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'Senna' Director: 'He Had All The Qualities Of A Movie Star' (TRAILER)

2011-10-06T23:09:18Z

Director Asif Kapadia has been swimming in plaudits for his film Senna, released in the UK this summer, which documents in awe-inspiring and moving detail the professional, personal and spiritual crusade of the revered racing driver until his fatal crash in 1994.

But what has meant the most to Kapadia has been the reaction to the film of the Brazilian icon’s family and friends:

"It was very emotional and very difficult for them to watch, because there was lots of material they hadn’t seen before," he remembers. "But they were happy that the film is the measure of the man they knew. They said I had brought out the whole person, which was gratifying. There were lots of tears while they watched. It was obvious he stays very close to them.

"I was also touched that Ron Dennis (Senna's old team manager) said it was an accurate portrayal of his life on the track, what a tough driver he was. And that it seems to have touched lots of people who normally can't stand sport."

The film has been a labour of love for Kapadia, who first sat down to discuss the prospect with Ayrton Senna’s family in 2004. And when Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone unlocked the doors to motor racing’s film archive, it meant hundreds and hundreds of hours of revelatory footage for Kapadia to wade through, and months more of selecting and editing it into just two hours of finished product.

So why was Senna worth so much time and effort to a man previously uninterested in any events on the track?

"Because he was a genius, at the height of his profession, but somehow managed to remain an outsider from the establishment of it all. And he was very serious about his sport, a tough guy on the track, intensely competitive. But outside of the car, he worried for all his competitors, he was incredibly compassionate and gentle with the people around him. And, of course, he had movie-star looks too, and could speak so elegantly and eloquently. So he just had it all."

It must have been very strange for the director to share so much time with someone he had never really focused on before, something Kapadia confirms wholeheartedly:

"Absolutely, I’ve spent so much time intensely studying Senna’s life and the people around him, and who he was - literally hours and hours of footage. It takes over your life, I've even dreamed about him. I've never met the man face to face but I feel I know him now, and how thinks. It's very strange."

Of course, with so much acclaim, Kapadia's film about Senna is now both explaining the myth of the driver and becoming part of it:

"The filmmakers have now become part of his legend," he agrees, "because Senna's family and fans have loved it and thanked us for showing other people how special he was. So I feel an affinity to Senna, and to his family, his ideals, even to Brazil, that I never had before. It's been an amazing journey for us."

Bizarrely, despite all these hours spent living inside Senna’s head, it was only a couple of weeks ago that Kapadia actually shared the experience of driving a Formula One racing car, which he describes as suitably bizarre and humbling:

“It is strange that, after so many hours of watching it, we finally got on the track ourselves.

"I think I was the slowest one out there. I was just trying to survive, get from A to B in one piece, and it was still terrifying. And then you remember that these guys are overtaking each other in those conditions, dealing with the G-force, driving in the rain, thinking three turns ahead. Now I’ve sort of experienced the feeling myself, I am even more convinced that professional racing drivers are supreme athletes, that there's something about them that is truly superhuman.”

Senna is released on DVD on Monday 10th October.

'Potiche' Director Francois Ozon: 'Depardieu Is A Monster... In A Good Way'

2011-10-06T16:38:49Z

“Gerard is a monster... in a good way,” chuckles Francois Ozon, the director charged with bringing Monsieur Depardieu to heel in the French comedy Potiche.

“He is like a child, he is provocative, he can shout, but I forgive him everything because he is a genius. Besides, on this shoot, he was very happy, again like a child, because he was working with Catherine (Deneuve) and he adores her.”

Ozon (celebrated for Swimming Pool, 8 Women) has brought together arguably his country’s two most iconic screen figures for this typically French-Belgian comedy of romance, deception and female empowerment. Deneuve plays Suzanne, the ‘potiche’ of the title, translated most easily as ‘trophy wife’.

She is forced to take over the running of her husband’s factory when he is laid low, and is reunited with her former love Maurice, played by Depardieu.

So was it intimidating for a young director to have to guide his own idols through their scenes?

“Well, on the one hand, it was easy because, obviously, they are both so talented," he explains. "And the story is of two people who share a romantic history (although Deneuve’s character is, of course, married to someone else – so European). So I could use the audience’s familiarity with them both for this – their faces are full of common history, it’s all there on the screen.”

The challenge, however, was to make Deneuve, a figure of such esteem in France that there is no real equivalent in either the UK or America, somebody believable as a cuckolded, downtrodden wife.

“From the start, I had to establish that her independence was something she had lost," says Ozon. "So I put her in a shell suit jogging, not the sort of image we would ever normally think of her.”

But, by the end, her true glamour is all too evident in a musical finale where Deneuve gets to belt out a number. This may be a surprise for many viewers, but is apparently a long-held tradition in French cinema, and one Deneuve was determined to follow.

“That was all Catherine,” explains Ozon. “From day one of the production, she asked me, ‘Where is my song?’ Who was I to refuse Catherine Deneuve?”

Potiche is on DVD release from Monday 10th October. You can watch the trailer below...

'Potiche' Director Francois Ozon: 'Depardieu Is A Monster... In A Good Way'

2011-10-06T16:38:49Z

“Gerard is a monster... in a good way,” chuckles Francois Ozon, the director charged with bringing Monsieur Depardieu to heel in the French comedy Potiche.

She is forced to take over the running of her husband’s factory when he is laid low, and is reunited with her former love Maurice, played by Depardieu.

So was it intimidating for a young director to have to guide his own idols through their scenes?

The challenge, however, was to make Deneuve, a figure of such esteem in France that there is no real equivalent in either the UK or America, somebody believable as a cuckolded, downtrodden wife.

“That was all Catherine,” explains Ozon. “From day one of the production, she asked me, ‘Where is my song?’ Who was I to refuse Catherine Deneuve?”

Potiche is on DVD release from Monday 10th October. You can watch the trailer below...

Will Ferrell Shy About BAFTA Honour - Can This Really Be Ron Burgundy?

2011-10-05T12:38:33Z

"Well, obviously I'm a chauvinist pig, so for sure I'm Ron Burgundy in that respect, but apart from that, I'm not sure any of them are me. They're my licence to act like a kid. That's my job."

Will Ferrell may be celebrated for his enduring ability to spin his unworldly catalogue of unreconstructed male characters out of control in films from Zoolander to Anchorman, but at the BAFTA retrospective of his work last night, he was almost surreally normal, daunted even by the prospect of discussing his career:

"It's always slightly awkward to talk about yourself in a way, but it should be fun... I think."

Ferrell is not what you expect. He has a soft, friendly face, impeccable manners but is softly-spoken, obviously shy and definitely happier hiding behind his less retiring characters.

Reassuringly, he doesn't have ready, slick answers to questions that must have been at thrown at him forever - for example, if his Anchorman antics get us through a wet winter afternoon, where does he seek his own giggly comforts?

"Erm, err, I hang out my kids, very, very normal things, but they kind of excite me. I'm sorry if that's not really an answer to the question, but it is true, I hope it's some kind of insight."

He seemed genuinely humbled that BAFTA would be interested in celebrated his back-catalogue. And, in a sweet touch, one of the world's most successful comedy actors had with him to share the moment... an adoring entourage? A throng of publicists? In fact, just his equally polite mother Ferrell had invited to London to share the moment, and take her place in the second row of an appreciative audience.

Fans were treated to a Q&A with Ferrell, followed be a screening of his new film, Everything Must Go, co-starring Rebecca Hall and Laura Dern. Based on a short story by Raymond Carver, it tells the story of career salesman Nick Porter whose life goes into freefall one day - back on the bottle, sacked, abandoned by his wife, and the locks changed on his home.

His ensuing yard sale of all his possessions becomes a metaphor for his battle for survival. As other professional funnymen like Jim Carrey, Ferrell has seized the chance to widen his repertoire and play something less obviously amusing:

"I loved that this was someone who has to disentangle his life and figure it all out, and from that create this incredible world.

"Stranger Than Fiction was the first movie I got to do which was outside the comedy box, and this has really been the only other thing that has come along similar to that. It gave me the chance to be creative, stretch, do something different.

"It's really challenging, but at the same time it's kind of freeing, you get to exercise different muscles. And it's frightening as well, but that's what has made it one of the highlights of my career."

Which, judging by the reception of Will Ferrell by last night's audience, and the laughs garnered by clips from his career, is really saying something.

Everything Must Go is in cinemas from 14 October. See trailer below:

'Tyrannosaur' Brings Out The Big-Screen Heavyweight In Olivia Colman

2011-10-04T11:28:47Z

“I’m extremely lucky, I’m in a very happy marriage. Just the mere thought of my beautiful husband turning against me is so horrific, that it doesn’t take an awful lot to get to that place.”

If viewers find themselves unsettled and upset by Tyrannosaur, an incredibly raw, unsettling British film, the big-screen directing debut of actor Paddy Considine, they will be in good company. Lead actress Olivia Colman has seen it eight times now, and still can’t get through it in one piece:

“I forget I’m in it. I sit there bawling, and I haven’t managed to watch it once yet without crying. I love these people, and Paddy’s done the most extraordinary job. You hate the character Joseph within 30 seconds, and you love him by the end.

“It’s about challenging people’s perceptions - you think you know what someone’s life is like, and you invariably don’t, I love being sucked into that world.”

Those used to seeing Colman’s bonny, brown-eyed good looks in shows such as Green Wing and Hot Fuzz will see a hitherto hidden side in what is undoubtedly her screen breakthrough role – award nominations surely beckon for her portrayal of Hannah, a broken, tormented charity shop worker forced to seek refuge from her destructive marriage. If it sounds heavy-going, it is (with an 18 certificate to boot). But for Colman, it obviously means everything:

“It was the job of a lifetime. It was the job I’ve dreamed of since I was 12, and it’s the thing I’ll be most proud of until I die. I can’t imagine anything coming close to this.

“No actor is going turn down the chance to play this person. It was beautiful, and I am eternally grateful that Paddy thought of me.”

And was she able to switch off at night after the gruelling nature of the scenes?

I got to vent so much during the scenes that I didn’t need to take it away with me. I don’t actually understand Method acting - if it works for others, brilliant, but I don’t need to do that. It was actually incredibly cathartic, doing it in the moment but with those kind of scenes, you couldn’t go there with another actor doing it the Method way, you wouldn’t be able to trust them.

Sanctuary comes for Hannah in the form of gruff widower Joseph, in an equally spellbinding performance by Peter Mullan. And it is this unlikely union that forms the backbone of the film, providing moments of lightness, even humour and occasional joy that belie an indisputably bleak backdrop.

Up until doing this film, I would never have understood why women stay with abusive husbands,” reflects Colman.

I’ve watched friends be with people they should not be with, but I’ve learnt so much. The fear is extraordinary, hopefully something we’ll never know. It’s an impossible situation.

I wanted to do justice to that struggle, give respect to those who have suffered at the hands of someone they love.”

“As for my character, I’d just like to give her a cuddle.”

Tyrannosaur is in cinemas from this Friday 7th October.

Morgan Spurlock: 'Movies Make Change' - But Which One Has Done The Most?

2011-10-03T13:23:57Z

"There are so many films over the years that have had such a positive impact, and to recognize that movies can create change; that they can create awareness; that they can create a movement behind an idea, I think is important.”

Thus Morgan Spurlock explains the power of the documentary. Spurlock, himself the creator of enormous waves with his various films(Super Size Me, The Future of Food, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold) will be joining an international jury next week to decide who wins the prestigious PUMA Creative Impact Award, honouring a film which has made the most impact on society

“There’s real power in a documentary film, and there’s real power in movies to begin with," he explains. "Movies transcend culture; they transcend countries, and to be able to have something that can create global awareness is necessary today.”

Adding her star wattage to the ceremony, which takes place in London next week, will be fellow judge Queen Noor of Jordan, an equal believer in the power of film.

“I think that where the issues are concerned of critical importance to the welfare of individuals and communities and our larger world, there is probably no more under-utilised and more valuable tool than the documentary film," she attests. "People respond to images and to stories in ways that no amount of lectures and dry information can possibly equal in terms of the impact.”

The winner will be announced on 11 Otober 2011 at the PUMA Creative Impact Award Gala. The finalists are:

The Age of Stupid (2009)
Directed by Franny Armstrong and produced by Lizzie Gillett
The Age of Stupid stars Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, watching “archive” footage of our time now and asking: why didnʼt we stop climate change when we had the chance?

Burma VJ (2008)
Directed by Anders Østergaard and produced by Lise Lense-Møller
Armed with small handy-cams, undercover Video Journalists in Burma keep up the flow of news from their closed country despite risking torture and life in jail. Their material is smuggled out of Burma and broadcast back via satellite.

The End of The Line (2009)
Directed by Rupert Murray and produced by Claire Lewis and George Duffield
The End of the Line is the world’s first major feature documentary about the devastating impact overfishing has had and is having on our oceans. The film provides a dramatic expose of those in power who are taking advantage of the seas with catastrophic consequences on the world’s fish supplies.

The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court (2009)
Directed by Pamela Yates and produced by Paco de Onís
A David & Goliath battle of titanic proportions unfolds as International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo faces down warlords, genocidal dictators and world superpowers in his struggle to tame the Wild West of global conflict zones and bring perpetrators of crimes against humanity to justice.

Trouble The Water (2008)
Directed and produced by Tia Lessin & Carl Deal
An aspiring rap artist, trapped in New Orleans by deadly floodwaters, survives
the disaster and seizes a chance for a new beginning. Celebrating community resilience in the face of massive government failures, Trouble the Water raises searing questions about race and class in America.

Filling out the judging table will be Christian Aid director Loretta Minghella, recording artist Emanual Jal, and independent filmmaker Orlando Bagwell

Guests have been invited from all arms of the entertainment and film industry.

See the calibre of film up for the big prize in our trailer slideshow of the five finalists below:

Will Holly Branson's Necker Wedding Be Toasted With Pussy? Apparently So

2011-10-03T12:36:42Z

Holly Branson is still getting over the shock of her family home on Necker Island going up in flames, and the knowledge that the much-loved house won’t be ready in time to play host to her Caribbean wedding at the end of the year.

“It isn’t going to be ready. It’s going to take a good couple of years, at least 18 months, to repair,” she reveals with admirable equanimity.

“But we’re still getting married on the island. The date will stay the same.” She sighs with a smile: “We’ve got a beach.”

Back in London, it’s business as usual for Holly and brother Sam. The silver-spoon siblings are launching their first business enterprise independent of Virgin – and just like their media-savvy father, they’re happy to cause a ripple in the name of publicity. So their first cab off
the rank... Pussy. Yes, you read right, and it’s coming to a fridge near you.

Pussy, an energy drink parked squarely in the Redbull consumer market but boasting natural products, is the brainchild of Holly’s good friend and businessman Jonnie Shearer. It’s seven years in the making. So how, if delicacy allows, did he come up with Pussy?

“I just thought it was a great name – all the way through from Pussy Galore in the Bond film to Mrs Slocombe in Are You Being Served?” he explains.

“When you have 200 different products on a shelf, you need something to get instant reaction. I was at a bar and I just suddenly thought of it. It creates a lot of excitement and fun. It gets people talking.”

Indeed. So is Jonnie happy to be forever tagged the Pussy man? “That’d be great.”

With their impeccable business connections, the Bransons must get offered all sorts of dubious ventures for their golden touch, so what persuaded to come on board with Pussy?

“I’ve worked with Jonnie and watched him grow as a business man. When it was ready, we decided to get involved. We don’t do many investments outside Virgin, but this is such a great product, not just for a hangover. You’d actually drink this.

“I was there from the very beginning. I even had a dinner party with a fish bowl full of drink, and everyone with straws put on tasting duty.”

Of course, Holly and Sam are quick to point out they wouldn’t be putting their cash in even a friend’s pockets for something they didn’t believe in, particularly as they are both sensitive to people’s conceptions they operate over a huge security blanket of their father’s aegis.

“Of course there are amazing benefits to the name,” reflects Sam. “You’re taken seriously and you always get an ear.

“The negative side is once you’re through the door, you still need all the qualities and attributes you need to sell your idea. People may think it’s easier for us to do something, so therefore they may not take us as seriously within any industry.

“But the name and the brand doesn’t get in the way of our day to day lives, it’s just part of us. “

“You just have to be yourself, really,” adds Holly. “But, with Pussy, we get to give our opinions on things and get involved. It’s nice watching a company grow from the beginning. Virgin still do start-ups, but it’s so big now, it’s nice to get back to what Dad first did.”

Definitely a pair of chips off the entrepreneurial block.

Holly and Sam Branson (right) with Pussy founder Jonnie Shearer. Pussy is available from independent retailers, cash and carry and wholesalers across the UK.

Rowan Atkinson: 'I Can't Fall About. I Just Take It All So Seriously'

2011-09-30T12:36:15Z

Is Johnny English Reborn the second step in a long, lucrative franchise?

Rowan Atkinson raises his eyes to the ceiling and says, almost to himself, “Oh god, I hope not.”

It’s a throwaway remark, but it’s all in the delivery and, the way he does it, is properly belly-grip funny – evidence, if needed, of why Atkinson can still hitting the marks, more than 30 years after he first brought his brand of snipey mirth to the small screen with his Not The Nine O’Clock News gang.

We’re here to celebrate the release of the no-doubt lucrative follow-up to Atkinson’s first outing as the British special agent – it’s Bond meets Bean and made Atkinson an enormous amount of cash, enough to buy another set of wheels perchance? We’ll get to this.

But first, why has it taken to so long to get this sequel on the screen when it was first mooted way back in 2004?

“The problem is I liked to be involved in every part of the process,” Atkinson explains, almost apologetically (he is known for his diffident, polite manner and it is certainly on show today, although he is nothing like as awkward or unforthcoming as was expected).

“So, even if I made films back to back, that would only be one every three years or so. Throw in a bit of theatre here, taking some time off there, and suddenly four years has gone by. I just take film-making so seriously.

“I’ve always been like that. Way back when we were trying to make one of those blooper reels for Blackadder, it was impossible because,
if a doorknob came off or something, I just wouldn’t react. I find it incredibly difficult to fall about laughing. I’ve just always got my mind on other things.”

Which leads us nicely to the recent car-crash that propelled Atkinson, much to his chagrin, onto the front pages.

The star was driving his McLaren F1 supercar last month and ended up on the wrong side of a Cambridgeshire tree. “I was far more concerned about the car than I was about me,” is all he says now. This is reassuring, although the idea of this very unassuming gentleman at the helm of a 240mph oligarch-worthy chariot becomes even more incongruous when he’s there in the flesh.

Director Oliver Parker attests to Atkinson’s focus, explaining how crucial this was to provide a hub for Johnny English’s expanding universe: “We get to push him about a little bit more, there’s even some romance.”

One thing that remains consistent through both films is an appreciation of Bond-worthy gadgets, prompting the question of what device each of the cast holds dear.

Atkinson is generous with his laughter, showing his appreciation of his peers, before stealing the moment with poker-faced aplomb:
“I suppose I’d like one of those things, straight out of Goldfinger, that changes your registration from inside the car. Yes, that would be very nice.

Johnny English Reborn is in cinemas from next Friday, 7th October.

Rowan Atkinson: 'I Can't Fall About. I Just Take It All So Seriously'

2011-09-30T12:36:15Z

Is Johnny English Reborn the second step in a long, lucrative franchise?

Rowan Atkinson raises his eyes to the ceiling and says, almost to himself, “Oh god, I hope not.”

But first, why has it taken to so long to get this sequel on the screen when it was first mooted way back in 2004?

Which leads us nicely to the recent car-crash that propelled Atkinson, much to his chagrin, onto the front pages.

One thing that remains consistent through both films is an appreciation of Bond-worthy gadgets, prompting the question of what device each of the cast holds dear.

Johnny English Reborn is in cinemas from next Friday, 7th October.

'Cane Toads' Director: 'The Toad Continues To Thumb Its Nose At Us'

2011-09-30T10:30:53Z

The toad may not be your first choice for film star (apart from the effervescent inhabitant of Toad Hall, obviously). Nonetheless, Australian documentary-maker Mark Lewis has spent the last few years dedicating his efforts to covering these lambasted amphibians - including his latest film, Cane Toads: The Conquest. And, the way he tells it, they're up there with J-Lo and Lindsay L for controversy, scandal and the capacity to keep us hooked:

In brief, why the toad? The toad has been on this planet since the Miocene era and it’s history is checkered with folklore, urban myth and witchcraft. In Australia this toad has been the centre of one of the greatest environmental blunders and continues to create controversy and inflame the public. In short it is a wonderful subject for a filmmaker!
And are they natural film subjects? Do they follow your script?

No creature is a “natural” film subject but they are relatively easy to work with – in fact they don’t do much at all except sit there and every once in awhile they may hop. The challenge working with toads is manipulating cameras and lights around them in order to achieve a reality. And, yes, they follow my script! In fact, the making of the film with a film crew hovering around this tiny animal often becomes funnier than the subject itself.

You’ve already made a film about toads – what new does this film tell us?

Since the first film the toad story has expanded in many directions – and not only in geographical sense – it has evolved and adapted, it has met new challenges as we, the humans, have done all in our power to eradicate it, it has found new friends and made new foes, it has been subject to abject cruelty and it continues to thumb its nose at us and march proudly on – but the best thing is to see the film and go on this journey with the toad itself. It is a very different kind of “road movie”.

Has your admiration for the cane toad grown through making these two films and, if so, why?

My admiration for the toad has grown over the years but I think a more appropriate word to use here is respect. It is an extraordinary creature by any means and I cannot help respect it for the “success” it has had. Beyond this, the toad was brought here as a result of human stupidity for a job that it was ill-equipped to do and since then all the toad has done is survive. It is not the toad’s fault and to some degree the toad and its many facets have become a metaphor for some of the larger issues that affect us.

Great films have the ability to transcend their genre. How can your film reach beyond nature-lovers, and what can it tell them?

That is a tough question. I think all filmmakers aspire to have their films transcend their genre or subject. With all of my films the animals that I am interested in are those that coexist with us – chickens, dogs, rats etc and through some idiosyncratic intuitive quirk, my films and style have evolved in a way that is contrary to the traditional and conventional nature films. Finally, I have never thought of my films as being just about “nature” or “animals” or “natural history” but to be as much about the human animal.

Are you done with toads yet? What's next?

It is hard to be “done” with toads as I cannot help but follow their journey. My production office is in toad country and I often find them sitting on the back step at night foraging for insects. However, I don’t think I will make another film with them, but I continue to respect them and go out of my way not to run over them on the roads at night which is very very un-Australian.

As for future projects, I am a naturally curious person and I find beauty, story and wonderful characters in many less than extraordinary places. For example, I am fascinated by the architecture and operation of electrical transmission towers but then I hesitate to pitch this sort of project when the broadcasters insist their audience prefers to watch obese people competing to lose weight or - on the other hand – contestants racing against the clock to cook a perfect (and very fattening) meal!

Cane Toads: The Conquest 3D is in cinemas from today, 30th September. Watch trailer below:

Taylor Lautner's Breaking Solo For Abduction

2011-09-26T16:15:14Z

He's got three world martial arts championships under his belt. He runs his own film production company. He's at the helm of a global blockbuster franchise. At the ripe old age of 19, it must surely be time for Taylor Lautner to chill out, and, I don't know, go and play with a console or whatever it is his earthbound peers do.

Instead, he's sitting in London, his teeth gleaming in the near-dark of the large room, grinning at the pretty girl at his side - Lily Collins, co-star and reported squeeze - and fielding questions about Twilight, Tom Cruise and off-screen chemistry with the ease of a veteran. So, let's get it out of the way, is there any truth to the rumours of romance?

"We're very good friends," is his obviously well-rehearsed answer, while Collins stares straight ahead. Poor them - imagine trying to deal with all those hormones AND the world's press monitoring every glance.

Okay, onto the film, a genre thriller starring Lautner as a normal chap who suddenly spots himself on a lost persons' website and realises his circumstances aren't as he thought.

Abduction is gamely described by director John Singleton as the only time "a kid is seemingly living a life, and then is suddenly living a lie" (he can't have seen Witness, Oliver Twist, The Sixth Sense), but is basically an exercise in allowing this teenage superstar to flex his muscles, literally and figuratively both - on trains, in cars, baseball stadiums, you name it. Lautner emphasises the character's "emotional journey" was of equal importance, and you can't blame him for wanting to extend his range beyond that of a werewolf.

So how does he feel about having his name above the title and such esteemed acting peers as Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs, Alfred Molina? "I couldn't have done it alone, that's for sure," he explains, with that particular type of disarming all-American good manners. "I learnt so much from them, just watching the way they treated other people on set, as well as their acting skills."

Abduction also brings all Lautner's celebrated martial arts abilities to the set, where he admits he would get a bit carried away on set with some unforeseen consequences - he managed to knock a 6'5" "Russian" out cold, and he was told to pull it back by the directors, worried he wasn't being "realistic" - his skills were outshining those of his character.

This solo outing coincides with the imminent finale of Twilight, something Lautner describes as "bittersweet", and it's obvious that Lautner, like his co-stars, is ready to mix with a wider set, including his new biking buddy Tom Cruise:

"He didn't give me any advice (about riding a motorbike on screen), but he was very excited for me. He just told me, 'you should train'."

Abduction is on nationwide release in the UK from Wednesday 28th September. Watch trailer here:

Taylor Lautner's Breaking Solo For Abduction

2011-09-26T16:15:14Z

Okay, onto the film, a genre thriller starring Lautner as a normal chap who suddenly spots himself on a lost persons' website and realises his circumstances aren't as he thought.

"He didn't give me any advice (about riding a motorbike on screen), but he was very excited for me. He just told me, 'you should train'."

Abduction is on nationwide release in the UK from Wednesday 28th September. Watch trailer here:

Karl's Still Grumbling, As An Idiot Goes Abroad Again

2011-09-23T12:58:04Z

“You can fleece a sheep many times, you can only skin him once.”

Ricky Gervais is explaining why he and partner Stephen Merchant don’t ever put their man in the field Karl Pilkington in genuine danger on his trips as An Idiot Abroad, back tonight for a second series. It seems fans can’t get enough of Pilkington’s pale English skin and permanently furrowed brow in alien environments, but his biggest admirer remains Gervais, who says of the man sitting next to him:

“I’ve never met anyone like Karl. Wherever he goes, he’s going to have a unique perspective and say things no one has ever said or thought. I think he’s a comedy genius, even though he doesn’t know it. And I always have his best interests at heart.”

Pilkington has been sitting quietly between Gervais and co-writer Stephen Merchant until this point, when he feels the need to point out the risks involved, unusual though they may seem:

“It was only when I got back I discovered dolphins attacked people, at least when you’re with a shark, you know you’re in danger.”

A spontaneous, bizarre, deeply comedic and mostly X-rated debate ensues between the trio about the stigma of reporting a dolphin rape, whether victims in tight Speedos are asking for it, until Gervais kindly realises, “You won’t be able to use any of this, sorry.”

Back on track, it’s clear that the success of An Idiot Abroad relies on Pilkington keeping his truculent persona intact, and remaining resolutely unchanged by his surroundings. But as Schrodinger proved with his cat in a box, the very act of observing something will change its behaviour. So how can we be sure we’re getting the real reluctant traveller, and not a clever made-for-telly creation?

“I can’t let that happen, because I would end up killing myself,” explains Pilkington. “I mean, if I was doing that land dive and thinking I had to do it because I was being filmed, I’m being paid by Sky...” his disgust at the prospect is convincing.

Gervais is even more vituperative on the topic: “I’ve never been like that either. These people that would change their personality because they think they’re on telly so they have to - it’s ridiculous. How desperate are you? There are these people that live their life like an open wound who do anything, it’s celebrity-f***ing-enema. Karl’s too secure and smart for that. He’s come to this late in life and he wouldn’t do anything that he’d be ashamed of.”

Merchant, the quietest, benevolent prefect in a room of naughty schoolboys, adds, “He wouldn’t do these trips unless we were forcing him to do it, so in a sense, the whole thing is a grand experiment and he’s the cat in the box. Not dead yet.”

Gervais clarifies: “We don’t know, we haven’t opened the box. It's Schrodinger’s Deal or No Deal.”

What’s next for Pilkington - does acting on the big screen beckon? Apparently not:

“I can’t act,” he explains. “I went to a casting session in Shepherds Bush once, my agent sent me. I couldn’t do it. The part was a gay gardener who walked dogs. I had no experience.”

Gervais jumps in like Basil Brush, cackling in glee and disagreeing: “That’s not being an actor, you don’t have to have done that. I’ve seen ghosts, have I, and run a museum? I invented lying? I don’t think that’s an issue.”

However, his admiration again comes through for his long-time friend: “Karl is about being himself, not someone else, and I think it’d be strange for him not to use what he’s been given – which is that anything he says is brilliant – whether it’s hilarious, profound or genuine.”
Pilkington does admit being changed by his trips abroad, but only with a fresh appreciation of his more usual surroundings:

“One thing that’s come out of this is, I’ve realised, most of the world’s the same. You’ll have a Starbucks, a nutter, a woman with a kid screaming. The world is the same, although it might not have been ages ago, so it doesn’t matter where I go. If people travelled more, they’d realise how good it is here.”

So with all these comforts, an assurance of television wealth, the patronage of a clearly impressed Gervais to guide and buffer his way to a Homer-Simpsonesque middle-age, why is Karl Pilkington still grumbling?

“Because that’s me,” he reflects. “I’m born here, and English people like a moan. I’ve been to Africa and seen people starving, and then I get back home, and there’s no milk in the fridge, and I say to Suzanne ‘What the ****’s been going on?’ Nothing changes.”

An Idiot Abroad returns tonight, at 9pm on Sky1 HD.

WATCH:

'Warrior' Star Joel Edgerton On The Joy Of Being A B-Lister

2011-09-22T12:39:56Z

The unequal amount of attention being shared between Warrior co-stars Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton at the press junket earlier this year was almost embarrassing.

While journalists flocked to hang on Hardy’s every word, Edgerton had lots more time to call his own. But this asymmetry on the star-ometer is misleading for three reasons.

Firstly, Edgerton is a massive star in his native Australia, so can relax and enjoy the relative anonymity he experiences in London. He’s not lacking in self-confidence by any means, no doubt helped by Hardy’s recent admission that, if it came down to it, the Aussie could “take” the Brit any day. And finally, because, if a cool breeze is blowing through his publicity sheet, it could all be about to change.

“It’s the year of the Bs,” says Edgerton, confirming he is set to star in Kathryn Bigelow’s controversial planned drama about Osama Bin Laden.

“Before that, I’m back to Australia to film Baz Luhrmann’s remake of The Great Gatsby. So this is the year, but then I’ve been saying that for about ten years now, so no prisoners.”

It’s true, Edgerton has done his time. Since climbing up the TV pole with popular drama The Secret Life of Us, the man listed in IMDB with “defining feature: cheekbones” has spent the last decade to-ing and fro-ing across the Pacific, appearing in a diverse catalogue, from
Aussie epic Ned Kelly (alongside his late pal Heath Ledger) to a don’t blink part in Star Wars: The Revenge Of The Sith. It seems he’s loving the whole thing:

“The best part of being an actor is that flexibility, the chance to experiment with a safety net. One minute, I’m learning how to fly a space machine, then I’m learning to play polo for Baz, or spending months training to be a martial arts expert.”

This brings us to Warrior, a genre action film, where two brothers, torn apart by family dysfunction, both take up their lost skills in martial arts in order to conquer personal demons, enter a lucrative contest and ultimately meet – who knew? – in the competitors’ ring.

Edgerton is a celebrated quasi-hippy in his outlook – once photographed with Ledger on an anti-war march in Melbourne – so how does he reconcile this stance with the inevitable blood flow in Warrior?

“I’m a pacifist,” confirms Edgerton. “So this kind of fighting has to have its place. And that’s not on the streets or the yards where people are neither marshalled nor protected. This way, it becomes about skill. I spent months training with guys who fight competitively, and their motivation is actually the opposite of violent. It’s about channelling it somewhere – it’s almost art.”

Edgerton’s curiosity about all things film has extended behind the camera. Three years ago, he teamed up with brother Nash to make feature-length drama The Square. This was well-received by critics in Australia, but failed to light box office fire, despite a formidable marketing effort. Has he been burnt by the experience?

It has its place,” reflects Edgerton. “We learnt so much from the experience. My brother and I are best friends, so to have the chance to work together was precious in itself. And we didn’t technically lose money... so I guess you could call it a creative working holiday. Plus, it’s given me so much more insight and respect for the directors I’ve worked with since... just invaluable.”

But back to the current day, life in front of the camera and, with it, travel across the world. “It’s a period in my life when I’m single, footless and fancy free, I have no responsibilities, no anchors. Work, friendship and self-improvement, that’s me.”

Warrior is in cinemas across the UK this week. Watch the trailer below:

'The Debt' Star Tom Wilkinson Talks Courage, Violence And Never Working In TV

2011-09-22T09:27:17Z

"I was very single-minded about what I wanted to happen in my career. I wasn't going to do television or theatre, and then I got really lucky by doing Shakespeare in Love."

Tom Wilkinson is in London to talk about his role in John Madden’s intense spy thriller The Debt, which premiered in London last night. But he takes a moment to reflect on being propelled to Hollywood on the back of home-grown global hit The Full Monty. He still has no surprise at the phenomenal success of the film or his part in it:

"It read beautifully, and they didn't fiddle around with the script. When I first saw it, I knew it was going to work, because it had everything going for it. And then I heard they were queuing around the blocks in the United States, I knew everything would be all right.

The Yorkshire-born star is surprisingly intimidating in person – polite, friendly, but you get the impression he wouldn’t suffer fools, and his eyes bore through the recipient of his stare. It seems no surprise he has made such a successful career out of playing intense high-stake character parts – such as Lenny in RocknRolla, an Oscar-nominated turn in In The Bedroom and alongside George Clooney in Michael Clayton.

The Debt sees him team up with Dame Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington and Jessica Chastain in John Madden’s latest big-budget production, a spy thriller set in 1960s’ Berlin, where three crack Mossad agents are sent to bring a Nazi fugitive to justice.

Tom Wilkinson is in reflective mood, questions whether he would have the moral courage to behave like his on-screen character: “Most of us, touch wood, have never been asked the big questions, like being called up to be a soldier in a war. I assume I'm not a coward, but there are huge areas of myself that have never been tested... moral courage, all those sorts of things.

"I think I have it, I'm nice to strangers, but whether that makes me someone who would stand up for something I believe in, I don't know."

"These people (in The Debt) had to tell the truth, but most people stick with a lie. Crudely speaking, that's what happens in life, and it's probably the best way to go about things.

The film sees Wilkinson’s character being played in the past by half-Kiwi, half-Hungarian Marton Csokas, but Wilkinson isn’t bothered by whether the casting department got this right or not, “It took me about to half an hour to work out which one was meant to be me. I thought it was the other one! But I didn't think the continuity of the acting between two actors was really central, besides people change dramatically.”

What struck him more were some of the more gruesome scenes in the film, unexpected for fans of director of John Madden who might be used to his more reflective dramas such as Shakespeare in Love, Proof and Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. But Wilkinson thinks Madden’s got it right:

"It was pretty violent, I know, on two short occasions, but I think it had to be. I felt the violence added to the credentials of the movie, and if it had been generalised, it wouldn't have worked so well. I don't think it was overdone."

Faced with that stare again, it would take a braver soul to argue with him.

CLICK HERE FOR AN EXCLUSIVE CLIP OF 'THE DEBT', IN CINEMAS THIS WEEK