Live for Films has moved

For some unknown reason Google decided to suspend my blogger account and remove the Live for Films site for the past couple of days.

No warning or reason was given and having looked through their Terms of Service I cannot see what I had done to have that action taken against me.

While it was offline I decided to start again over on Wordpress so if you care to update your links you can now find me at

http://liveforfilms.wordpress.com/

http://www.liveforfilms.com will also take you there.

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Public Enemies - Press Conference Part 1 - Marion Cotillard

Yesterday I was at the Public Enemies press conference in London. It was fantastic. It's not everyday you get a chance to listen to Michael Mann, Marion Cotillard and Johnny Depp talk about their films. I was also lucky enough to ask a question of both Marion and Johnny. Who would have thought it!

They each came out separately and we had about 20 minutes to ask them questions. I will start of with Oscar winner, Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose) and post Michael and Johnny's later today.

Before each one we were asked to keep our questions relevant to the film. A bit of a shame as I wanted to ask Marion about her work on Christopher Nolan's Inception. Oh well. Marion looked lovely in a long green dress. All of them came across as happy, confident and they all seemed to enjoy the questions. I managed to get a photo of them all, but the one for Marion was very blurred so I couldn't use it.

Why did you say yes to Public Enemies?

Because I’m a great fan of Michael Mann and when he asked me to star I couldn’t believe it and I was very happy. I met him and read this beautiful script.

How was it doing the American accent and how did you prepare for that?

It was a technical issue and it was very hard. When I started I thought it was not possible at all, but I really tried to do my best. Fortunately Billie was half French, although she’s not supposed to have French accent.

It’s very technical. You really have to work and work. Practice and using your whole face, jaw, tongue, body in a total different way. It was very interesting. There were hours and hour in front of a mirror with my vocal coach because you don’t think how you speak.

There were so many men in this film. How did you feel being on set in one of the few female roles? Did you feel excluded?

No, absolutely not. Michael Mann has a great respect for women. He’s surrounded by women in his life and I think that is why the women in his movies are very strong. They really have strong personalities and they have a very special place in all his movies so I felt really welcome.

Michael asked you to meet some gangster’s wives and girlfriends. How was that?

They were actually convicts wives some of them were not with gangsters. They were all so generous to share their stories, the very painful experiences they had. We spent a few hours together and it was very emotional because they were very emotional going through the full story of their life.

More than their stories and they were important, but what they felt when they told me their stories. They went back through all those feelings, fear and extreme pain because you don’t know what’s going to happen when you are alone. Some of them had kids

*at this point Marion was distracted by one of the Dictaphones in front of her causing her to laugh *

I could see and feel their pain and fears because you don’t know what’s going to happen the next day. It helped me a lot. You gather some emotions and feeling. It creates your character.

You said you didn’t know anything about Dillinger as all so you must have done a lot of research to find out about him. He’s an American folk hero. Is he known in France at all?

I’m not very sure. I think that my generation doesn’t know Dillinger and yeah I didn’t know anything about him. I didn’t even know his name. The first thing I read about him was the script and the book, Public Enemies. I didn’t do a lot of research about him. My research was more about the period, the American history, and the Indian history because Billie Frechette is half [Menominee] Indian. I really wanted to know about American culture and Indian culture. I knew about the era I learnt at school about the crisis in the Thirties, but I didn’t know that much about American history. What I read about Dillinger was just the script and the book. I watched a lot of pictures of him, but my research was on the Thirties and the American culture.

I never talked about Dillinger with anyone. He may be well known with French people.

Was the experience of working with Michael Mann more than you anticipated?

When I met him, right away, when I came in his office I felt that there was a connection between the two of us. I don’t know how to explain it. I really love him as a person and a director. I wanted to be perfect for him. I wanted to give the best of my best. I don’t know if I did. He was inspirational.

Then it was my turn. I was the gentleman in the third row!

What was it like filming the interrogation scene? How much preparation did you have to do?

The difficulty of the scene was that when you have a very emotional violent scene to do you think of the technique and I had to keep the mid-western accent. It was very difficult, as I had to let it go but at the same time not think about.

I love extreme scenes. I would say that after this kind of scene I feel empty but also fulfilled. I think it may feel like when you do sports and you have a competition like the 100m. After that you feel tired and empty but fulfilled because you did something that was intense. I really love it. It’s not difficult but it is technical.

How deeply did Christian Bale and everyone stay in character? He apparantly kept his accent on between scenes

I didn’t work with him too closely. When we were filming everything was in the Thirties. I think there is something that stays with you while you film. For example if you have an accent you keep it between the scenes, as it is hard to get there. Sometimes it is better to stay there even when you are not shooting, because if you totally get out of it to come back is the same journey. Before I did La Vie en Rose I thought it was dangerous to stay in character and more than that I thought it was kind of ridiculous. I had a judgement because I didn’t know that it’s really hard to go back there. After that my opinion, it was not even an opinion it was a stupid judgement because I didn’t know what I was talking about. Now I know I didn’t force myself to stay in character. It was easy. I couldn’t stop between takes because it was so much work to get there. I really do understand this now.

Thank to Marek at Way to Blue for inviting me and for MPC for the screening.

Part 1: Marion Cotillard

Part 2: Johnny Depp

Part 3: Michael Mann

Public Enemies review

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Off to London to see the Depp

There won't be many more posts today and tomorrow as I am heading off to London. It is the Public Enemies screening and press conference tomorrow so I will be reporting on that late tomorrow or Wednesday.

I would schedule some posts for while I am away but the blogger scheduling system is cabbaged for the moment so schedule denied! Plus I don't have a laptop with wifi so can't post while I'm away.

Stay tuned for more updates as and when - If I get on a PC with internet access in London then I'll post more.

Hope your Live for Films withdrawal isn't for too long.

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Exclusive Interview - Toby Wilkins, director of Splinter

Splinter is an excellent horror movie. Creepy, scary and even though it only had a small budget it looks like it cost a lot more. It has a great creature knocking off a cast who act their socks off. It also leaves you pondering what caused the creature and a few well placed shots and comments mean you can have great discussions afterwards.

The highlight for me was the creature itself. At first you think it is a straight forward zombie kind of thing, but then things grow, mutate, stretch and crawl. Before you know it you are watching something rather different to the usual creature feature.

Trapped in an isolated gas station by a voracious Splinter parasite that
transforms its still living victims into deadly hosts, a young couple and an
escaped convict must find a way to work together to survive this primal
terror.

It stars Shea Whigham, Paulo Costanzo (Road Trip), Jill Wagner (who would make a great Wonder Woman), Rachel Kerbs, Charles Baker and Laurel Whitsett. Small cast, small set, big horror.

I really recommend the film (check out the review) and I was lucky enough to have a chance to ask the directer, Toby Wilkins, a few questions. It was a quick little interview via Twitter.

Describe Splinter to those who have not yet seen it

It's a fast paced, gory indie horror film. My homage to the creature features and contained siege horror that I loved as a kid

The design and movement of the creature is creepy and quite unique. How did it develop?

The creature idea had been in my head for ages. Bringing it to life practically took many talented SFX artist and physical performers

How did you get into the film business?

I started in design, doing titles for films and some vfx, but always directing my own stuff on the side. I guess it was just will power.

What was the first film you ever watched?

I have no idea. In England we had just three TV channels, and the BBC would show great old movies, no ads, and I couldn't get enough.

If you were going to be killed by any movie villain or monster who or what would it be? What would your last words be?

It would have to huge, like maybe the creature from The Host, and I would take it with me, with a cheesy quip like "Eat This!"

What will you do differently when making your next feature?

Hopefully I will get more time to shoot and rehearse, so far every film I have done has been on a pretty insane shooting schedule

Did the low budget help or hinder the feel of the film?

I think the film fit the budget well. A contained setting, very few characters, and we kep the energy high shooting as fast as we did.

What advice can you give to any new filmmakers filming this?

Just get out there and make films, shorts, whatever. Lots of them. Learn as much as you can from each, and then move on to the next.

What are your favourite films and what films are you most looking forward to seeing this year?

Alien, Blade Runner, 28 Days Later, The Game, 2001, The Ring, The Shining, Time Bandits, Inglourious Basterds, Where the Wild Things Are.

What are you working on next?

I'm not ready to announce anything just yet.

Thanks for your time Toby.

Check out Toby's blog and follow him on Twitter.

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DISQUS - New comment system

Like a few other sites, I've decided to upgrade the old comment system.

I've signed up for the DISQUS system. It's got all sorts of whistles and bells on it that I will no doubt have no clue of until someone points them out to me.

You can sign up for a Disqus user account which will give you profile features, a user avatar, the ability to track your past blog conversations (over multiple sites) plus you may also be the top commentator. You can also sign in to comment using your Twitter or Facebook accounts as well.

I'll see how it goes and if it seems well liked I'll keep it. If not I will return to the blogger comments.

Have a go and let me know what you think.

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Live for Films is 1 today

Who would have thought that the little blog I started a year ago to keep my mates updated on film things would be going strong and have a worldwide audience.

What a year it has been. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would be interviewing cool filmmakers (Duncan Jones, Andrew Barker, Alejandro Adams, Ryan Denmark, Marc Robert & Will Stotler, Kenny Carpenter) and amazing authors (Michael Marshall Smith, Neal Asher) . I was invited to Channel 4 HQ to talk about Red Riding. Studios told me to take down photos and posters that hadn't been officially released. A few times I was the first with photos and news stories which was cool. Over 4000 posts, thousands of visitors, funny comments, and so much more.

What's coming up in the next year? Hopefully, a revamp of the site over the next week or two. My first press conference (Public Enemies) which will be cool if it pulls off. More interviews. If I can figure out what to do with them I may have some Live for Film pod casts. Lots of movie nights. Maybe a Live For Film Movie season at some local cinemas (just need to work out costs and things) and lots and lots of posts. Oh and I also need to find a new job to pay the bills.

Thanks to everyone who has visited the site and those who follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Friend Feed or Blogger. Thanks to all the people who have taken their time to post comments and the wonderful people who have sat down to write movie reviews for the site.Thanks to all the people on the LFF Forum (if you are not on it go and join now. There are good people on it). Thanks to all the people who send me emails with great news and links - keep them coming.

Thanks to all the other sites who have linked to me or referenced me as a source. Thanks to all the PR people for sending me trailers, press releases and screener discs.

Thanks to all my friends who share my love of film and put up with me chatting about the site. Thanks to my Wife for putting up with my web surfing for new stories and thanks to my kids for being great. Thanks to the rest of my family for all their help.

Thanks to Parallel Solutions for their patience and knowledge regarding all IT matters. Thanks to all the filmmakers for making films and to those indie filmmakers and fan filmmakers who keep on making inspiring works on a tiny budget.

Most of all thanks to you - the person reading this right now - you are brilliant and I really appreciate the time you took to read this, and other, posts. Keep coming back and tell your friends.

Thanks.

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

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My Wife is on an advert

When you get to the 0:40 mark on this advert you will see my beautiful wife Catherine.

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

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Farewell to the Relfinator

Today is a sad day.

My good friend, Pete Relf - work colleague, man of a thousand names and fellow comic book and video game fan - is finishing work today to travel around Europe.

Do not be fooled. The photo on the left is not that of the brilliant silent movie actor Harold Lloyd it is the Relfinator. It is also a colour photo. Don't ask.

There you have it ExceedTron, Inspector Gadget, McLovin, and all the rest of his names has left the building.

You will be missed Pete. Hey, let's be careful out there.

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

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Classic Scene - Is it safe? - Marathon Man

You may have noticed that Live for Films has been a bit quite today. There is a reason.

Yesterday I was struck down with the most hideous pain, worse than that pain ray thing Ming the Merciless uses in Flash Gordon. Tooth ache in fact. I woke up this morning and the pain had increased exponentially to really, really painful.

It was a mad dash to the dentist where, after some x-raying (but no manifestation of super-powers), the big molar was yanked out in pieces.

With a big hole in my mouth and mucho painkillers I am now in a semi-normal state.

My dentist was most friendly and efficient but all the yanking and pulling of teeth put me in mind of this classic scene from Marathon Man starring Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier.

If you are due a trip to the dentist soon do not watch this.

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

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Exclusive Interview - Duncan Jones. Director of Moon.

Moon is the cool looking science fiction film starring Sam Rockwell as a lone lunar miner who's time on Earth's satellite is almost over. During his last few days on the Moon things begin to get a little weird. The film is produced by Liberty Films and is the feature debut of director Duncan Jones.

I recently got in touch with Duncan to ask him a few questions about the film and himself. He was kind enough to take the time to answer them and provide me with the photos in this post.

He has some good advice for new filmmakers and it is always good to speak to a fellow computer game and comic book fan. I am itching to know what games and comics he wants to adapt, but he won't say any more!

Without further ado here is the interview.

How did you get into filmmaking?

I kind of started filmmaking to begin with when I was a kid, got distracted during puberty and slowly made my way back after a long diversion into academia. I had been in grad school for a few years, was miserable and got the chance to work on a TV show Tony Scott was directing. He was incredibly cool and supportive and told me to get off my ass, go back to London and work my way into commercials as a route into films. I took his advice and about ten years later... made my first feature film!

Can you tell us a little more about your new film Moon?

Well, its an indie sci-fi film, but we were painstaking in the way we put it together to make sure it looked and felt like a much bigger film. For that reason alone, I am incredibly proud of the result, but the real coup was getting Sam Rockwell to not only be in the film, but to give what he himself admits is one of his best ever acting performances. Its smart sci-fi, but it's also funny, sad, hopeful and very human. I think there's a lot of goodness for all sorts of people in this film.
How did you get Sam Rockwell involved? If he had been unable to do it who else would you have liked for the part?

Sam and I met up about 3 years ago to discuss another project. That one didn't work out, but we got on really well, and I knew I wanted him in my first feature no matter what, so I decided I would write something for him. It took about 9 months to get the script together, and about 3 more for him to agree to do it, but frankly, if he hadn't agreed, I don't know who else could have. It was very specific to his talents. Characters name was "Sam!"
Was Moon always planned to be a small 2000AD Future Shocks story or was it scaled down due to the budget?

Oh God yes! It was designed to be a low budget, "calling-card" first feature film, with a very heavy list of priorities and requirements as to what we hoped to achieve. It was like a military objective; make this film for this much money using these resources, at this time and knock the studios socks off so that NEXT time I get to make a REAL film! Fortunately everything went so well, we ended up with a film we could be proud of in its own right.
Would you do anything differently on your next feature?

Of course. This film was designed to succeed under incredibly adverse conditions; Not enough time, money, pre-production... all sorts. It worked out in the end, but we really gave ourselves the mother of all challenges making it. I'll probably scoff at this in years to come, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if in the future, I remember this as one of the most challenging films I ever had to make.

What is your favourite genre? Will you be sticking to science-fiction?

The next film will be sci-fi, but that is in no way the only kind of film I want to make. I would love to do some other genres. I was a little bummed to hear about Inglorious Basterds when Tarantino announced it, as I have always wanted to do a WW2 gang on a mission movie, but things are cyclical.. I may still get a chance. And frankly, I am just excited to see what he has made! Westerns, deffo... and as you mentioned 2000AD, there are certain stories and characters from that holy book I have wanted to make since I was a kid.
Your favourite piece of science-fiction technology?

The automated sentry gun in Aliens was the coolest thing I had ever seen, when that film came out... Deckard's photo analysis computer from Blade Runner was right up there too. I know its not a film, but I NEVER felt like anyone captured cyberspace as I imagined it in William Giobson's Neuromancer. Robocop's ED-209... Winner!

Who are your favourite filmmakers?

Too many to mention.. its like asking "what's your favorite food flavor?" Im inspired, in awe, shocked, angered, upset and more by all sorts of films, and even if I dont like a film, it informs and hopefully refines what I want to do in my own work. I admire visualists like Ridley Scott, David Fincher, Tim Burton and Luc Besson. I love story tellers like Akira Kurosawa, Stanley Kubrick, Michael Mann, I love mavericks like Robert Altman and Terry Gilliam. Sometimes I get as big a kick out of "bad" films as I do out of well made ones. Its a difficult, possibly impossible question to answer.

If you could have made one film, what would it have been?

If it was a film I admired, I dont think I would want to touch it, as I might break it... if it were crap to begin with, I would rather work on something of my own. Still... I was on "the twitter" the other day, talking about remakes, and did mention that I thought as sacriligious as it might be, I could see myself trying to remake Fritz Lang's "M," given half a chance.

What is your favourite video game of all time and what are you playing at the moment?

Oh! For sheer life changing, defining nerd making moment, it has to be Richard Garriot's Exodus Ultima III on the c-64... I spent SO MUCH TIME drawing out maps one bloody step at a time on graph paper! hahaha... and then there was the Amiga 500. Oh man. Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe, Dungeon Master, Lemmings, Shadow of the Beast, Neuromancer the game! Lots of great stuff... As for now, been giving WOW a revisit, but its not the game I want to play. Frankly the game I want doesnt exist. I may have to see if I can ever get the clout to have my rough designs for a game turned into something. Call of Duty "World at War" is a beautifully made game on the PC. I have consoles, but I still only really play games on the PC. Im old school that way.

Are there any comic books or video games you would like to adapt for the big screen?

Yes to the first, yes to the second and I'm afraid I couldnt tell you even if I wanted to. ;)

What film do you first remember watching?

Probably Errol Flynn's "The Seahawks" I LOVED that film.. Pirates, heroes, adventures. Think its part of what gave me the desire to do a "guys on a mission" film.

Which actors/actresses, dead or alive, would you like to work with?

Easiest question you have given me! I am SO upset I never got to meet, or work with Oliver Reed. If I had been around earlier, or he had been around later... ahhh.. the films we could have made!

What happened to your Dad's character in David Lynch's Fire Walk With Me? (Duncan's Dad is David Bowie)

No idea.

Have you ever found your Dad's legacy to be a burden?

I do my best to be judged by my own achievements. If what I do is worthwhile, things should go ok. If I suck at my job, I'm sure there will be some schadenfreudian bastards out there happy to slam me twice as hard. Them's the knocks.

What advice can you give to any new filmmakers reading this?

Create a gang. Get together people around you and build a team. There are two things that make films happen 1) a good script and 2) momentum. Having a group of people of various talents wanting to make your project happen is the fastest and best way to create momentum. The script is up to you.

What are you favourite films and what film are most looking forward to seeing this year?

Again, too many to mention... I always go back to Altman's MASH and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner at least once a year. There is a little known sci-fi B-movie called "Blood of Heroes," (also known as "Salute of the Jugger") starring Rutger Hauer and Joan Chenn that puts a smile on my face. It created a vivid, imaginative future world and is, in my opinion, right up there with the original Roller Ball as the best future sport film ever!

If you were going to be killed by any movie villain or monster who or what would it be? What would your last words be?

Michael Ironside in Cronenberg's Scanners... and I wouldn't have a last word, I would just throw him one of those stares that they all use to communicate to the audience they are doing some seriously evil mental shit.

What are you working on next?

Hopefully another sci-fi film! A slightly bigger budget, and a very different feel, as its a city based thriller that takes place in a future Berlin. It's a loving homage and companion piece to Blade Runner, even if the story has nothing in common.

When and where can we see Moon?

Well! Comes out on June 12th in NY and LA, then rolls out across the US week by week. It comes out in the UK on July 17th! the UK release should be pretty widespread from week one... Im so excited and terrified at the same time, I don't really know what to do with myself... I just hope British audiences are proud of what a little British indie film has been able to pull off!

Duncan Jones thanks for your time and good luck with the film.

Check out the official Moon site.

You can also follow Duncan Jones on Twitter.

Discuss in the forum

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Live for Films has a new forum

The last forum I set up was a bit of a non-event. There were some great people on it, but spammers sailed into view and it became a place of spam and despair.

I have now found a new Forum provider and have set up a new one for people to chat about all things film.

Head on over, sign up, start new topics and discuss amazing things.

Leave a comment on this post below.

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I am looking for a new job - Can you help?

As some of you will know, my current job as a Coach for NU Motor Insurance is being made redundant at the end of June.

That leaves me in the lucky position of looking for a new place of work. I would love to make a living from this little place on the web that you know as Live for Films, but that is just not going to happen at the moment.

Therefore, I am spreading my search for new employment through the network of friends, followers and people who have stumbled across the best movie blog in the World.

What I am asking is if you know of any jobs or anyone who can help could you email me the details so I can have a look. Even better would be if one of you reading this could offer me a job straight away, but I know the world doesn't always work like that. You can look at my CV here.

I am based in Liverpool, England so would preferrably want a job based there or around Merseyside. Mind you if it could be done over the web then it can be based anywhere. I am hard working, creative, brilliant, awesome and all the other great words that apply.

It would be great if it could be something a bit more creative - editing, drawing, writing, working on a film / TV show etc, but I will of course consider anything.

If you can help, please get in touch and email or RT this to anyone who may be able to help.

Here is my CV.

Thanks for your time and sorry for the interruption to the normal Live for Films schedule. Be sure to check out the rest of the site if this is your first visit. It's all good.

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MalWare strikes

Apologies for the lack of posts yesterday, but the Live for Films Supercomputer was hit by a nasty piece of mal ware which kicked me off the internet.

It's still cabbaged but I've got access to another PC today. Hopefully things will be back up to speed before you can recite the complete works of Michael Bay.

Thanks for your patience.

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Live for Films reached 100,000

That's right, in the early hours of this morning (GMT) Live for Films had its 100,000 hit. Great stuff.

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has visited the site since it started in the middle of June last year. I really appreciate it and glad you like the site.

Going to try and make the site even bigger and better. Onwards and upwards.

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My Twitter Mosaic of Followers

Get your twitter mosaic here.

Thanks to everyone who follows LFF on Twitter sorry that this mosaic program can't include you all.

Leave a comment on this post below.

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