Done in 60 Seconds 2011

Top film industry names star in the Jameson Empire Done in 60 Seconds Film Academy

Entry is open for this year’s Done in 60 Seconds category of the 2011 Jameson Empire Awards 

Jameson is once again calling all wannabe Steven Spielbergs to enter the annual amateur filmmaker competition Done in 60 Seconds, which forms a cornerstone of the star-studded Jameson Empire Awards ceremony, taking place in London in March 2011.

To enter the Done in 60 Seconds competition, budding directors are asked to remake their favourite movie of any genre into a mere minute of screen time. Film fans from all over the world have the opportunity to produce their own 60 second movie and upload it at www.empireonline.com/awards2011/donein60seconds. The ultimate winner, judged by a panel of established filmmakers and Empire magazine editor Mark Dinning, will be unveiled at the glitzy ceremony in London, rubbing shoulders with Hollywood greats.

This year, Jameson have come together with Empire once again to create the Jameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds Film Academy, created from video footage of some of the leading names in the industry providing exclusive hints, tips and advice on how to make blockbuster movies. Previous Done in 60 Seconds supporter, British actor Jason Isaacs, offers a feature on ‘How to Make a Winner’, supported by an impressive range of talent that has contributed to the Academy: Kenneth Branagh, Simon Pegg, Ben Barnes James Purefoy and many more.

The Jameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds Film Academy was created to enable any film fan to go out and make their own 60 seconds movie. Directors, actors and screenwriters have all recorded special hints, tips and insights on the fun business of film-making – some offering sage advice, others more flippant words of wisdom. By watching the video interviews with the stars, all entrants to the Done in 60 Seconds competition will give themselves the best chance of winning the top prize.

Last year, the competition went international for the first time with over four hundred entries from seven different countries across the world including Ireland, Russia, Holland, Sweden and South Africa. This year Jameson and Empire are hoping to increase the level of international participation, inviting countries from all over the world to enter.

The filmmaker from each country that produces a winning entry will be whisked off to London for a weekend of film awards entertainment.  All international finalists will gather for their very own Done in 60 Seconds Award ceremony where five shortlisted entries will be judged and announced, winning an invitation to attend the Jameson Empire Awards two days later. There, in front of a room of top movie talent, one winner will be crowned victorious. As well as attending the big event, each of the five finalists will also win an exclusive 3D camcorder to take their movie-making to the next level.

‘We are delighted to be both continuing and building on our partnership with Jameson, delivering the best movie awards show on the planet, as well as inviting budding filmmakers the world over to become part of it’, commented Mark Dinning, Editor of Empire Magazine. ‘This year, the addition of the Jameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds Film Academy will help our movie makers produce even better films and open doors for new talent into the industry.’

Last year’s winner, Mark Wong from Cambridge, England, impressed the judges with his intelligent and humorous take on 1986 classic Top Gun. Having entered the competition twice before with different films, accountant Wong was finally crowned the Done in 60 Seconds overall winner in 2010, sharing a stage with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law.

The Jameson Empire Awards celebrate the film industry’s success stories of the year with Empire Magazine readers voting for the winners. The awards ceremony is deemed by many in the industry as the most fun awards in the British movie calendar, making it the perfect match for Jameson.

Commenting on the awards Tara O’Connor, Jameson Head of Sponsorship, PR and Events said, ‘As ever, we are very proud to be title sponsor of the Jameson Empire Awards.  We love Empire’s fun-loving and humorous perspective on film and are excited to help launch theJameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds Film Academy to really help award-entrants in this year’s Done in 60 Seconds competition.’

To log-on to the Jameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds Film Academy and to learn from the stars, visit:www.jamesonwhiskey.com/DISS

Co-operative Film Festival October 2010

THE CO-OPERATIVE WELCOMES AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR TO YORKSHIRE FILM FESTIVAL

The Co-operative is inviting film fans and budding movie makers to attend a prestigious film festival in Yorkshire, where they can meet one of the UK’s top up-and-coming directors, David Whitney.

The annual Co-operative Film Festival returns to the National Media Museum in Bradford, on Thursday 7 and Friday 8, October, 2010.

Youngsters are being urged to book early for the many different workshops, including a question and answer session with the Bolton-based filmmaker, who won “Best Film” for Kandahar Break at the Philadelphia Film Festival.

During the two-day event festival-goers will get the chance to attend free screenings which will showcase more than 100 films on the big screen made by young people aged under 19, including drama, documentary, animation and comedy,

Aspiring Danny Boyles and Steven Spielbergs can also take part in more than 20 workshops hosted by film and TV experts. Highlights include “Animation Unearthed” where youngsters can learn all about animation from David Bunting, who trained with Aardman Animations and worked on Shaun the Sheep, Disney’s The Tigger Movie andThunderbirds.

Other workshops include “Special Effects Make-up” and “Film Making for Beginners”, as well as “Editing Masterclass” with industry professional Chris Hazel, and “Create a Movie Soundtrack”.

This year’s festival attracted more than 247 productions from young film-makers, schools, colleges, youth and art groups from across the UK, and also Europe.

Festival organiser Richard Mason said: “We are delighted to welcome David Whitney to officially launch this year’s Festival and we are sure there will be many young film-makers who will be keen on asking him questions. Any young people who are interested in making movies or want to find out more about the television and film business should come along and take part in some of the fantastic workshops.

“Over the years The Co-operative Film Festival has helped showcase the talents of thousands of youngsters and inspired many to go on and work in the film industry, including Festival Patron Edgar Wright, the award-winning director of smash hits Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim vs The World, and I am sure some of the young film-makers at this year’s festival have the potential to become big screen directors of tomorrow.”

The Co-operative Film Festival, formerly known as the Co-operative Young Film Makers Festival, was launched in 1966 and is organised by The Co-operative Group, the world’s largest consumer-owned co-operative, in partnership with the National Media Museum.

Screenings are free, although advanced booking is essential, and some workshops have a small ticket price. To book tickets contact the National Media Museum on 0844 856 3799.

For further information about the Festival go to: www.co-operative.coop/filmfestival

AVATAR 3D (James Cameron, US, 2009)

Jamie Garwood writes:


I go through phases of movie-going, I try to see as much as possible, I try to see a variety of films running the gamut of emotions from laughing to crying, black and white to technicolour, silent to subtitled.

But I always have this ability to miss the boat on must-see movies, I think it started with Titanic. I didnt want to waste 3 1/2 hours of my life waiting to see a boat sink, even though that was the best bit.  The same with the Dark Knight, I refused to be cowed into seeing a film that everyone wanted to see - this might be me maintaining my individual streak, or maybe I really liked Batman Begins (which is increasingly underrated) and did not want my expectations ruined. With all due respect, I felt the untimely death of Heath Ledger led to the film being raised onto a platform ages before the correct justification, especially his performance as the Joker, which yes is mind blowing and unbelievable. When i eventually watched Dark Knight, it was on my own in a dark bedroom on a small screen (I think if i had seen it on a huge screen my reaction would have been different), and i was drawn more to Aaron Eckhart's portryal as Harvey Dent, if Ledger had lived it would have been interesting if they would have had a two horse race, because naturally Warner Bros. threw their weight behind a campaign for Ledger to be awarded posthumously for only the 2nd time at the Oscars in terms of acting awards.
 
And so we come to Avatar, watching the many trailers and tidbits and behind the scenes footage before the film was finally released, I felt like I had watched the film so many times.  My first reaction to the trailer was Ferngully meets Dances with Wolves - not an original film but the idea of a cod Disney film mixed with a half decent Western just did not seem to appeal to me.
 
But after all the adulation, the billions of dollars have gone into it, and after missing out on the Oscars (correctly), James Cameron has returned with a re-release of Avatar with 9 minutes of additional footage making it just that little bit longer.
 
The film is an amazing spectacle to look at, it paints Pandora as something to yearn for. The forest you will never play in, a wonderment of nature.  Whilst the film does smack of parables of imperialism, colonialism, anti-Americanism, pro-Native American/Amazon; once you get past the oblique political subtext the film is a joyride of action adventure. It works as a film to admire, as you can sympathise with the hero immediately, he has lost a loved one (who involved in war has not), he is disabled though no-one uses that word as they are more likely to use paralysed, though i think paralysed means unable to do anything. The hero goes into the Avatar, a construction of the Pandorian race and in a covert op aims to infiltrate the tribe and get them to move on, so the American industry can obtain the rich resource in their forest - replace the coal slash diamond matter for oil and you get the anti-Bush administration feeling here.
 
Whilst the film is a great action adventure it is the special effects that is the star of the show - why do you think he picked Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana as his leads, do you think established stars would want to play second fiddle to the FX.  There are moments of great beauty, and choosing to watch it on the biggest screen in the UK, the South Bank IMAX does the film the justice it deserves.
 
So maybe you should sometimes be patient, and if you do not have time to see the film on the big screen initially seek it out on one. Much like I did when I saw 'The Magnificent Seven' on the bfi screen in June. A sight and wonder to behold for certain.

West Is West

RECEIVES WORLD PREMIERE AT THE TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL – 12 SEPTEMBER 2010 

THE SEQUEL TO THE SMASH HIT FILM

EAST IS EAST 

REUNITING ORIGINAL CAST MEMBERS OM PURI, LINDA BASSETT, JIMI MISTRY, LESLEY NICOL, EMIL MARWA & INTRODUNCING AQUIB KHAN 

THE UK PREMIERE AT THE

LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 19 OCTOBER 

Manchester, England, 1976. The now much diminished, but still claustrophobic and dysfunctional, Khan family continues to struggle for survival. Sajid, the youngest Khan, the runt of the litter, is deep in pubescent crisis under heavy assault both from his father's tyrannical insistence on Pakistani tradition, and from the fierce bullies in the schoolyard. So in a last attempt to ‘sort him out’, his father decides to pack him off to Mrs Khan No 1 and family in the Punjab, the wife and daughters he had abandoned 30 years earlier. It is not long before Ella Khan [Mrs Khan No 2], with a small entourage from Salford, England, swiftly follows to sort out the mess, past and present.

Directed by Andy De Emmony (Fantabulosa), written by Ayub Khan-Din (East is East) and produced by Leslee Udwin (East is East). Starring Om Puri, Linda Bassett, Lesley Nicol, Emil Marwa, Jimi Mistry, Ila Arun, Nadim Sawalha, Vijay Raaz, Raj Bhansali and Aquib Khan.


WEST IS WEST will open in cinemas everywhere across the UK February 2011 

Become A Film Tweeter at the London Film Festival

As official hosts of the London Film Festival,
Vue searches for the ultimate film tweeter

To celebrate its official hosting of the 54^th BFI London Film Festival, in partnership with American Express from 13^th – 28^th October, Vue Entertainment today launched a search to find the ultimate film tweeters to review the Festival’s highlights on behalf of Vue cinemas.   

Three lucky winners will have the chance to review some of the Festival’s highlights on behalf of Vue including; Never Let Me Go, starring Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield, as well as Danny Boyle’s new film 127 Hours and the thriller Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman and Winona Ryder. 

The winning tweeters – who will be chosen by Vue’s very own Tweeter and movie expert - will each receive exclusive press passes to the Festival as well as travel and hotel accommodation in London. To be in with a chance of winning this money-can’t-buy opportunity and to be one of the first to see a whole host of fantastic new films, simply visit www.myvue.com/londonfilmfestival, tell us why you should be picked to be Vue’s official London Film Festival reviewer (max 400 words) and write a review of the last film you’ve seen in just 140 characters.  

Vue’s flagship West End cinema on Leicester Square is the home for many of the Festival’s galas and “Film on the Square” events again this year after the Festival relocated to Vue in 2009. Packed full of state-of-the-art digital and 3D technology, Vue West End will give movie-goers the best quality seating and viewing experience from which to enjoy the wealth of premiere festival entertainment on offer. Priority booking for the London Film Festival will be available to those Vue customers on 26^th September who have signed up to the e-newsletter.

Tim Richards, CEO at Vue Entertainment, says, “At Vue, we’re honoured to be the official host of the prestigious BFI London Film Festival for the second year running, and what better way to celebrate this than to share the experience of the Festival with some of our biggest film fanatics. Live Twitter updates from the Festival by film fans, is the perfect way to bring the whole experience to life for people up and down the country.” 

Sandra Hebron, Artistic Director of the 54^th BFI London Film Festival, says, “We’re delighted to be returning to Vue to host many of the exclusive galas and events. Vue is a perfect choice as it has long been one of the flagship cinema venues on the square, and will again provide the festival with a range of modern venues which will be able to cope with the increasing demand from the Festival audiences.”

The 54^th BFI London Film Festival, in partnership with American Express runs from 13-28 October 2010.