Category: NEWS

With only a little over a week to go until the release of Twentieth Century Fox’s stunning The Book Thief, here is a featurette: ‘A Story Unlike Any Other’.

In this featurette, Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush, Academy Award nominee Emily Watson, Director Brian Percival and the mesmerising Sophie Nélisse tell us the tale of The Book Thief, alongside some beautiful footage from the film.

Directed by Brian Percival (Downton Abbey), The Book Thief is based on the beloved international bestselling book and tells the story of Liesel (Sophie Nélisse), an extraordinary and courageous young girl sent to live with a foster family in World War II Germany. She learns to read with encouragement from her new family (Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson) and Max (Ben Schnetzer), a Jewish refugee who they are hiding under the stairs. For Liesel and Max, the power of words and imagination become the only escape from the tumultuous events happening around them. The Book Thief is a life-affirming story of survival and of the resilience of the human spirit..

The screenplay is written by Michael Petroni, based upon the book by Markus Zusak. The cast includes Academy Award® winner Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech, Pirates of the Caribbean), Academy Award® nominee, Emily Watson (War Horse, Anna Karenina), Sophie Nélisse (Monsieur Lazhar), Ben Schnetzer (Posh, Pride) and Nico Liersch (Kokowääh 2).

The Book Thief will be released by Twentieth Century Fox nationwide on 26th February, with a West End platform from 14th February 2014.

The first full length trailer for the Richard Ayode’s The Double has been launched on Yahoo Movies UK.

Simon (Jesse Eisenberg) is a timid man, scratching out an isolated existence in an indifferent world. He is overlooked at work, Sie erhalten als Willkommensgeschenk einen Bonus von insgesamt 700 Euro/ CHF 860  und dazu noch bis zu 200 Freispiele die-besten-online-casinos.info/spiele sowie ein Extra-Startguthaben. scorned by his mother, and ignored by the woman of his dreams, Hannah, played by Mia Wasikowska. He feels powerless to change any of these things. The arrival of a new co-worker, James, serves to upset the balance. James is both Simon”s exact physical double and his opposite – confident, charismatic and good with women. To Simon”s horror, James slowly starts taking over his life.

“The first film was just the start, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is absolutely incredible.” – MSN Movies UK
“Awesome.” – Nuts
“Stunning” – Daily Star Sunday
“Immense”- Empire

Some great quotes there.  The discs will be available 7th April.  Here are some of the extras to expect…

• Peter Jackson Invites You to the Set: In the Company of the Hobbit and Peter Jackson Invites You to the Set: All in a Day’s Work – Experience the film’s challenges and demands, and journey alongside the director into Mirkwood, Lake-town and Dale as the movie’s most intense, pivotal scenes are created
• Production Videos – Watch production come to life as Peter Jackson gives you an inside look at the making of the film
• New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth, Part 2 – Travel with Peter Jackson and his team across the stunning locations of New Zealand transformed by the filmmakers into Middle-earth
• “I See Fire” Music Video – Ed Sheeran’s beautiful theme song from the film is illuminated with this intimate music video

• New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth, Part 2 – Travel with Peter Jackson and his team across the stunning locations of New Zealand transformed by the filmmakers into Middle-earth

NICE.

Hurt’s Rescue, the fifth short film to be produced by the Iris Prize supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation is now available for festival screenings and to celebrate a new trailer has been released. Directed by award winning director Grant Scicluna, the 15min short film was filmed on location in South Wales (UK) and the post production took place in New Zealand and Australia.

“I’d come to believe The Wilding would be the final short film that I would make so in having the opportunity to make another I decided to experiment with things I’ve not had the chance to before. Directors never really get that opportunity. I also wanted to do something classically European because I love European cinema and as an Australian it is still exotic for me to travel to Europe, so I hoped Hurt’s Rescue might be quite different to anything you’d see made in Australia,” said Grant Scicluna.

Hurt’s Rescue Trailer from HappeningFilms on Vimeo.

“It’s the moral questions that course through the story that attracted me to Hurt’s Rescue. It’s about the rescue of an American man held as a slave by a Hungarian farming family. He’s very damaged by his ordeal but the implication is that he does not want to go home, so there’s nothing heroic about the way Tranh “rescues” Hurt. In fact, you come to question whether indeed it is the right thing to do.”

“Hurt’s Rescue is the most mysterious film I’ve made. Its narrative is unexpected, it is bilingual in Hungarian and English, shot in black and white on 16mm film with a very simple visual style and sound design. Like the short story it is based on, the issues it deals with around forced labour, Stockholm syndrome and human trafficking are very complex but the story itself is extremely simple. Everything in between is up for the taking by the audience. Nothing is wrung out or force fed,” he added.

“The Iris Prize is unique in that we are involved in both the production and exhibition of short films.  Securing an audience for new film is one of our core objectives. As Iris’ reputation grows so too does the anticipation for each new short we produce. The cinema loving public are in for a treat with Hurt’s Rescue,” said Festival Director Berwyn Rowlands.

“The Iris Prize which continues to be the world’s largest gay and lesbian short film prize is supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation and is valued ay £25,000 will be presented for the 8^thtime during the Iris Prize Festival, which takes place in Cardiff, Wales (UK) from 8 – 12 October 2014,” said Berwyn Rowlands.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has nominated Shuhei Morita’s “Possessions” for the 86th Academy Awards in the category of Animated Short Film. “Possessions” was released in Japan on July 20, 2013 as part of Katsuhiro Otomo’s “Short Peace” film omnibus. “Possessions” has already garnered a strong reputation overseas and was previously included in the official selection for the 2012 Annecy International Animated Film Festival under the original title “Tsukumo”.

“Possessions” is a themed around the idea that spirits reside inside things, and it portrays how people interact with these supernatural beings. The film fuses 3D computer graphics with animation in the style of old Japanese paintings, creating an aesthetic that is both highly original and magical.

“I’ve struggled for the past few years to understand what the style of anime is that I am trying to make. With ‘Possessions’ I could finally make a film that I was satisfied with, one that I was able to put all my soul into,” says director Shuhei Morita. “It is rare for a short film like this to see the light of day in Japan and it was very tough to make it. We are all so happy that ‘Possessions’ has been nominated and will be seen by more people around the world.”

The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony to be held at the Dolby Theater on March 2 (EST).