Month: April 2011

Categories
Interview Talk TV

Interview with Martin G Baker at Filmhouse

Martin Baker at Edinburgh's Filmhouse

The music has faded, the lights have dimmed and the audiences have gone home with smiles on their faces as Edinburgh Filmhouse’s weekend of Jim Henson-themed events comes to a close.

Having written about the event for the Edinburgh Evening News I was looking forward to interviewing Muppet producer Martin G Baker in a couple of on-stage Q&As following screenings of two collections of Muppet archive material.

Baker was the perfect guest for the weekend, someone with a long association with Jim Henson (he started working with him on The Muppet Show in 1976) and the Muppets themselves. He’s also a producer on the next Muppet movie, out in November in the US but not out in the UK until February 2012.

As well as our short interviews he introduced a sold out screening of Henson’s Labyrinth on Saturday night, one of the best cinema going experiences I’ve had in a while.

Thanks to Filmhouse for the chance to be a part of the weekend and to Martin Baker for being such an excellent interviewee.

Categories
Film Talk

In conversation with Peter Mullan

A quick thanks to the team at Creative Loop, the organisation developing talent for Scotland’s creative industries, who invited me along to their Student Media Festival in Glasgow this morning.

I was asked to interview one of Scotland’s most important creative talents, Peter Mullan, in front of an audience of up-and-coming talent. We discussed his career to date, with a particular focus on NEDS, his most recent film, and the students had a chance to question him.

His main piece of advice was that people need to enjoy making films in the first instance, particularly if they’re directing, as riches don’t necessarily come their way. We only had an hour and I’m sure there was a lot more to be discussed, but hopefully the audience gained something from it.

My second interview of the week will be this Saturday at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse, where I’ll be discussing Jim Henson and his career with producer, Martin Baker.

Categories
Film Talk TV

Talking TV history at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse

Same and Friends

I felt honoured this week to be asked along to introduce an upcoming event at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse as part of the cinema’s mini-festival celebrating the life and work of Jim Henson, Muppets, Music and Magic.

Between Monday 18 and Thursday 28 April, fans of Henson and the Muppets will be able to see eight films and nine compilations of Henson’s work, from his earliest attempts at making commercials right up to the productions he was working on before he passed away in 1990.

I’m a huge fan of Henson and think he created some of the most innovative television ever made, leaving the entertainment industry a much duller place when he died at an early age. His legacy is continued by his friends and colleagues, including Muppet producer, Martin Baker, whom I interviewed for both the Edinburgh Evening News and ReelScotland ahead of his appearance at Filmhouse over the Easter weekend.

I’ll be doing a Q&A with Martin at the screening of Muppet History 101, an impressive 100 minutes look through the Henson vaults at how his brand of humour became a global success. The talk takes place on Saturday 23 April at 18.15.

Here’s a clip from an early Henson production, Sam and Friends:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9R5dov0VIw]

© Photography courtesy of The Jim Henson Company, The Muppets Studio, LLC, and Sesame Workshop

Categories
Broadcasting Online

The Latest Radio Show

I was back on BBC Radio Scotland’s Movie Café this past week, discussing the re-release of Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 film, The Last Picture Show.

As I said on the programme a few times, I thought the film was fantastic and deserves its status as a classic. It’s back in cinemas now and I’d recommend trying to catch it if you can. You can listen to my section at around 35 minutes in. In the meantime here’s the trailer:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YQomR5xJ_Y]

Categories
Filming Online Writing YouTube

The Road to Hollywood

A 60s super spy at the peak of his powers. A shadowy black marketeer haunting the back streets of post-war Vienna. An African-American PI redefining the noir genre for a 70s audience. A long-unseen 1940s romance unearthed for one-night-only.

That’s just some of the line-up for the 2011 TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, those four films – Goldfinger, The Third Man, Shaft and The Constant Nymph – the tip of the iceberg of a schedule that should make any movie fan pause and wonder if they really do need to pay the bills this year or if a trip to Los Angeles is more important.

I decided the latter when I first read about the Festival, and will be visiting Hollywood in a next few weeks time to try and catch as many of the 70+ films on offer. Most of them will be original or restored 35mm prints, with many accompanied by actors, directors or others closely linked with their production.

Peter O’Toole, Kirk Douglas, Angela Lansbury, Warren Beatty, Mickey Rooney, Ron Perlman and Debbie Reynolds are just some of those attending, and I hope to interview some of them. Angela Allen, who worked on The Third Man as a script supervisor, will also be in attendance, and I was lucky enough to interview her in February for the Glasgow Film Festival.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmBxG3b2ANg]

Commissioned by the Edinburgh Evening News to cover the event on a freelance basis, I’ll also be filming as much as possible for my YouTube channel and putting together a few other features that are in the pipeline.

I’m open to any suggestions for possible articles that could come from the trip.