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  • Like Father, Like Son

    Like Father, Like Son

    Kore-eda Hirokazu’s tender and playful family drama Like Father, Like Son will be released in cinemas nationwide on October 18.

    Like Father, Like Son was the winner of the Jury Prize at The Cannes Film Festival 2013 and is in competition for the Best Film award at this year’s London Film Festival.

    Would you choose your natural son, or the son you believed was yours after spending 6 years together? Kore-eda Hirokazu, the globally acclaimed director of “Nobody Knows”, “Still Walking” and “I Wish”, returns to the big screen with another family – a family thrown into torment after a phone call from the hospital where the son was born…

    Ryota has earned everything he has by his hard work, and believes nothing can stop him from pursuing his perfect life as a winner. Then one day, he and his wife, Midori, get an unexpected phone call from the hospital. Their 6-year-old son, Keita, is not ‘their’ son – the hospital gave them the wrong baby.

    Ryota is forced to make a life-changing decision, to choose between ‘nature’ and ‘nurture.’ Seeing Midori’s devotion to Keita even after learning his origin, and communicating with the rough yet caring family that has raised his natural son for the last six years, Ryota also starts to question himself: has he really been a ‘father’ all these years… The moving story of a man who finally faces himself when he encounters an unexpected wall for the first time in his life.

  • Dead Man Down: Why New York Is Top Location

    Dead Man Down: Why New York Is Top Location

    The UK DVD release of Dead Man Down starring Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper, and Terrence Howard, and is released on September 23rd.

    New York City has been used as an iconic location in a huge number of films and TV shows spanning across all genres, this is due to the diversity of landscape and inhabitants of the city as you travel across it. From sprawling skyscrapers, to picturesque parks and ice-rinks, there is something in New York for everyone.

    For the large city that it is, New York is very accessible due to the excellent public transport and number of taxi’s available. The ease of travel across the city is a key factor in its popularity as a filming location, as well as how rapidly the scenery changes as you move from Manhattan to Queens for example.

    Below is a list of the Top 10 NYC Filming Locations and some of the films filmed there.

    TIMES SQUARE

    (Crocodile Dundee, Zoolander, I Am Legend, Jerry Maguire, Ghostbusters, Michael Clayton)

    5TH AVENUE

    (Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Godfather, Tootsie, Cruel Intentions, Meet Joe Black)

    PARK AVENUE

    (Catch Me If You Can, Leon, Men In Black, Being John Malkovich, The Devil’s Advocate)

    GRAND CENTRAL STATION

    (Armageddon, Superman, The Taking of Pelham 123, Carlito’s Way)

    PLAZA HOTEL

    (Home Alone 2, Brewster’s Millions, Scent of A Woman, Sleepless in Seattle, King Of New York)

    BROOKLYN BRIDGE

    (Transformers, Fantastic Four, Limitless, Hudson Hawk, Godzilla, The French Connection)

    BETHESDA FOUNTAIN AND TERRACE

    (When Harry Met Sally, 27 Dresses, Made of Honour, Ransom, Green Card)

    MADISON AVENUE

    (Inside Man, Kramer Vs Kramer, 13 Going on 30, Picture Perfect, Splash)

    QUEENSBORO BRIDGE

    (The Bourne Ultimatum, Salt, The Interpreter, Donnie Brasco, Get Him To The Greek)

    EMPIRE FULTON FERRY STATE PARK

    (Coming To America, How To Lose Friends and Alienate People, Analyze That, I Am Legend)

  • Wedding Ringer Cast Locked

    Wedding Ringer Cast Locked

    Screen Gems and Miramax are in production in Los Angeles on the comedy “The Wedding Ringer” starring Kevin Hart, Josh Gad and Kaley Cuoco.

    Joining Hart, Gad and Cuoco in supporting roles are Affion Crockett (“A Haunted House”), Jorge Garcia (“Lost”), Dan Gill (“The Great Gatsby”), Corey Holcomb (“Who’s Watching the Kids”), Ken Howard (“Michael Clayton”), Colin Kane (“Lift”), Cloris Leachman (“Raising Hope”), Jenifer Lewis (“Think Like a Man”), Alan Ritchson (“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”), Mimi Rogers (“Two and a Half Men”), Ignacio Serricchio (“The Young and the Restless”), Aaron Takahashi (“Yes Man”), Olivia Thirlby (“Juno”), and Nicky Whelan (“Hall Pass”).

    Jeremy Garelick (writer of “The Break-Up”) is directing “The Wedding Ringer” from a screenplay he wrote with Jay Lavender (“The Break-Up”), which was developed at Miramax.

    Miramax’s Adam Fields (“Limitless”) and Will Packer (“Think Like a Man”) are producing the film. Screen Gems’ President, Clint Culpepper, is overseeing the production on behalf of Screen Gems.

    In “The Wedding Ringer,” Jimmy (Hart) provides best man services for socially challenged guys, who – for whatever reason – have no one close enough to agree to stand by them on the day of their wedding. Doug (Gad) a groom-to-be, has found himself in just such a situation, but, to make matters worse, he fabricates the names of not only a best man but nine groomsmen as well. When all else fails, Doug seeks out Jimmy’s services to carry out a charade designed to make Doug look his best, but threatens to destroy everything if it fails.

  • Which X Factor Winners Would Make A Great James Bond Song?

    When it comes to movie soundtracks there are none more iconic than the theme songs that have accompanied James Bond films.

    From Shirley Bassey to Adele, Matt Monro to Duran Duran, there has been a plethora of talent singing the theme songs over the decades.

    Goldfinger was the first to reach number 1 in the charts, but was actually the third soundtrack composed by John Barry. It was, of course, sung by Shirley Bassey and remains one of the most recognised and iconic Bond themes ever. Shirley recorded more themes for Bond films than any other singer, including Moonraker, Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever.

    Live and Let Die by Paul McCartney was the very first Bond song to be up for an Oscar for Best Original Song, and made it to No 2 in the American charts and No 7 in the UK charts. It wasn’t until the Skyfall soundtrack, performed by Adele in 2012, that a Bond theme won an Academy Award.

    So we’ve had all these great songs by well established and respected artists, but what about our X Factor generation – who from past winners could lend their vocals to a decent Bond theme? The X Factor is back on our screens for 2013 and the nation will be on tenterhooks right up until Christmas to see whether the winner will be a major star in the making like Leona Lewis or a never made it like, well, Steve Brookstein (remember him? He won the first series and was never heard from again…)

    Ropey as some of the winners have certainly been, we’ve also seen some pretty decent artists emerging from the franchise. They may not be to your taste, but it’s pretty easy to forget that a couple of years ago 1 Direction themselves were just hoping for a break on the ITV series. Now, inexplicably to some, they have conquered America and are selling out stadiums and making films.

    It’s possible that a Bond theme by the boyband with the Midas touch could be a phenomenal success, although there is just no way they could be seriously put in the same talent frame as others who have performed the iconic songs.

    It’s too early this year to say who could be a big voiced contender for 2013, but it’s safe to say there will be some huge singers. Whether they could be good enough for a Bond film is a whole other story!

    The X Factor is big business whichever way to look at it, with some massively successful artists on its books and, perhaps less well known, an enormous industry of betting during each season. It’s become a big deal for bookies and, if you are into the show and are keenly following the contestants you should start analysing odds to see whether you’d be comfortable naming the next big deal. you should start analysing odds on sites like freebets.org to see whether you’d be comfortable naming the next big deal.

    Back to our Bond dreams though, there’s only one singer we can see fulfilling the shoes of Bassey and Adele, and that’s Leona Lewis. Hugely successful both in the US and the UK since she won The X Factor a few years ago, she has the lungs, the style and the talent to give it do herself proud.

    Maybe one day…

  • Escape From Tomorrow!

    Escape From Tomorrow!

    I cannot wait to see this!

    The plot starts out innocuously, as a family embarks on a trip to Disney World. Once there, however, the father learns that he’s lost his job. He decides not to tell his wife and kids just yet, preferring to just enjoy the vacation while it lasts. However, as the day goes on, he descends into a nightmarish spiral of paranoia and obsession.

    Escape From Tomorrow hits on October 11.