Patrick needs sponsorship – and the outcome could be horrific

8:10am Sunday 23rd February 2014 in News

By Rick Bowen

Patrick O’Brien

FOR horror convert Patrick O’Brien, not securing funding for the short film he wrote would be his worst nightmare.

The 25-year-old needs to raise £6,000 to bring his short movie, Vanity, to the screen.

If made the piece will last around 40 minutes and will be shot in various locations including Hale.

Patrick has written the script for a film he describes as ‘Dorian Gray meets Hannibal Lecter’ and the production team for Cohort Pictures also includes award-winning director Courtney Edwards.

Patrick said: “Without giving to much of the plot away it’s about a very sinister gentleman called Julius Crowley who invites a lady around to his house and there are a lot of unforeseen events that happen.”

He has a background was a member of Altrincham Garrick’s youth theatre for many years, acting opposite Will Finlason who went on to appear in Epstein: The Man Who Made The Beatles. The Bowdon resident furthered his acting training at Loreto Sixth Form College in Manchester.

Patrick describes himself as ‘a very big horror fan’ but added: “I didn’t used to be as a kid, strangely enough, they used to really scare me. i really like the horror genre because you can actually make a really decent horror film now with a very low budget.”

* Anyone interested in supporting the Vanity fundraising campaign should visit igg.me/at/Vanityfilmuk. A fundraising event is also planned at a later date.

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Burnley schoolchildren in safety campaign launch

2:11pm Friday 21st February 2014 in News

Kelly Fort, Calico Creative’s producer, with Jason Beaumont-Clough, 11, who worked on the films

BURNLEY schoolchildren will make ‘no bones’ about telling bad drivers what they think of them at the launch of a new safety campaign.

More than 150 budding movie makers have created a series of animated films to highlight the dangers faced by young pedestrians.

The No Bones project will be overseen by the social enterprise Calico Creative.

Burnley currently has the highest rate of road safety-related accidents among young people in East Lancashire.

The scheme, commiss-ioned by Lancashire County Council (LCC), will see pupils work with partners including Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service.

Those involved learned screenwriting, animation, music and graphic design skills during a trip to the MediaCityUK complex.

County councillor John Fillis, LCC’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “No Bones delivers important messages about road safety.”

Jason Beaumont-Clough, 11, who was involved in designing the No Bones characters, said: “I had a lot of fun.”

The movies will shown for the first time at Burnley College, from 4.30pm to 5.45pm on March 3.

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Arnewood sixth formers get emergency training in dealing with train crash scenario at New Milton

9:57am Thursday 20th February 2014 in News

By Jane Reader

ON CALL: Students at the centre of a major drama

Sixth-formers from The Arnewood School in New Milton found themselves at the centre of a dramatic crisis after becoming involved in an emergency training exercise.

The exercise followed the aftermath of a horror crash at New Milton railway station involving a de-railed freight train and a passenger train from Bournemouth.

It saw the students take on the roles of emergency service personnel, injured passengers and the media.

Called ‘Freight-Fright,’ this one-off exercise was led by retired crisis incident expert Mal Phillips.

He was able to create a realistic scenario thanks to the involvement of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, British Transport Police, Winchester-based science centre Intech, the hazardous material team from Hampshire Police, the emergency response team at Hampshire County Council and Southampton General Hospital.

Mal, who developed BP’s first Emergency Response Centre in Aberdeen just before the Piper Alpha incident in 1988, said: “Emergency training provides many educational benefits for students.

“There was science as they learned about the properties of the hazardous materials caused by the fuel spillage of the crash and drama, communication and decision-making all played key parts during the exercise.”

The sixth-form area of the school resembled a scene from a horror movie as students doused in fake blood lay ‘injured’ in and around the classrooms.

A fire engine from New Milton station with flashing blue lights and camera crews scrambling for the best shots all helped to create a heightened atmosphere for the exercise.

Even Hampshire County Council’s emergency response team and Southampton General Hospital got in on the act.

The students made regular phone calls to update them on critical numbers. And Sarah Newman from Intech at Winchester stepped in to play the part of Home Secretary Theresa May to demonstrate the national importance of such an incident.

Head teacher of The Arnewood School, Chris Hummerstone said: “This was a fantastic experience for all of our sixth-form students who I know got so much from the day.

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the emergency service people who were able to combine their regular training with his special exercise. All of us now have a greater understanding and insight into what happens when there is a major incident and the fantastic work our emergency services provide.”

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Bolton comic book fan’s dream job on Guardians of the Galaxy

1:57pm Thursday 20th February 2014 in News

By Saiqa Chaudhari, Education reporter

A scene from Guardians of the Galaxy

MARVEL comic fan Scott Brindley is reaching for the stars as he works on Guardians of the Galaxy — the forthcoming Blockbuster film based on the comic strip superheroes.

The 25-year-old University of Bolton special effects graduate has been working on the film, which is due for release later this year.

Scott moved to Bolton from Lesmahagow in Scotland after securing a place at the university. He went on to secure a job with Framestore a digital effects studio with offices in London, Montreal, New York and Los Angeles.

Their credits include numerous feature films as well as BAFTA and Oscar nominations for their work on recent hit, Gravity.

He said: “I would definitely say that I am a fan of the Marvel movie universe so it’s really amazing to be working on a part of that.

“I really liked the Avengers movie mainly because of the chemistry of all the characters together and I am a big Joss Whedon fan.

“I originally joined the course at Bolton to work in physical effects as I had previously studied model making.

“During my first year I found that I was enjoying the digital side more and more every week and since the start of my second year worked fully on the digital side with the dream of getting a job working in film.”

Guardians of the Galaxy will be the 10th film released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and centres around a group of inter-galactic heroes as they fight a cosmic threat.

Scott added: “The film is CG heavy with characters such as the giant tree creature Groot and anthropomorphic racoon, Rocket, being entirely computer-generated.”

Other Marvel films that have featured special effects work from Bolton Alumni include Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor 2: The Dark World.

Special effects development graduate, Natalie Woods, even went on to be featured on screen in Thor 2 after being spotted on set and offered a small non-speaking role as an imprisoned alien in a post-credits scene.

Scott added: ‘The course was massively helpful, in terms of both being taught the right skills and making contacts in the industry.

“The lecturers are great and give so much time and attention to students and really care that you do well after university.

“I really enjoyed my time studying at Bolton, the effects department is like a massive family with a great atmosphere between staff and students.”

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Witches of Eastwick hitting Chelmsford stage

11:30am Wednesday 19th February 2014 in News

Witches of Eastwick hitting Chelmsford stage

WITCHCRAFT will come to Chelmsford next week… when amateur performers take on a musical version of a famous Jack Nicholson film.

Members of Chelmsford Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society will be at the Civic Theatre stage in Fairfield Road for their latest production, The Witches of Eastwick.

Starting on Tuesday night, the show will run until Saturday with performances every evening plus a matinee on the final day.

The plot revolves around three New England divorcees whose fantasies about their ideal man become true when Darryl van Horne shows up.

Van Horne, who was played by Nicholson in the 1987 movie, scandalises the town of Eastwick by seducing the ladies one-by-one before introducing them to the power of magic.

Playing the three main ladies are Claire Carr, Sarah Barton and Alison Hartley while taking the role made famous by the multiple-Oscar winning actor will be Gareth Barton.

In 2000 the film, which was based on the novel by John Updike, was transformed into a musical for the West End.

The production went onto become highly successful and has since toured the world.

Tickets cost £14 on the first two days and £16 for the other three dates.

To book a seat, either call the theatre’s box office on 01245 606505 or visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk/theatres.

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ARUM SAYS SONSONA’S KO PUNCH WAS ONE OF THE BEST HE’S EVER SEEN

By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 23 Feb 2014

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who was enamored with Marvin Sonsona when he saw the lanky southpaw in his pre-fight, press public workout in Macau, said his knockout punch that flattened former WBA super bantamweight champion Akifumi Shimoda on Saturday night was “one of the best punches I’ve ever seen in 50 years of boxing.”

Arum spoke to the Manila Standard from Macau before leaving by ferry to Hong Kong and then taking a flight to Las Vegas. He said the attendance at the Cotai Arena of the plush Venetian Resorty Hotel and Casino was “tremendous and everybody loved it.”
Arum was ecstatic. He said “what a left uppercut. It traveled such a short distance with such power. It was an incredible punch.”

He said the 23 year old Sonsona who captured the WBO International featherweight title “can be a superstar,”
Arum told us that promotional partners Sammy Gello-ani and Sampson Lewkowicz want to have him work with us which is fine. They both seem like nice fellas so we are going to integrate him (Sonsona) into future cards both in Asia and the United States.”

However, he agreed with our observation that Sonsona would need one or two more fights before he goes after a world title.
Arum, who didn’t really know the style of Sonsona or his gameplan noted that “in the first two rounds he looked like nothing. It seemed like a mismatch” before he exploded with a devastating uppercut that knocked Shimoda out cold.

He was also extremely pleased with the performance of the three Olympic gold medalists on the “Ring of Gold” card. He said two-time Chinese Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming who scored a 7th round knockout over Thailand’s Yokthong Kokietgym will have two more ten round bouts before he fights for the IBF flyweight title in November against another former Olympian Amnat Ruenroeng of Thailand.

The Top Rank promoter was also impressed by middleweight Ryota Murata, the 2012 London Olympic gold medalist who scored a 4th round TKO over veteran Carlos Nascimento if Brazil and Russia’s London Olympic light heavyweight gold medalist Egor Mekhontsev who won by a 2nd round TKO over previously unbeaten Attaporn Jaritram of Thailand in a six round bout.

He said the Japanese, Murata, has “a tremendous personality and should be a movie star.”

Sonsona (L) poses with Arum after Sonsona’s spectacular knockout victory over Akifumi Shimoda of Japan Saturday night in Macau. Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank.

Jon Ronson and Nick Hornby are among the speaking line-up for Bridport’s Page to Screen festival

2:00pm Tuesday 18th February 2014 in Local News

By Rene Gerryts

A still from the film Frank

A TRIPLE bill of speakers will open this year’s From Page To Screen film festival in April.

The festival is the only one of its kind in the country dedicated to the adaptation of books into films and will be from April 2 to 6.

The opening night will feature a special screening for members only of the movie Frank, which received rave reviews at last month’s Sundance Film Festival.

The film was directed by Lenny Abrahamson and co-written by Jon Ronson, From Page to Screen’s guest curator.

Frank is an offbeat comedy, starring Michael Fassbender, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Domhnall Gleeson, about a wannabe musician who finds himself out of his depth when he joins a maverick rock band led by the enigmatic Frank – a musical genius who hides himself inside a large fake head.

Written by Mr Ronson, a journalist, documentary filmmaker and author of non-fiction books including The Men Who Stare at Goats and Peter Straughan, a writer and director best known for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Frank is a fictional story based on the memoir by Mr Ronson, who played the keyboards in Frank Sidebottom’s band.

Mr Ronson will be on stage after the screening, ‘in conversation’ with Mr Straughan and Mr Abrahamson.

Earlier in the day you can see Ronson’s new one-man show Frank: My Story and get the true story behind the movie.

Polly Gifford, director of Bridport Arts Centre, said: “We are thrilled to have such an amazing triple bill of speakers for our opening night and we will be rolling out the red carpet in Bridport.”

Frank isn’t scheduled for release in the UK until May but festival audiences can see it first at this special event.

The screening is only open to festival members but tickets include day membership.

Last month it was confirmed that author Nick Hornby will be attending this year’s From Page to Screen festival, ahead of a screening of A Long Way Down, his fourth novel to be made into a film. Mr Ronson and Mr Straughan will also be on stage before a showing of The Men Who Stare at Goats, the 2009 British comedy war film starring George Clooney. The screenplay was written by Mr Straughan and based on Mr Ronson’s book.

A full programme of Mr Ronson’s film choices will be announced later this month. Bridport Arts Centre in collaboration with the Electric Palace cinema will show a range of films over five days at the two venues.

Most screenings will feature a talk by authors or film-makers, giving audiences the chance to go beneath the surface of their favourite films and discover more about the film-making process.

Mr Ronson’s other books include international bestsellers The Psychopath Test and Them: Adventures with Extremists. His latest book is a collection of real-life adventure stories – Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries. Mr Ronson writes for the Guardian and has his own Radio 4 series Jon Ronson On. His many Channel 4 documentaries include Secret Rulers of the World and Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes.

From Page To Screen was founded in 2009 by Bridport Arts Centre, inspired by the Bridport Prize – one of the UK’s longest running and respected literary prizes.

More details can be found at frompagetoscreen.org.uk.

People can become friends of the festival again. Some extra benefits include advance notification of events and early bird booking, complimentary invites to a special ‘Friends’ event and free tickets for the festival raffle.

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Ex-Goldsmiths pupil Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave wins best film at BAFTAs

10:19am Monday 17th February 2014 in News

Ex-Goldsmiths pupil Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave wins best film at BAFTAs

FORMER Goldsmiths student Steve McQueen’s slavery drama 12 Years A Slave resisted the force of Gravity to pick up the best film gong at the BAFTAs yesterday.

McQueen accepted the best film gong and thanked his “one and only mother for having the faith, never give up”.

He told the audience: “There are 21 million people in slavery as we sit here. I just hope 150 years from now our ambivalence will not allow another film-maker to make this film”.

The film also won the leading actor award for its star ex-Dulwich College pupil Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Controversially for some, McQueen was pipped for the best director award by Alfonso Cuaron, whose film Gravity won six BAFTAs.

The best supporting actor award went to Barkhad Abdi for his role as a Somalian pirate in Gravesend filmmaker Paul Greengrass’s movie Captain Phillips.

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Bournemouth graduates celebrating after Gravity wins big at the BAFTAs

8:56am Monday 17th February 2014 in News

By Steven Smith, Chief Reporter

Bournemouth graduates celebrating after Gravity wins big at the BAFTAs

BOURNEMOUTH graduates are celebrating after a film they worked on won big at the BAFTAs.

As reported in the Daily Echo, around 10 alumni of Arts University Bournemouth and 40 from Bournemouth University’s National Centre for Computer Animation worked on Alfonso Cuarón’s Blockbuster space thriller, Gravity.

At the glittering ceremony on Sunday night, Cuarón won best director, while the movie took outstanding British film.

It also won gongs for original music, cinematography, sound and special visual effects, having been nominated in 11 categories.

Work on the film was led by world-leading visual effects company, Framestore.

Much of the film is photo-real CGI, with the only real elements often just Sandra Bullock and George Clooney’s faces.

Graduates from the universities were recruited by Framestore to work on the paint, roto and tracking for the film at Framestore’s satellite VFX studio, based in the Enterprise Pavilion at the Bournemouth campus.

AUB graduate Lars Erik Eriksen, who worked as a paint and roto artist on the film, said: “It was the steepest learning curve I’ve ever had and such an amazing opportunity to be working on a Hollywood movie right on the AUB campus.”

BU graduate Sam Salek, who completed the MA in Digital Effects at the NCCA in 2010, worked as a compositor on the film.

“When we started working on it, we all felt that we were working on something very special, yet no-one really anticipated the phenomenon it became,” he said.

Sofronis Efstathiou, framework leader for postgraduate visual effects and animation courses at BU, said: “It’s fantastic to see Gravity enjoying such success at the BAFTAs, and we’re really proud of the part that Bournemouth has played in the film’s creation.”

It is not the first time that NCCA alumni have had their work recognised with high-profile awards.

More than 50 graduates and former BU academics worked on the Oscar-winning visual effects for Avatar, while MA Visual Effects graduate Andy Lockley won an Oscar in 2011 for his work on the special effects for Inception.

Gravity has also been nominated for a number of prestigious awards – including best picture and best visual effects – at this year’s Oscars.

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East Lancashire firm in BAFTA Gravity glory

9:00pm Tuesday 18th February 2014 in News

Prince William at the BAFTAs

AN East Lancashire firm has once again helped a Hollywood movie to glory with its audio technology.

AMS Neve, based in Billington Road, Burnley, provided the equipment used to mix the music soundtrack for Blockbuster Gravity, which picked up a haul of BAFTAs, including best original music, sound, special effects, cinematography, and outstanding British film.

Alfonso Cuaron also scooped the best director award for the flick, which stars George Clooney and Sandra Bullock.

The film had its soundtrack and audio tracks mixed, or recorded, on AMS Neve’s consoles. Captain Phillips and Philomena, which were also produced using the company’s technology, were also successful.

Barkhad Abdi won the award for best supporting actor for his role as Somali pirate Muse in Captain Phillips, while Philomena writers Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope won the award for the best adapted screenplay.

AMS Neve’s global distribution manager, David Walton, said: “We’ve been involved in many of the films again this year. We are extremely proud to continue to contribute to global entertainment.”

The AMS Neve DFC Film console is a past recipient of its own Technical Oscar for its design and contribution to the art and science of motion picture sound mixing.

All AMS Neve products are designed and manufactured in Burnley, and 80 per cent of these are exported to more than 40 countries.

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