

Look out for Friday's Screen International as well, for a mention of Making It In Hollywood.

What a great week. The lottery numbers are definitely going on this week :)


Douglas

Uktheatre for those not at the fringe

Hello again. If you are not at the fringe in Edinburgh then there are still lots going on. Among the best is Oxford Shakespeare Company with their performance at delightful Kensington Palace and soon at the amazing Hampton Court. Blankets provided for those not so sunny nights.

Midsummer Shakespeare

The cast of Oxford Shakespeare Company get into character before the start of the performance at Kensington Palace. Review coming soon but booking early is advised. Especially on HOT summer nights.

Fringe Opportunities, Reviews and Videos

Now on BEBO Channel 17.

UKTheatre.TV filmed the previews of eleven of the performances at 24:7 Theatre Festival in Manchester.

Visit them online at http://uktheatre.bebo.com


Also see some of the latest reviews of the Edinburgh Fringe.

Love Labour's Won

Chris Cox- Everything happens for a Reason

Paul Chowdhry- Lost in Confusion

Kitty Flanagan- A Festival of Me


OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERFORMERS

6 Performers required in Leicestershire/Warwickshire

Amateur Group requires a replacement actor for Edinburgh Fringe

Stunt man jumps off London Bridge

Caught in action during a film shoot at London Bridge. It was a major shoot with at least three 35mm film cameras capturing the action. It was well shot with great precision as the team controlled the action and the crowds from the South Bank. Various rescue teams were on hand to assist the stunt man in getting out of the Thames without drinking too much of it.

A nice way to watch film

Somerset House is the place to be. Film 4 show a number of films each year here. Tonight is a film appropriate from a Making It In Hollywood point of view. Ennio and Clint combine their movie making talents in The Good The Bad and The Ugly.

My WICKED slide show

Edinburgh prepares for the Fringe

Fringe 2007 5 - 27 August

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

CLICK HERE OR CALL THE TIMES FRINGE BOX OFFICE ON: +44 (0) 131 226 0000

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR FRINGE PROGRAMME 2007!!!

Pictured: Edinburgh gets ready for over a million visitors during August.

Title	Description	Date
This Sketch Show Belongs to Lionel Richie	LIONEL RICHIE SET TO OWN THE 2007 EDINBURGH COMEDY FESTIVAL	7/30/2007
Backpacker	Jody Kamali, the half-Iranian, Bristolian comedy actor; brings the comedic essence of travelling to the stage, in a one-man, character comedy show.	7/29/2007
Best of The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 07	Media releases and images from some of the shows UKTheatre will be reviewing at the Edinburgh Fringe	7/29/2007
DEBORAH FRANCES-WHITE'S "HOW TO GET ALMOST ANYONE TO WANT TO SLEEP WITH YOU"	Afternoon stand-up leaving you ready to pull tonight	7/29/2007
The Witching Hour III	The scariest late night show on the Fringe is back with Perrier nominee Stephen Harvey.	7/14/2007
Grasmere By Kristina Leach	Debuting at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe ‘07, RoaN Productions will be travelling from their home city of New York to present the European Premiere of GRASMERE, showing at C between 1 and 27 August.	7/14/2007
ASHES by Ali Muriel	Four actors, four fires, four darkly comic stories.	7/14/2007
The Maids'	Genet's 'The Maids' is a transgendered exploration of volatility, destruction, eroticism and murder.	7/14/2007
Real Circumstance makes its debut with LIMBO at the Edinburgh Festival!	LIMBO is the tender and compelling story of a young girl’s relationship with an older man. A young Catholic girl gives her confession from the edge of Camlough Lake.	7/14/2007
Dye Young / Stay Pretty	Before Madonna, blonde ambition had a different name: Debbie Harry.	7/7/2007
Paul Chowdhry’s ‘Lost in Confusion’	Edinburgh set to misunderstand confused comedian	7/7/2007
Kitty Flanagan’s Edinburgh ‘Festival of Me’	“Flanagan is one of the most subtle and perceptive of live performers regardless of gender”	7/7/2007
Jim Bowes has a complaint to make	On average, a person is likely to moan to more than twice as many people about a bad experience, than when praising a positive one.	7/7/2007
Dear Future Wife… in Edinburgh?	One man’s desperate search unfolds on stage	7/7/2007
SPREAD	A MOUTHWATERING PLAY FEASTING ON WOMEN'S FIGHT & FROLICS WITH FOOD.	7/7/2007
Doctor Deepak’s Edinburgh Festival Surgeries	A visit to your Doctor will never be the same again!	7/7/2007
BUTCH - A QUEEN’S STUGGLE TO BECOME A KING	Menno wants to ‘butch-up’, he wants to be less Graham Norton and more Vinnie Jones......	7/7/2007

Finding Kevin Spacey

It sounds like the title of a new movie, but in fact it is just my ongoing search for the elusive man to find out if he would be interested in 'K-PAX II: The Return Of Prot'.

I popped down to the Old Vic today to find out more about the 24 hour plays which he launches every year around September. These are for around 50 new and emerging performers who are taken under the wing of the 'Old Vic New Voices Team' and coached and developed. Many go on to bigger and better things.

Did I meet him ? No. The picture is from the publicity poster from the David Mamet play Speed-The-Plow which he is performing in next year but it had you going didnt it ?

Rachel Stevens, (no, not the S Club 7 star, the Old Vic New Voices one), told me more about the 24 hour plays and will be keeping me posted with the entry timetable. There will be regional auditions which will be sponsored by Red Bull and these will be coming your way in October.

Right, its back to calling Mr Spacey's agent John Fogelman tonight to see if Gene Brewer's latest script, coupled with my ideas around the fringe play have captured any initial interest.

Nothing ventured......

An actors best friend

BAFTA held a casting session tonight with four of the UK's top Casting Director's.

It was an interesting event listening to the trials and tribulations and varied experiences of those responsible for everyone selecting A-list actors to one line newcomers in the major films in the cinema today.

One of the UK's top film producers kept them on their toes and brought some honesty and humour to the evening.

I'll update you more on this and the Raindance session with a producer who got Ewan Mcgregor to work for Equity minimum in this weekend's newsletter.

Classical Busking on the South Bank

The arches under Southwark Bridge have great acoustics for impromptu buskers. Best of all is a quartet playing Vivaldi. The sound resonates nicely delighting the ears of passersby. This quartet didnt have a name when I asked them, but they did say they were from Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Sunday on the South Bank. Do it !

Olivers Army storms the Tower of London

I had just read about Elvis Costello on the tube home. He is opening up the Tower Music Festival tonight at the Tower of London. He had just arrived the second I was passing and a polite 'hey Elvis' was enough for him to turn and give a mean stare as he headed for the stage for a sound check.

The Tower Music Festival ends on Monday with The Good The Bad and The Queen, Damon Alburn's Supergroup.

Bafta's Annual General Meeting

An interesting evening tonight with the people who run Bafta. Like most AGM's it had its fair share of angst ridden individuals with trivial points of detail which commanded more attention than the good news. Hilary Bevan Jones did a remarkable job of keeping the session in control and focussed. Her ideas for connecting with more people is a breath of fresh air and her final year as Chairperson will see some big changes, primarily using the Internet. I spoke to her afterwards in the bar and volunteered my services to help where I can.

As ever it was a great networking night with BBC execs and famous producers. Sitting behind me was Paul Antony Barber who you may remember was the first West End reviewers for UKTN. He didnt recognise me as I have grown a beard in the last few weeks and I am a slimmer chap from 5 year ago when we last met in person :)

I met a film financer from Glasgow would you believe. A well connected one. He liked K-pax ii.

Next steps is to call John Fogelman in Beverley Hills tonight. He is Kevin Spacey's agent, the William Morris contact in London advised me today. Tomorrow night is the budget planning course at Raindance.

Making It In Hollywood is becoming a way of life, rather than a documentary. There's no business like show business. For sure.

Douglas

Entertainment at its best

Helen Oakleigh invited me to Shakespeare's Globe tonight.

I won't preempt her review, but WOW. In the pub afterwards I noticed the Evening Standard critic gave it 2 stars, which makes a mockery of critics. What do they really know? Do they represent an audience ? No they don't. They seem to have an isolated ill educated view on what constitutes good theatre. I had a look around and saw everyone engrossed, amused, entertained.

Get some Shakespeare in your soul this summer. You will be glad you did.

Douglas

Coffee in London

Afternoon tea with Film London and then early evening coffee with Graham Norton, and his dogs, in my local Starbucks.

Tea time in London

Five minutes ago I took the latest jump into the world of filmmaking. 'Little India', a comedy feature was entered into Film London's Microwave scheme. The building in the picture, which looks as if it should have been demolished decades ago, is home to a wide range of companies including Film London on the 6th floor.

The deadline was today for applications and this week has been very stressful preparing the reams of paper required to justify why Little India should merit an award of 50 thousand big ones.

Not a lot of money for a feature film but given the backing of a great team at sponsors BBC, the award winners stand a better chance than most. I will keep you posted on progress in the coming months.

Look out for more filmmaking news tomorrow. An even bigger project is next up.

It IS all happening.

Douglas