Monthly Archives: May 2020

  1. The Great Escape

    The Great Escape

    You might remember a film from about 10 years ago made by one of my favourite directors ever, Peter Weir, it was called The Way Back and starred Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Saoirse Ronan and Colin Farrell. It was supposedly from a real life story, but doubts about the veracity of this surfaced after the film premiere and this affected the box office it taking only $24 million worldwide. (Though it did get a single Oscar nomination for best make up.) As it was by one of my heroes I decided I must interview him and the cast, so I went to one of the dog and pony shows that film makers are required to attend. Sturgess didn’t show so I had to make do with Weir, Harris, Ronan and Weir. I was thrilled, I totally enjoyed Colin Farrell in everything he had done to date and I was convinced that once people learned to how to pronounce Saoirse’s name she would be one of the greatest actors of the age. I mean that: Really, show biz is funny, like art.

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  2. True Story – Hobbits and the NHS

    True Story – Hobbits and the NHS

    As this is a fairly recent blog readers won’t know I used to have a job that was sheer hardship. I interviewed actors about their latest films. If you’ve ever seen the monster mega hit Notting Hill you’ll know that film reviewers are ushered through on a conveyor belt; although I never wrote for Horse and Hound, as Hugh Grant purported to work for in that film. And I’ve never met Hugh Grant although I did think he was great in Paddington 2 and lived just down the road at one point. But one that I did meet was the lovely Andy Serkis who played Gollum in the Lord of the Rings.

    Soho’s Planet of the Apes Moment

    It was the usual deal in a Soho hotel strewn with flowers and Andy was playing Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, you might remember it. He was great! The film I felt a bit cooler on. I was blown away by the

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