Art Thou Beguil'd Now? - Christopher Eccleston News

2015-03-04T14:04:00.000+00:00

CE Films - Part 19 - 2012-2013

2014-12-31T17:43:00.000+00:00

PART 18

BLACKOUT

2 Jul 2012

TV series (3 parts) | Dir. Tom Green | Wr. Bill Gallagher

Role: Daniel Demoys (politician).

ATBN page - Gallery - BBC site - Red Production Company site - IMDb - Get: Region 2

"Three-part drama about a corrupt council official who wakes from an alcoholic blackout to realise that he may have been responsible for a murder." [BBC]

"Over the years Daniel Demoys has had it all. A loving wife, kids, the chance to make the world a better place. But over time he has gone from being idealistic and driven to a disillusioned and corrupt council official. He’s also an alcoholic and drug addict and is fast driving a wedge between him and his family. But the deadly fallout of his alcohol-fuelled and corrupt actions is about to change his life forever – can he make amends for his past? Blackout is an epic, edgy thriller following a man battling with his own dark soul as he makes a stab at redemption." [BBC Shop]

...if this were the Seine we'd be very suave, but it's just the rain washing down the boulevard...

Alex: "Could've done really well in Toronto, our Daniel. I take even the most out-there CE titles in my stride, but this one just makes my brain baulk. From the technical point of view, it's great, this hipster showcase for the lighting and camera departments (except for the focus in bands – awful idea). From the story point of view, it's like the Weinstein Co waded in and 'rescued' it. And while I prefer it to the stylistically inept ego trip that was 'The Shadow Line', I can't fathom why they decided to go with a fable, without irony, without any sort of anchoring.

"It's like they were choosing between two brilliant shows: An abstract reality that will look super cool, and a McGovern-esque narrative carried by dramatic actors. And in some quantum accident these two currents melded together. Certainly, you can even cross Eastenders with Avengers if you like, but have a reason for doing that. And if you can't control your story, it just ends up dead. Sure there are bright parts, Daniel interacting with his children and his sister, in particular. But look at Eccleston's character as a whole: Some wonderful, masterful even, moments (I think his 'death row' mode is now my favourite), but they don't add up. I've no idea who Demoys is supposed to be. And in the end I don't care. Especially after that lukewarm finale that they dished up, essentially just calling time. Also I'm too cynical to believe in irreversible political decisions – it really must be a parallel universe.

"The story-lines have obviously concertinaed as a result of reduced running time. And yet it's clear the story is far from hopeless. It could've been fascinating. Daniel's built a rather cosy if not exactly healthy world for himself and his family, the worst way. After the blackout, he's suddenly facing actually working as a politician and figuring out his family life. After all this steering after money and anaesthesia, it's likely the possibilities in this new world would tempt to continue not to look under the carpets and behind the curtains. So why not sharpen to a knife-edge his life as a puppet for the shadow corporations and spend at least a couple of episodes exploring how he at the same time does succeed in remaking himself – building a complete, complicated second layer of the character that seemed irredeemable – only to then smash everything to pieces.

"I've defended several titles that others had written off in the past, and the Beeb really denied Blackout any chance it could have gambled for by shunting it into the death zone of mid-summer TX. Still, I can't talk it up because there are interesting, functioning bits in there."

Conclusion: A good source of inspiration for DoPs on Eccleston's future projects.

DVD Notes:

2012 "BBC/Red productions" Region 2&4. English HOH subtitles. No extras.

SONG FOR MARION

aka 'Unfinished Song'

15 Sep 2012 (Toronto International Film Festival)
Film | Dir. & wr. Paul Andrew Williams
Role: James (son).

ATBN page - Gallery - Steel Mill Pictures site - Weinstein Co site - Twitter - IMDb - Get: Region 1, Region 2

"Set against the backdrop of a quirky local choir, Arthur joins the chorus to honour his recently deceased wife’s promise and passion for performing. Choir director Elizabeth tries to convince a reluctant Arthur how singing can help him to embrace life again after the loss of his wife Marion." [Steel Mill]

"For Christopher Eccleston, who plays Marion and Arthur's son James, the decision to sign up for Unfinished Song was an easy one. From Our Friends in the North to Flesh and Blood he's been frequently drawn to father-son relationships. Though Eccleston has a fantasticrelationship with his own father, he recognized the truth of the Arthur and James dynamic. "I think in Britain the way working class men of past generations of fathers and sons related to each other is that there was an awful lot of love without a lot of closeness," he says. "There was no expression of love. And the relationship that Terence and I portray very much draws from that pool. But with the loss of their mother and their wife they're forced into each other's orbit and it's important in the film that they move towards redemption." To Eccleston the lack of rehearsal time for the film didn't really matter: "The three of us were well cast together as a family." A well-established and respected actor himself, he still felt very much the eager-to-learn junior. "I've seen Vanessa on stage many, many times and sat in the audience in awe. It's a big deal for an actor to get to work with another actor like that." [production notes]

Alex: "Like 'Amelia', 'Song for Marion' is an indie that went mainstream. In both cases there was some awards chatter that went quiet slowly but surely. Unlike the aviation disaster, this film is fairly decent. There are some daft choices, and it's clearly been chiseled into a pleasanter shape, but it's very watchable mainly thanks to the actors: Stamp, Redgrave, Eccleston are indeed well cast, and it's not just promo-speak. There are some fine nuances to James as a character (compare f.ex. with another car mechanic and father from 'Perfect Parents')."

Conclusion: I agree with Terrence Stamp that it should've been a grittier drama dealing in depth with the themes hinted at here. But it also could have turned out much worse.

DVD Notes:
2013 "EntertainmentOne" Region 2. Extras: Audio commentary with director/writer & producer, interviews with cast and crew, deleted scenes, outtakes (CE featured). English SDH subtitles, audio description.

EMILY

21 Jun 2013 (Palm Springs International ShortFest)

Short film | Dir. & wr. Caroline Harvey

Role: James.

ATBN page - Site - Twitter - Facebook - IMDb - N/A

"Emily puts two English characters within the framework of a stereotypically French film, deconstructing a common sexual fantasy to explore the moment two strangers meet and attempt to fill their loneliness with each others' need."

THOR: THE DARK WORLD

30 Oct 2013
Film | Dir. Alan Taylor | Wr. Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely; story by Don Payne
Role: Malekith The Accursed.

ATBN page - Traileraddict - ComingSoon - Marvel site - IMDb - Get: Region 1, Region 2

"Marvel's 'Thor: The Dark World' continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself.

Alex: "Nothing much to say. Eccleston steps into the same river for the third time. Cue surprise marathon make-up sessions and good part of his scenes getting left on the editing room floor. Result – two-bit villain that could've been astonishing."

Conclusion: If you're a comic book movie fan.

Production notes pdf.

LUCAN

aka 'The Mystery of Lord Lucan'

11 Dec 2013
TV film (2 parts) | Dir. Adrian Shergold | Wr. Jeff Pope
Role: John Aspinall.

ATBN page - Press pack [pdf; source] - IMDb - Get: Region 1, Region 2

"The drama will tell the story of Lord Lucan's exploits as a member of the infamous Clermont set and will focus on his marriage collapse to Veronica, the Countess of Lucan. With his marriage disintegrating, Lucan became obsessed with regaining custody of his children. Ultimately the drama will reveal what happened on that fateful night in November 1974 when his children's nanny, Sandra Rivett, was cruelly bludgeoned to death in the basement of the family's home in London's Lower Belgrave Street as she made her way to the kitchen to make a cup of tea." [ITV Media]

Alex: "I can't really move past how yellow-press-like this whole affair is. Much of it is still guesswork, despite the quite solid fundaments in the form of the book that inspired the project, Pearson's 'The Gamblers'. As a film it left me rather indifferent. Eccleston's casting was remarkably left-field, and he nearly pulled it off, despite the accent that was turned up to 11."

Conclusion: For completists, really.

Another Pearson book project with Chris Eccleston is coming in 2015 – 'Legend'.

CE Films - Part 18 - 2010-2011

2014-12-25T12:35:00.000+00:00

PART 17

LENNON NAKED

12 Jun 2010

TV film | Dir. Edmund Coulthard | Wr. Robert Jones

Role: John Lennon.

ATBN page - Gallery - PBS site - BBC site - IMDb - Get: Region 1, Region 2

"Thirty years after the death of John Lennon, Lennon Naked tells of the turbulent lifestyle of one of the twentieth centuries biggest icons. Christopher Eccleston stars as the enigmatic musician in a defining period of his life – a time of disillusion, self destruction, transformation, and ultimately, hope. John Lennon is one of the most enduring figures in musical and cultural history. One quarter of 'The Fab Four', peace activist, visual artist and author, he was a man whose personal life was characterised by drama, intrigue and eventually, conspiracy." [2entertain]

Alex: "I won't discuss how historically correct the whole thing is, yet I would like to say that this film is not really a biography. For example, you can make a film about "a character who is greedy", and you can make a film about "greed". 'Lennon Naked' is not as much the former as the latter, a film about "John Lennon". [...]

"'Lennon Naked' is enjoyable – and perhaps even more so if you, say, transfer certain sequences from narrative to poetic level for interpretation. It's a one-off role for Eccleston, and in that aspect 'Lennon Naked' is interesting." Read full review.

Conclusion: He doesn't wear jeans, not even once. Could have been, and should have been much better.

DVD Notes:
Info and review.

ACCUSED
15 Nov 2010

TV series | Dir. David Blair | By Jimmy McGovern

Ep. 1: 'Willy's Story'

Role: Willy Houlihan (plumber).

ATBN page - Gallery - BBC site - IMDb - Get: Region 2 [also on Netflix, iTunes, Acorn TV]

"Lapsed Catholic plumber Willy Houlihan (Christopher Eccleston) is about to tell his wife Carmel (Pooky Quesnel) that he's been cheating on her when their daughter (Joanna Higson) announces she's getting married. Willy struggles with his secret and with the costs of the wedding and so he makes a pact with God that he'll give up his mistress, with whom he is still planning to run away with, if God will help him with his financial difficulties." [Acorn]

Alex: "The authors suggest that the driving force is that you don't know which crime it was that put Willy in the dock [...]. What added extra weight and poignancy to the film for me, was how by learning more about Willy, I started to understand better and better what it means for him to be in that situation, being the accused. [...] While there might be some issues with the story, it's a great portrayal of the character by Christopher Eccleston." Read full review: 'Once upon a time in the North West'

DVD Notes:
2011 "Acorn Media" Region 2. Extras: 'Behind the Scenes' (interviews with S. Williams, D. Blair, J. McGovern); cast filmographies; subtitles.

THE SHADOW LINE

5 May 2011

TV series (seven parts) | By Hugo Blick

Role: Joseph Bede (criminal florist).

ATBN page - Gallery - BBC site - Isle of Man Film site - IMDb - Get: Region 2 [also on iTunes]

"Thriller drama about a murder investigated by both sides of the line, cops and criminals, and the opposing methods they use to solve it." [BBC]

This is a massive ego-trip by Hugo Blick, where questionable technical quality combines with some perfectly measured performances, resulting in a classic love it or hate it product. Eccleston's storyline is probably the strongest, and his performance is unparalleled in this decade.

More of Alex's thoughts: 'Bouquet of barbed wire'

Conclusion: Double gut-punch of it not being Bede's series and his actual tragedy.

DVD Notes:

2011 "2entertain" Region 2 & 4. Extras: 8 deleted scenes.

THE BORROWERS

26 Dec 2011

TV film | Dir. Tom Harper | Wr. Mary Norton (book) & Ben Vanstone

Role: Pod Clock (heroine's father).

ATBN page - Gallery - Working Title site - BBC site - IMDb - Get: Region 1, Region 2

"Based on the Mary Norton novels that have delighted generations of children and adults alike, The Borrowers follows the adventures of Arrietty Clock (Aisling Loftus), a head-strong teenage Borrower whose parents, Pod (Christopher Eccleston) and Homily (Sharon Horgan) are terrified of the world of the 'Human Beans' who live above them. Desperate for freedom and adventure, Arrietty sneaks upstairs one night and befriends James (Charlie Hiscock), a lonely boy who lives with his father (Shaun Dooley) and Grandmother (Victoria Wood). But Arrietty's voyage of discovery inadvertently reveals her family's existence to the scheming scientist Professor Mildeye (Stephen Fry), forcing them to go on the run into the big bad world... Enlisting the help of Spiller (Robert Sheehan), a leather jacketed tearaway with a roguish glint in his eye, Arrietty embarks on a daring mission to outsmart Mildeye and return the Clock family to their home in time for Christmas." [Working Title]

Alex: "Only the second film for children that Eccleston has taken part in, and just like the first it's a mixed affair.

"I absolutely love the realism that permeates the portrayal of the borrowers' lives (Eccleston creates here a fine kids-friendly version of his man's man characters). Sharon Horgan shines as Homily – together with Eccleston they're a great duo (priceless moments of her taking Pod down a peg or two, and the emotional words when they're in captivity). And then there are the human beans. I've nothing against Stephen Fry, but his side of the story is just a pointless cartoon. With a plot hole too.

"From the technical side, it's beautifully shot, set design is inspired, and the effects are mostly convincing. But the film is mellow all the way, like one great big strawberry cream. Even the action sequences didn't pull me out of the slumber."

Conclusion: For winter Sunday mornings.

DVD Notes:

2012 "Universal" Region 2, 4 & 5. Extras: 'The Making of The Borrowers' (CE featured).

PART 19

'Safe House'

2014-11-04T19:46:00.000+00:00

Spring 2015

TV series (4 episodes)

Wr. Michael Crompton

Dir. Marc Evans

Role: Robert (ex-policeman).

News

2015 Jan 7 ITV Drama trail:

Nov 3 ITV Border set report:

Eccleston quotes. On open water swimming

So I've really experienced it: it's exhilarating. It's not a great thing to think about, you know, but once I'm in there doing it and I do do it in a wet suit and in one sequence I've got a wet suit on and I'm fully clothed because the character panics. It's really exhilarating and a great thing to say for when I'm an old man I can say that I did it.

Trying the Coniston Chill Swim and the Great North Swim

I'd love to do all that. I've really enjoyed the swimming but I'm a big runner. I've not been able to run much here because of the work but I have done a couple of 10 milers and I'm aware of your great fell runner Joss Naylor. I've got the latest book on Joss - the beautiful hardback - very interested in that. I've done some beautiful runs while I've been here, I ran from Water Yeat from Coniston and back.

Local experience

Also the locals... you know? Cockneys and Londoners are very friendly but London itself is very impersonal and it's been very refreshing to have the warmth of the Lakelanders again. We've been made to feel very welcome. I think we've, you know, we've brought a very positive feel to Coniston. We've been made particularly welcome here.

Video 1 - extra Christopher Eccleston interview

Video 2 - full report, CE featured

Video 3 - extract with Andrew Benson

Oct 6 Official casting announcement from ITV:

Cast announced for atmospheric thriller Safe House to be produced by Eleventh Hour Films

Acclaimed British actor Christopher Eccleston (The Leftovers, Thor: The Dark World) will be joined by Marsha Thomason (White Collar) and Paterson Joseph (The Leftovers, Law & Order: UK) in a new four-part drama series Safe House from Eleventh Hour Films. Safe House is a tense thriller set in the beautiful wilderness of the Lake District.

The cast will also include Jason Merrells (Emmerdale, Waterloo Road), Nicola Stephenson (All At Sea, Holby City), and Peter Ferdinando (Doctor Who, A Field in England) and is set to commence filming today; Monday 6th October.

The 4-part drama tells the story of a married couple: Robert (Christopher Eccleston) a former detective and Katy (Marsha Thomason) a teacher who are asked by close friend and police officer Mark (Paterson Joseph), to turn their remote Guest House into a Safe House.

Their first 'guests' at the Safe House, are a family in fear of their lives after they are violently attacked by someone who claims to know them. For Robert protecting the family resurrects fears and anxieties bound up in a terrifying night eighteen months ago – where he was protecting a star witness who was about to testify against her gangland husband. Unexpectedly, he was shot, and she was killed. As a consequence of running the Safe House, Robert re-questions this incident and uncovers a web of lies.

Inspired by a real couple, Safe House is a distinctive character-driven drama created and written by Michael Crompton (Kidnap & Ransom, Carrie's War), and directed by award-winning Marc Evans (Hinterland, Collision) and produced by Andrew Benson (Strikeback, Mad Dogs). It is being developed by Eleventh Hour Films' Paula Cuddy, who is also an Executive Producer, alongside Jill Green.

Safe House is potentially a returnable series for ITV and Eleventh Hour Films and was commissioned by ITV's Director of Drama, Steve November and Controller of Drama, Victoria Fea.

"We're delighted to commission Safe House from Jill Green and Eleventh
Hour Films. It's a compelling four-part drama from Michael Crompton with great characters and genuine twists which keep you guessing right to the end."

Jill Green (Foyle's War, Collision, The American) said: "This brilliant idea for a psychological thriller has attracted a strong cast – and will keep viewers gripped."

Oct 2 Michael Crompton tweets about Christopher Eccleston's involvement in the project.

May 1 Original commisioning announcement from ITV:

ITV commissions atmospheric thriller Safe House from Eleventh Hour Films
ITV has commissioned a new four-part drama series Safe House from Eleventh Hour Films. Safe House is an atmospheric thriller set in the beautiful wilderness of the Lake District.
The drama tells the story of a married couple who turn their remote Guest House into a Safe House. Inspired by a true story, Safe House is a compelling character-driven drama created and written by Michael Crompton (Kidnap & Ransom, Carrie's War).
ITV's Director of Drama Steve November and Controller of Drama Victoria Fea have commissioned Safe House.
"We're delighted to commission Safe House from Jill Green and Eleventh Hour Films. It's a compelling four-part drama from Michael Crompton with great characters and genuine twists which keep you guessing right to the end."
Safe House is EHF's first production to be originated and developed by the indie.
Jill Green (Foyle's War, The American), Managing Director and Executive Producer at Eleventh Hour Films said: "Safe House is a quality drama with intelligently crafted characters delivering a complex and engaging story that will keep the viewer gripped."
Safe House has been developed by EHF's Head of Development Paula Cuddy (Strike Back, Wallander) and will be directed by award-winning director Marc Evans (Hinterland, Collision). The drama is a 4 x 60' commission and will begin filming this autumn.

Mar 18 Series green-lit (Michael Crompton's tweet). It's been two years of development.

'Legend'

2014-07-09T15:21:00.000+01:00

2015

Film

Dir. & wr. Brian Helgeland

Role: Leonard Read (Inspector).

Film's twitter --- Facebook --- IMDb

News:

Jul 8 Lower res on-set pictures here, here and here.

Jun 12 Shooting starts. First official image of Tom Hardy released. Christopher Eccleston and other casting announced - Deadline / The Hollywood Reporter.

The film is based on a book called 'The Profession of Violence' by John Pearson (who also penned 'The Gamblers' which was the basis for ITV's 'Lucan'). The previous attempt to put the Krays on the big screen, from 1990, was helmed by Peter Medak - it landed him the 'Let Him Have It' job. 'Legend' also features Emily Browning, David Thewlis, Tara Fitzgerald ('A Doll's House'), Chazz Palminteri, Taron Egerton.

May 18 Worldwide sales at Cannes - Deadline.

Apr 30 Cross Creek/Universal to distribute in North America - Variety.

2014 Feb 24 Working Title comes aboard as producers, Tom Hardy is in talks - Screen Daily.

The script takes in associates, rivals - such as notorious gangster Jack "the Hat" McVitie, who was murdered by Reginald in 1967 - politician Lord Boothby, and the brothers' nemesis in the police force, DS Leonard "Nipper" Read, who made it his life's ambition to put the Krays behind bars.

2013 Oct 12 "Helgeland talked about the project at a Writer's Guild of America West reception Oct. 10", having handed the script in two weeks ago; report in LA Wave.

'The Leftovers' - Reviews

2014-06-27T20:40:00.001+01:00

Main 'The Leftovers' page

Chris Eccleston relevant quotes.

SPOILERS

Episode 3

Ben Lee - Digital Spy - Was episode 3 the finest piece of TV drama in 2014?

Eccleston appears in every scene, and he is absolutely 'fantastic', as the Ninth Doctor would say, breathing life into his character in a grounded and incredibly effective way and delivering one of his best and most human performances to date.

Rotten Tomatoes - podcast

Brenda Cronin - The Wall Street Journal / Speakeasy - Episode 3, 'Two Boats and a Helicopter'

[...] a pitch-perfect Chris Eccleston, who never escalates into caricature even when dappled with dried blood, scars and bruises [...]

Robert Ham - Paste - 'Two Boats and a Helicopter'

Eccleston honors each shade of Jamison's personality through this hour of television so perfectly. He lets loose for only one moment, but otherwise keeps this portrayal from going over the top. The body language is stiff and economical, the facial expressions barely betraying the real emotions going on behind the scenes. And his vocal choices are perfect, coming across as someone who has spent his whole life over-enunciating so as to be understood from the pulpit and shepherding people through life's rough patches. Considering what he endured on screen for the previous 50+ minutes, Eccleston would have been forgiven a few scenery-chewing outbursts, especially at the very last scene. Instead, he stands stock-still, letting us read the terror, anger, and confusion playing behind his eyes.

Michael M. Grynbaum - The New York Times / ArtsBeat - Into the Dark, With a Cliche or Two

Mr. Eccleston is tremendous as the reverend, a more complex and fully realized character than the stupefied Mapletonians we've met thus far.

Brandon Ambrosino - Vox - 'The Leftovers' third episode is perfect television

Tim Surette - TV.com - Reward and Punishment, for the Reverend and for Us

And it was pretty good, overall, thanks in large part to Christopher Eccleston's magnetic and strong performance. Matt's attempts to save his church became an series of highs and the lowest lows imaginable, and Eccleston wore his character's failures and misfortunes like a ratty old T-shirt covered by a jacket of determination and drive as he plowed through obstacles until he literally couldn't move anymore.

Kelly Braffet - Vulture - Always Bet on Red

And Eccleston is so damn good, his gaunt, sad-bloodhound face battered and held together with steri-strips – his desperation, the strength it takes him to will himself to believe.

Matt Fowler - IGN - Reap of Faith

'Two Boats and a Helicopter' featured a wonderful performance by Eccleston, still echoing the whimsy of that "little boy" who longed for attention.

Rated 10 (Masterpiece; one of the pluses: Eccleston's performance)

Nick Harley - Den of Geek - 'Two Boats and a Helicopter' review

Christopher Eccleston's character stands center stage in this installment, and the talented actor makes the most out of the material, breaking your heart slowly every step of the way.

Kevin Yeoman - Screenrant - A Test For What Comes Next

[...] a fantastic hour of television that is spearheaded by the nuanced work of Christopher Eccleston as Rev. Matt Jamison. [...]

For his part, Eccleston manages to perfectly convey Matt's desperation and anger at potentially losing his church [...]

Nick Venable - CinemaBlend - Christopher Eccleston Loses At Life In Two Boats And A Helicopter

This week's episode, 'Two Boats and a Helicopter,' treats viewers to a full-length dip into the acid-filled baptismal pool that is Reverend Matt Jamison's life, and Christopher Eccleston's superb performance will make you want to drown yourself in it.

James Poniewozik - Time - The Leftovers Spins the Wheel of Fortune

Eccleston's stressed-out performance here is commanding top to bottom. Every blow in Matt's life has hammered a spring within him tighter; if you put a mood ring on him, it would probably explode.

Erin Carlson - Mashable - Starved for Attention

After two so-so episodes, the HBO drama's third installment finally hits a home run with an hour devoted entirely to Rev. Matt Jamison, portrayed by the ferociously talented British actor Christopher Eccleston, who nails a suburban New York accent and pretty much everything else. [...]

Eccleston oozes an unholy blend of desperation, mania and rage during Matt's risk-fueled spree to win big money and quick.

Previews

Jun 30

Kimberly Potts - Yahoo TV - 'The Leftovers' Postmortem: Hang in There, It's About to Get Amazing

And because Episode 3 - don't worry, we're not about to drop any major spoilers on you - is fantastic, one of the best episodes of any TV drama this year.

Titled "Two Boats and a Helicopter," the story plays pinball with your heart and your head, and most definitely your nerves. Focusing on Christopher Eccleston's Reverend Matt Jamison, who was introduced in the premiere, Episode 3 whipsaws between hope and dejection, perfectly meshing heartbreaking backstory and current day events with a big reveal on character connections.

It's almost a standalone episode, in fact, award-worthy for Eccleston's performance, and for a story that draws you in and makes you forget you might have been thinking about breaking up with the series after the somber beginning.

Alan Yuhas - The Guardian - Intense, Unpredictable, Occasionally Brilliant

There are some recognizable tropes [...], and a handful of much more interesting characters: a pastor on a quest (Christopher Eccleston), [...]. These four characters are well acted and for the most part well written. An episode devoted to Eccleston's character manages to be captivating, moving and inevitable all at once, and is a fantastic sign for what the series could be.

Jun 29

Linda Ge - Up & Comers - 'The Leftovers' Is a Mysterious, Tense Character Study

Episode three, a somewhat jarring stand-alone story solely following the story of the town's doggedly persistent pastor, is also surprisingly the show's strongest thus far. Credit must be paid to Christopher Eccelston [sic], who takes his character Matt Jaminson [sic] through a wide range of roller coaster emotions and life events over the course of 24 hours as he fights to save his church. It's almost a shame the story will probably return mostly to the Garveys, because Jaminson himself could be a completely watchable show on his own, with all the shades of a grey of a complicated man trying desperately to do what he believes is right but pushed increasingly to the edge.

Vicki Hyman - New Jersey - Apocalypse How?

The strongest episode so far is the third, which focuses on a minister played by the dynamite Eccleston ('Doctor Who,' 'Thor: The Dark World'). He's tending to a shrinking flock - shrinking in no small part because the Rev. Matt Jamison's sideline is obsessively digging up dirt on the departed to prove that they weren't reaped by God for their goodness. (Again, a tactic seldom appreciated by the rest of the town.) It's the most narratively focused, and I hope there's more of that going forward.

Bruce R. Miller - Sioux City Journal - 'The Leftovers' Poses Many 'Huh, What?' Questions

Joanne Ostrow - The Denver Post - HBO Serves Up 'The Leftovers' Drama, a Frustrating Challenge

[...] Christopher Eccleston is suitably creepy as the reverend who thinks he knows what the Departure was and is intent on revealing the negative traits of those who are gone.

Darwyn Carson - Leonard Maltin/Indiewire - The Premiere of HBO's 'The Leftovers': What's Not to Like…?

Jun 27

Chris Vognar - Dallas News/Guide Live - Picking up the post-rapture pieces in HBO's 'The Leftovers'

But I appreciate some quiet audacity in my pop culture, and I'm generally inclined to get behind a show that plays with big ideas: faith, doubt, regret, community, isolation.

These notions come together best in the person of Matt Jamison (Christopher Eccleston), a priest who takes the Sudden Departure as a spiritual and personal affront. He publishes a newsletter detailing the crimes and misdemeanors of the disappeared and asks explicitly: Why would these people receive the call? What kind of God would rapture these cretins? Eccleston plays Jamison with a spooky sense of sympathy and a desperate need for certainty. Episode 3 is his show, and it's the most focused of the early batch.

Kristi Turnquist - Oregon Live - New HBO drama 'The Leftovers' adds to TV's gathering gloom

Also affecting is the work of Amy Brenneman as a member of the Guilty Remnant, and British actor Christopher Eccelston as a clergyman who finds his faith tested.

Sam Adams - Criticwire/Indiewire - 'The Leftovers' Is a Promising Show You Shouldn't Watch Right Away

It's worth sticking it out through 'The Leftovers' third episode, which focuses almost exclusively on Matt, the preacher with a penchant for airing Departures' dirty laundry. Eccleston's performance, for which he's adopted an American accent and a much deeper voice, is one-note in the first two episodes, but when he steps into the spotlight, he's able to add nuance and shading to a character who to that point has just seemed like a lunatic annoyance.

Robert Lloyd - LA Times - Artful 'Leftovers' on HBO Leaves Viewers Wanting More

The performances, including "Ninth Doctor" Christopher Eccleston as a minister dedicated to proving that this was not the Rapture, are notable throughout.

Ryan Leas - The Concourse/Deadspin - HBO's Majestically Bleak The Leftovers Finds God Everywhere, and Nowhere

Sara Smith - The Wichita Eagle - Mostly great, 'The Leftovers' fascinates, depresses and confuses

But the Rev. Jamison, portrayed with explosive desperation by Eccleston ('Doctor Who'), is trying to suffocate his private tragedy with his cruelty. He's clinging to the concept of himself as a righteous man [...]

Jun 26

Jesse Tigges - ColumbusAlive - 'The Leftovers' Is Intriguing

Mystery and character-based drama abounds. And, most importantly, these are characters the audience will quickly invest in - especially a top-notch Theroux and Eccleston, but nearly all are interesting.

Ben Travers - Indiewire - Damon Lindelof's 'The Leftovers' Lacks the Mysteries of 'Lost' - And That's a Great Thing

Then episode three hits, and the movement slows ever so slightly. Dedicated entirely to Reverend Jamison, the episode harks back to Lindelof's 'Lost' flashback-version of character development, spending the entire time with one man and his purposeful, but less compelling plight. It's not that Jamison's issues aren't pressing or that Christopher Eccleston's performance is lacking (it's pretty superb, as are everyone else's). But it's a come down after the brilliant interweaving of arcs from episodes one and two, and an illustration of Berg's influence on the show. It's the first hour not to be directed by the EP, and replacement Keith Gordon doesn't mimic his style well, if at all. Gone are many of the off-balance shots and visual urgency, replaced by an audibly louder score and heightened acting to help maintain the pre-established tone. It works, and fits, but feels as close to a filler episode as you can get in a 10-episode season.

Todd VanDerWerff - A.V. Club - 'The Leftovers' Is Bleak, Brutal, Brilliant Television

'The Leftovers' is serialized, but not really. Its stunning third episode, for instance, works almost as a very short feature film. Following its plot requires only the most cursory knowledge of the show's premise. Even without that, the travails of its central character, the Rev. Matt Jamison (played by Christopher Eccleston) as a walking wound that God can't help pouring salt into, would be so universal as to be immediately understandable to anyone.

Celia Wren - Commonweal - 'The Leftovers' on HBO

Maureen Ryan - Huffington Post - A 'Lost' Producer Goes To The Dark Side

A lot of the life of Maplewood cleric Matt Jamison strikes me as uninspired Locke outtakes, and Christopher Eccleston's attempt at an American accent for the role doesn't help.

Jun 25

Tim Goodman - The Hollywood Reporter - 'The Leftovers'

Highlighting the religious part of the story is Rev. Matt Jamison (Chris Eccleston, who, like most of this cast, is just marvelous in every frame). Reverend Jamison is not just a true believer, he thinks it's important to point out all the flaws - deep, life-destroying flaws - of locals who were taken. The nondeserving taint the deserving, he believes. With residents already losing their faith and abandoning religion after the departure, Reverend Jamison doesn't help his cause by denigrating the dead. As a character, however, he underscores the bigger themes of transformation that Perrotta and Lindelof are getting at. When we learn his backstory, Jamison seems less crazy, more kind, and thus his journey is more intriguing (because, yes, it has a lot of references to larger mysteries that are in play - pieces that may help solve the puzzle for viewers).

James Poniewozik - Time - 'The Leftovers' Hurts, So Good

Then comes the fantastic third episode, which follows Mapleton pastor Matt Jamison (Christopher Eccleston) through a crisis of faith, all through a story as neatly and twistily crafted as a Twilight Zone episode.

Verne Gay - Newsday - 'The Leftovers' Review: Baffling and Provocative Series Premiere

Alan Sepinwall - HitFix - HBO's 'The Leftovers' A Tour de Force of Devastation and Grief

And as Matt, the minister handing out all the fliers about the sins of the departed, Christopher Eccleston is a marvel of cheerful perseverance in the face of overwhelming anger and mockery.

Andy Greenwald - Grantland - Lost in Translation

The outstanding third episode, 'Two Boats and a Helicopter,' tracks the downfall, spiritual and otherwise, of the town pastor, played with flickering defiance by the great British actor Christopher Eccleston, while the fifth (HBO did not make the fourth available to critics) concerns the ripples caused by a heinous hate crime. Both made me deeply uncomfortable, even nauseated in spots. They tugged at a part of me that I'd rather remain untouched, poked holes in the thin slip of emotional insulation necessary to wake up every day hoping for the best instead of curling up in a ball and imagining the worst.

Rob Owen - Community Voices/Post Gazette - 'The Leftovers' Comes to HBO

'The Leftovers' is at its best in its third episode, which focuses entirely on the Rev. Matt Jamison (Christopher Eccleston, 'Doctor Who'), who launches a campaign of shame that suggest many of those who disappeared during the rapture were sinners not saints. In episode three he gets detoured by attempts to save his church, which is up for foreclosure. It's an hour that homes in on Jamison and his plight but it also ties together a few threads, including the revelation that Nora is his sister. But is this tight-focus episode an anomaly or will it become a routine format change for 'The Leftovers'?

Jun 24

Richard Lawson - Vanity Fair - 'The Leftovers' Is Dark and Intriguing, For Now

Similarly, we don't know if a Job-like priest (Christopher Eccleston, sporting a shaky American accent) who has visions and epiphanies is losing his mind or is connected to a higher power.

Matt Zoller Seitz - Vulture - HBO's 'The Leftovers' Is All Bleakness All the Time

Jun 12

Hank Stuever - The Washington Post - A Biblical Event Leaves a Sorrowful Mystery

The third episode, centered on an Episcopal preacher (Christopher Eccleston as the Rev. Matt Jamison) who has alienated his congregation with his post-departure ravings, is delivered like a sermon: It's about gambling and greed, with a dramatic tension that builds toward a moment of karma. It's the first hint of what sort of tapestry that Lindelof and Perrotta hope to weave.

CE Films - Part 17 - 2009

2014-06-09T16:37:00.000+01:00

PART 16

THE HAPPINESS SALESMAN

24 Jun 2009

Short film | Dir. Krishnendu Majumdar | Wr. Steve Gomez

Role: The salesman.

ATBN page - Gallery - Facebook - BBC site - IMDb - Watch

"Karen is resigned to a life of surburban ennui, the dreams of her youth a distant memory. On an autumn afternoon as she struggles to get her baby to sleep she is disturbed by a door-to-door salesman. Desperate for adult companionship she engages with the enigmatic salesman. He claims he can sell her something that will radically change her life, and offers Karen an opportunity to fulfil long forgotten dreams and ambitions. But is Karen prepared to pay the price?" [BBC]

Alex: "Another stunty short film. The script won the KaosFilms competition. Very bare-bones production. I think it would have worked better if the threat stayed completely on the psychological level, they've not exactly made a breakthrough in horror films here."

Conclusion: Middling short; readily available to watch.

Production stills at KaosFilms.

G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA
7 Aug 2009
Film | Dir. Stephen Sommers | Wr. Stuart Beattie, David Elliot, Paul Lovett, Michael B. Gordon & Stephen Sommers
Role: Destro.

ATBN page - Trails: Teaser, Domestic - Gallery - IMDb - Get: Region 1, Region 2

"From the Egyptian desert to deep below the polar ice caps, the elite G.I. JOE team uses the latest in next-generation spy and military equipment to fight the corrupt arms dealer Destro and the growing threat of the mysterious Cobra organization to prevent them from plunging the world into chaos." [Traileraddict]

Chiclit: "Honestly, this movie is entertaining. It keeps moving, you can follow the plot, figure out who the characters are – and lots of things blow up. I am not a real fan of the action genre, never have played with a G.I. Joe Action Figure, read a comic or watched a cartoon, but I found the movie provided decent entertainment. I have seen worse, that's for sure." Read full review.

Alex: "I'm throwing my arms around Paris because only stone and steel accept my love." Read full review.

Conclusion: Fun summer blockbuster.

DVD Notes:
Info and review.

Watch: CE's discarded soundbite

AMELIA
23 Oct 2009
Film | Dir. Mira Nair | Wr. Ronald Bass & Anna Hamilton Phelan; Susan Butler (book "East to the Dawn"), Mary Lovell (book "The Sound of Wings")
Role: Fred Noonan (navigator).

ATBN page - Traileraddict - Gallery - Site - Facebook - IMDb - Get: Region 1, Region 2

"After becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, Amelia was thrust into a new role as America's sweetheart – the legendary "goddess of light," known for her bold, larger-than-life charisma. Yet, even with her global fame solidified, her belief in flirting with danger and standing up as her own, outspoken woman never changed. She was an inspiration to people everywhere, from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to the men closest to her heart: her husband, promoter and publishing magnate George P. Putnam, and her long time friend and lover, pilot Gene Vidal. In the summer of 1937, Amelia set off on her most daunting mission yet: a solo flight around the world that she and George both anxiously foresaw as destined, whatever the outcome, to become one of the most talked-about journeys in history." [ComingSoon]

Chiclit: "I am grateful that Christopher Eccleston portrayed Fred Noonan in 'Amelia'. I am grateful for two reasons, one because he added much needed heart and grit to the movie, and two because it prompted me to rediscover the legend that is Amelia Earhart prior to seeing the film." Read full review.

Alex: "I could say that 'Amelia' is actually two films, fighting each other. There's the genuinely fascinating and cheeky story about a woman who dared to dare (the good). And there's a trite and stifling 50's melodrama (the evil). Unfortunately, it's not even the case of 'where two fight, the third one wins'." Read full review.

Conclusion: The story of Amelia Earhart is fascinating. The film is not.

DVD Notes:
Information here.

Watch: Deleted scene

PART 18

'Fortitude'

2014-04-03T22:52:00.000+01:00

29 Jan 2015
TV series (12 episodes)
Wr. Simon Donald
Dir. Sam Miller
Role: Charlie Stoddart (scientist).

Character profile at Pivot

TX:
January 29, double ep
9pm UK - Sky Atlantic
10pm e/p US - Pivot

Jan 15 - preview, eps. 1 & 2 + Q&A (Sofie Gråbøl, Simon Donald, Sam Miller) // BFI - info, tickets
Jan 8, 2015 - BAFTA Masterclass: Cinematography with John Conroy // BFI - info, tickets

Site at Sky Atlantic --- Pivot --- twitter --- youtube --- production diary --- cast & crew on twitter --- IMDb

Video:

Photo shoot BTS (Jan 19)
TV trailer 1 (Jan 16) / TV trailer 2 (Jan 16)
'You promised me, Charlie' clip (CE)(Jan 12)
'Take my gun' clip (Jan 12) / BTS #5: From Script to Screen (Jan 12)
BTS #4: Meet the Cast (Jan 9) / BTS #3: About the Show (Dec 19)

Teaser #2 (Oct 24) / BTS teaser #2: Filming in Iceland (Oct 24)

Reviews:

Previews
2015 Jan 20 The List - Henry Northmore - Fortitude 3/5
Dec 31 Vulture - 11 Shows to Look Forward to in January
Dec 9 John Plunkett, The Guardian - 'Twin Peaks in the arctic – unsettling and claustrophobic'
Neil Midgley, Forbes - Sofie Gråbøl Leads A Chilling, Gripping Winter's Tale

News:

Jan 20 Christopher Eccleston interview.

Dublin premiere:
RTE video interview (CE & Treadaway)

London premiere:
Video interviews
Sky: 'Survival' - Q&A highlights
London Live (direct) - AP all cast
Photos - twitter posts one - two

Jan 14 TX info - Sky to launch original drama Fortitude simultaneously across Europe.

2015 Jan 9 Details from Pivot's presentation for the TCA press tour: Variety, BroadcastingCable, TVEquals.

Nov 10 Simon Donald, showrunner of upcoming Sky Atlantic and Pivot crime drama 'Fortitude', and fellow executive producer Patrick Spence, tell C21 about the making of the show.

Oct 25 TVDags: Sweden's SVT confirms TX as one week after the UK premiere in January. Having seen a roughly cut episode 1 they think it's promising and definitely one of the big UK drama events of 2015.

Oct 24 New teaser trailer, bts snippet.

Sep 24 Teaser trailer, behind the scenes teaser released. First images at DigitalSpy.

Sep 11 Pre-sales (Sky Vision press release; also on Mipcom):

Sky Vision, the international distribution arm of BSkyB, has pre-sold the Sky Atlantic drama series 'Fortitude' to leading broadcasters, including; Canal + in France, TV2 Denmark, SVT in Sweden, YLE in Finland, Canada's Super Channel, NRK Norway, RUV Iceland, DBS Israel and OTE in Greece. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and PBS Distribution have picked up home entertainment rights.

Jul 4 It's a wrap.

Jun 10 Pre-sales going well, industry launch at Mipcom in October (Broadcast), UK TX ~~late this year or possibly~~ early in the new year at the same time as the American.

Apr 15 Pivot boards as the new coproducer. US TX is set for 2015. Sky Vision article, Pivot's blog.

• Icelandic TV news item (on location in Iceland, 0:48 & 18:40).

• Press release:

Get ready for Sky Atlantic's most ambitious drama commission to date.

A place like nowhere else, Fortitude is surrounded by the savage beauty of the Arctic landscape and is one of the safest towns on earth. There has never been a violent crime here - until now.

In such a close-knit community a murder touches everyone and the unsettling horror of this crime threatens the future of the town itself.

Sheriff Dan Anderssen is the local Head of Police and leads a world-class search and rescue team but now finds himself investigating the brutal and shocking murder of a British research scientist. He is forced to work alongside DCI Milton Caldwell, a British detective who's just flown in to Fortitude. As the search for the killer proceeds and the list of suspects grows, each cop finds compelling reasons to mistrust the other.

And as the endless summer nights give way once more to the Arctic darkness, this apparently idyllic community struggles to make sense of the murderous terror that's been let loose in its heart.

This ambitious 13-part [tba - ATBN] drama is written by Simon Donald (Low Winter Sun) and executive produced by Anne Mensah and Cameron Roach for Sky, Patrick Spence and Simon Donald for Fifty Fathoms and Tiger Aspect.

"The shackles are off," said Simon Donald. "Since Patrick and I pitched this project to Sky we've had nothing but full-throated, whole-hearted encouragement. Normally by now the brakes have been applied."

"I have long dreamed of an opportunity like this," added Patrick Spence, executive producer for Fifty Fathoms. "To make a show that is as ambitious as it is unique, and to do so with such unstinting and fearless backing. Simon and I are very lucky men indeed."

Fortitude will be shot on location later this year and will be coming soon to Sky Atlantic HD.

Jan 24 2014 Christopher Eccleston cast in new Sky Atlantic drama.

Also key to the story are Charlie Stoddart (Eccleston), an English scientist who heads up the Arctic Biology department at the Fortitude Arctic Research Centre [...]

Filming starts in Iceland, with indoors scenes to be shot in London, expected finish in June.

• The series was originally announced as a Sky-Starz coproduction on the 8th of April, 2013. Starz dropped out in December, quoting scheduling disagreement, and Sky proceeded solo (f.ex. Deadline article).

Articles:

Jan 13 The Wall Street Journal - 'Fortitude' Unlocks Arctic Secrets
2015 Jan 9 RÚV - Austfjörðum púslað saman í einn bæ [preview in Iceland; IcelandReview]
Sep 2 WorldScreen - Q&A with Fortitude's Patrick Spence [on production]
Aug 21 WorldScreen - Q&A with Sky Vision's Jane Millichip [on marketing]

'Doctor Who': 'The Beast of Babylon' - Review

2013-12-29T14:58:00.003+00:00

(buy)

When a girl called Ali pockets a silver orb that falls from the sky, little does she realize it's her ticket to seeing the universe! Desperate to retrieve the mysterious object, the Ninth Doctor agrees to let her join him on a dangerous trip to ancient Babylon. Together they must join forces to stop a giant Starman from destroying Earth before it's too late!

Disclaimer no.1: This is a Puffin book, but just like with 'Doctor Who' in general, the whole family can be said to be its target audience. And this persistent lack of Ninth Doctor adventures definitely makes it interesting to all fans.

Disclaimer no.2: For the sake of sanity, we are ignoring the 'Doctor Who' ~~annihilation~~ anniversary episode and build our impressions on Series 1 (2005) alone.

Spoilers ahead.

Remember that badass Malekith, going about his business barefoot? Nine can actually save the universe without his socks and boots on! (One wonders why the Eighth Doctor made such a fuss about shoes...)

Marianne: "The story is set in the 18 seconds from when Rose turned down the Doctor, to when he came back and asked her to travel with him again."

Alex: "Popular fan speculation point, these seconds. It's a big responsibility to offer a more or less canon answer. It's very important to remember where in the season the story is set."

The Beast offers a variant of those 'Doctor Who' stories where the Doctor meets a could-be/would-be companion and takes them to an entirely different environment. As the current companion comes from another planet, the alien world role is assigned to our own Earth. Connecting thread is a new enemy in the (unpredictable) shape of the Starmen.

M: "The Starmen were worthy villains. Their backstory was intriguing and properly detailed. The zodiac connection was interesting and proves once again that the Doctor is involved in most of Earth's history. I felt though like the Babylonians were in the story just to highlight Ali's shortcomings."

A: "The enemy was very effective. Out of proportions, very dangerous, very alien. Easily the best thing about the story. The pseudo-historical setting worked for me - the Babylonians were indeed more like a device than proper characters, but the overall treatment was very much in the tradition of the First Doctor adventures, with some educational brownie points. For me the only reason why they should have spent more time in Babylon, is that the Doctor acted more like Nine once they arrived there."

M: "The Doctor's best plan is no plan at all, which is totally him."

A: "Absolutely. Can't go wrong with that."

M: "This was very well stated and shows Higson gets 'Doctor Who':
That's why I need a companion,' he said. 'To keep my feet on the ground, and my head out of the clouds. To keep me from myself. It's people like Rose, and crustaceans like you, Ali, who keep me going, who remind me that it's not all over and it's not all about me. My people may have gone, but you have your people ... and Hammurabi had his people, and everyone has their own people. And every one of them is precious."

A: "Gets 'Doctor Who' - or uses his retrospective position shamelessly to his advantage? It summarises Nine's one-season ark, but I can't see the Doctor thinking and especially talking like this before 'The End of the World' (the episode that's set up as the first time somebody speaks to him/he tells somebody about the war), before the massive turning point of 'Dalek' (where he does kill Rose)."

M: "There were a few parts to warm a Doctor x Rose shipper's heart, but I find it extremely odd that Ali would pick up on the Doctor's feelings towards Rose and give him relationship advice."

A: "Yet another example of retrospective 'cleverness' - including the future friendship between the Doctor and Rose and almost moving into fanfiction territory. It practically turns into a soap opera here that's a bit distasteful."

M: "Nine acts like Five and talks like Ten for much of the novel. Nine does not get on his knees and beg like a dog. Eleven may engage in such behavior, but not Nine!"

A: "If among the Five traits you count two-tone switch indecisiveness/ruthlessness, yes, in Nine it was just ruthlessness, live wire acuteness. Physical side rang false a couple of times too. Nine can react and be humorous without grinning madly. He has a whole arsenal of smiles. My impression is that the Ninth Doctor has a very stable, distinct speech pattern. There's no excuse for ignoring it - it's so obvious when an author deviates from the pattern."

M: "This is a really good point and I wonder if it was just laziness on the author's part or just bringing in previous Doctor's personality traits into Nine's character which makes no sense to me. The other Ninth Doctor books were written before the series aired, so it's understandable if they run into problems. This time the author had years to study the Ninth Doctor."

A: "It can't be a conscious choice, can it? More likely the author just failed to isolate Nine from the other Doctors he's familiar with. And the default mode from the early novels does crop up here and there. Thankfully there weren't many obligatory 'eating soup with a fork' moments of eccentricity - the main incident being wading in the pond.

"Rather peculiar moment it was too, as it made it questionable how much he actually knew about the society (endangering the eggs). Nothing will beat 'The Deviant Strain' when it comes to Nine and out of season bathing, though.

"I thought Ali and the Doctor's meeting made for an unfortunate start. When Ali asked for information in exchange for the orb - the Doctor could have just repeated 'So what do you really want?' instead of uncharacteristically pleading. I honestly don't understand what this stunt's about."

M: "I almost put the book down because it was so out of character for what we know about Nine at this point of his run."

A: "And as if the Adric vibe wasn't strong enough: Ali's not impressed by the TARDIS. She's even heard about the Time Lords. Really deflating."

M: "Ali was a bit of a know it all, but when things got dangerous she got violent instead of using her intellect. The Doctor should have left the TARDIS door closed, and had Ali watch him from the monitor, when they first reached Babylon. He usually leaves the door closed when he disembarks. This seemed a bit contrived just so that we get our first hint that Ali was not humanoid."

A: "I wouldn't call it contrived - it's a bit of a tradition that the Doctor leaves the door ill-advisedly shut or open. And I'll give it to the author, it was a good attempt to seed the hints of how alien is the alien: From the man=bloke/man=human subversion at the start to casual mentions of increasingly strange anatomy. Less successful was the way it skewed the story-telling and forced the Doctor into uncharacteristic behaviour."

M: "Too bad the dispensing of the villain depended on violence and brute strength. The Doctor was extremely lucky he had a companion that had both of those attributes. Nine may have looked like he would get into a fist fight at any time, but that was not his modus operandi.

"The Doctor was saved by the very thing that defines Ali, his companion. He is right in saying he can't ask her to change, but it is a slight none the less."

A: "It was perfectly beastly of him to dismiss her like that (he could be ruthlessly kind, too). Going back to the Nestene Consciousness: Did the Doctor ever berate Rose for saving his life there? She did destroy the creature, after he'd told her, 'I'm not here to kill it.'

"Of course, it's much more complicated with Ali. I was expecting it to be a lesson scenario. Maybe I'm thinking in too simple terms, but it seemed to be on the page, feeling angry and mad - the author had a choice between berserker and overzealous teen (something they grow out of, hormones, etc., boredom as motivation fits too), and went with the former.

"Plenty of unanswered questions. Why was she 'born to be a warrior'? Matriarchal society, with strong females - and precarious breeding. And it's a civilised planet, with schools and picnics and what not. Actually, in order to avoid revealing too much, the author gave us a very generic setting. There's something really wrong with the socio-psychological world building."

M: "Especially in a book whose target audience are children and teens."

A: "The whole plot of the Beast hinges on the unearthly companion, and that didn't do Nine any favours. Arguably, there isn't a Ninth Doctor book that manages a consistent, believable start to finish portrayal (for some reason comics fare somewhat better*). And it proved to be a stumbling block for Higson too. To conclude, it's a very readable, fun story that takes a short-cut or three with its main character."

M: "There are so few Nine adventures that anything new is welcome. I was disappointed that the author decided to focus on an original character rather than giving the fans an adventure featuring Nine's companions, Rose and Jack. I felt it was a missed opportunity. 'The Beast of Babylon' was worth a read just to be able to spend a little more time with my favorite Time Lord. Hopefully Ali can forward the Doctor his boots as thanks for the adventure she had."

* Check out the new 'Doctor Who' comic anthology 'The Prisoners of Time'. The Ninth Doctor part contains a major spoiler though - not a good starting point.

Other 'The Beast of Babylon' reviews:
Sci-fi Bulletin
Den of Geek

Join the discussion: What did you think? Which Ninth Doctor novel is your favourite? What kind of 'Doctor Who' books would you like to see?

'The Leftovers'

2013-09-22T20:48:00.000+01:00

29 Jun 2014

TV series (10 episodes)

Dir. Peter Berg

Wr. Tom Perrotta & Damon Lindelof

Role: Matt Jamison (reverend).
character page / HBO

HBO site --- discussion blog --- Sky Atlantic site --- cast & crew on twitter --- IMDb

SERIES 2

News:

Dec Christopher Eccleston has confirmed his involvement in the second season of the series in an interview (Dec 5) for GoldDerby (article & audio), though he didn't have any information on exact creative plans. Deadline reports rumours that only part of the regular characters (including CE) are going to come back, and that the action will be shifted from Mapleton that's been the scene for most of the events in the first season (article, Dec 6).

Dec 1 IPA Satellite Awards have nominated Eccleston for best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Matt Jamison. The series itself and Ann Dowd were also honoured. Awards will be announced on the 15th of February, 2015.

Aug 13 The show has been renewed for a second season.

HBO has renewed the drama series 'The Leftovers' for a second season, it was announced today by Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming. Created by Damon Lindelof (Emmy® winner for 'Lost') and acclaimed novelist Tom Perrotta (Academy Award® nominee for 'Little Children'), the series is produced for HBO by White Rabbit in association with Warner Bros. Television. Lindelof serves as showrunner.

"We are thrilled to bring back 'The Leftovers' for a second season with the exceptional talents of Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta," says Lombardo. "It has been truly exciting to see the overwhelming response to their provocative and original storytelling. We look forward to continuing the journey as the show delves deeper into the lives of those who remain."

SERIES 1

TX:

UK - Sky Atlantic, Sep 16, 10pm.
Sky's Youtube playlist - photo gallery

US
Jun 18 - 'Making The Leftovers' (29 min) - watch (youtube alt) - programme info
'About The Leftovers' (5 min) available on demand (see HBO site)
June 19 - Advance screening of 'The Leftovers' première - ~~free passes for select theatres~~ - report below

Jun 29 HBO (US, Canada), Jun 30 (world)
Episode 1: Pilot (72 min) - watch. Jul 6 - Ep. 2: Penguin One, Us Zero (57 min) Jul 13 - Ep. 3: Two Boats and a Helicopter Jul 20 - Ep. 4: B.J. and the A.C. Jul 27 - Ep. 5: Gladys Aug 3 - Ep. 6: Guest Aug 10 - Ep. 7: Solace for Tired Feet Aug 17 - Ep. 8: Cairo Aug 24 - Ep. 9: The Garveys at Their Best Sep 7 - Ep. 10: The Prodigal Son Returns

Scroll down for news

Episode synopses at the bottom of the page

Reviews [CE related; spoilers for eps. 1-3, 5] + images
In lieu of an in-house review >

Video:

CE interview, Sky Atlantic [youtube alt]

In the Weeks Ahead preview #2 [Jun 13] - Episode 4 preview [Jun 14]

Clip from Episode 5 / Episode 3 preview (alt on the HBO site)

Clip #1 from Episode 3 - Clip #2 - Clip #3

Titles - alt w/ different sound from HBO

In the Weeks Ahead preview [Jun 29] - Episode 2 preview [Jun 30]

'Sermon' trailer / Trailer #2 (old link)

Teaser for 'Making The Leftovers' [Jun 1] / Promo [Jun 12]

Trailer #1 [Apr 27] / 'Awake' trailer [May 27] / 'Gone' trailer [May 27] / 'Loss' trailer [Jun 12]

'Five Stages' trailer / Teaser #2

Teaser #1 / HBO Spring Preview / HBO 2013 Yearender

Crew interviews:
Oct 29 Damon Lindelof on Season 2, TVLine
Jul 18 Interview with Composer Max Richter, Watching The Leftovers
Jul 7 Tom Perrotta on 7 Ways The Leftovers Has Diverged From the Novel, Vulture
Jul 6 'Leftovers' Creator Tom Perrotta On How He and Damon Lindelof Made His Book Darker for HBO, Indiewire
Jun 27 'The Leftovers' Won't Be Like Lost - It'll Have an Ending, Wired.
Jun 26 'The Leftovers' Creators Damon Lindelof & Tom Perrotta on Their Dark, Mysterious HBO Series, HitFix.
Jun 24 From 'Lost' to The Rapture: Creators Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta on HBO's 'The Leftovers', The Daily Beast.

News:

Jun 23 Series' red carpet première in NYC.

• CE video interviews from the launch [transcripts]

º for In The Lab [youtube] [screencaps]

º for MTV (also on 'Heroes Reborn', Malekith)

º for Access (all cast)

º from official site (all cast)

• Short interview at NY Daily News:

Former 'Doctor Who' star Christopher Eccleston has two reasons to be excited about Sunday: 'The Leftovers' premieres on HBO and, of course, it's the Lord's day. The 50-year-old Brit plays a priest in the pay cable channel's supernatural thriller, and this isn't the first time he's played a holy man.

"It was a film called 'Anchoress,' 20 years ago," he recounted. "It was shot in black and white in Belgium. It was not a popcorn film. I think that's the only other time I've played a man of the cloth."

Eccleston confessed that he isn't sure if this Rapture-inspired show will be a lightning rod for controversy among religious people.

"That's a very big question and not one I've troubled myself with too much," he told us. "Hopefully it's going to promote debate of a good nature between religious groups."

Eccleston declined to say whether he personally is a man of faith.

"I'm going to take the Fifth on that, as I'm playing this character," he diplomatically answered.

But he did say the weather in Nyack, N.Y., was ungodly while 'The Leftovers' filmed there over the winter. Eccleston joked that the "polar bears were wearing jackets."

• From the official blog:

Christopher Eccleston, who portrays Reverend Matt Jamison, described his character as "half ape, half angel," and added: "He cares and believes that he has the answer."
[Would you want to be taken?] Eccleston offered: "I wouldn't want to leave, and I wouldn't want to be left. I want to live."

• @TheLeftoversHBO:

"I have no idea how I'd feel if I were a Leftover. Who can predict?" -Christopher Eccleston pic.twitter.com/pkalL1l0l3

• Indiewire report:

Christopher Eccleston, who plays a rapture denier on "The Leftovers" (and who is no stranger to sci-fi himself, having starred in first season of the continuation of "Doctor Who" and in NBC's "Heroes"), thinks that this show is just not going to go there.

"We're not doing a series about sci-fi, that's not what this is about," he said. "This is about human beings and emotion and relationships and identity. So I would be very disappointed if this was tied up in a bow when it end, whenever it ends. I think the only way to be with something like this is ambiguous."

• MTV jokey interviews
• Report from public

Source (1), source (2), source (3, 4). More images

Jun 20 Advance screening of Episode 1. Chiclit reports:

Per instructions no spoilers, but I can say that if you've read the book – and have seen the trailers – very little in the pilot will shock you. There are some moments but no huge surprises. A small surprise cameo at Holy Wayne's place. Eccleston, as expected from comments IS in the pilot but not extensively.

My friend pronounced it very much like early 'Lost', I also saw lighting and close up shots that reminded me of FNL, Berg definitely has a style.

It's slightly over an hour. No previews or other video presentations. Mixed reviews after by people walking out – not sure they had known what they were seeing though, scattering of applause.

I am more favorably disposed toward Theroux now, Margaret Qualley as the daughter was excellent, didn't really feel the like son made an impression. All in all it was a pilot – set the scene.

Overall I liked it. The show is well cast, and well produced. Will just have to see if it catches fire with critics and people. This show also might do very well on a binge watch, too, where you could tie a few episodes together.

Press quotes: Jun 16 Canada.com article. Jun 17 My San Antonio article.

Synopses for the first five episodes [SpoilerTV].

Jun 1 Another picture of CE on set - posted by Amy Brenneman

May 30 Feature - Damon Lindelof Promises You His New Show Won't End Like 'Lost', The New York Times.

May 28 Picture of CE on set - posted by Liv Tyler.

May 22 Article - Lost without a prayer, The New York Times.

Apr 24 Amy Brenneman's blog entry.

Apr 11 Two week break from filming (after the 6th episode finishes lensing) announced, no change to June 15 TX (Deadline). ETA: TX moved. ETA2: Shooting resumed May 2. ETA3: Concluded July 3.

Apr 3 TX announced, teaser coming Apr 6.

Feb 5 Article from Hollywood Reporter on the pilot: "It's both complex and ambitious. Also: weird and riveting. The Leftovers is a series that may take another two or three episodes to wrap one's head around, but it's buzzing like mad and should continue to." Sky Atlantic could option for the series in the UK (Broadcast).

2014 Jan 8 Damon Lindelof on the series - Entertainment Weekly.

Dec 16 HBO 2013 Yearender [youtube] - incl. teaser for Leftovers. Article, CinemaBlend.

Sep 16 'The Leftovers' gets 10-episode series order (Deadline).

The pilot was filmed Jun 26-Jul 24, NY, USA. Examples of background artists' casting and set report.

Jun 10 Christopher Eccleston cast in the pilot: The Hollywood Reporter.

Apr 8 Peter Berg coming on board: Collider off Production Weekly.

2013 Feb 8 Pilot is ordered: Vulture - HBO Is Moving Forward With Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta's Drama The Leftovers

[...] the pay cable network is moving forward with production of a pilot for the Damon Lindelof–Tom Perrotta drama, barely six months after first putting the project in development.

2012 Jun 28

• Damon Lindelof expounds on the project in an interview with Vulture

• Project in active development: Deadline - Damon Lindelof Teams With Author Tom Perrotta For 'The Leftovers' Series At HBO:

HBO acquired rights to The Leftovers for series development with Perrotta attached as writer/executive producer and Yerza and Berger as executive producers in August 2011, shortly before the book came out. Lindelof read the novel that fall and word is he immediately fell in love with it. He tracked the rights down to HBO, which is a network he, like many writers, had been looking to work at. Once Lindelof's deal at ABC Studios expired, he met with Perrotta. The two hit it off and began discussing what a potential Leftovers series would look like.

2011 Aug 9 TV plans announced before the book hit the shelves: Variety - HBO teaming with author Tom Perrotta (also LA Times)

"The book, which Stephen King has dubbed "the best Twilight Zone episode you never saw," takes place three years after a Rapture-like global event causes millions of people to simply disappear from the face of the Earth." (Vulture)
It is to be further developed by Perrotta and Lindelof.

NY Times review of the book (incl. podcast interview with Perrotta and a clip from the audiobook)

The author's site; read an extract from the book (pdf).

Episode synopses

Episode 1: Pilot
An adaptation of Tom Perrotta's novel about life in a small town after many of its residents vanished in a Rapture-like event begins with the upcoming third anniversary of the "Departure" and a police chief's personal and professional struggles. [TVGuide]

Three years after millions of people – some 2% of the world's population – vanished into thin air, residents of Mapleton, NY weigh the pros and cons of a "Heroes Day" tribute to the local "Departed." Attempting to maintain a sense of normalcy in his strained community, police chief Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux) faces additional challenges at home with his daughter, Jill (Margaret Qualley), who's lost in a cloud of apathy with her friend Aimee (Emily Meade), and son, Tom (Chris Zylka), who has gravitated to a cult led by the charismatic Holy Wayne (Paterson Joseph). Also of concern is a silent, white-clad group of chain-smoking men and women called the Guilty Remnant, who team up in pairs to stake out people and places around town. As tension in Mapleton escalates, the lives of Laurie (Amy Brenneman), an unexpected member of the Guilty Remnant, and Meg (Liv Tyler), a recently engaged young woman, converge.

Written by Damon Lindelof & Tom Perrotta; directed by Peter Berg.

Episode 2: Penguin One, Us Zero
Kevin sees a therapist after a series of unsettling encounters; Meg makes a crucial decision about her future; Tom and Christine find themselves in a dicey situation; Jill and Aimee take an interest in Carrie Coons' comings and goings. [TVGuide]

In the wake of a series of disturbing encounters, Kevin pays a visit to a therapist. Tom finds himself in a precarious situation with Christine (Annie Q), a favorite of Wayne's. A frustrated Meg is asked to part with pieces of her past. Jill and Aimee tail Nora Durst (Carrie Coon), who became a local celebrity when her entire family disappeared in the Departure.

Written by Damon Lindelof & Kath Lingenfelter; directed by Peter Berg.

Episode 3: Two Boats and a Helicopter
Undaunted by death threats and diminishing attendance, Reverend Jamison maintains that not all the Departed should be considered heroes, but he's shaken by news that he may lose the church to foreclosure, a startling development that forces him to go to extremes to find the money to save it. [TVGuide]

In the face of dwindling church attendance and threats on his life, Reverend Matt Jamison (Christopher Eccleston) continues to preach his gospel: that many who disappeared in the Departure were sinners and not saints. Matt's campaign is detoured when he learns he may lose the church to foreclosure, forcing him to launch a desperate, last-minute plan to come up with the cash to keep it.

Written by Damon Lindelof & Jacqueline Hoyt; directed by Keith Gordon.

Episode 4: B.J. and the A.C.
A holiday display goes wanting, sending Kevin scurrying to find out who is responsible. Tom and Christine run into trouble at a hospital and on the road. Kevin ~~retrieves a surprise detainee from a neighboring police station, and~~ receives unexpected visitors at home. The Guilty Remnant put its stamp on the holiday season.

Written by Damon Lindelof & Elizabeth Peterson; directed by Lesli Linka Glatter.

Episode 5: Gladys
Laurie's resolve is put to the test in the wake of a brutal hate crime. After his latest initiatives to maintain the peace in Mapleton fall short, Kevin turns down an outside offer to rid the town of its problems. Matt brings his pulpit to the street. Meg takes on a new role.

Written by Damon Lindelof & Tom Perrotta; directed by Mimi Leder.

Source, more TX info [pdf]

Episode 6: Guest

Nora (Carrie Coon) takes care of unfinished business in Mapleton before heading to New York for the Second Annual DROP (Departure Related Occupations and Practices) conference. Upset that her ID has been pinched, she scours the convention for her imposter while wearing a "Guest" badge, and ends up getting detoured by an amorous salesman, a bestselling author and a rogue attendee.

Written by Damon Lindelof & Kath Lingenfelter; directed by Carl Franklin.

Episode 7: Solace for Tired Feet

After learning his father has escaped the psychiatric hospital, Kevin (Justin Theroux) orders an APB to track him down. Jill (Margaret Qualley) attempts to break an endurance record. Holed up in Indiana, a disillusioned Tom (Chris Zylka) makes an unsettling discovery.

Written by Damon Lindelof & Jacqueline Hoyt; directed by Mimi Leder.

Episode 8: Cairo

Kevin fears he's losing touch with reality after inexplicably finding himself in a difficult situation involving Patti Levin (Ann Dowd), a leader of the Guilty Remnant. Meg (Liv Tyler) loses control during another encounter with Matt (Christopher Eccleston); Jill confronts Aimee (Emily Meade) about her relationship with Kevin; Nora stands up to Laurie (Amy Brenneman), and finds her privacy invaded.

Written by Curtis Gwinn & Carlito Rodriguez; directed by Michelle MacLaren.

Episode 9: The Garveys at Their Best

Kevin tries to suppress his bad habits while tracking down a marauding deer in Mapleton. Laurie receives not-unexpected news amidst a rising sense of foreboding. Tom connects with his past, against his better judgment. Nora has a job interview; Kevin Senior (Scott Glenn) receives an honor.

Written by Kath Lingenfelter & Damon Lindelof; directed by Dan Sackheim.

Source, more TX info [pdf]

Episode 10: The Prodigal Son Returns

An unexpected ally helps Kevin (Justin Theroux) get out of a jam near the town of Cairo. Meanwhile, an elaborate Memorial Day initiative by the Guilty Remnant plunges Mapleton into chaos. Holy Wayne (Paterson Joseph) grants a final wish; Tom (Chris Zylka) copes with his new reality; Nora (Carrie Coon) makes a life-changing decision.

Written by Damon Lindelof & Tom Perrotta; directed by Mimi Leder.

Source, more TX info [pdf]

'Lucan'

2013-09-22T18:35:00.000+01:00

11 Dec 2013

TV film (2 parts)

Dir. Adrian Shergold

Wr. Jeff Pope

Role: John Aspinall.

DVD:
Amazon UK

Episode 1 - 11 Dec - programme info - 3.9m/18.8% at 9pm, + 205k/1.4% on ITV+1
Episode 2 - 18 Dec - programme info - 2.97m/13.5%

Press pack (pdf; source) - IMDb

Trailer:

Reviews:

The Guardian [video] - The Guardian ("Mad-eyed Christopher Eccleston had his work cut out as a brilliantly cocksure John Aspinall [...]") - The Independent ("The show's real villain, however, was the machiavellian Aspinall, played by Christopher Eccleston with serpentine grace (and the odd accent issue).") - The Telegraph comment ("[...] John Aspinall, as whom Christopher Eccleston is unsuitably cast, speaks in an uncertain accent and without the original's merriment.") - The Telegraph review ("Christopher Eccleston as Aspers conveyed his hawkish demeanour rather awkwardly and his clipped accent felt over-rehearsed.") - Metro - The Scotsman ("[...] Christopher Eccleston is stealing the show as "Aspers". What an astonishing performance this is. All actors can do voices but for some reason I didn't expect Eccleston's posh-sinister to sound quite as posh and quite as sinister.") - Express ("Aspinall was thoroughly unlikeable too but again portrayed in a pitch perfect performance, this time from Christopher Eccleston.") - The Arts Desk ("As Aspinall, Christopher Eccleston is seriously intimidating [...]")

News:

Vine video message from CE.

Behind the scenes photo. Promo images here.

Dec 7 CE interview - Nottingham Post.

Dec 1 Jeff Pope interview for The Independent.

Nov 26 Images at CultBox.

Interview from the press pack:

CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON IS JOHN ASPINALL

Fortunes were lost at the London gaming tables run by John Aspinall.

"It's very good for business to have a Lord in your casino, isn't it? It's reflective glory. Gets the punters in," explains Christopher Eccleston. "I think that's the first reason John Aspinall associated himself with him. Lucan could bring him business. Lucan could bring him money. And Lucan could give him money because he was an obsessive gambler. Aspinall was from a middle class background and the people he was running with were aristocrats. So he attached himself to them. I think it's quite possible that he resented them for their perceived superiority. And so he ripped them off and beat them at their own game. It could be seen as an act of class revenge."

Aspinall known as "Aspers" to his friends was a gaming club host and zoo owner who ran The Clermont Club in London's Mayfair. He attracted high society to his tables and redistributed their wealth, mostly to himself, via a card game called Chemin De Fer, known as Chemmy. One gambler is said to have lost the equivalent of almost £4 million in today's terms in one visit. Aspers befriended many of those he was taking money from including professional gambler Lucan and they, in turn, became addicted to the club.

"What was he up to? He's impossible to grasp. He was drenched in ambiguity," says Christopher. "Aspinall had a tremendous ego and a tremendous urge for power and control. He was out for himself. And people like that are impossible to pin down. He appeared to be very much at the centre of things but he was always a step outside, looking on. He was a puppet master, pulling all the strings and then cashing up at the end of the night."

Lord Lucan sought out the enclosed and obsessive Mayfair gambling world as a refuge from real life and his increasing debts. Christopher learned about the game of Chemmy as part of his research for the role of Aspinall.

"It was madness. Nine packs of cards go into the hat and there is no skill involved. It is entirely based on luck. So it is an addiction to chance. Gambling itself, as we know, is also addictive, along with the adrenaline. Plus the machismo of saying, 'I'm not scared of losing this money.' This is a very masculine boys' club environment. It seems as if they'd gone straight from public school into an extension of that. Which is what Aspinall cleverly provided. Lucan went to the club for lunch and for dinner and could, perhaps, hide there from who he really was."

As the drama shows, Aspinall encouraged Lucan in his bid to win custody of his children from his wife Veronica, the Countess of Lucan (Catherine McCormack). With evidence the gaming club host was also a central figure in helping the peer vanish after Lucan had mistakenly murdered nanny Sandra Rivett (Leanne Best) and then tried to kill Veronica.

"Aspinall has a very perverse kind of morality. He exhorts the people in Lucan's circle to protect Lucan from the police and he couches that in terms of loyalty, friendship and the country going to the dogs. But playing him, you ask yourself whether there could have been another agenda here. What has Aspinall done to need control of these men?"

How much did Christopher know about the Lucan story before this production?

"I was 10 in 1974 when he disappeared. I was familiar with the phrase 'Lord Lucan' as it was always applied to somebody who had gone missing. My dad would say, 'Where have you been Lord Lucan?' But aside from knowing that he was possibly on the run, that was it. I knew very little about the detail of the case. When I first heard about this I was a little bit sceptical. Until I read Jeff Pope's script, which has a real moral centre. You walk a very fine moral line in making entertainment out of this kind of tragedy. But the primary reason for him writing the script was to highlight the death of Sandra Rivett and the fact that was never given due prominence by the press. The drama also focuses on the tragedy of Veronica who was made a social pariah. So the moral centre of this, for me, is those two women. And I think Jeff has honoured that.

"A very important element of the drama is the characterisation of Sandra, who was the victim, and the secondary victim, who was Veronica. She stepped outside that circle and said to Lucan, 'You are gambling all our money away. We need to feed the children.' And was rounded on by men and women alike. I'm sure she did have her problems but that says a great deal more about them rather than her. Jeff is writing about the grey areas of human existence. He finds redeeming qualities in Lucan. It's clear that he loved his children deeply. But he also behaved abominably towards his wife. Rory Kinnear gives you a three dimensional characterisation in his portrayal of Lucan.

"There is a tragic quality to Lucan who was a product of his time. He was shaped by those chauvinistic, misogynistic views which surrounded him and had probably been reinforced in him through his schooling. Jeff doesn't idealise Veronica, even though she is clearly a victim. He also attempts to understand Aspinall. It's all in the quality of the writing. I think it's predominantly an examination of misogyny at the heart of the, then, British establishment."

Aspinall used the money he made to fund his own sometimes eccentric lifestyle.

"He was buying wild animals and indulging his passion for them. It seems to me that his emotional life was possibly reserved for animals, rather than human beings. I don't think he ever felt cowed by any human being. So he sought it out with silverback gorillas and tigers. I wonder whether anything that was genuine about him was channelled entirely into animals? In other words, he could connect and love animals in a way that he could not human beings. He was an extraordinary self creation and very astute about business. I think as he began to run the casinos he very cleverly realised that his interest in animals made him a character. So he made that kind of thing more pronounced and had tiger cubs roaming around.

"Aspinall created a persona which was animal loving, right wing raconteur. He claimed to have some very extreme views. We have quotes from interviews he gave where he says some very harsh things. He spoke about genetic and racial superiority. Horrendous views. When you listen to him in interviews you think he's mad or a buffoon. I've met people who met him who said he was very powerful and charismatic. I'm not sure I would feel that. But the curious thing is whether he actually believed in those views or whether it was a sales pitch to the aristocracy?

"The interesting thing about playing him is I'm not sure that he believed any of those things. I feel they were useful in creating a character. His job was to attract people to his casino. So rather than being a faceless casino owner he was a character."

How did Christopher fare filming with animals, including having lunch with a chimp at the table and another with a monkey on his shoulder?

"I was very comfortable with the animals. It added a new dimension of unpredictability to the scenes we were playing. But fortunately they all behaved."

The drama is inspired by and based on The Gamblers, a book written by John Pearson who met and interviewed those closely connected to Lucan before his disappearance.

Fans of the Salford born actor know what a wide range of roles he can portray. Was going "posh" as Aspinall part of the appeal of playing this character?

"Yes it was. But I've used the accent a number of times, including in Elizabeth and on stage. So I can't say the accent was the primary attraction. But certainly having done things like Our Friends In The North, to suddenly be at the centre of British aristocracy was interesting for me."

He continues: "It was a lot of not particularly emotionally developed people in a bubble. A world of privilege and exclusivity. And it seems slightly mad. It's excessive and without any redeeming features from what I can see. People do that, don't they? People create little societies within society to keep society at bay. There is a fascination about this story now, even some 40 years later. It says a lot about how class is so deeply entrenched in us that we're interested in this. Despite ourselves we are fascinated by this world and the people within it."

Christopher's screen credits include: The Shadow Line; Thor: The Dark World; Lennon Naked; The Second Coming; Doctor Who; Cracker; Accused; Elizabeth; Our Friends In The North.

Nov 19 Review from CrimeTimePreview.

Jul 31 Christopher Eccleston cast, reuniting him with Shergold, who also directed 'The Second Coming'. ITV's press release:

TV today announced commission of a two-part drama, Lucan, based on the life of flamboyant aristocrat, Lord Lucan, and written by award-winning writer Jeff Pope.

Rory Kinnear (Southcliffe, Loving Miss Hatto, Skyfall) will play Lucan whilst Christopher Eccleston (Song for Marion, Blackout, The Shadow Line) takes the role of John Aspinall. Acclaimed actor Michael Gambon will also appear in the drama.

The drama, produced by ITV Studios/GroupM Entertainment and from the department headed by Creative Director and Executive Producer for ITV Studios Francis Hopkinson (Wallander, DCI Banks, Married, Single, Other), will tell the story of Lucan's exploits as a member of the infamous Clermont set and will focus on his marriage collapse to Veronica, the Countess of Lucan. [...]

Source

[...] The drama is inspired by and based upon the book, The Gamblers, written by author John Pearson who conducted exhaustive interviews with those most closely connected to Lucan at the time of Sandra’s murder. Pearson gained unprecedented access to Lucan's friends and acquaintances from the Clermont Club who helped him piece together the Earl’s movements on the evening of 7 November. Once the dreadful murder had taken place they shed light on how Lucan escaped the police search, and ultimately his fate.

Lucan will be produced by Chris Clough (Dates, Strike Back, Skins) and executive produced by Francis Hopkinson, Jeff Pope and Quentin Curtis. The drama will be directed by Adrian Shergold (Mad Dogs, Pierrepoint, Dirty Filthy Love). Lucan is an ITV Studios/GroupM Entertainment co-production with Executive Producers for GroupM Entertainment being Richard Foster and Tony Moulsdale.

ITV Media page for 'Lucan'.

Other articles:

The Independent - Lord Lucan mystery to be 'solved' in ITV drama starring Rory Kinnear

Anglophenia - Christopher Eccleston And Rory Kinnear Star In Lord Lucan Drama

Early news from Broadcast - Jeff Pope to make Lord Lucan biopic for ITVS

("ITV previously aired The Trial Of Lord Lucan in 1994. The 90-minute single starred English Patient actor Julian Wadham as Lucan.")

Also:

Aspinall obits from The Telegraph and The Guardian

'Now That You've Died'

2013-08-25T13:50:00.000+01:00

2013 Aug 9

Play by Patrick Ness

Directors: Hector Harkness & Kate Hargreaves

Role: Narrator

Venue: The Roundhouse, London

Support RNIB and make more books available to the blind and partially sighted

Audio:

Listen to the audio of the show (save link as to download) - more info - please support RNIB by way of thanks.

Also part of The Guardian's podcast (including discussion with Patrick Ness).

Video:

Interview with Christopher Eccleston

Behind the scenes

Extras:

Insight Radio podcast

"Every year RNIB hammers home the message that more books need to be made accessible to blind people. The campaign is called Read For RNIB. This year the charity pulled out all the stops to raise awareness – as Insight Radio's Leeanne Coyle found out."

Includes extracts and the after the show message.

Here's the video script of the latter, kindly provided by RNIB.

Congratulations, you made it.

I'm Chris Eccleston. I am sure all you want to do now is sit down, relax and have a nice cup of tea. And don't worry; you will have that opportunity in just a few minutes time.

But first I need you to listen for just a while longer to understand why you've been invited here today by Royal National Institute of Blind People.

You've just experienced something quite unique, a book without words, a story without reading, a play performed in total darkness. The point is that a story is about much more than just the words on a page. Today you have experienced reading in a whole new way.

In the UK there are almost two million people who are blind or partially sighted, and the sad fact is, their choice of books is significantly more limited than it is for sighted people. Just seven per cent of all books are fully accessible for them.

I find it hard to imagine what my life would be like without being able to access books and scripts or enjoy a bedtime story with my little boy. For many blind and partially sighted people, reading is even more important, it can be a lifeline. It's the key to helping them live independently as part of an inclusive society.

You probably aren't aware but RNIB's National Library Service sends out millions of books every year in braille, giant print and in talking book audio format.

But it's not just about Talking Books – RNIB provides so much more. It has a team which transcribes everything from newspapers and magazines such as OK! Magazine and National Geographic. It even provides sheet music and instructions for game boards.

RNIB works with the publishing industry to increase the number of books that are accessible, and with the eBook industry to make sure that new technology isn’t limited to people who can see.

And that's what Read for RNIB Day is all about. Raising money and awareness to help RNIB continue this important work and to provide guidance to the 100 people who today will have embarked on their own sight loss journey.

Now is your opportunity to take action and support Read for RNIB Day on Friday October 11. We need you to use your influence today to help us spread the word; tweet about this experience, share with your friends, colleagues and audiences, blog to your hearts content, encourage everyone across Britain to visit the website and get involved.

RNIB can currently only reach one in three people who need it most – help us change that story and open up a world of reading for blind and partially sighted people.

Thank you.

Help Us Change The Story. Read For RNIB Day. 11th October.

Articles:

From Read for RNIB site:
• Hollywood support for Read for RNIB Day
• Read for RNIB Day with Patrick Ness and Christopher Eccleston [recap]

• Article on tickets

• Working with Patrick Ness and Christopher Eccleston

• The Bolton News - Dr Who star Christopher Eccleston: 'Reading books should be for everyone'

• The Independent - Patrick Ness interview: Night of the living dead

• Review by Frances Hardinge [blog]

'Emily'

2013-05-26T18:32:00.003+01:00

21 Jun 2013 (Palm Springs International ShortFest)
Short film
Dir. & wr. Caroline Harvey
Role: James.

Official site --- Twitter --- Facebook

Video:
13 May 2013 Trailer

News:

• Oct 5 - Raindance festival, London. Nominated 'Best UK Short'. Info and tickets.

• Jun 21 - première at the Palm Springs International ShortFest. Program info.

• Behind the scenes gallery [f/book]

Jul 24 2012 Short film announced, starring Felicity Jones and Christopher Eccleston. Written and directed by Caroline Harvey. Produced by Jack Sidey, Nicholas Hatton and Felicity Jones. Filming finishes.

'Antigone' - NT Discover Theatre Series

2013-02-06T00:14:00.000+00:00

• National Theatre's iTunesU Greek theatre resources

• NT Discover Theatre on Youtube:

An Introduction to Greek Tragedy (video link)

This film explores the defining aspects of Greek tragedy and why the plays resonate with audiences today. Featured in this film are experts Edith Hall, professor of Classics at Kings College, London, Laura Swift from the Open University and Dr Sean McElvoy from Varndean College, Brighton.

An Introduction to Greek Theatre (video link)

This film explores the defining aspects of Greek Theatre. The theatre of Ancient Greece flourished between 550 BC and 220 BC. A festival honouring the god Dionysus was held in Athens, out of which three dramatic genres emerged: tragedy, comedy and the satyr play.

'Antigone': An Introduction (video link)

This film offers a brief introduction to Aristotle's theory of tragedy from Edith Hall, before introducing the play 'Antigone' by Sophocles. Polly Findlay speaks about her interpretation of Don Taylor's translation of 'Antigone' for the National Theatre's Olivier theatre in 2012. This short film includes interviews with Christopher Eccleston, Jodie Whittaker and Michael Grady-Hall as well as excerpts of archive footage from the 2012 production.

'Antigone': The Ancient Greek Chorus (video link)

This film offers a brief introduction to the Ancient Greek Chorus from Edith Hall, before Polly Findlay speaks about her contemporary interpretation of the chorus in Don Taylor's translation of 'Antigone' for the National Theatre's Olivier theatre in 2012. This short film contains interviews with dramaturg Ben Power and actor Michael Grady-Hall as well as excerpts of archive footage from the 2012 production.

'Antigone': Creon and Antigone (video link)

Creon has outlawed the burial of Polynices but Antigone, believing that God's law is above state law, chooses to ignore this and is punished. This relationship is made more complicated as Creon is Antigone's uncle and she is betrothed to his son Haemon. This film features interviews with Christopher Eccleston (Creon), Polly Findlay (Director) and Jodie Whittaker (Antigone) and archive footage from the 2012 National Theatre production.

'Antigone': Haemon and Antigone (video link)

In this film Luke Newberry talks about the character of Haemon and looks at how his relationship with Antigone adds tension to his relationship with Creon. This video includes archive footage from the 2012 production of 'Antigone'.

'Antigone': Religion and Modern Context (video link)

This video looks at the role of religion in 'Antigone' and how this resonates with the modern interpretation in Polly Findlay's 2012 production. This video features interviews with Polly Findlay (Director), Michael Grady-Hall (Chorus) and Jodie Whittaker (Antigone), and archive footage from the 2012 production.

'Antigone': Family versus State (video link)

This film looks at a central conflict within the play; Creon's belief in State weighed against the actions of his family. This video features interviews with Christopher Eccleston, Polly Findlay and Jodie Whittaker and includes archive footage from the 2012 production.

'Antigone': Creon and Haemon (video link)

Haemon is the last of Creon's three sons and this played an important role in the 2012 production of 'Antigone'. In this video Christopher Eccleston discusses how Creon's loss affected the relationship between Creon and Haemon.

'Antigone': Heightened Language (video link)

Ancient plays are often problematic because of their use of language, director Polly Findlay talks about her approach to this in the 2012 production of 'Antigone'. This video includes archive footage of the performance and interviews with Christopher Eccleston, Michael Grady Hall and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.

Main 'Antigone' post

'Antigone' - Review

2012-12-30T19:03:00.000+00:00

A review of the July 18, 2012 performance of 'Antigone' (Olivier Theatre, at the National Theatre), by Marianne

(this review contains spoilers)

Christopher Eccleston as Creon, Jodie Whittaker as Antigone

As you entered the theater you could already see a couple of actors filing papers, making coffee and chatting. They were moving about an office space consisting of three glass walled rooms, upstage, separated by two corridors; the set allowed characters to easily exit and enter. There were desks, chairs and various office paraphernalia downstage – the equipment was a mixture of pieces from different time periods, giving a feeling of being scrounged. There was no curtain. The design was simple, but very effective, with a bunker feel to it. It gave off an aura of being closed in. The costumes were an interesting mixture of civilian and military clothing, most men wore military boots with their dress shirts and ties. It showed a country in transition, that was not prosperous and balancing on the edge. A portrait of Creon (Christopher Eccleston) in his military uniform, scowling over the whole proceedings, was hanging in his office. The drum revolve, a specific feature of the Olivier (video here), was used effectively to bring the audience outside and inside the city walls. The walls themselves were replicas of the wood textured concrete of the National Theatre exterior.

When you first saw Creon he was wearing his military uniform and, together with members of his 'Cabinet' (the Chorus), watching the killing of an enemy on a monitor. Once the mission was completed, Creon changed into a business suit on stage, with some people assisting him – one of them being his wife Eurydice (Zoë Aldrich). The others took their places within the office space while Creon changed from General to peace time leader. This signified the end of the war and the start of his rule over Thebes. It also emphasized that Creon was a general who was used to commanding soldiers, and not a politician who paid attention to popularity polls and political correctness.

Near the beginning of the play, Creon made a point of addressing his Cabinet. He told them they were all there because he trusted them. I had the feeling that Creon really wanted to make a go of being a good leader. His very visible emotional struggles showed me that he wasn't interested in just dictating to the populace. It wasn't like he was asking for their opinion either, but he did try to get his Cabinet involved. They obviously worked with/for him during the civil war, so they knew what type of man he was, and yet they failed him when he needed them most. Too terrified, pandering or self-serving, they did not seem to know how to make him listen. It was disturbing how easily they turned against him when things started to fall apart. What agenda did they actually have and who were they ultimately serving?

Creon enacted a law that he saw as morally correct and reasonable. He did not want to honor the people who had opposed the ruling government in Thebes, and so denied them any sort of burial. He seemed to be blind to the fact that he was taking his revenge out on the dead, and that the gods might not find favor with that. No member of his Cabinet raised any objections to the new law, despite being also aware of the common citizens' disapproval. Had Creon surrounded himself with "Yes men" who were only comfortable voicing their objections in private and amongst themselves? It would prove to be his downfall.

Three people however tried to convince Creon that he needed to alter his position on burying the war dead. Only the blind seer Teiresias (Jamie Ballard) was able to reach Creon, but after going to extreme measures.

The first one was Antigone (Jodie Whittaker), Creon's niece, the fiancée of his son Haemon and the sister of Polyneices the traitor and Eteocles the hero who were both slain in the war. Antigone's defiance of Creon's law set the events of the play in motion. She seemed determined to commit "suicide by government" when she buried Polyneices making no attempt to hide it. Antigone loved her brother, and felt morally obligated to honor him with proper rites. She believed she served a higher authority than the state of Thebes. Unfortunately, when arrested and brought before Creon for sentencing, she was too busy shouting her righteousness to sit down with him and discuss her misgivings in a constructive way. And Creon could never have backed down to his niece, risking to appear weak, with everyone's eyes on him. I doubt any amount of intervention would have persuaded either party to yield, so convinced they were that each had the moral high ground in their argument. It was as if they were standing on opposite sides of a chasm and there was no middle ground.

Then there's Haemon (Luke Newberry), the son of Creon and Eurydice, engaged to Antigone. Haemon approached Creon in the worst possible way. Their conversation should never have taken place in public either. Haemon spoke to Creon sarcastically and was practically making fun of, and mocking, him. Haemon came off as a whiny boy, desperately in love with his fiancée, unable to communicate with his father on any level. Creon physically subdued Haemon in front of his Cabinet, leaving no doubt as to who the Alpha Male in the household was. This scene was one of the most effective and shocking, but completely believable. It was also a very terrifying example of how violent a man Creon could be.

Creon did not seem to be moved either by Antigone, the Soldier (Luke Norris) or Haemon. Only Teiresias moved Creon, and only after relating to him the prophecy which foretold of his son's death. Hearing that the gods would not look favorably on his edict to leave Polyneices unburied, Creon just glowered at the soothsayer for a long time and then scoffed at the prediction as being motivated by personal gain – the usual shortcoming he saw in people trying to engage with him. Creon had used Teiresias' services during the civil war, and one can assume that without his help Creon would not have survived the conflict and been in a position to rule Thebes. Teiresias' emotional retort to Creon's rejection was absolutely electric. You felt like you were watching a runaway train as it barreled towards the end of the track. Everything after this point happened in quick succession.

In Greek Tragedy deaths always occur off stage, and the production was true to this. I will state that just because you didn't witness the deaths of Antigone, Haemon and Eurydice, it didn't make them any less disturbing or tragic. The way the Messenger (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith) delivered the details of Haemon's and Eurydice's fates was riveting. Creon's descent into despair was completely believable.

The play may be called 'Antigone' but it was really Creon's story. CE was on stage almost the entire time. If he wasn't speaking, he was in his office upstage. The strength of CE's performance was that he played Creon, the villain, not as a monster, but as a human being. As a man motivated not by selfish reasons, but by a belief in the sanctity of the state. It was obvious how much Creon loved his family and his country. The situation that had developed was simply beyond his ability to function in without help. As CE put it, Creon was "drowning" and desperately tried to hide that from everyone. A couple of times you could see him bending over with his head in his hands, obviously struggling with all that was happening to him. He was a leader who made a bad decision, and his inability to change his mind ended up costing him everything he held dear. Creon's grief was palpable, and that was all down to CE's ability to make the audience care about what happened to his character.

All the performances were full of energy even though (or perhaps because) the cast was coming off a fortnight vacation. CE and Jodie Whittaker gave absolutely crackling renditions. They were definitely on their game. I was seated in the back of the stalls and felt very involved in the action. CE had no trouble filling the space and drawing the audience into his acting. He had a distinct presence and commanded the stage.

Creon's soliloquy after bringing Haemon's body in was the emotional highlight of the play, and the final scene will stay with me a long time. It was like an exclamation point at the end of a powerful sentence. Creon's grief was heart wrenching. He left the bunker as the drum revolve rotated to bring the audience outside the city walls one last time. He was covered in his son's blood and was trying to wipe it off. Walking by the city wall, Creon dragged his hand along it leaving a bloody handprint as the play came to an end. Powerful stuff and all done in silence.

A very effective modern adaptation, and definitely a play you need to discuss after seeing it in order to excise the emotional turmoil you have just experienced.

----------------

Additional production photographs here. Please note that these images are watermarked and contain spoilers.
Main 'Antigone' post.

'Thor: The Dark World'

2012-10-15T19:10:00.000+01:00

30 Oct 2013

Film

Dir. Alan Taylor

Wr. Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely; story by Don Payne

Role: Malekith The Accursed.

World première 22 Oct, Odeon Leicester Square, London

UK - 30 Oct

USA - 8 Nov

DVD:
Digital HD Feb 4 & on Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack Feb 25. More info at Marvel
Amazon UK Feb 24: DVD - Blu-ray / Amazon US Feb 4: Instant - Feb 25: DVD - Combo

Official site [production notes pdf] --- Marvel --- ComingSoon --- IMDb

Source

Video:

Interviews:
Collider - Screen Rant - PopSugar (+ Feige on casting) - Wapa - OntheRedCarpet - HitFix - Nerdist (feature) - Press Association (w/ A. Taylor) - ScreenSlam - MadeinHollywood - TwoTubeTV (w/ A. Taylor & bananas) - Skype - AMC Theatres - Clevver Movies - ComingSoon - Friday Download - Digital Spy (w/ A. Taylor)
London première: Heyuguys - RedCarpetNewsExtra - ScreenSlam - Absolute Radio - Flicks and the City - raw feed

20 10 Press conference: CE answers - complete

Clip - Malekith wakes

B-roll part 1 (CE at the start) - part 2 (CE from 5:00) --- More at Trailer Addict
Previsualization effects exclusive from Wired
Malekith featurette --- TV spots: No. 1 - No. 3 --- Extended trail - Official trail #2 - More at Marvel Entertainment or MarvelUK youtube

22 4 2013 Official trail #1

Reviews:

10 Nov Detroit Free Press
7 OC Weekly
6 LA Times - The Boston Globe **ºº - FilmJournal
5 NY Daily News ***ºº - NY Post *'ºº - Seattle Weekly
31 Oct The Guardian **ººº
30 Sidekickcast ****º - RTE ***'º - The Sydney Morning Herald ***'º / **'ºº - The List **ººº - Holy Moly 5/10 - Bleeding Cool
29 Nerdly - That Film Guy ***'º What Culture ***'º - Quickflix ***'º - Eyeforfilm ***ºº - Screen-Space ***ºº - FMovieMag ****º - HuffingtonPost ***'
28 Unleashthefanboy ***'º - ComicBuzz
27 Daily Star **ººº - Urban Cinefile - The Scotsman ***
24 Total Film ****º - The Shiznit ****º
23 Time Out ***ºº - IGN - Entertainmentwise - The Upcoming ****º - The Guardian ***ºº - Little White Lies - Screen Daily
22 Digital Spy ****º - SciFiNow ****º - The Wrap - Boxofficebuz ***ºº - Variety - Red Carpet News TV - The Playlist - Den of Geek - Crave Online - The Hollywood Reporter - Movies - The Telegraph **ººº - /Film 7.5/10 - Empire ****º - SFX ****º - Heyuguys ****º - Flickering Myth ***/****

Articles:

• Nov 11 - interview - Hero Complex LA Times
• Article - Movies.com - 'Does Marvel Studios Have a Villain Problem?'
• 7 - interview - Movieweb
• Interview - NY Daily News
• 6 - interview - CraveOnline
• 5 - feature - MTV - on Malekith
• Interview - Ain't It Cool
• Interview - Moviefone
• Oct 29 - article - Wired - on Malekith
• Interview - FMovieMag
• 25 - interview - SciFiNow
• 24 - article - HuffingtonPost - on credit scenes (spoilers)
See Articles for regular press interviews.

News:

• 5 Nov Behind the scenes photos at Stitch Kingdom.

• More stills at Emileeid. Spoilers.

• 15 Oct Reactions to Malekith clip

Hypable:
What a way to introduce Eccleston's character. We see that he's clearly the leader of a massive army on that even more massive ship that we see crash into London. Eccleston was the perfect choice for this character and this latest footage proves just that.

IAmRogue:
Eccleston, who played the revitalized Doctor Who for one series, is buried under some striking makeup effects, but he still makes an impression without uttering a word in English.

• 1 Oct Set reports (with bits on CE and Malekith - and filming barefoot on the set) from SuperHeroHype, IGN, CinemaBlend and Collider (alt /Film).

[IGN] Later, we observe Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Eccleston shooting a scene together. They're on what is best described as a balcony or observation deck of their dark ship, looking out at a blue-screen void. The set is almost horn-like; it starts out very low and cramped, with a camera and dolly tracks jammed inside amid burned-out, semi-organic pillars and weird, diagonal angles. Interestingly, at the start of each take, the theme music from Christopher Nolan's Inception is blared on loudspeakers -- "for atmosphere," we're told.

The pair are speaking Elvish to one another (though presumably in a different dialectic from the Lord of the Rings films). The funny thing is, while Eccleston is an imposing presence -- there's a sort of sense on set that one tread carefully around him -- he's barefoot while shooting. (His feet are not in the shot.) He pulls it off.

[CinemaBlend] While Malekith's fleet is largely made up with vessels called the Horus, the flagship is called The Ark, and that was the one we had the chance to go inside during shooting.

The scene began with Malekith stumbling as he made his way towards the bridge of the ship, his left hand pressing against the wall to balance himself. The entire place has a very strong, dark H.R. Giger vibe. He walks forward to a railing and the camera rotates around his head, which will give us our first look at the leader of the Dark Elves without his mask on in the film. His white hair is tied into two braids that meet and combine to become a ponytail that hangs halfway down his back. His skin is ghostly white, his eyes are a piercing blue, his ears are long and pointy, and his body is covered in a dark armor. Algrim The Strong (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Malekith's second in command, comes up from behind his superior and hands him a mask. As the two of them stand on the bridge, they begin to converse in Elvish, and while we didn't get a direct translation a dialect coach had actually been hired by the production to create the language.

We even got two bits of trivia out of watching the scene: at the start of each take Alan Taylor would cue up the main theme from Hans Zimmer's Inception score to set the mood, and weirdly enough Eccleston was barefoot during the shot because they frame doesn't show his feet and the character's boots were too time consuming to put on.

• Sep Total Film issue 212, Nov 2013 - cover and feature.

Meet Malekith
Christopher Eccleston talks latex and Loki

Did you audition for Malekith? What did Alan Taylor want for the big bad?

I didn't audition, no. I was offered it after a big meeting with Alan. What did he want? That's a good question. I would imagine he wanted diligence, a bit of intelligence. Probably an indomitable spirit. On a good day, there's six hours in make-up followed by half an hour in costume, and three hours travelling. What you need is someone who can endure a bit of a marathon, because I'd do eight or nine hours before I'd even go on camera.

Did you know it was going to be so tough?

No – they kept that from me throughout the negotiation part! But the most important thing is that the audience pays their money, so you've got to live up to that. That was my whole business: that all that was worth the effort. It was for Alan Taylor that I particularly wanted to do the job. That and getting paid, of course.

So what is Malekith's motivation? Just bringing darkness to the world?

Well, it's precisely that, actually. What I thought about a great deal was revenge – there's huge amounts of revenge. One quote is: 'When you seek revenge, be sure to dig two graves.' I did a film called Revengers Tragedy where I played a guy called Vindici – from the word 'vindictive' – and he is the distillation of revenge. So, in a way, that was what I had to think of: how revenge can make you absolutely monomaniacal – though you're still trying to make it recognisably motive-led. It's just the personification of movie evil.

So do Malekith and Loki team up?

I've got to tell you, there really isn't that big a connection actually, when it finally plays out. A movie comes along with a baddie, and then [for the follow up] you add another baddie to that mix. But in terms of Malekith and his manoeuverings, there's not a huge amount of screen time with those two guys together. There's an implied connection – which Loki plays with – but it's not a hugely developed strand in the film.

What was it like joining a cast and crew who've already worked together?

They made a real effort, almost like a repertory of theatre actors, to make myself and Adewale [Akinnoye-Agbaje, playing Kurse] feel welcome. And of course you've got to go into these things with an open heart and not with your guard up. Chris and Tom, Mr Hopkins, all of them were fantastic with me. They've got a good sense of humour between them. I think you see that in the screen time they spend together when they're in Asgard and they're boozing and all that. I think that really does exist between them, to a certain extent.

Were you tempted to keep anything from the shoot as a memento?

No. I used to bring home lots of latex in my ears every night. Not sure if that counts. When you've done so much and actually take something, you end up with a house full of it.

The sets on this film are extraordinary. Did that make the job easier than just green-screening everything?

Yeah. I think my first day was in a sequence where the Ark, Malekith's ship, suicide bombs into Asgard's main hall. And the level of detail in that was just breathtaking and extraordinary. But there's plenty of green-screen too, and I actually enjoy it. When I was a kid, before I was an actor, I used to go out into the garden and pretend I was surrounded by spaceships and pretend I was being attacked. It's just an extension of that. It's just play.

I can't let you go without asking about the casting of Peter Capaldi in Doctor Who…

You can, you can.

• 23 Aug New stills from Empire, as well as covers for the coming October edition "with an extensive set report and cast interviews on the Thor sequel," in the shops from the 29th Aug. Unofficial type-up here [tumblr].

• 12 Aug Alan Taylor's video interview for Collider.

• 10 Aug D23 Expo liveblog.

"Greenwich Mean Time": Before... and after.

• Empire's Second Trailer Breakdown with the filmmakers' comments and stills. (Not true that it's the first time we hear Malekith voice though.)

Here is the other key real-world location (playing itself): Greenwich. And it's getting trashed by the Dark Elves' gigantic Ark – the design of which has been noticably tweaked since the last trailer, to make it less organic and more mechanical; compare also the first trailer's shots of a hooded Malekith with those in this one which now show him wearing more of a hi-tech helmet. "Malekith has gone through changes since we shot," confirms Taylor.

"The huge challenge for me on this was the length of the make-up," says Eccleston. "I was in the chair for at least six hours, and then it would take about 45 minutes to get me into my costume and get me kitted up."

• 13 Mar Tom Hiddleston's video interview [youtube].

• 2013 Marvel heads to San Diego ComicCon, issues concept art poster. Presentation to take place Sat 20 Jul, 6:00pm PDT (live blog). Next showcase at D23 Expo, 10 Aug.

• Featured in some of the lists for top films coming in 2013. F. ex. screencrave.com ("In November we’ll be seeing Hemsworth duke it out against Malekith, played by Christopher Eccleston which some of you may know from Doctor Who. For his appearance alone a number of us, including myself, want to see Thor: The Dark World immediately.") or the Weekend Warrior on ComingSoon ("[...] as a fan of the first Thor movie I'm super-excited to see where they take things, especially since this is going to be a direct sequel to The Avengers.")

• Set video and images - CE and Chris Hemsworth - splashnewsonline.com; alt on metro.co.uk; Dan Mumford's set photos; set report on tumblr (check relevant tags for more); assorted set videos on tpcat101's youtube.

• Filming in London, UK and Iceland. Will be released in 3D.

Official synopsis (ComingSoon):

Marvel's "Thor: The Dark World" continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel's "Thor" and "Marvel's The Avengers," Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos...but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano and Jaimie Alexander with Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins as Odin, "Thor: The Dark World" is directed by Alan Taylor, produced by Kevin Feige, from a story by Don Payne (credit not final) and screenplay by Christopher Yost and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (credit not final) and is based on Marvel's classic Super Hero Thor, who first appeared in the comic book "Journey into Mystery" #83 in August, 1962.

"Thor: The Dark World" is presented by Marvel Studios. The executive producers are Louis D'Esposito, Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Victoria Alonso, Craig Kyle and Nigel Gostelow. The film releases November 8, 2013, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

1 Aug 2012 Christopher Eccleston cast in Marvel's 'Thor' sequel (Deadline).

'The John Lennon Letters'

2012-09-14T17:11:00.000+01:00

9-2012 'The John Lennon Letters', a new book celebrating John Lennon's life is coming out October 9. Christopher Eccleston will be reading the audio version. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Orion Publishing Group:

Containing over 250 postcards, letters and illustrations (many never seen before) this offers a singular insight into the world of John Lennon and is fully endorsed by Yoko Ono (who has just recorded the introduction to the audio edition), and edited by Beatles biographer Hunter Davies.

The book will be available as hardback, paperback, ebook, audio cd, digital audio download.

NEW • Free lite version available for iPad - video (youtube)

• Now also an app.

• Listen to RTÉ interview with Hunter Davies (iTunes; scroll down to 8 10 12).

• Audio version available from:
amazon.com: audio CD, digital audiobook - more on the publisher Hachette's site
amazon.co.uk: audio CD, digital audiobook - bookdepository.co.uk - hive.co.uk

Official presentation:

First ever collection of the letters of John Lennon, an international publishing event.

John Lennon was a writer as well as a musician. It was entirely natural for him to put pen to paper whenever he had an idea, a thought, a reaction or a desire to communicate.

He lived - and died - in an age before emails and texts. Pen and ink was what he turned to. John wrote letters and postcards all of his life; to his friends, family, strangers, newspapers, organisations, lawyers and the laundry - most of which were funny, informative, campaigning, wise, mad, poetic, anguished and sometimes heartbreaking. For the first time, John's widow, Yoko Ono, has given permission to publish a collection of his letters. The Editor is the Beatles' official biographer, Hunter Davies, who knew John well.

John's letters are in a way something of a mystery - where are they all? Over the years many have come up at auction, then sold to dealers and collectors. Or they have been kept by the recipients, locked up safely. It has been a wonderful piece of detective work tracing many of these 250 letters, postcards and notes, which are arranged in chronological order, so that a narrative builds up, reflecting John's life. It will be visual - in a sense that many of the letters are reproduced as they were, in his handwriting or typing, plus the odd cartoon or doodle. THE JOHN LENNON LETTERS is fundamentally a book to read and study, providing a unique insight into the mind of one of the great figures of our times.

John's letters are read by Christopher Eccleston. Christopher Eccleston is an English actor who has had a hugely successful career in film, TV and on stage. His regular appearance on the TV series, Cracker, in 1993 brought him recognition and he went on to star along side such actresses as Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett. He won the 2011 International Emmy Award for his performance in Jimmy McGovern's Accused. He played John Lennon in the 2010 TV movie in and has twice been nominated in the Best Actor category of the BAFTA TV Awards.

Hunter's editorial materials are read by Allan Corduner. Allan Corduner trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has appeared on stage in Passion at the Donmar Warehouse, Serious Money in the West End and Titanic on Broadway, and on screen in Yentl and Topsy-Turvy, amonst many other roles. He is a highly experience voice actor and memorably narrated the voice of Death when reading The Book Thief. He has read Elspeth Coopers' Wild Hunt novels for Orion.

Includes a foreword read by Yoko Ono.

The book will be presented at The British Library, Oct 11 (Orion's page) and Victoria & Albert Museum, Dec 3 (Orion's page).

'Antigone' - Press Night Reviews

2012-05-31T22:28:00.000+01:00

Christopher Eccleston as Creon, Jodie Whittaker as Antigone

The Guardian:

Antigone ****-

Christopher Eccleston's outstanding Creon becomes the play's tragic centre. He presents us with a charismatic leader steeped in patriarchal tradition and naively trusting in the invulnerability of power: confronted by Antigone and her sister Ismene, he mockingly observes "these women are neurotic", and when his son Haemon tries to warn him about shifting popular sympathy, he loftily dismisses "the opinions of people in the street". Eccleston's Creon is not evil but fatally in thrall, like many modern politicians, to the idea that authority is somehow inviolable.

The Guardian:
[...] Antigone – review

Christopher Eccleston's Creon is terrific: a tyrant with a twitch: square in shoulder and jaw, but delivering his speeches with a choppy vigour that suggests anxiety as well as power. The real question he and the production raises is whether this play should be called not Antigone but Creon.

The Telegraph:
Antigone, National Theatre ****-

[...] Christopher Eccleston's Creon is the modern, morally-ambivalent politician personified, full of bold conviction until he realises the implications of his dubious strategies.

He superbly captures the growing doubts and panic of the character, but just fails to plumb the depths of tragic despair at the end when he realises he has lost everything that matters and has become a moral void.

The New York Times:

Antigone

Making a welcome return to the stage, Christopher Eccleston (an erstwhile "Doctor Who" on British television) brings to Creon a stony-faced, sternly spoken command whose granitic resolve crumbles in the face of the reprieve that comes only with death. Jodie Whittaker's Antigone, like Mr. Eccleston, speaks Don Taylor's extant version of the Greek original in her own regional English accent, a shrewd choice accentuating the degree to which these are men and women of the world we know, not remote emissaries from some accursed far-off land.

TimeOutLondon:
Antigone ****-

The keynote is Eccleston's channelling of Tony Blair. It's not an impersonation, but his precise, repetitive diction, mannered body language, cool unflappability and, above all, unshakeable belief in the rightness of his deeply unpopular cause – in this case executing his niece Antigone for defying the law by burying her traitorous brother Polynices – unerringly invokes one man's slippery spirit. It is a superb portrait and critique of the scariest sort of politician: one actually driven by ideology.

The Official London Theatre Guide:
Antigone

Here King Creon, whom Cristopher [sic] Eccleston plays with the measured, unruffled calm of any modern leader, decrees that the cadaver of his treacherous nephew Polynices should be left to slowly rot and be scavenged upon as a lesson in obedience to the state. [...]

While Whittaker's emotion-led Antigone is more likeable than Eccleston's Creon – no-one likes a calm peddler of terror, do they? – his initial arguments are undoubtedly compelling. [...]

[...] it is still Eccleston's Creon who stretches the furthest, those dammed, constricted emotions finally bursting beyond his control as he is left with blood on his hands… and on his clothes… and on the walls…

WhatsOnStage:
Antigone ****-

Creon, played with understated, chilling authority and a Lancastrian accent by Christopher Eccleston, is keen to maintain control after a period of disastrous civil war.

Christopher Eccleston as Creon, Jodie Whittaker as Antigone

Financial Times:

Antigone, National Theatre (Olivier), London *****

Then Christopher Eccleston enters as Creon.

There is no diplomatic way of putting this: he is Tony Blair. This is nothing so crass as an impersonation, with all those strange, rigid hand gestures. But Eccleston's Creon is driven, like Blair, by a conviction that personal certainty can and should override any amount of popular opposition, and he is similarly unimpassioned in his delivery. [...]

In the final minutes, on receiving the news that his niece Antigone, his son Haemon (who was betrothed to her) and his wife Eurydice are all dead, he unexpectedly cries, "I am nothing!" in the ecstatic roar of the vindicated narcissist. This Creon is a tragic protagonist who fails to learn that it is not all about him.

Exeunt:

Antigone at National Theatre ****-

[...] Eccleston plays Creon as part bureaucrat, part politician, starting out with the admirable ambition of creating a rule that is about the country, not the man (an antidote to the time of striving brought about by the very personal failings of the fallen king Oedipus); but in his determination to assert himself and his rule, he becomes detached from the very people he is supposed to represent, dismissing their concerns and beliefs in favour of his own flawed judgement. Eccleston beautifully captures the almost casual arrogance of the man, and his disintegration as the repercussions of his decision start to unravel his carefully constructed façade of victory.

Metro:

Antigone

The rolled-up shirt sleeves of Christopher Eccleston's Creon reminds one of Tony Blair; while an opening sequence recalls the assassination of Osama bin Laden.

Eccleston plays Creon as the consummate modern politician, initially almost reasonable in his absolute conviction that the law should be upheld at any cost. Yet if his Teflon demeanour seems spot-on for our morally ambivalent times, he fails to bring Creon's deeper personal trajectory into focus.

The Stage Reviews:

Antigone

Christopher Eccleston's Creon is an upright soldier, convinced that he must make an example of Antigone for the greater good and refusing to listen to pleas from his son, Haemon, who wishes to marry her. He is brutal in condemning Antigone to be executed by being buried alive and, in Findlay's version, exercising control of his son (a slight Luke Newberry) by physical bullying, but he never entirely loses his humanity. His lesson is hard-learned: when his son and wife both kill themselves, he knows he is to blame. A bloodied Eccleston shows him to be broken and distracted.

Theatermania:

Antigone

Christopher Eccleston's intense but measured performance as Creon dominates Polly Findlay's production of Antigone at the Olivier Theatre. [...]

Eccleston is superb as the new leader whose self-belief and conviction is initially unshakeable. Looking a trifle uneasy in his blue suit, his gestures are precise, his enunciation careful and clear. He is man very aware of how is behavior and actions are perceived; it's a restrained, but potent portrayal, even if he seems unwilling to loosen his grip on his character's sense of propriety and control even at the very end when his hands are stained with the blood of his loved ones and he has lost everything.

London Evening Standard:
Antigone, National Theatre Olivier ****-

The leads, Christopher Eccleston and Jodie Whittaker, suggest the difficulties of reconciling the rule of law with moral duty, and the results are explosive. [...]

Always intense, Eccleston is at his best in a deeply charged scene with his scandalised son Haemon (Luke Newberry).

LondonTheatre:

Antigone ****-

Christopher Eccleston – ex-star of TV's Dr Who – is the hard-nosed King Creon. In spite of his treatment of Antigone, he is more like a bureaucratic businessman than a really menacing, autocratic monarch. There's much of Obama and Blair in Mr Eccleston's performance, and given the subject matter, you can see why.

The Flintshire Chronicle:
Antigone

Elizabeth Wood Bowyer, 15, said: "Antigone was fantastic. It was so interesting to see a legendary play in a modern setting. It really illuminated the connection between ancient and modern politics. The acting was awesome too – Christopher Eccleston was a veritable catacomb of brilliance."

Cast of Antigone

The London Times:

Antigone ****-

This 21st-century interpretation burns particularly hard into our age. Costume and scene remind us of what we know too well in the age of Saddam, Gaddafi and Assad, especially after this week's appalling news from Syria. It's not about togas and robes: superstitious, stubborn, paranoid tyrants whose word is death have suits and ties and CCTV and bustling modern offices, and look just like our own leaders … Eccleston's Creon is the most curious, ultimately gripping performance. At first a chunky crop-haired politico, he seems appropriately wooden and bereft of feeling. But as doubt of his own rightness assails him he warms into vulnerability and madness. In the ghastly triple denouement his "I am nothing! I want nothing! My last, simplest prayer!" rings chill round the great auditorium.

The Sunday London Times:

Antigone, Olivier, National Theatre **---

Christopher Eccleston, as Creon, seems particularly straitjacketed by a colourless interpretation. Dressed in white shirt, tie and grey trousers, he issues his brutal diktats from behind a desk in something like an underground ops room at the Pentagon, surrounded by a posse of paramilitaries.

Express:

Antigone ****-

Yet the production does not have to strain for relevance; it takes it as a given that this is a story about political (dis)order that is always going to speak to us.

That is amplified in Christopher Eccleston's tense, intense performance as Creon, beautifully showing the cracks in his armour of certainty.

Express:

Antigone, National Theatre ****-

While minions bustle about on the 20th-century office set, hot desking between piles of paper, Creon (Christopher Eccleston) swaps his army uniform for a sober grey suit in preparation for the post-civil war clean-up campaign until Antigone arrives to challenge his authority and give her brother a decent burial.

The Arts Desk:
Antigone, National Theatre ***--

Eccleston understands this perfectly, dominating the stage by balancing the different public faces required of a politician, yet also being convincing as a family man and as an individual struggling with belief. He also cynically plays the terrorist card.

Spiked:

Antigone

[...] Creon is accordingly played by a suited Christopher Ecclestone [sic], who is confronted by Jodie Whittaker as an angry young woman. [...]

The real problem, though, is with Ecclestone's [sic] Creon. He observes many of the tics of a modern statesman, such as removing his jacket to stand arms akimbo while delivering slick speeches pleading political necessity. He is of course also right to reject Tiresias's claim that no one condemns a man who 'recognises his folly and changes'. Everybody knows such men are routinely reviled as shilly-shallying u-turners by political pundits – even if those same pundits also endorse u-turning as fully consultative, authentically pragmatic 'listening'. However, the more fundamental problem with Ecclestone's [sic] Creon is that he is a measured, mannered, distant figure, neither fish nor Führer, blowing neither hot nor cold.

Seven Magazine:

Antigone, National Theatre ***--

Sophocles's tale is strong, bloody stuff and Eccleston has what ought to be a dominating role in Creon, the autocratic King of Thebes, who is intent on punishing Antigone (Jodie Whittaker) for the sins of her late brother who has been vanquished in war.

Don Taylor's adaptation is, alas, set in the present day in what looks like an office somewhere in the north of England. Eccleston – who seems a lot shorter on stage than he does on screen – struts about it in shirtsleeves and eats his packed lunch at his desk. He put me in mind less of a bloody-thirsty tyrant than David Brent on a bad day.

Standpoint:

Antigone

Creon's defence of his rule is sent up so hammily by Christopher Eccleston that the National's audience tittered at the logic. But this is not Sophocles's point at all. He may, as an enlightened metropolitan Athenian, regard Thebes as a backward place full of retrograde and cruel customs, but he does give Creon an argument for the consistency of state power with a force that foreshadows Hegel's "insight into necessity". That is what makes the play both great and unsettling.

Eccleston (who played Nicky in Our Friends in the North and one of the sundry Dr Whos) is an intriguing stage presence, with all the mannerisms of a politician who doesn't quite believe his own logic, and thus says it more loudly.

Christopher Eccleston as Creon, Jodie Whittaker as Antigone

Woman & Home:

Antigone

Christopher Eccleston is wonderfully understated as the hubristic king, while Jodie Whittaker gives a powerful performance as willful Antigone.

Variety:

Antigone (Olivier Theatre, London [...])

Polly Findlay's production of Sophocles' tragedy is set in a Cold War-era bunker, where women in suits pass folders to uniformed army officers; functionaries bend over reel-to-reel tape players; and the man in charge, Creon (Christopher Eccleston), confers with flunkies behind brown-smoked glass. [...]

Keeping a cool distance from the blood and guts of the story seems to be part of Findlay's reading, or at least affects the way Creon is presented: Even as he confronts his own culpability in the death of his son and wife, Eccleston seems at an emotional remove from the action – his final action is to carelessly smear the blood from his hands onto a wall. Such an interpretation, however, runs against the text and rather negates the purpose of staging it in the first place.

Mail Online:
Dr Who gives Greek tragedy a timely twist ***--
Antigone, By Sophocles: Intense Ecclestone [sic] is the perfect fit ****-

In the Royal National Theatre's pacy new production of Antigone, Creon is played by Christopher Eccleston. He may be best known nationally for his brief stint as TV's Doctor Who but Mr Eccleston is a stage actor of stature.

He combines a rangy physical presence with a temple-twitching intensity.

One of his trademarks is an exaggerated precision in speech, his mouth almost doubling its movements as he delivers the words.

How well this suits Creon as he tussles with his intransigence and confronts the fate imposed on him by merciless gods.

A Younger Theatre:

Antigone

Jodie Whitaker brings a raw edge and tenacity to Antigone that is often lacking in this character. However, Whitaker's performance stays on one level and never quite spills over with the passion that is required of her – often causing her to underplay the more dramatic moments. I also found Christopher Ecclestone's [sic] Creon to be much the same, something which meant that a rather lengthy dualogue between the two never seemed to reach its climax.

Bloomberg:

Antigone ***-

Jodie Whittaker makes a stirring and defiant Antigone, standing up for the rights of humanity against temporal laws. If Christopher Eccleston (King Creon) lacks her natural authority, Jamie Ballard gives a wonderfully neurotic turn as the blind prophet Tiresias. This show grips like a fish hook.

City A.M.:

Antigone, The National Theatre ***--

Eccleston plays the tragic king Creon, whose dogged insistence on upholding his principles against the weight of popular and moral opinion – a clash between relativism and objectivism with clear modern parallels – threatens to topple the entire state. But his hubris-driven descent into desperate self-preservation is never quite plausible and Eccleston too often looks a little lost.

Londonist:

Theatre Review: Antigone @ National Theatre

The Spectator:

Antigone

Counterfire:

Antigone

Main 'Antigone' post

'Blackout'

2012-05-05T20:20:00.000+01:00

formerly known as 'The Fuse'
2 Jul 2012
TV series (3 parts)
Dir. Tom Green
Wr. Bill Gallagher
Role: Daniel Demoys (politician).

TX:
Episode 1: Jul 2 - listing and synopsis (spoilers) - page
Episode 2: Jul 9 - listing and synopsis - page
Episode 3: Jul 16 - listing and synopsis - page

DVD: Aug 13
BBC Shop - amazon.co.uk - play.com - hmv.com

Sites at BBC (clips, galleries, character profiles) --- Red Production Company --- IMDb

Trailer:

Reviews:
EP. 3
• Jul 16 David Lewis - CultBox - 'Blackout': episode 3 review
• Caroline Westbrook - Metro - Blackout came to a predictably downbeat conclusion
• Caroline Frost - Huffington Post - Blackout finale showcases Christopher Eccleston, a lesson in stillness
EP. 2
• Jul 10 Caroline Frost - Huffington Post - Blackout - It's all about the women
• Jul 9 David Lewis - CultBox - 'Blackout': episode 2 review
EP. 1
• Jul 8 Nigel Farndale - The Telegraph - Eccleston is the prince of darkness
• Hugh Montgomery - The Independent - Blackout, BBC1, Monday [...]
• Jul 7 Anne-Marie Allan - ForgeToday - Blackout
• Emmet Purcell - Joe - Blackout proves a bleak watch [...]
• Jul 6 VIDEO Andrew Collins - The Guardian - The Week In TV
• Jul 3 Tom Lubek - The Yorker - Blackout - another dark drama for BBC One
• Ben Lawrence - The Telegraph - Blackout, BBC One, review
• Caroline Frost - Huffington Post - Blackout: Christopher Eccleston acted so hard, he blacked out...
• Keith Watson - Metro - Blackout was a moody, menacing drama of rare intensity
• Arifa Akbar - The Independent - Blackout, BBC1 [...]
• Jasper Rees - The Arts Desk - Blackout, BBC One
• Pat Stacey - The Herald - Still in the dark about Blackout
• Jul 2 Stuart Jeffries - The Guardian - Blackout [...]
• Ross Jones-Morris - On The Box - Blackout episode one review
• AUDIO Mark Lawson and Chris Mullin - Front Row, BBC Radio 4 - info and iPlayer
• Jun 26 David Lewis - CultBox - 'Blackout': episode 1 review

Articles:
• Jun 30 TV & Satellite Week - Dark and dangerous [scans on Side Effects, Tumblr - one, two]
• Jun 27 Vicky Frost - The Guardian - Christopher Eccleston: from superheroes to Sophocles

News:
• Oct 23 Nominated in the RTS North West Awards: Best Production, Best Single Drama or Drama Series, Best Performance in a Single Drama or Drama Series (CE); didn't win.

• Consolidated ratings: ep. 1 - 5.25m; ep. 2 & 3 not in top 30.

• Jul 17 Ratings for episode 3, Broadcast:

Blackout (BBC1) 9pm-10pm
3m (13%)
The Christopher Eccleston drama won the 9pm slot after recovering from last week's series low of 2.93m (12.72%). It was still way under BBC1's slot average of 4.97m (20.05%).

• Jul 10 Ratings for episode 2, Broadcast:

Blackout (BBC1) 9pm-10pm
2.93m (12.72%)
It was a dark evening for BBC1's Christopher Eccleston drama after losing 1.5m on last week's debut performance of 4.47m (19.62%).
Monday's instalment started with more than a 3m viewers but this waned to 2.91m over the period it was on air.

• Production stills by Vishal Sharma (or as gallery).

• Jul 3 Ratings for episode 1, Broadcast:

BBC1's new Christopher Eccleston drama Blackout debuted with nearly 4.5m viewers - more than twice the audience of any other terrestrial channel at 9pm.
Blackout (BBC1) 9pm-10pm
4.47m (19.62%)
The contemporary tale of redemption, which also features Dervla Kirwan, easily won its slot despite underperforming for BBC1.
The drama launched with 4.93m (21.5%) in its first 15-minutes, but this fell by nearly 800k to 4.15m (18.3%) in its final quarter of an hour.
It meant Blackout was more than half a million viewers short of BBC1's slot average of 5.16m (20.78%) for the past 12 months, according to overnight Barb figures supplied by Attentional.

• Jun 21 Images at RadioTimes.

• Jun 15 BBC Media Pack. CE interview (spoilers):

Can you tell us about Daniel Demoys and his role in Blackout?
Daniel Demoys is an interesting figure in that he was once a very idealistic young man who got drawn into local politics and slowly allowed himself to become cynical and disillusioned, and he lost his ideals. He has an addictive personality and started to indulge himself personally, being addicted to alcohol and drugs.

At the beginning of episode one he meets a man (Henry Pulis played by David Hayman) who holds a mirror up to him, and he sees his reflection of who he really is and tries to destroy it. The drama then becomes a why-dunnit rather than a whodunit.

Daniel's a contradictory character because he has a deep love for his wife and for his children, but he has pure hatred for himself. So consequently he ends up treating his family disrespectfully because he has no self-respect in the way he indulges himself. He's probably got more in common with Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment, or Macbeth, in terms of what he's done and his battle with his conscious and imagination, which is used stylistically by flashbacks in the film itself.

What is Daniel's home life and relationship with his wife (played by Dervla Kirwan) and children like?
Daniel and his wife, before the children came along, were probably a very successful, hedonistic couple of the Nineties. There was a great deal of hedonism and they were very much part of that, while being bright, shining political lights. The kids have come along and he's carried on. There's an element of mid-life crisis with Daniel, as well as everything else. He's carried on that hedonistic path but it has stopped being enjoyable. It's probably fair to say that his wife has been in denial about his addictions. It's the only way she can deal with it, particularly while attempting to raise children.

What we've got within the film and with the three characters (Daniel's two sons and a daughter), you see the differing impact on children if a parent is an addict, and it manifests itself in different ways in the children. The impact of the addict on the family is a very major strand in the drama which sits alongside the thriller element. It is very much a thriller, and not just about the politics. The politics are the politics of a graphic novel, quite simplistic. If you examine what Daniel is expounding it's probably communism but what's foregrounded is the thriller element and the family element. Those are the two things that are primarily the motors of the three episodes.

Daniel finds himself opening up to a nurse, Donna (played by Branka Katic). Would you say she acts as his subconscious?
She definitely serves as a conscience figure. You can say that she's possibly taking him through the 12 steps, if you analyse it, looking at responsibility and humility. Donna allows him to confess to everything that he's done. She is his friend more than anything. She gives him tough love and it's an interesting relationship. She's brilliantly played by Branka because it's very easy to make a character like that purely a mouthpiece. Branka has humanised and grounded Donna, and given her humour, delicacy and subtlety.

Can you tell us about Daniel's relationship with Sylvie (played by MyAnna Buring)?
MyAnna's character and Daniel are both playing roles when they meet. It's role play. He's in an altered state because of the alcohol and drugs, and she, like him, is an addict and is addicted to danger and sexual danger. It's very clear. You see her as a mum and then you see her in a noir-ish wig, and then there is her husband (played by Andrew Scott) who is also an addict and an obsessive. This theme of addiction is shot throughout all of the characters. What is interesting about Sylvie is that Daniel instinctively, in his alcoholic state, understands what she needs to fulfil her fantasies. So psychologically they're wired up for each other in a very dangerous way. Two addicts together, bringing hell down on themselves.

You have worked with Andrew Scott before (Lennon Naked, BBC Four). What was it like working with him again?
It was great working with Andrew, he played McCartney when I played John Lennon and I think he's an excellent actor. I was really pleased when I heard he was going to join us on Blackout. He's an actor I really love working with and admire. It's a fantastic performance and his character (Detective Bevan) is similarly an addict. There's a kind of brilliance to that character's detection of what is going on and a brilliance to his doggedness. Bevan's after the truth like a holy grail and he's very decent in that way, but his obsession with his wife is the flip side of it. It's the shadow side of him and his doggedness with finding who she is or isn't sleeping with is very damaging to her and her children. So he, like Daniel, has a shadow side.

What made you want to be involved with this drama?
It's always very interesting to be asked to play a character who on paper is unsympathetic. Characters who do the kind of things that Daniel does don't scare the audience. Audiences are very bright, and those of us who make great television continually underestimate the audience. They're always ahead of us and they're always willing to take difficult characters into their hearts because they know how difficult their own lives are. For example, Raskolnikov fascinates people because he does something that we all have nightmares and fears about doing. Macbeth does the same and that's why go and watch those people and why we follow those characters, and Daniel does a similar thing. There's a fascination in watching somebody trying to wriggle out of what they have done and that's what we do with Daniel.

Can you relate to Daniel?
It's that Dennis Potter quote that I've used before and I love. When he writes his characters he used to write them as half ape and as half angel, which is probably what you could say about human beings generally. So I can tell you that I've never been an addict and I've never murdered anybody but I can still relate to Daniel Demoys.

• Jun 14 The series to start in the beginning of July.

• May 29 The series is re-titled 'Blackout' and three episodes long (BBC Media Centre). According to Andrew Scott, due to be aired approximately in July.

• Jan 29 Principal photography has finished. See Notes at the bottom of the post for details.

• 2012 Jan 1 The Guardian - 'Screen picks for 2012: Tom Green [...]' ('The Fuse': five-part [?], due to air in May).

• Nov 10 Press release from BBC:

Dervla Kirwan (Injustice, The Silence) and Ewen Bremner (Page Eight, Perfect Sense) join Christopher Eccleston in this original four-part drama for BBC One, written by Bill Gallagher (Lark Rise To Candleford, The Prisoner) and produced by Red Production Company (Exile, Single Father).

Also confirmed are Andrew Scott (The Hour, Sherlock), Lyndsey Marshal (Garrow's Law, Being Human), Rebecca Callard (32 Brinkburn Street, Robin Hood), MyAnna Buring (The Twilight Saga, Any Human Heart) and Branka Katic (The Jury II, Big Love).

The Fuse follows Daniel Demoys (Eccleston), a stranger in his own life. Over the years he has gone from being an idealistic young man with a burning desire to make the world a better place, to a disillusioned and corrupt council official. His alcoholism has driven a wedge between him and wife, Alex (Kirwan), and their three children. The fallout from his alcohol-fuelled actions prove agonising for all around him.

When Daniel wakes up after another drunken night, he realises that he might be responsible for a murder. A dramatic act of redemption buys him public adoration, so much so that he has become a candidate in the race for Mayor, persuaded by council official Jerry Durrans (Bremner), and lawyer sister Lucy (Marshal).

The public's opinion of Daniel as a straight-talking everyday hero couldn't be higher. They are enthralled by his no nonsense determination not to treat the electorate like fools and by his openness about his personal problems and struggle with addiction.

As his public star rises ever higher and he tries to repair the damage done to his private life, he is painfully aware that it could all come crashing down at any moment. With Detective Dalien Bevan (Scott) hot on his trail and determined to gain respect in the force, he could be just the person to do this.

Daniel's deepening relationships with Bevan's ex-wife Sylvie (Buring), hospital nurse Donna (Katic), and the murdered man's daughter Ruth (Callard), means he finds himself in even more of a tangled web than he could ever have imagined.

Christopher Eccleston says: "Bill Gallagher has written a fantastic four episode drama about obsession, addiction and redemption. I’m very excited about the role of Daniel Demoys and to be working with Red Production Company and BBC One".

Bill Gallagher, Writer and Executive Producer, says: "I liked the idea of starting a story with a man who finds himself in a self-induced hell, and following him as he tries to make amends for the harm he has done. He happens to be a politician, so he has a chance to pay for his sins in his community".

"I am extremely excited to be working on another Bill Gallagher script," says Nicola Shindler, Executive Producer, Red Production Company. "He has written an incredibly compelling, morally complex thriller with a very recognisable family at its core. We are going to make an accessible, very honest and stylish drama for BBC One".

Filming has started and will take place on location in Liverpool and Manchester, for a Spring 2012 transmission.

The Fuse was commissioned by Ben Stephenson, Controller, Drama Commissioning, and Danny Cohen, Controller, BBC One. The producer is Matthew Bird (Death In Paradise, The Street) and director is Tom Green (Misfits, Kid). Executive Producers are Christopher Aird for BBC, Nicola Shindler for Red Production Company, and Bill Gallagher.

• Other articles: Digital Spy, Radio Times, Liverpool Echo.
• Article with the first image.

• Nov 7 Filming started.

• May 6 2011 BBC Press Office:

Christopher Eccleston plays politician Daniel Demoys in Bill Gallagher's original new five-part drama The Fuse on BBC One.

Daniel wakes up after an alcohol fuelled night and realises that he might be responsible for a murder. A dramatic act of redemption buys him public adoration, but how long can he hide from the truth?

Filmed and set in Manchester, the drama follows Daniel Demoys, a stranger in his own life. Over the years he has gone from being an idealistic young man with a burning desire to make the world a better place, to a disillusioned and corrupt council official. His alcoholism has driven a wedge between him and his wife, Alex, and their three children.

After saving a young man from being shot, public opinion of him as a straight-talking everyday hero couldn't be higher. So much so that the council official has become a candidate in the race to become Manchester's mayor. The public are enthralled by his no nonsense determination not to treat the electorate like fools and by his openness about his personal problems and struggle with addiction.

But Daniel Demoys has killed a man and as his public star rises ever higher and he tries to repair the damage done to his private life, Daniel is painfully aware that it could all come crashing down at any moment.

Christopher Eccleston says: "Bill Gallagher has written a fantastic five episode drama about obsession, addiction and redemption. I'm very excited about the role of Daniel Demoys and to be working with Red Production Company and BBC One. I can't wait."

Bill Gallagher, writer and executive producer, says: "I liked the idea of starting a story with a man who finds himself in a self-induced hell, and following him as he tries to make amends for the harm he has done. He happens to be a politician, so he has a chance to pay for his sins in his community."

Nicola Shindler, executive producer, Red Production Company, says: "I am extremely excited to be working on another Bill Gallagher script. He has written an incredibly compelling, morally complex thriller with a very recognisable family at its core. We are going to make an accessible, very honest and stylish drama for BBC One."

The Fuse follows Daniel's quest for redemption and poses the question of what it means to be a decent person.

This is the latest commission from Red Production Company (Exile, Single Father), for winter 2012 on BBC One. Written by Bill Gallagher (Lark Rise To Candleford, The Prisoner). The BBC executive producer is Piers Wenger.

The Fuse was commissioned by Ben Stephenson, Controller, Drama Commissioning, and Danny Cohen, Controller, BBC One.

Notes:
• Style: According to Red Production Company the distinctive look of the series was influenced partly by Wong Kar-wai movies ('Chungking Express') (tweet).

• Filming locations:
Manchester Jan 28 set pics - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Jan 26 Olivia Cooke and CE image; Jan 17 - Bowden; 2012 Jan 9 - CE pic; set pic; 2011 Dec 13-16 Dale St (studio; public's set pic; general image); Dec 11 Spinningfields; set pic; Nov 30 The Imperial War Museum; Nov 24 roof of the Arndale centre (pic); Nov 23 'Razor 34' (green room?; general images); Nov 21 'Boutique Club' (site); Nov 18 - set pic; Nov 17 - set pic; Nov 14 'Mr. Thomas's Chop House' (site, set pics: exterior, interior). Also 'Manchester Photographic' (green room; image on the right; post); various in China Town & Northern Quarter;
Southport Dec 5 Ainsdale Beach (set pic);
Liverpool 2012 Jan 18 - set pics, incl. CE and spoilers; 2011 Nov 9 - square by St. George's Hall - public's tweet w/ set photo and spoilers.

• Cast: Dervla Kirwan played CE character's wife in 'With or Without You', Andrew Scott was Paul McCartney in 'Lennon Naked', Rebecca Callard played Arrietty in the first BBC adaptation of 'The Borrowers'.

• Oct 17 Makeup artist Davy Jones, long time collaborator with Chris Eccleston, tweeted that he would start working on the 7th of November, it would be 10 weeks and that it was a six part drama. Before, there had been early information indicating start of filming in the beginning of November and 11 week shoot, as well as the episode count going down to four. The series had gone into active pre-production stage in the end of September.

• The series has been announced on the 31st of March by BBC (5th April by Red Production Company). Christopher Eccleston's casting was first made public on the 4th of May by RPC (@RedProductionCo: "Christopher Eccleston confirmed to star in THE FUSE - new Red drama, written by Bill Gallagher for BBC1." - tweet removed) and Adrian Lobb.

'Antigone'

2012-02-15T02:24:00.051+00:00

Christopher Eccleston as Creon

2012
Previews from: 23 May
Opening Night: 30 May
Closing Night: 21 July (extended)
Play by Sophocles in a version by Don Taylor
Director: Polly Findlay
Role: Creon, King of Thebes
Venue: National Theatre, Olivier Theatre
Cast

Playtext (transl. by F. Storr) --- NT page ~~(tickets available)~~

"Jodie Whittaker plays Antigone and Christopher Eccleston her uncle, Creon, in this thrilling contemporary staging of Sophocles' great drama.
Desperate to gain control over a city ravaged by war, Creon refuses to bury the body of Antigone's rebellious brother. Outraged, she defies him and Creon condemns the young woman to be buried alive." NT

Reactions:

• Press Night (May 30th) online and newspaper reviews (w/ pictures from the play)

• Blog Reviews:
Prof. Whitestick (blog, July 26), sueyuk (blog, July 17), Poly Gianniba (blog, July 5), Naima Khan (blog, July 5), Working Breakfast (Tumblr blog, July 4), Rachel Mariner (blog, Jun 26), Liz Gloyn (blog, Jun 21), TheRestrictedReviewer (blog, Jun 21), garethjames (blog, Jun 20), Louise (blog, Jun 19), Hugh Alford (blog, Jun 18), Unique Cafe (blog, Jun 18), TheRestrictedReviewer (blog, Jun 13), Webcowgirl (blog, Jun 13), West End Whingers (blog, Jun 12), nextdramaticstep (blog, Jun 12), Miranda's Island (blog, Jun 11), Lou Reviews (blog, Jun 11), alicelsmith (blog, Jun 11), Geoff Morley (blog, Jun 11), Red Reviews (Tumblr blog, Jun 10), neptunienne (Tumblr blog, Jun 9), nikkimusingsandthoughts (blog, Jun 9), Unrestricted Views (blog, Jun 9), Katie Toms (blog, Jun 5), GirlReporter (blog, Jun 5), Matt Trueman (blog, Jun 5), Everything Theatre (blog, Jun 4), byronic (Tumblr blog, Jun 3), PlatformPieces (blog, Jun 2), nick730 (blog, Jun 1), Edith Hall (blog, Jun 1), Jonathan Taylor, son of Don Taylor (blog, May 30), Dotty (blog, May 30), Mark Ronan (blog, May 30)

• Pre-Press Night Reviews:
A Civilian's Guide to the Theatre (blog, May 29), Jonathan Evens (blog, May 29), MissP (blog, May 28), Rachel (blog, May 25), Hamsterfur (Tumblr blog, May 24), Finn Pollard (blog, May 24), Eastendlass (blog, May 23), TheRestrictedReviewer (blog, May 23), Ian (blog, May 23)

• Radio Reviews:
Jun 15 The Arts Show, BBC Radio 2 - site - iPlayer
Jun 2 Saturday Review, BBC Radio 4 - site - iPlayer
May 31 Front Row, BBC Radio 4 - site - iPlayer - download podcast (mp3; save target/link as)
May 30 Philip Dodd - Night Waves, BBC Radio 3 - site - iPlayer

• Marianne's review - July 18

Interviews:

• July 19 VIDEO National Theatre - In Conversation With Christopher Eccleston (streaming - video download, iTunes)
• May 16 The Telegraph - Christopher Eccleston interview: "This is why I became an actor"

• May 14 TimeOut London - Interview: Christopher Eccleston

Additional Materials:

• NT Discover Theatre Series - 'Antigone' - a collection of workpacks and videos on the subject of Greek Theatre, including interviews with the cast and clips from 'Antigone';
• LondonTheatre.co.uk - eleven production photos;

• National Theatre - Season Brochure, Apr - Sep 2012 (pdf; source)

News:

• Nov 25 London Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2012 - Winners - Winners include Soutra Gilmour, Best Design.

• Oct 29 London Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2012 - Longlist - Nominees include Polly Findlay, Best Director and Soutra Gilmour, Best Design.

• The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival: L065 Christopher Eccleston and Polly Findlay - They join us here to discuss this extraordinary production of a remarkable play, and why Sophocles' moral debate is timeless. Oct 7 - info and tickets.

• Jun 1 BBC News - Antigone: Four star reviews for Christopher Eccleston; WhatsOnStage - A chorus of approval for Findlay's Antigone. (review round-ups)

• AUDIO TheatreVoice - Director Polly Findlay explores the tragedy of Antigone.

• May 19 Loose Ends, BBC Radio 4 - Clive Anderson Attacks The Block with actress Jodie Whittaker, who's about to perform the title role of Antigone at London's National Theatre.

• May 9 'Antigone' rehearsal photos on National Theatre's Facebook page.

• Apr 10 'Antigone' rehearsals start today. (tweet; source)

• In Conversation With Christopher Eccleston - An afternoon interview, talking to Al Senter about his current role in 'Antigone' and his career, and answering your questions. July 19 - info and tickets.

• Director Polly Findlay will discuss her production of Sophocles' play on Jun 1 - info and tickets.

• Feb 10 2012 Christopher Eccleston has been cast as Creon, King of Thebes in 'Antigone':

Desperate to gain control over a city ravaged by civil war, Creon refuses to bury the body of Antigone's rebellious brother. Outraged, she defies his edict. Creon condemns the young woman, his niece, to be buried alive.

He can't forbid me to love my brother. He has neither the right, nor the power, to do that.

The people daren't object but the prophet Teiresias warns that this tyranny will anger the gods: the rotting corpse is polluting the city.

There is no gag like terror, is there, gentlemen?

Creon hesitates and his fate is sealed.

The gods never move faster than when punishing men with the consequences of their own actions.

Cast:

Antigone - Jodie Whittaker
Creon - Christopher Eccleston
Eurydice - Zoë Aldrich
Teiresias - Jamie Ballard

Haemon - Luke Newberry

Ismene - Annabel Scholey

Messenger - Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Soldier - Luke Norris

Chorus:

Alfred Enoch
Craige Els
Ross Waiton
Tim Samuels
Martin Chamberlain
Jason Cheater

Stavros Demetraki
Paul Dodds
Michael Grady-Hall
Ensemble:
Jo Dockery
Emily Glenister

Articles:

• July 12 The New York Times - Theater Talkback: A Chorus of Voices
• Jun 1 The Stage Features - Polly Findlay: A thrilling follow-up
• May 30 The Guardian - Polly Findlay Interview: Muscles, magic and suicide bombers
• Apr 19 BBC News - Jodie Whittaker ready for Antigone at the National Theatre

• Mar 22 Mail Online - Jodie Whittaker becomes a National treasure after winning lead role in Antigone

• Feb 15 RadioTimes - Christopher Eccleston to appear in Antigone at the National Theatre
• Feb 14 BBC News - Christopher Eccleston joins National Theatre's Antigone
• Feb 13 Officiallondontheatre.co.uk - Eccleston and Whittaker star in Antigone
• Feb 10 Playbill.com - Christopher Eccelston [sic] to Star in Antigone at London's National Theatre
• BroadwayWorld.com West End - Eccleston Joins Cast Of ANTIGONE At National Theatre
• Jan 31 National Theatre - Season Brochure, Feb - June 2012
• LondonTheatre.co.uk - National Theatre announce new Season to June 2012

Theatre - Eccleston Cast in 'Antigone'

2012-02-10T11:43:00.006+00:00

2012-2-10 Christopher Eccleston has been cast as Creon in the National Theatre's 'Antigone' (Sophocles), with Jodie Whittaker and directed by Polly Findlay.

The National Theatre:

Desperate to gain control over a city ravaged by civil war, Creon refuses to bury the body of Antigone's rebellious brother. Outraged, she defies his edict. Creon condemns the young woman, his niece, to be buried alive.
He can't forbid me to love my brother. He has neither the right, nor the power, to do that.
The people daren't object but the prophet Teiresias warns that this tyranny will anger the gods: the rotting corpse is polluting the city.
There is no gag like terror, is there, gentlemen?
Creon hesitates and his fate is sealed.
The gods never move faster than when punishing men with the consequences of their own actions.

'Antigone' opens May 23 and runs until Jun 20. Tickets for general public available from Feb 15.
Also, the director Polly Findlay will discuss her production of Sophocles' play Jun 1 - info.

Main 'Antigone' post

'Give an Hour' Campaign

2011-10-27T19:47:00.005+01:00

2011-10-21 BBC has launched the 'Give an Hour' campaign (press release) that "encourages everyone to give just one hour to help someone you know get online." Find more information, guides and inspiration on the campaign's site where you can also pledge your hour.

Celebrities tell who they will be getting online and what they hope to show them:

More from Christopher Eccleston on who he'd give his hour to and what Internet means for him:

Christopher Eccleston reveals who he"d "give an hour" to and help get online (mp3)

Download via iTunes off BBC England's Audioboo.

'The Shadow Line' - Alex's Review

2011-10-17T02:41:00.006+01:00

Reluctantly, I've revisited 'The Shadow Line' (the first multi-part British drama for Chris Eccleston since 2005) and watched it again, in two sittings. And that prompted me to write down some thoughts, ridiculously late. With spoilers.

I'm afraid I'm still not enamoured. To begin with, I still have issues with the editing. If you watch any of the current run-of-the-mill hi-tech series for young audiences, you will find perfect examples of fluid metonymical visual storytelling. What 'The Shadow Line' does is very basic. Sure, there are some great sequences, but they mostly owe to the on-set scene work and not something achieved in post-production. And yes, light and shadows are fully explored. But the whole construction is unbearably flat. And it's a shame because this side could have really lifted 'The Shadow Line'.

And many of the characters could indeed do with a leg up. Especially the police and their associates – behind the façade, only shadows. Nothing truly enticing, nothing repelling. No matter that there are friends and enemies and harbourers of secrets – they all seem part of the same mass. The evil side is more lucky with its individuals.

But are the shapeless characters or the technical side the reason why I was postponing the rewatch? Neither. It's actually Joseph Bede.

Christopher Eccleston's Joseph Bede. I can understand he finds it easy to praise Hugo Blick, the author of the series. Bede is the most intricately built character and thus cannot help but stand out among the ones created out of air. For better or for worse. And Eccleston is absolutely sublime from start to finish.

I found his story very hard to watch. Despite all the talk that the series offered more than traditional endings, after one scene I had no doubts Joseph's would be a very traditional one. I've no idea were this narrative reading stems from, but when his wife lashed out and then he was throwing up, I knew for certain that he's not making out of this alive. If I had to analyse it, that incident was the breaking point – either he toughens up, or he goes down. (And bad guys don't have this choice, it's the good ones with a layer of bad that do. This contrasts nicely with Babur, by the way – he appears to be Bede's equivalent, but he actually is the reverse, bad with a layer of good.)

So you can observe Joseph, from a slightly better vantage point than he has. He's reliable and steady at work – in a drug cartel. How did he end up there and why is he unscrupulous? And he's playing a long game. Which he lost at the moment of Harvey's death. He chose to carry on even though there's only Maurice to watch his back. On the home front, Bede is alone as well. The lucid moments of his wife he opted to wait for turned out to be the ones to dread. His moments of weakness were the best moments he had. All in all, as the song goes, his only mistake was that he was hoping. There's no 'where it matters most'.

And that's what made it all inevitable, heartbreaking and, story-wise, right. Following the series originally, I rather enjoyed the dynamic between Joseph and Jay (the walking shop of horrors), and this proved to be one of the points that made the rewatch worthwhile – knowledge of the outcome sharpened their interactions, and I would say it's the strongest written thread. It alone could've easily become a core for a film, shade of film noir, shade of classical tragedies. Wouldn't it be enough to focus on multifaceted bad guys? Especially when there's little left for the sort-of-good side – which was supposed to act as a catalyst but only diluted the mixture?

To conclude, there are easier ways to watch Turkish TV. Still. It's not a bad series to think about. It gets better on the theoretical plain. But it's not something I'm tempted to return to soon, even if it's easily among Eccleston's best character work.

P.S.: In the summer of 2010, whilst still filming, Eccleston revealed the series finale's main point in the interview with Isle of Man radio 3FM: "It's about the pursuit of pensions."

2011-10-17

'The Caveman's Career'

2011-09-04T14:30:00.003+01:00

AcmeArtUK: "An animated short designed to get primary school children talking about using their ambitions and dreams to choose a future career. Narrated by Ninth Doctor Who, Christopher Eccleston." (29 Mar 2011)

(website)

Radio 4 Appeal for Chance UK

2011-08-29T14:42:00.017+01:00

Christopher Eccleston to present an appeal on behalf of Chance UK - Sun 4 Sep, 07:55 & 21:26, Thu 8 Sep 15:27.
Programme info | iPlayer

Oct 25 Further update - £11,360 has been raised.
Sep 23 Update on the outcome:

"Chance UK would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has donated following our recent BBC Radio 4 appeal, which has now raised £9,193.10. We are delighted to be still receiving donations and we're hoping to reach £10,000 from the appeal to invest in our early intervention mentoring programme. [ETA: Sep 28 The goal has been reached.]

We believe that the success of this appeal was mainly due to the fantastic case study presented by Christopher Eccleston. There have already been 213 individual donations made, with each one gratefully received.

Our appeal was broadcast to a combined audience to over 1.9 million listeners and as well as donations, has also secured numerous volunteer enquiries and media articles.

So thank you to the BBC Radio 4 listeners for your generosity and interest.

You can still listen to Chance UK's BBC Radio 4 appeal by clicking here or go to our donations page here."

"Chance UK is an early intervention organisation that prevents crime and anti social behaviour by providing mentors to children with behavioural difficulties. Our mentors meet with a child for 2-4 hours, once a week, for a year.
They do activities together such as sports, visiting museums, exploring new interests, art projects, anything that will enthuse and engage the child. The mentor will use solution focused techniques to build the child's self esteem, so that their confidence, education and family life all change for the better.
Not only does this change the child's life and their prospects, but their parent / carer, teacher, siblings and classmates also benefit from the positive changes the child makes."

Reg Charity: 1046947
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope Chance UK
- Give Online www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/appeal.

Chance UK:

Chance UK has been awarded a BBC Radio 4 Appeal, which is scheduled to be broadcast this weekend - Sunday 4th September at 7.55am & 9.26pm.

Last month our CEO, Gracia McGrath OBE, had the opportunity to meet popular TV and film actor Christopher Eccleston at BBC Broadcasting House for the recording of our appeal in the BBC studios.

The internationally renowned actor recorded the appeal to help raise funds for our vital work in providing early intervention to prevent crime and anti social behaviour developing in children, a subject very much in the media and under much discussion after the recent riots across the country.

Christopher was delighted to lend his support: "All Chance UK's mentors are volunteers, but their careful selection, training and support throughout the year are vital. Anything you give will help Chance UK train more mentors and change the lives of more children."

Chance UK is an early intervention organisation that prevents crime and anti-social behaviour by providing mentors to children with behavioural difficulties. The mentors deliver an intensive and individually tailored programme for each child, which builds their confidence and self esteem. The vital funds we raise can change the lives of children, so remember to tune in and support our appeal!

Tune in to the Chance UK appeal on BBC Radio 4 (92-95 FM) on Sunday 4th September at 7.55am and 9.26pm, and also repeated on Thursday 8th September at 3.27pm.

Can you help us spread the word? Share this article with your friends, or visit us on Facebook and Twitter and share our updates with your followers. Your support could change the life of a young person, so remember to tune in and listen and donate to our appeal!

Also earlier news article.

'Song For Marion'

2011-07-08T13:32:00.027+01:00

aka 'Unfinished Song' (US)

15 Sep 2012 (Toronto International Film Festival)

Film

Dir. & wr. Paul Andrew Williams

Role: James (son).

USA - 21 June 2013
UK - 8 February, wide 22 February 2013

Palm Springs International Festival - 13 January 2013 (Closing Night Gala)

BAFTA preview + Q&A w/ Terence Stamp, Gemma Arterton, Ken Marshall and director Paul Andrew Williams - 19, 20 October

BFI London Film Festival - 19, 20, 21 October

Toronto International Film Festival - 15 September

DVD & Blu-ray: Region 2 - 24 Jun 2013
Amazon DVD | Blu-ray

Film's site --- sites at Steel Mill Pictures --- Weinstein Co --- Twitter --- Facebook --- IMDb

Video:

Trailer [youtube] - Interview w/ P. A. Williams [youtube] - Red Carpet Diary: SFM at the TIFF'12 [youtube] - SFM at the LFF [with clips from the film; youtube]

Audio:

• Interview w/ CE by David Wriglesworth: article - audio [soundcloud]
• interviews w/ Terence Stamp at TIFF: Roundtable interview [youtube] - BBC Radio 4 The Film Programme (Sep 13; from 0:22:40)

Reviews:

PSIFF

• 2013 Jan 14 - Sophia Savage - Indiewire - Palm Springs 2013: Award Winners, Plus 'Unfinished Song ' [...]

LFF

• Oct 20 Nick Hasted - The Arts Desk - Song for Marion ***--

• Oct 19 Chris Haydon - Filmoria - Song for Marion ****- ("Eccleston is great too and particularly thrives in the conflicting sequences with Arthur. Throughout it's clear that Arthur's ignorance and lack of emotional effort has left their relationship tarnished and the pair's moments on-screen together portray this with ease.")

• Oct 19 Robbie Collin - The Telegraph - Song for Marion, review ***-- ("Eccleston, in particular, is unquestionably his screen father's son")

• Oct 10 Robbie Collin - The Telegraph - London Film Festival 2012: an insider's guide

TIFF

• Sep 14 - Andrew Parker - Dork Shelf - Song For Marion

• Henry Barnes - The Guardian - Song for Marion **---

• Sep 13 - Alissa Simon - Variety - Song for Marion

• Kevin Scott - Torontoist - Song For Marion ***--

• Sep 12 George Prentice - Boise Weekly - Near-perfect harmony in A Late Quartet and Song For Marion

• Kevin Jagernauth - The Playlist, Indiewire - 'Song For Marion' hits a predictable, but sour note

• Sep 11 John DeFore - The Hollywood Reporter - Song For Marion ("Christopher Eccleston, eloquently showing the emotional toll lifelong paternal disdain has taken")

• Tim Grierson - ScreenDaily - Song For Marion ("a nicely dialled-down Christopher Eccleston")

News:

• Jun 22 Short CE interview for Manchester Evening News.

• Jun 19 Interview with Terence Stamp (metro.us) - among other topics, on Harvey Weinstein's influence (recut the film and changed the title) and CE.

• Feb 7 A clip from the film on HuffingtonPost.

• 2013 New trail [yahoo movies] for the American release, as 'Unfinished Song'. Also articles from Indiewire, ComingSoon.

• Nov 5 British Independent Film Awards nominations: Best Screenplay - Paul Andrew Williams, Best Actor - Terence Stamp, Best Supporting Actress - Vanessa Redgrave (press release). ETA: No wins.

• Dave Hill and Sheila Fitzimons' behind -the-scenes blog. Article about CE and James, with images:

• Oct 19 BAFTA Guru interview with Paul Andrew Williams.

• Sep 18 More sales - Italy, South Africa, South Korea, Scandinavia (Hollywood Reporter).

• Sep 11 Article from The Journal on the business side.

• Sep 7 Poster and stills at heyuguys.co.uk.

• Sep 5 Gala premières announced for the 56th BFI London Film Festival Oct 19, 20, 21. Clare Stewart:

Paul Andrew Williams (London to Brighton) shifts dramatic tone with this highly enjoyable film about love, loss and self-discovery. Arthur (Terence Stamp) is a grouchy old man who struggles with any form of emotional expression. His terminally-ill wife Marion (Vanessa Redgrave) is embracing life to the last and is an enthusiastic member of a contemporary choir led by singing instructor Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton). Arthur fearfully opposes Marion's participation in the group and dismisses their son James (Christopher Eccleston) who is struggling to come to turns with his mother's condition. The bubbly, perceptive and endlessly determined Elizabeth detects that Arthur is suppressing more than just his feelings and gradually unlocks his true voice. Straddling the territory between the enormously successful documentary Young@Heart (the musical choices here range from Salt-n-Pepa and Stevie Wonder to Motorhead!) and the triumphant British films Brassed Off and The Full Monty, the unabashed thrust of Song for Marion's story is that the joy of life is to truly live it. This sentiment is underscored by terrific performances from the entire cast and deliciously undercut by Stamp's piercing gaze which, true to his character, simultaneously gives nothing and everything away.

• Aug 14 'Song For Marion' officially announced as the closing film of the Toronto International Film Festival. The world première will be a gala presentation. Programmer's note:

A touching and joyful story about overcoming despair by learning to live in the moment, Song for Marion gives us something to sing about. It also brings together two icons of British cinema, Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp, and a new generation of talent represented by the effervescent and always impressive Gemma Arterton. Arthur (Stamp) is not an easy man to warm to. Grumpy and awkward at the best of times, he's reached a point in his life so grim there seems little reason to smile anymore: his beloved wife Marion (Redgrave) is terminally ill. The indomitable Marion, however, refuses to let her condition get her down, and she continues to take great pleasure in singing with the local seniors' choir. One rainy morning, while Arthur and Marion are still in bed, choir mistress Elizabeth (Arterton) brings the group out to serenade the couple with a rendition of Stevie Wonder's "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life." Marion is delighted, but Arthur's scowls send the singers scurrying away.

As Marion's condition worsens, Arthur does his best to please her – even to the extent of taking her place in the choir, whose songbook turns out to be considerably less conventional than Arthur expected: "True Colors" might not seem too much of a stretch, but he's rattled to hear them harmonizing on such selections as "Let’s Talk About Sex" and Motörhead's mighty speed-metal classic "Ace of Spades." As he struggles to adapt to this new social environment, Arthur will rediscover parts of himself long buried underneath his all-consuming bitterness – resources he'll need in order to get through what will be the most painful transition in his life. Music brings bliss to everyone, but all songs must come to an end.

Song for Marion closes with a dedication: "To family." And indeed, this is a film that speaks to people of all ages. Rousing and inspiring, it reminds us that every stage of life is worthy of celebration – a notion embodied here in the luminous form of two of the cinema's most legendary performers.

• Aug 4 Huffington Post interview with Terence Stamp.

• Jul 6 Article about Gemma Arterton and 'Song For Marion':

It's also wonderful to just give yourself to a movie and slowly fall in love with it. I can tell you that this doesn't happen often. It did, though, with Song For Marion and I want to sing out loud about it. It's due to open in January, but you can be sure it will feature in the various autumn film festivals.

• May 24 Indiewire article with very early Oscars 2013 predictions (Terence Stamp for alternate Best Actor contender, Vanessa Redgrave for Best Supporting Actress, Paul Andrew Williams for alternate Best Original Screenplay).

• 2012 May 20 Variety article on Cutting Edge co-producing plus sales at Cannes.

See post-production notes at the bottom of the post.

• Nov 7 The Weinstein Company (TWC) acquired U.S. distribution rights, along with Pan Asian TV rights. ComingSoon:

[...] The acquisition was announced today by TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein and VP, Acquisitions and Co-Productions, Negeen Yazdi. "'Song for Marion' is wildly amusing and is sure to charm audiences of all ages," said Weinstein. "We're thrilled to partner with Paul on his latest project and to showcase this dynamic cast. His success in this project stems from his knack for highlighting and harmonizing otherwise contradicting personality traits – in this case, funny and cantankerous – in his characters." "We jumped at the chance to partner on this film," commented Yazdi, who negotiated the deal alongside TWC COO David Glasser and Michal Podell Steinberg, SVP, Business and Legal Affairs and Acquisitions. "The story told and the parallels that can be seen in our own lives make this film one that will undoubtedly resonate with our audience." Added Williams, "I am proud to partner with The Weinstein Company on a film that means so much to me and that I hope will mean just as much to families around the world. The cast shines in this film in a bigger way than I'd ever imagined. It was as much fun behind the camera as it appears on-camera."

Song for Marion, currently in post-production, is produced in partnership with Film House Germany and Egoli Tossell as well as Aegis Film Fund and Northstar Ventures.

• Nov 6 ScreenDaily on further sales:

Song For Marion inspires string of sales for eOne

6 November, 2011 | By Jeremy Kay

eOne Films International has reported a strong response to its comedy drama Song For Marion, which the Weinsteins are poised to buy for the US. Charlotte Mickie has licensed rights to Sun Distribution for Latin America, Ascot Elite for all German rights excluding TV and all multi-lingual Swiss rights plus Austria. ARD Degeto has taken German TV rights. Lev Cinemas will release in Israel and Greenlight Films has licensed for Iceland. Vanessa Redgrave, Terence Stamp, Gemma Arterton and Christopher Eccleston star in the story of a grumpy man who learns to embrace life when he joins an unconventional choir.

• Nov 4 The Playlist feels vindicated:

The Weinstein Company Line Up Oscar Hopeful For Next Year, Close In On 'Song For Marion'

Back in July, after taking a look at the script for Britflick "Song for Marion" which, at the time, was just about to start shooting with stars Terence Stamp, Vanessa Redgrave and Gemma Arterton, we wrote "If we were Harvey Weinstein we'd be snapping up the rights immediately; undoubtedly reminiscent of films like 'Brassed Off,' 'The Full Monty' and 'Calendar Girls,' with a little Mike Leigh thrown in, it's rather lovely, and in places very funny, but Williams also brings emotion that's perhaps more raw than similar films to the table. Mark our words, given the giant success of the choir-based 'Glee,' it’s got all the makings of a major sleeper hit, and Stamp has the kind of role that stinks of Oscar."

Well, it's good to know that the big man was taking notes, as Variety reports from the American Film Market that The Weinstein Company are in final talks to take North American distribution rights to the project, which is currently in post-production. The film comes from Paul Andrew Williams – who made a storming debut with "London to Brighton" in 2006 before following it up with horrors "The Cottage" and "Cherry Tree Lane" – and it follows Arthur (Stamp), a grumpy old man in the North of England, whose wife Marion (Redgrave) is the member of a choir for pensioners, run by a young music teacher (Arterton). When Marion is stricken with cancer, Arthur finds himself becoming involved with the singing group, to the surprise of his estranged son (Christopher Ecclestone [sic]). Like we said, on the page, it's warm, moving stuff, and Harvey clearly agrees. We're sure that picking up the film is the first step of an Oscar campaign for Stamp, and indeed the project in general – it's firmly in the underdog wheelhouse that the company always does so well with at awards season.

Of course, the Weinsteins have a history of stacking the deck with Academy hopefuls. Watch how "W.E" and "Butter" have been neglected after weak reviews in favor of "The Artist" and "Sarah's Key" (which heads back onto 300 screens today). And there's already a few films that they'll be focusing on for the 2012/2013 season – Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" and Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" will obviously both be priorities, while David O Russell's "The Silver Linings Playbook" and Andrew Dominik's "Cogan's Trade" are also in the mix.

But "Song for Marion" fits snugly into the 'little-film-that-could' category, and we've been out on a limb since the summer as predicting that Stamp will be among the nominees at the Kodak come February 2013. It's unclear exactly when we'll see the film; it's possible that Williams is rushing to get it done for Sundance, which would be a good place to bow it, but it's more likely that it won't emerge until Toronto 2012. And Harvey? Give us a ring, you can send our finder's fee via PayPal.

• Nov 3 Variety on sales:

Weinstein Co. nears U.S. deal on 'Song for Marion'

Gemma Arterton and Vanessa Redgrave star in Britpic

By Diana Lodderhose

The Weinstein Company is nearing a deal for U.S. rights to Paul Andrew Williams' "Song for Marion," toplining Gemma Arterton and Vanessa Redgrave. Pic, which also stars Christopher Eccleston and Terence Stamp, is a London-set comedic drama about a grumpy elderly man who is reluctantly inspired by his wife Marion to join an unconventional local choir. Ken Marshall produces the pic through his Steel Mill Pictures banner, which he set up with Williams. Coolmore Productions, Egoli Tossell Film and Film House Germany also produce. Williams' previous credits include "London to Brighton," "The Cottage" and last year's "Cherry Tree Lane." Williams penned the script for "Song for Marion," which was included in the 2010 Brit List for best unproduced screenplays. Entertainment One have U.K. rights to the film while its Oz arm Hopscotch has Australian rights. Ascot Elite nabbed German rights for the pic in Berlin earlier this year.

• Sep 11 Durham Johnston School article on the filming in their premises (incl. image on the right).

• Aug 22 The film was featured on Look North, BBC One North East. Set visit included interviews with the director and Gemma Arterton. BBC News article w/ video fragment.

• Aug 11 Screen Daily feature:

Song For Marion

11 August, 2011 | By Sarah Cooper

London To Brighton and Cherry Tree Lane director Paul Andrew Williams talks about shooting his surprisingly upbeat fourth film which features pensioners body popping and singing about sex.

Synopsis: A comedic drama about a grumpy pensioner who is persuaded to join an unconventional local choir run by a young music teacher.

Director/writer: Paul Andrew Williams

Producer: Ken Marshall

Production company: Steel Mill Pictures (Paul Andrew Williams’ and Ken Marshall’s production company)

Co-producers/financiers: Coolmore Productions in partnership with Egoli Tossell Film and Film House Germany.

Cast: Terence Stamp plays the grumpy pensioner, Vanessa Redgrave plays his wife, Christopher Eccleston is his son and Gemma Arterton plays the music teacher who runs the local choir.

Financing: Northern Film and Media (£150,000) via its Creative Content Fund in partnership with Northstar Ventures.

Countries of Production: UK

Shoot locations: North East of England

Shoot dates: July 18 for five weeks

International sales: eOne

Distribution: UK and Canada (eOne), Germany and Switzerland (Ascot Elite), Australia (Hopscotch), France (Haut et Court)

Release date: 2012

On the strong British cast:

Paul Andrew Williams: It's a fantastically good cast. Working with such great actors makes my job so much easier. They are very easy to direct because they know so much anyway. When you write it you have no idea what you are going to end up with. The fact that we have got all these people is perfect.

On the challenges of the shoot:

The weather has been pretty bad which has been a bit of a challenge. Also, the last few films I've worked on the most people I've had to direct in one setting is seven people and on this we have hundreds of extras [the film also features local choirs from the North East of England]. But it's generally been very positive and we've had a lot of fun. The crew is a mix of people I've worked with before and local crew, and it's a great team.

On moving away from the grittiness of London To Brighton and Cherry Tree Lane to a more upbeat comedic tone:

The content is more upbeat, but there is still an element of urbanness. We are filming around estates, community centres, popularised areas, the city. On the one hand it is a brighter and upbeat story with so much smiling and joking and laughing and good feeling in the performances, but it's about people who live normal lives in normal places and the family issues that come with that.

On where the idea came from:

It came from the nicer bit of my head. It came from certain personal experiences with family and being inspired by the fact that old people have a life and that there is a generation that is still there. This film has got old people body popping, dancing, singing about sex, wearing heavy metal gear. We've got an old woman called Denise who is playing the drums, with a big heavy metal wig on. It's about people having fun.

• Jul 18 Comedy drama started filming in the North East (Newcastle and Durham), finishes end of August (6 week shoot) - ETA: Finished on the 27th.

• Jul 16 Journal Live on location and choirs:

A FILM which could do for choirs what Brassed Off did for brass bands begins shooting in the North East next week with a glittering cast led by Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp. Gemma Arterton and Christopher Eccleston also star in the film, Song for Marion, and North East extras are being sought to appear as audience members during a six-week shoot. Locations in County Durham and Newcastle will be used in the film which highlight the increasing popularity of choral singing. The story, written and directed by Paul Andrew White, is not set specifically in the North East but some of the accents might give the game away. A choir of talented singers from the region, coached by Richard Scott who directs the Heaton Voices community choir in Newcastle, will feature in the film. [...]

Newcastle-based agency Northern Film & Media invited the film-makers to the North East for reconnaissance trips earlier in the year. Gayle Woodruffe, production service manager at Northern Film & Media, said: "I think filming in the North East will give them the sense of community they are looking for. The film could be set anywhere but it needs to be a place with a real sense of community." Gayle said the film involves a choir competition and there was a big choir competition going on in the region when the film-makers came to visit. She added: "When I first read the script I thought it was a lovely story, very uplifting. I think it will appeal to a lot of people." Producer Ken Marshall, of Steel Mill Pictures, said their first North East visit coincided with the heats of Let's Get Lyrical, a choir competition organised to raise money for St Oswald's Hospice in Gosforth. "We were up scouting locations and it was pure coincidence that we came up at the same time as the heats for the competition," he said. "We got to sit in on them and it was brilliant. "Through that we met our choir director, Richard Scott, who heads up Heaton Voices." Mr Marshall agreed that Song for Marion was comparable with Brassed Off, a feel-good film highlighting a genre of music not often featured on the big screen. He said: "I think this has quite a commercial bent to it because of how big choirs are in this country. "Their popularity has gone through the roof with the coverage of choir competitions on TV and with things like Glee (the American musical comedy series broadcast on Channel 4)." He added: "With Song for Marion we have the chance to make a hilarious, joyous yet poignant film that will hopefully move audiences to both laughter and tears. "We took our time with this project as we knew we had to get the casting right to do it justice. We are thrilled with the cast we have secured and are looking forward to the start of the shoot." [...]

Anyone wanting to audition to be an extra in Song for Marion should go to www.songformarion.com

• The Playlist reminds that 'Song For Marion' script made last year's Brit List (best unproduced screenplays from the UK) and comments:

We've had a look at a draft of the script, and considering that and the top-notch cast, if we were Harvey Weinstein we'd be snapping up the rights immediately; undoubtedly reminiscent of films like "Brassed Off," "The Full Monty" and "Calendar Girls," with a little Mike Leigh thrown in, it's rather lovely, and in places very funny, but Williams also brings emotion that's perhaps more raw than similar films to the table. Mark our words, given the giant success of the choir-based "Glee," it's got all the makings of a major sleeper hit, and Stamp has the kind of role that stinks of Oscar. Filming starts on July 18th in northeast England, so we'll likely see this in the fall of 2012.

• From Steel Mill Pictures synopsis (spoilers there):

Arthur is a grumpy 78 year old that is stuck in his ways. His world revolves around caring for his ill but happy-go-lucky wife Marion, while his relationship with his 42 year old son James has deteriorated badly. Only Marion and granddaughter Jennifer's charms manage to keep the family together.

• Press release via Collider:

Vanessa Redgrave, Terence Stamp, Gemma Arterton and Christopher Eccleston to star in Song For Marion Principal photography to commence on 18th July 2011 London, 2011 – Steel Mill Pictures and Coolmore Productions are delighted to announce principal photography on feature film Song for Marion. Shooting in the North East of England, primarily in County Durham, Song for Marion is written and to be directed by Paul Andrew Williams (London to Brighton, The Cottage, Cherry Tree Lane).

The superb British cast is made up of Academy Award Winner Vanessa Redgrave (Julia, Atonement, Howard's End), cinema legend Terence Stamp (Billy Budd, The Limey, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert), Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace, Prince of Persia, Tamara Drewe) and Christopher Eccleston (Shallow Grave, Elizabeth, Doctor Who).

Song for Marion is a London-set comedic drama, about grumpy pensioner Arthur (Terence Stamp) who is reluctantly inspired by his beloved wife Marion (Vanessa Redgrave) to join a highly unconventional local choir. At odds with his son James (Christopher Eccleston) it is left to choir director Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton) to try and persuade Arthur that he can learn to embrace life. Arthur must confront the undercurrents of his own grumbling persona as he embarks on a hilarious, life-affirming journey of musical self discovery.

Director Paul Andrew Williams comments "Song for Marion is a story which is not only incredibly personal to me, but to many families and generations around the world. To see it brought to life by such an incredible and dynamic cast is not only massively exciting but also totally nerve racking!"

Producer Ken Marshall added "With Song for Marion we have the chance to make a hilarious, joyous, yet poignant film that will hopefully move audiences to both laughter and tears. We took our time with this project as we knew we had to get the casting right to do it justice, we are thrilled with the cast we have secured and are looking forward to the start of the shoot."

Song for Marion is also being produced in partnership with Egoli Tossell Film and Film House Germany.

• Other reports - Screen Daily calls it "[a] departure from Williams' previous gritty dramas London To Brighton and Cherry Tree Lane". The Daily Mail:

Vanessa Redgrave, Terence Stamp and Gemma Arterton are to get down and rock in a new movie. Song For Marion, which also stars Christopher Eccleston and Anne Reid, looks at the rock-choir phenomenon that has soared in all parts of the country, and abroad.

Producer Ken Marshall, from Steel Mill Pictures, said: 'Choirs have always been a massive part of the British social fabric,' adding that the TV show Glee had made them even more popular. Song For Marion will be directed by Paul Andrew Williams, whose first film, London To Brighton, was so well made – and shocking – that it forced audiences and studio chiefs to sit up and pay attention.

In the film Redgrave, who plays Marion, and Stamp, as her husband Arthur, are retired and living in the North-East of England. Marion's a member of a progressive choir run by Ms Arterton and both women want Arthur to join them. Eccleston plays the son who has a difficult relationship with his father. Marshall said the songs featured include numbers by Motorhead, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder and Cyndi Lauper. 'Both Vanessa and Terence can sing, and each has a big solo spot number,' said Marshall, who added that Vanessa's number is a classic ballad 'that will have you crying into your shirt'. The six-week shoot starts on July 18 on locations in and around County Durham. [...]

• Jul 8 2011 Eccleston cast to play James, main character's estranged son.

Post-production Notes:

March 28/29 Test screenings in the US and the UK. Some reactions: "It went down very well amongst all age groups. I think it was a life-affirming film about overcoming fear & barriers to happiness & learning to love life." "It went down really well with I'd would say all the audience. I really enjoyed it and was moved by it as we have just gone through a situation like the one in the film, and showed how complex the human is."

March Additional editing and ADR.

2012 Jan 30 Edit to be reopened (permission granted), work on score and music.

'The Borrowers'

2011-06-18T19:31:00.066+01:00

26 Dec 2011

TV film
Dir. Tom Harper
Wr. Mary Norton (book) & Ben Vanstone
Role: Pod Clock (heroine's father).

TX:
8 Dec, 8pm USA (ABC) - listing
26 Dec, 7.30pm UK (BBC One) - listing

BAFTA preview + Q&A (T. Harper, B. Vanstone, A. Loftus, R. Sheehan): 29 Nov

DVD release: Jan 9 (amazon.co.uk - hmv.com - play.com)
Includes 'The Making of The Borrowers' (25min)

Sites at Working Title - BBC - IMDb

Video:
• A. Loftus and S. Dooley on BBC Breakfast + 2 clips
• Exclusive trailer

• Titles:

• Robert Sheehan interview (youtube)
• Extract / preview (Dec 13):

• BBC One preview (world alt at CultBox) (Aug 27)
• BBC Christmas trail (Dec 3)

• BBC One Christmas Drama trail (Dec 3):

Articles:
Dec 23 Daily Mail Check under your floorboards! Boxing Day's new version of The Borrowers rings so true you'll believe they really do exist, says its star-studded cast (even more quotes)
Dec 22 Digital Spy Christopher Eccleston 'The Borrowers' Q&A: 'Pod wants to be a hero' (CE interview)
Version of below with more quotes from This Is Gloucestershire - Dinky people with big bruises
Dec 22 Press Association Eccleston bruises nose as Borrower
Dec 21 The Guardian My TV Christmas cracker: The Borrowers
Dec 20 The Telegraph Victoria Wood and Stephen Fry star in The Borrowers (incl. CE quotes)
Dec 11 The Independent Heads Up: The Borrowers
Dec 6 What's On TV Chris Eccleston: 'I loved the book when I was 7' (CE interview)
Dec SFX Something borrowed (text; some spoilers)

News:

• Overnights - 5.38m (22.2%) (Digital Spy).

• Interview with Working Title Television's Juliette Howell ("[...] The Borrowers is the first [WTT] production to reach the small screen.").

• Image gallery at Digital Spy (alt at Unreality TV).

• Interview w/ the cast - TV Choice:

Did you know the books as a child?
CE: I did and it's the key as to why I took the job. I'm hoping more people will read them after seeing this.
The Borrowers has been updated to the 21st century, has that changed the atmosphere?
CE: I hope not. All the style, stunts and humour in the world won't matter unless we have that basic core of the book, which is the love between Pod and Homily and Arrietty and their underdog status.
Their whole life is built around borrowing things, are you a borrower?
CE: Oh no, I have this thing that if people encourage me to borrow a book I won't because I fear I'll move on and not return it. Books are so important to people. Neither a lender nor a borrower be.
What are you up to at the moment?
CE: A four-hour drama for BBC1 called The Fuse. I play the central character who is a corrupt politician and it's a series about obsession, addiction, and hopefully, ultimately redemption. It also has shafts of black humour running through it, it won't be traditional cops and robbers.

Source

• Nov 18 Director Tom Harper offered some info on the titles: To be designed by Clemens Wirth (vimeo) and the song is performed by Hafdis Huld (website).

Source

• Nov 15 BBC MEDIA PACK - CE interview (light spoilers):

On The Borrowers book…
The Borrowers is one of the very first books I remember reading as a child, and I loved it. I would have read it around 1971 or 1972 I think at the primary school I went to. They formed a little book club and gave us a magazine where you had to choose your own book. The Borrowers was the first book I bought and I can picture seeing the brochure now, seeing the graphics on the front of The Borrowers novel – I went for that first and read the book two or three times. As a child if I liked a book I tended to keep reading it. The film is a contemporary take on the story and still retains all the original elements of the book, which is really about a loving family – a dad learning how to let go of his daughter so that she'll come back.

On becoming Pod…
As the book was such an important part of my childhood, I was very familiar with the character of Pod. Ian Holm, who I've worked with, is one of my heroes, as is Jim Broadbent – both fantastic actors, so it was nice to think that I'd play a role that those two great actors have played. I also thought it was interesting, because I'm obviously a very different type to Jim and Ian and I like the fact that Pod can adapt like that. Pod borrows his clothes from an action figure of the 80s, perhaps loosely based on a character from Raiders Of The Lost Ark. I think that appeals to Pod's image… he's quite an adrenaline junkie, he likes risk and adventure. Pod is also a lovely dad, and a hero. I've played lots of troubled men and 'anti-heroes', but Pod's a straight hero. There's a great sense of humour to him, and a gentleness. That's what attracted me to the role.

On the stunts…
Playing the role of Pod is unlike anything I've done before. There was a huge amount of green screen and I've done little bits of green screen in the past, but not that much. I would say it's the most challenging role I've done physically, because one of the conditions for me playing the part was that I did all the stunts. My favourite stunt was where I ran along a gigantic bookcase and just threw myself into mid-air and onto a crash mat. I was very excited about doing that and they had to tell me to stop because I kept doing it for fun. I also flew out of a gigantic drain into 12ft of milkshake mix, but that was not as pleasant.

On working with green screen…
I love green screen work because for me it's like being a child again – having to imagine that something is there and act with it, it's a slightly different skill. It pulls more on your imagination and your ability to express yourself, and that's all I did as a kid was run around the garden pretending I was in a polar ice cap, or on the ocean waves or in the middle of a James Bond film. I enjoy it because you have to create something with your imagination, and also it's funny if you take a step outside it and take a look at what you're actually doing, it's pretty comic.

On the sets…
The sets are very simple and very classic, and the production design on this was beautiful and subtle. For me the most impressive set was a section of a room where you saw just the floor and the skirting board. Now that does not sound that dramatic, but when you see it built to scale it was remarkable. It reminded me a lot of the Fred Quimby produced Tom and Jerry cartoons, the very early ones, where you would never see the human beings, just their feet. When you do something like this it's really important that production design and make-up and costume are all pulled together so there's a unity, and I felt that particularly with the production design.

On the costumes…
Pod's costume is very torn, tattered, spattered in mud, and half hanging off him. He's a typical fella, he's not too concerned with what he looks like and when they go on this extraordinary adventure, Pod is reduced to rags really. He's nearly dissected and his shirt is taken off him by the human beings… he starts off pretty Harrison Ford-ish, and ends up like Steptoe and Son.

On the film…
I think it's a testimony to Mary Norton's vision that there have been so many versions of the piece – because what is important about the piece is the heart and soul of it. It seems to me that the Borrowers are written as an example to the human beings of what’s best about being a human being. You've got Stephen Fry's character that's obsessed intellectually and seems completely divorced from his emotions, and then you've got the grandmother who is all about emotion and anger. The Borrowers seem to take in both those things and have brought them together – they are written as the best we could be as human beings, as little examples of how we could be better. It's very adventurous and extraordinary – but it's also magical. It's about a family, about a young girl's journey into adulthood, and the way her parents accept that, and that of course is always going to be a story that people will respond to.

Also, Synopsis and cast (heavy spoilers).

• Nov 11 Ben Vanstone on the film and possible future (sfx.co.uk):

"There's always the hope that we can take it on further. We are talking about the possibility of doing it as a series and working up ideas for it. There's so many more things for us to explore," says writer Ben Vanstone, adding that it has a lot of potential, especially as it includes a world where the Borrowers have been parachuted (literally) into the 21st century.

"Our starting place is very much the same – Arrietty's a girl living with her family under the floorboards in their house. Then, through an encounter with a human boy, their world gets turned upside down and they're forced to move somewhere new. That's in essence what the novel is, but we take quite a different trajectory. I came to think about it as what Mary Norton might be interested in if she was writing it now. It's very much bringing it up to date."

As well as adding a "modern-day action take on it", that means Borrowers living underground in London, contemporary technology (some Borrowers have appropriated a laptop as a cinema) and 21st century special effects.

They might be pint-sized people but it's something that thinks big. With an all-star cast and new faces thrown together in one jolly Christmas special.

• Aug 27 BBC One controller Danny Cohen's Media Guardian Edinburgh International TV Festival blog with a preview video, including clips from 'The Borrowers'.

• Aug 26 Preliminary American TX added, as stated on production designer Paul Cripps' site (also including small image, see here).

• Jun 26 Filming started in South Africa (scroll down for more details in the notes); borrowers' scenes were finished by Jul 15; continued with 'human beans' until Jul 30.

• Jun 20 BBC press release:

Stephen Fry, Victoria Wood, and Christopher Eccleston have been cast to star in The Borrowers alongside Robbie Sheehan (Misfits), Aisling Loftus (Dive), Sharon Horgan (Free Agents, Pulling) and Shaun Dooley (Exile, South Riding) in an action-packed adventure film for all the family on BBC One this Christmas.

Written by Ben Vanstone (Merlin, EastEnders) and produced by Working Title Television, the 90-minute film is an adaptation of Mary Norton's classic children's books that brings the world of the tiny Borrowers who live under our floorboards into the 21st century.

Aisling Loftus plays Arrietty Clock, a head-strong teenage Borrower who is desperate to explore life outside her hidden family home. Her parents, Pod and Homily – played by Christopher Eccleston and Sharon Horgan – are terrified of the world of the 'human beans' and are fiercely protective of their daughter. Arrietty sneaks out one night and befriends James, a lonely boy who lives above her in the house with his father Robert Millman – played by Shaun Dooley. This leads to a world of trouble when the Borrowers' hidden home is discovered by his formidable grandmother and they are forced to abandon their home and venture into the big wide world.

Victoria Wood plays Grandma Driver. She knows the 'little people' exist, she's always known, and is determined to hunt them out of her house. Stephen Fry plays scientist Professor Mildeye who also knows of the little people and their existence. Determined to restore his reputation and resurrect his academic career, he'll go to any length to capture them and reveal their identity to the world.

Robbie Sheehan plays Spiller; a leather jacketed tearaway who takes quite a shine to Arriety. She's not quite sure what to make of this, but when her parents are captured by the evil Professor Mildeye, she is forced to enlist both Spiller's and human bean James' help. They go on a series of daring adventures to try and outsmart Mildeye and return the Clock family to their former home in time for Christmas.

Danny Cohen, Controller BBC One, says: "The Borrowers will be part of a really special family Christmas on BBC One and with with its stellar line-up it is set to be a truly wonderful programme."

Ben Stephenson, Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, says: "A brilliant and bold contemporary version of this classic tale with all the charm of the original but with a thrilling, moving and funny modern sensibility written and directed by two of our most exciting young talents with an amazing cast – it's the perfect Christmas present!"

Juliette Howell, Head of Television, Working Title, says: "I couldn't be more thrilled with Ben's take on this classic story. It feels fresh, original and above all funny. The perfect Christmas treat."

Filming begins this summer for five weeks.

The Borrowers was commissioned by Ben Stephenson, Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning and Danny Cohen, Controller BBC One. The executive producers are Juliette Howell, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner for Working Title Television and Polly Hill for the BBC. The producer is Radford Neville and the film will be directed by Tom Harper (Misfits, This Is England).

• Jun 20 C21Media report with more company focus.

• Jun 18 2011 Christopher Eccleston has been cast in children's TV film 'The Borrowers' which will be shown on BBC One around Christmas this year.
• ScreenTerrier report with focus on young actors.
• Initial report from The Guardian.
Notes:
• Shooting location See script writer Ben Vanstone's tweets here and here, also ScreenTerrier article.
• On June 3 the programme was mentioned for the first time (it was greenlit back in February though) by Stephen Fry on Mayo and Kermode radio show: "Before [The Hobbit] in fact I go to South Africa… Working Title are doing The Borrowers. I was very surprised to get this script because I remember they did The Borrowers not that long ago… I thought "Oh, that's odd" but I read the script and thought it was delightful and I had a really funny part… that starts in a few weeks." (via bleedingcool.com)
• Apparently it was initially to be written by Danny Brocklehurst (see his resume).
• Previous incarnations of 'The Borrowers'
1973 - American TV film (IMDb).
1992 - BBC TV version: 6 episode (30 min) mini series, with Ian Holm, Rebecca Callard and Penelope Wilton*, based on the first two novels ('The Borrowers' and 'The Borrowers Afield') and shown on BBC Two and TNT (IMDb). A sequel followed in 1993 (based on 'The Return of the Borrowers').
1997 - feature film with John Goodman, Jim Broadbent and Celia Imrie (IMDb), an updated, but set in a fictional world version - Working Title was behind it too.
2010 - animation film from Studio Ghibli 'Arrietty The Borrower' (IMDb); premièring in UK (with Mark Strong voicing Pod Clock) in July 2011 and USA (with Will Arnett) early next year.
* all of whom CE has worked with - in 'eXistenZ', 'The Fuse' and 'Doctor Who', respectively.

'The Darkness'

2011-06-07T05:49:00.024+01:00

2012

Film
Dir. Simon Foster
Wr. Simon Foster & Ron Aberdeen
Role: Greg Stonehaven.

Pages at Stealth Media Group --- Covent Garden Films --- Facebook

News:

• 2012 Jan 26 A casting call offered some new details:
To be filmed February/March, 2012 [ETA: postponed] in New Orleans, LA & Vancouver, Canada.
Cast Scout Taylor-Compton, Christopher Eccleston, Shawn Roberts, Michael Biehn, Brenda Blethyn.
Executive producers AVT Shankardass, Kevin Phelan, Michael Cowan, Pam Wallace.
Producers Demetris Kyriacou, Colin Bates.
Story When the world is plunged into permanent darkness, a family from the UK [on] vacations in America is pushed to its limits to survive.

• Oct Project is expected to restart with new producers.

• Aug 27 According to Stealth Media Group's site, shooting to start February 13, 2012. ETA: Sep 15 Now changed to just 'pre-production'.

• Jul 20 CE might not be in the project (going by the absence of this title among his new projects as listed at the Masterclass)?

• Jul 18 Shoot postponed, details to follow.

• The sci-fi/horror film will start shooting July 18, 2011 in Louisiana, USA. Expected to be released ~~first~~ ~~second~~ third quarter of 2012.

• Jun 15 Ron Aberdeen posted some details about the project on his site:

My first feature movie goes into production on July 18th in Louisiana.

"The Darkness"

The journey of a father to get to his kids when sunlight & people inexplicably disappear.

Written with the film's director, Simon Foster.
With Christopher Eccleston playing the father, Scout Taylor-Compton his daughter and Michael Biehn, Shawn Roberts and Francis Fisher in supporting roles, I couldn't ask for a better cast.

Cinema and DVD deals were agreed at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year and release is scheduled for Spring 2012.

Once the movie has been released I will post the original spec script and the final shooting script so a comparison between the two can be made. Personally I think the changes that have been made to suit budget, location and what came about in development, will be of interest to many.

Tagline: There's Only One Rule: Don't answer the phone

It has been a long journey going from concept to production and there is still another nine months before its release date.

Simon Foster, the director and co-writer approached me after he read my material on InkTip in October 2005. He sent me a two-page outline of his concept and asked if I would be interested in writing the screenplay.

As I had only started writing at the beginning of that year I jumped at the offer, agreed a deal, signed a contract and started work in December. By February 2006 I sent him the first draft. We had a development meeting in March and between us polished the first draft into a screenplay we were both happy with.

Simon, who is also producing the movie, worked out the budget, prepared the business plan and his pitch to financiers and visited Cannes that year with some good results.

Initially, everything seemed to be good for a shoot in 2009, but then suddenly with the collapse in the financial markets we were back to day one, overnight.

Simon went looking again but this time with a lower budget of $1.5mil as opposed to $4.5mil and I worked on editing the script to reflect the changes in budget.

Through contacts and friends Simon had established in the industry as a musician, gradually he raised fresh interest in the premise and at the start of this year things came together again for a rescheduled shoot, initially for March this year, but again delays crept in here we are in June nearly six years since I received the first email from him.

Getting Pamela Wallace, (Oscar winning writer of Witness) on board as an executive producer and Lindsay Chag as the casting director was a big step forward in getting a quality cast together within the budget.

If there are lessons to be gleamed from this, it is don't stop believing in yourself and don't give up.

• Stealth Media Group:

Synopsis: When the world is plunged into darkness, Greg Stonehaven has to somehow get to his children 200 miles away. All forms of communication have stopped working -- no cell phones, no Internet, no television. To make matters worse, the electrical grid struggles with unprecedented demand and soon completely fails. The populace become confused and frightened as their sources of artificial light gradually dim and die out. People then begin going missing wherever darkness falls, and survivors realize they must do whatever they can to stay in the light.

Tagline: Theres only one rule: Stay in the light.

Starring: Christopher Eccleston (G.I. Joe, 28 Days Later, The Others), Scout Taylor-Compton (Halloween 1, 2 & 3, The Runaways), Shawn Roberts (Resident Evil: Afterlife, Edge of Darkness, Jumper), Michael Biehn (Grindhouse, The Rock, The Terminator)

• Ron Aberdeen on Scottish Screenwriters site:

'The Darkness' is coming.
A feature movie showing the torment of a father and his kids when they are separated just as sunlight and people disappear for no apparent reason.
Written with the film’s director, Simon Foster.
With Christopher Eccleston playing the father, Scout Taylor-Compton his daughter and Michael Biehn, Shawn Roberts and Francis Fisher in supporting roles.
Filming starts on July 18th in Louisiana.

Also according to Aberdeen's site,

Production of The Darkness begins in 2011 with a production budget of $5mil and already has cinema and DVD distribution contract for the US, Canada and Europe.

• Early reports on shocktillyoudrop.com, dreadcentral.com, bloody-disgusting.com.

Notes:
Simon Foster had tweeted on 19th October 2010, "Whacked. It's 2.15am and I've finally finished the full americanisation of my script for The Darkness.", and Ron Aberdeen confirmed that the film started as set in the UK.
Simon Foster is a composer who also writes, produces and directs. Covent Garden Films is a commercially orientated team affair. And Louisiana has a movie incentive programme.

Spring-11

2011-06-01T01:43:00.013+01:00

From Westminster Abbey to Wembley: Spring brought theatre and TV appearances, as well as a glimpse or two into possible future.

In March, Bush Theatre staged 'In The Beginning' as an ambulatory performance in Westminster Abbey, commemorating King James' Bible. Eccleston read from Exodus 9:1-13 by the memorial to William Wilberforce.

In April, the first episode of 'The Shadow Line' was previewed and a Q&A session with series creator Hugo Blick and Chris Eccleston was held at BAFTA.

Before the series premièred on TV, news about other roles emerged. In the radio and press interviews promoting 'The Shadow Line' Eccleston mentioned having filmed a comedy teaser pilot 'The Plot' (find more details in Timeline). Moreover, it has been announced that he will play the lead character in the coming BBC One and Red Production Company serial 'The Fuse', due to be filmed in Manchester in August and aired in winter/spring 2012.

With 'Luther' moving from its position to summer, beginning of May saw the start of 'The Shadow Line' (the first British multi-episode programme since 'Doctor Who' for CE). The unorthodox production received mixed reviews and elicited very polarized reactions from the viewers. Many were gripped though, not least by complicated Joseph Bede's story, and the finale is said to be nerve-racking.

Promoting the series, Eccleston once again made himself available for multiple radio interviews; new press articles have been added here; other materials and reviews are linked to from the main 'The Shadow Line' page.

While the release of 'Accused' DVD has been pushed to February 6th, 2012, 'The Shadow Line' is out, also on BluRay, the 4th of July. Information on international broadcasts is pending.

Later in May, a historical docudrama '1599', narrated by Eccleston, was screened for the first time at Chorlton Arts Festival.

The spring ended, rather unexpectedly, with UEFA Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona (which, less unexpectedly and very sadly, the Red Devils lost). Eccleston interviewed Wayne Rooney and provided the introduction to the match for ITV.

Coming next: June 24th - Theatre Royal Haymarket's Masterclass. Tickets still available, free if you're 30 or under.

P.S.: Don't forget to vote in the first, longlist, stage of the TVChoice Awards - voting closes on June 10th - Eccleston is nominated for Best Actor ('The Shadow Line').

2011-06-01

Christopher Eccleston - Masterclass - Report

2011-05-29T10:00:00.015+01:00

2011-7-23

Images by Stuart Allen / Masterclass TRH

Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, July 20
By Jen and Alex

The setting: Very ornate theatre; house lights were only slightly dimmed, so both sides could see each other. A chair (for Eccleston) and a side table (for a bottle of water) were set in the middle of the stage which had a nice false perspective background.
The audience: Mixed, but predominantly youthful – questions were asked by pupils, drama students, young professionals.

Christopher Eccleston started with a brief introduction, mentioning, not without some amusement, that he had just come back from South Africa where he filmed 'The Borrowers' and played Pod Clock, a role famously tackled by Ian Holm and Jim Broadbent – and that fact he was about to change. He was heading next to Newcastle and 'Song For Marion', to play Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp's son. Then it's back to Manchester for 'The Fuse', a new political thriller for the BBC.

At this point Eccleston realised he didn't get acquainted with the audience. The very first question, how many of the attendees were actors, revealed they actually formed the majority – and he reacted by pretending to instantly flee the stage. There were also discovered a bunch of directors and writers. The latter made themselves more visible later when Eccleston was presented with a script of a project in development. Finally, there might not have been a notable number of teachers, but one of them was Steve Keating who once taught Eccleston.

From here on the audience was encouraged to ask questions, and this report will try to summarize the most important subjects raised, grouping them thematically rather than chronologically. Utterances are all paraphrased.

Throughout the talk Eccleston stressed the importance of his background and upbringing. Manchester has always stayed a touchstone for him, and his parents were not only his support, but also a perfect example of the intelligent TV viewer who is fully capable to select the truly worthwhile programmes, and the level of one's education is irrelevant.

Then, it is essential to stay true to yourself – sometimes even at the cost of secure future. Eccleston himself has been running his career not with the head, but with the heart – choosing roles he deemed important instead of those that could have allowed a steady progress. He admitted that especially at the start these relevant roles were working class and that cemented his image. He later wondered how come this country was still obsessed with class – too much is thought out instead of felt.

Leaving London's Central School of Speech and Drama he was equipped with what at that time seemed like questionable skills, idealism and not much confidence in himself. While later, in real-life environment, he found that the training did provide him the necessary tools, he still regretted he didn't make more of the standard routines, and he also wished he'd had learnt dance and music and not just concentrated solely on acting. He supposed he kept the idealism.

Speaking about difficulties experienced by young professionals – and he spent the first three years looking for an acting job – Eccleston provided two examples of different feedback. At one audition he honestly admitted the problems he'd been having and the casting director told him to look for something else. After another unsuccessful audition the director there said, "You may have some potential." The latter director was Ian Brown who sixteen years later contacted Eccleston and offered him Hamlet at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Eccleston said that both the negative and the positive comments stoked enough determination in him to carry on, and he suggested to seize what you can from the various feedback you would receive. Eventually the break came for Eccleston with the help of Phyllida Lloyd and then him being cast as the main character in 'Let Him Have It'.

Playing this film's protagonist Derek Bentley had a profound impact on Eccleston, both psychologically and physically. Bentley stayed with him for almost a year. Eccleston thought the film didn't take the best approach by showing that Bentley shouldn't have been hanged because he was simple and nice. Eccleston emphatically argued that the film would've been made much stronger by focusing on Bentley's reality (he had a mental age of a small child and severe epilepsy, was heavily medicated with unrefined drugs), acknowledging that he could have been ugly and violent, but still maintaining that he shouldn't have been hanged.

With 'Let Him Have It', Eccleston's career took a definite turn towards television and the big screen. He wished though he had done more theatre. When he was studying, his drama idols were Olivier, Gielgud and Richardson. They were for him the rock stars of their day and he read a lot about them. However, when it came to reality, the stories Eccleston wanted to tell were found on TV. Interestingly, while he had always preferred working on stage to screen, he didn't believe in improvisation without structure.

Looking back, he also questioned his complete, blinkering concentration on work, admitting that only recently he started combining working and living. Beside not forgetting to have a life, Eccleston advised those stuck in an empty period to just take a break, get away from it, take up something entirely different – and not spend the time contemplating how tough it is – which was what he tended to do. He mentioned several times that his job situation had always been 'feast or famine'. These days when he's without a project he said he turned to running, listening to music and reading. Prompted, he listed "If This Is A Man" by Primo Levi on holocaust, "My Traitor's Heart" by Rian Malan on apartheid, "An Evil Cradling" by Brian Keenan, a hostage's account, and insisted that those books inspired him positively, adding bemusedly that they were indeed all heavy reading.

When asked what era he would like to go back to in terms of drama, Eccleston selected the start of the 1960s with the old black and white kitchen sink dramas; Albert Finney in 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning', Richard Harris in 'This Sporting Life', Tom Courtenay in 'The Loneliness of A Long Distance Runner'. Those working class dramas he'd have wanted to be in. Regarding American films, he thought their heyday was in the seventies ('The Conversation', 'Three Days of the Condor'), but the stories peddled now had ceased being relevant.

Christopher Eccleston gave a lot of advice for young actors, from sharing his opinion on some theoretic questions to explaining certain practical points.

For accents, he often used a voice coach (f. ex. Geordie dialect in 'Our Friends in the North') or alternatively asked a non-actor native speaker to record the lines for listening (but not a purposeful sit-down listening). It made it more interesting and prevented creation of false-sounding DIY accents. Eccleston was aware his Scottish in 'GI Joe' was much maligned and explained it sounded like it did because Stephen Sommers dismissed the realistic accent Eccleston suggested; also, the script was littered with Americanisms. So was American Scottish born.

From technical points, he explained how sometimes a film director actually preferred to have you distressed and unsatisfied with your own performance, using the 'off' takes to good effect; advised to trust the writer; not to dismiss your identity even if it's not exactly welcome; instead of focusing on yourself, work on the connection with the material.

Overall, according to Eccleston, when you are working, communication and generosity are key. He recommended to communicate with all parts of the production team, make use of collaborations with technical crews – their choices do influence you and your character. Second essential element is generosity. Eccleston claimed he didn't do or never would do method acting and said he didn't actually know what it was. He argued against over-reliance on technique – even if it gave amazing results. He explained that it could become a dangerous game with your own chemistry set, making you self absorbed in your own little world. In other words, if it's something that harms co-actors, it's worthless. Even if it was a hero of his practising it, he'd lose faith with him. One's performance should be about generosity.

Of actors who influenced him, Eccleston mentioned Peter Vaughan. He found Vaughan's long career and professionalism on set inspiring, and received the best advice from him when they were working together on 'Our Friends In The North': How to stay concentrated no matter the situation; to be punctual; to respect everyone on set. Eccleston was also fascinated by, among others, Simon Callow (who played Dickens in 'Doctor Who') and Sharon Horgan (Homily in 'The Borrowers') working on their own projects, such as writing scripts, whilst filming.

Eccleston also revealed he discovered that his telephone had been hacked into and that he was going to sue Rupert Murdoch and give him the boot. Not only for this, but for all the lies given out when the Hillsborough tragedy happened. Misleading representation of events in the press was also what marred his 'Doctor Who', he said, with journalists knowingly shifting the focus from the series actual unarguable success to his exit. He reiterated that the most important thing was that he did it, that it restarted the programme. Eccleston explained he left the show because he disagreed with the way things were being run, and once again stressed the importance of staying true to yourself.

While Eccleston didn't think he should be remembered in a particular way, he named two roles that were the most important in his life: Trevor Hicks in 'Hillsborough' (because of the cast and crew and the film's effect – hopefully there will be justice) and Hamlet (not successful, but huge role). Also Derek Bentley and the TV film 'Flesh and Blood' were extremely important. And Eccleston said he wouldn't retire – he could see himself enjoying being an old man playing theatre. Before that, he'd like to portray for example the former NUM leader Arthur Scargill because of the momentous change Britain went through in the mid 1980s. On stage he'd like to do more Shakespeare – or a musical.

Masterclass TRH after the talk video:

- - -

2011-6-28 New date - Wednesday 20 July (2:30 - 4:30pm)

Info & tickets

2011-5-29 Christopher Eccleston is lined up for one of the Theatre Royal Haymarket's Masterclass events (Q&A session).

Masterclass "aims to offer young people exceptional creative opportunities and experiences with leaders of the theatre industry. A year-round programme of talks, workshops, special projects and career advice is intended to give people insight into all aspects of theatre from writing and directing to acting and producing. Masterclass strives to provide all the events for free, so that people of all abilities, status and background can be inspired by and learn from masters of the craft."

Admission free to those 30 years of age or under (must be booked in advance). Paid tickets also available.

- - -

Originally was to be held on June 24, but was postponed on June 16 with the following official explanation:

We're really disappointed to let you know that, due to circumstances beyond ours and Christopher Eccleston's control we've had to cancel next week's Masterclass.
Chris wanted us to pass on his dissappointment and has assured us we'll be able to find a new date for the Masterclass - hopefully in the near future.
We won't be carrying your booking over but will notify everyone who successfully booked a place of the new date as soon as we know and before we make it generally available. We will, of course, refund any over-30's tickets bought in advance.
Once again - our deepest apologies for any disappointment caused and we hope to see you soon.

Christopher Eccleston Meets Wayne Rooney

2011-05-27T15:29:00.010+01:00

2011-5-27 On the occasion of UEFA Champions League final match between Manchester United and Barcelona (19:45, Saturday, 28th of May), Christopher Eccleston interviewed Wayne Rooney for ITV. Watch it on their site (UK).

Additionally, Eccleston provided the traditional intro to the match at Wembley, the programme also included a cut-down version of the Rooney interview, with some 'behind the scenes' clips.

Video (youtube): intro --- interview with extras | More images

ITV.com:

Actor and die-hard Manchester United fan Christopher Eccleston says Wayne Rooney is primed for a big performance in Saturday's Champions League final - if his interview with the Manchester United striker is anything to go by.

The former Doctor Who and star of films including '28 Days Later', 'Gone in 60 Seconds' and 'Shallow Grave' met Rooney as part of a piece filmed exclusively for ITV ahead of Saturday's big match at Wembley. And Eccleston says that judging by Rooney's mood he could be United's matchwinner.

"He walked in looking supremely relaxed, confident about Saturday, radiating health," Eccleston told ITV.com "It was a really good sign - I think he's primed for a big game."

Having never met the England man before, and despite admitting that Paul Scholes ("the most complete player I've ever seen") is his favourite United star, Eccleston admitted he was blown away by the experience.

"It was one of the best days of my life," he said. "I meet actors all the time and they don't turn my head. But to meet a professional footballer of Wayne's calibre - it was one of the best experiences I've ever had."

Eccleston said he was particularly impressed by Rooney's composure under the media spotlight.

"Wayne does this a lot, he's an old hand at being interviewed. Twenty or thirty years ago footballers had no need to deal with the press, but these days they're constantly under the glare of the media.

"For him to handle questions with such ease was very impressive."

'A good feeling'

The 47-year-old actor was born into a Manchester United-supporting family in Salford, a mile from Old Trafford, and watched his first match just as Sir Matt Busby's great side began their slow decline.

He was barely a toddler when United last won the European Cup at Wembley, in 1968, sleeping through the game while his mother listened to the game on the radio. Over four decades on, Eccleston will be attendance for United's return to Wembley - and though he's unlikely to sleep this time, he says he will try to avoid pre-match nerves.

"The most nervous I ever got was in 1976 against Southampton [in the FA Cup Final], which we lost," he said. "I burst into tears and it made my dad cry. I got nervous and it broke my heart so I try not to get too worked up. I've actually got a good feeling - I'm very excited, it's going to be a great game."

Not that Eccleston isn't averse to a bit of emotion. Asked to predict the outcome of Saturday's final, he faultered. "What I would love is for Scholes to come on in the last 20 minutes and score the winner," he concluded.

'The Shadow Line' - Radio Inters Plus

2011-05-06T14:48:00.013+01:00

• May 8 - Neil Sackley, BBC Radio Solent - on 'The Shadow Line' and running
programme info

• May 5
= MacAulay and Co, BBC Radio Scotland - on 'The Shadow Line', 'Cracker', 'The Fuse', 'The Plot'
programme info
= Bernie Keith, BBC Radio Northampton - on The Smiths and Morrissey, 'Lennon Naked', 'The Shadow Line', TV drama, football, British/American industries, 'The Plot' and 'The Fuse'
programme info
= David White, BBC Radio Cornwall - on 'The Shadow Line', British drama, Cornwall, 'Doctor Who', 'Doctor Who' in Cornwall [actually Hartnell's 'The Smugglers']
programme info
= Andrew Easton, BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester - on 'The Shadow Line', Isle of Man, 'Doctor Who', Manchester United
programme info
= Andy Potter, BBC Radio Derby - on 'The Shadow Line', drama on BBC, career, whether he'd like to write/direct/produce, regrets, work ethics, 'The Fuse'
programme info
= Bob Walmsley, BBC Radio Leeds - on 'The Shadow Line', British and American industries, career, 'Doctor Who'
programme info
= Judi Spiers Show, BBC Radio Devon - on 'The Shadow Line', 'Heroes', 'Hearts and Minds', 'Doctor Who', 'The Plot', Peter Vaughan
programme info
= Alan Simpson, BBC Radio Ulster - on 'The Shadow Line' and Manchester United
programme info

• Apr 30 - Graham Norton, BBC Radio 2 - on 'The Shadow Line' and life & career
programme info / pic

• Apr 27 - Front Row, BBC Radio 4 - Mark Lawson interviews H. Blick and C. Eccleston - includes audio clip from the series (feat. CE)
iPlayer / programme info

2010 Jul 15 - 3FM (Isle of Man) - on 'The Shadow Line', the island and filming there, career, 'dream roles' and future, 'Doctor Who', his 'legacy'
original post

'The Shadow Line' - Articles

2011-05-02T12:41:00.004+01:00

Out of the Shadows
TV & Satellite Week, 30 Apr - 4 May
Preview, CE inter

© TV & Satellite Week

We're World Beaters!
TV Times, 30 Apr - 4 May
CE inter

© TV Times

The Plot Thickens
Radio Times, Apr 30 - May 4
Feature by Mark Lawson

© Radio Times

Scans provided by Jen - thank you.

More Articles.

'1599'

2011-04-14T14:10:00.005+01:00

2011-4-14

Update summer 2012: Due to be released as a DVD/CD set.

'1599', narrated by Christopher Eccleston, will have its debut public screening at Iguana Bar, Manchester, on Wednesday 25 May as part of the Chorlton Arts Festival. Rachael Magowan (Skylark Media Management, Iguana publicist) described the film for ATBN as "a historical docu-drama set in Elizabethan times, and telling the story of twins Margaret and Alexander Radclyffe, of Ordsall Hall in Salford."

Narrated by Christopher Eccleston
Presented by Clare McGlinn
Actors:
Margaret Radclyffe: Anarosa de Eizaguirre
Alexander Radclyffe: Charlie Allen-Wall
Written by Claire Hunt and Chloe Porter
Music:
Composer: John Dowland, performed by La Brigata
Executive Producer: Claire Hunt
Associate Producer: Will Selden

Synopsis: "'1599' is about two young people from Ordsall Hall in Salford (Margaret Radclyffe was a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth I and her twin brother, Alexander, was a friend of the foremost celebrity of the day, the Earl of Essex). We see court life and the topics of the day through their eyes and experience their story as it unfolds. The drama is elucidated by the narration and the topics covered are further fleshed out in the documentary interviews, in which we follow Clare McGlinn on her quest to discover more about Margaret and Alexander, in parallel to the drama being played out."

For more info on the project and its live version see 1599 Productions site.
1599 Productions is a non-profit voluntary association. Members are unpaid for work done (expenses-only). All net profits go to local charities, including Victoria Baths and voluntary organisations in Central Salford.
The film is supported by The Friends of Salford Museums Association and Salix Homes.

'In The Beginning'

2011-03-18T23:36:00.009+00:00

2011-3-18
'In The Beginning' at Westminster Abbey
By Nick Payne with extracts from the KJV selected by The Revd Dr James Hawkey
With Nonso Anozie, Christopher Eccleston, Ralf Little, Michelle Terry, Miranda Raison, Andrew Woodall

Thursday, 24th March only
~~Book tickets~~

According to Lucy Howe, The Bush Theatre, "You will not know which actor will take you around until you arrive, however as you journey round the space you will encounter other actors on the way. So of the 20 or so actors in the Ensemble, audiences will encounter 8-9 performers in total."

Source and other images

Bush Theatre:

Exactly four hundred years ago, in 1611, a group of scholars gathered together in the Jerusalem Chamber at Westminster Abbey to finalise their translation of the King James Version of the Bible (KJV). Subsequent centuries have seen this book become one of the most significant works of literature in the English language. To celebrate the publication of this remarkable text, Westminster Abbey has teamed up with the Bush Theatre to create a unique, intimate and highly theatrical event.

In The Beginning will see audience members taken, in intimate groups, on an extraordinary journey round the Abbey – accessing areas that are rarely open to the public and at a time when it is usually closed to visitors. Each group will be led on a journey by one of the country's most exciting established or emerging actors. As you travel round the building, an ensemble of performers will read carefully chosen extracts from the KJV which will cast a fresh and surprising light on the Abbey itself. This one off event will be a uniquely exciting way to experience an historic place and an historic text.

Co-directed by Josie Rourke and Christopher Haydon, in conjunction with the Dean and Chapter of Westminster

BBC News article
Review from The Independent

'The Shadow Line' - BAFTA Screening + Q&A

2011-03-16T15:17:00.007+00:00

2011-3-16
Tuesday, 12 April, 20:30
Princess Anne Theatre, London

~~Book tickets~~

BAFTA:
"The Shadow Line, is a BBC Two landmark noir thriller written, produced and directed by Hugo Blick (Sensitive Skin, Marion And Geoff). BAFTA are pleased to screen the first episode of this seven part drama.

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with Hugo Blick (Writer and Director) and Christopher Eccleston (Actor)"

Post-screening articles:
• Ian Wylie
• Isle of Man News
• Beehive City
• Broadcast (alt see main TSL post)

More about 'The Shadow Line'

Winter-11

2011-03-01T05:20:00.014+00:00

December events

Clapperboard's 'Hillsborough' screening and q&a at FACT
Reading of Markus Zusak's 'The Book Thief' on BBC Radio 7

2011
The usually quiet winter did bring some updates. 'Accused', which premièred in November, will be shown in the Antipodes, Canada, Scandinavia, Poland and Belgium. All3Media expects to announce more sales soon. Jimmy McGovern drama has also been recommissioned for a second series despite somewhat underwhelming performance. DVD release date remains Oct 3.

Some info trickled in regarding Hugo Blick's 'The Shadow Line'. The series, promoted as 'BBC Two's landmark noir thriller', has been undergoing considerable changes in post-production, mutating from 6 x 60' via 7 x 60' to 8 x 50'. While 50 minutes could be the international cut, the episode number still stands. Moreover, one image has been made available (depicting Chiwetel Ejiofor and Christopher Eccleston), a press release detailed the plot (at the moment Eccleston's character Joseph Bede is one of the three main figures in the story) and it was also announced that the series will be presented at BBC's Showcase (just like 'Lennon Naked' last year). There has been however no seasonal trail this year yet either from BBC Two or Drama, and it's unclear whether the series is still meant for spring/summer or has moved to autumn.

Finally, the month of February was dedicated to the National Doodle Day charity action. Having previously fundraised for Epilepsy Action and the Neurofibromatosis Association, from this year on the event is owned just by the former. The action involves celebrities doodling a picture of their choice, which then is auctioned off. Christopher Eccleston's freshman effort, a sketched exterminating dalek, went for £225 - gaining a place among the five highest bids. Alternatively it was possible to vote for favourite contributor and thus also donate to the charity - Eccleston was placed third, with 22 votes. You can see his doodle here.

2011-03-01

2010

2011-01-01T07:45:00.008+00:00

At a glance:

Two radio projects,
Five actions,
One music video,
Two TV programmes,
Three DVD releases, one re-release,
One project in post-production,
And three live discussions.

2009 and 2010 - one couldn't wish for more different twelve months. After theatre and great big films, the new year promised 'Lennon Naked', and 'This Beautiful Fantastic' was expected to shoot in March. Late in pre-production the feature film however went by the board, and cast and crew dispersed (the project was relaunched this autumn with a new team). The disappearance of 'This Beautiful Fantastic' role meant that this year was almost entirely about television.

First though, the two radio programmes: in March, 'Intimate Letters' was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 (readings from selected love letters by Keats, Hughes and Wilde), and the year ended with a two-part transmission of Markus Zusak's story 'The Book Thief' on BBC Radio 7.
Also, Eccleston participated in Equity's q&a during the National Student Drama Festival in Scarborough, UK.

Now, the TV. The first image and video moments from 'Lennon Naked' were offered already in January, followed by the trail in March. The television film had advance screenings at BAFTA (with Eccleston participating in the q&a) and BFI. It was also shown in Japan. 'Lennon Naked' eventually premièred in UK on the 23rd of June. It has since been transmitted in the US, Australia and other countries. The biopic showed John Lennon at his most troubled and received mixed reviews - there was plenty of enthusiasm and just as much spite - what Eccleston said was to be expected with a film portraying a popular real person.

Before 'Lennon Naked' was shown Christopher Eccleston was cast in Jimmy McGovern's 'Accused', the first new film project of the year. Having started lensing in June, the series was fast-tracked for an autumn release. Christopher Eccleston's episode 'Willy's Story' - sixth collaboration between the writer and the actor - kicked off the series in November. In it, Willy Houlihan tried to make a deal with the powers above, but unfortunately for him on duty was Old Testament God who hadn't yet invented redemption. McGovern's fans received the episode warmly, and those who had some reservations still enjoyed the performances.

Right after the 'Accused' shoot, in the beginning of July the next role - for Hugo Blick's 'The Shadow Line' - was announced. The series had been filming in The Isle of Man for the rest of the summer and London in September. During this period, Eccleston was actively involved for at least six weeks, but the scope of his role and his character's place in the story are yet to be explained. The events are expected though to evolve throughout the six episodes. 'The Shadow Line' is in post-production, and first glimpses already featured in the BBC Drama autumn/winter trail. TX is tentatively set for spring/summer.

Another interesting television event was the première of 'The Happiness Salesman' (short film from 2009) on BBC Two Wales in October. Updated horror fairy tale based on perennial anxieties of motherhood was previously shown at various film festivals around the world.

Even the now somewhat traditional December q&a dealt with a television matter - how powerful a well-crafted docudrama can be. Eccleston selected 'Hillsborough' to be screened by Clapperboard Presents in Liverpool. In its time, fourteen years ago, this film helped set the records straight and was one of the catalysts to further the investigation into the causes of the 1989 stadium disaster.

This was the third q&a in one year. All in all, 2010 was remarkable on the media front. After a couple of years silence, the first interview appeared in connection with the Scarborough festival, but it was only a beginning. Plenty of interviews can be found in/via each film's carry-all posts. Not to forget the one-off event in August, when Eccleston co-hosted Marc Riley's show on BBC 6 Music.

Also this year Chris Eccleston lent his name to several good causes: The Christie appeal, Eccles library, anti-whaling, Oxfam and Burma campaigns. Speaking of videos, Eccleston collaborated yet again with Mancunian band I Am Kloot, this time for their song 'Northern Skies'.

Of DVDs, in February were released 'The Sarah Silverman Program' S.2 Vol.2 (as Region 1 - incl. Dr. Lazer Rage ep from 2008; Region 2 coming February 7, 2011) and 'Amelia' (2009, Regions 1 and 2). 'Lennon Naked' DVDs followed immediately after respective UK (June) and USA (November) premières. Worth attention is the re-release of 'Our Friends In The North', while probably not what the grand series deserves, still, it's a chance for everyone to re-watch - or watch it for the first time.

Thank you.

Eccleston Reads 'The Book Thief' - Audio

2010-12-30T18:00:00.009+00:00

Christopher Eccleston reads Markus Zusak's 'The Book Thief' specially abridged for Big Toe Books on BBC Radio 7 (Radio 4 Extra). The story is presented by Chris Pizzey.

"It's just a small story really, about, amongst other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter and quite a lot of thievery."

Part 1 Dec 30 2010 (60 min; programme info)
Mar 26 2011 (programme info)
~~iPlayer~~

Part 2 Dec 31 2010 (60 min; programme info)
Mar 27 2011 (programme info)
~~iPlayer~~

More:
'The Book Thief' site at Books at Transworld
Markus Zusak's site at Random House

'Hillsborough' Q&A - Video

2010-12-21T14:00:00.005+00:00

2010-12-21 Christopher Eccleston q&a from Clapperboard Presents 'Hillsborough' screening at FACT, Liverpool, Dec 6. Videos from flasheartfilms.

Report - 'Hillsborough' (Clapperboard Presents)

2010-12-10T21:26:00.011+00:00

Report by Jen // FACT, Liverpool, 6th December 2010
See images courtesy of Clapperboard UK here & here

More info.

This was only my third viewing of Jimmy McGovern's 'Hillsborough'. Being a Nottingham Forest fan I feel I can share the grief and suffering that is still going on in Liverpool twenty-one years later. I still physically cry at certain key points of the drama which just focuses on three families, their backgrounds, the unfolding events at Sheffield and then dealing with the aftermath. Nothing, but nothing will take away the memory of those who perished on that Saturday in April 1989 or the lies, deceit and the cover up that marred serious investigations by the coroner at the time. It takes someone with a heart of stone not to feel moved or in the case with me well up in tears.

After the credits rolled, volunteers from the charity Clapperboard UK busily set up microphones and digital cameras to capture the Q&A session. Much thanks to Maureen Sinclair (Director of Clapperboard UK) who stepped in at the last minute because Professor Roger Shannon, Media Department of Edge Hill University, was apparently stranded in Birmingham. Mark Womack who also starred in 'Hillsborough' regrettably couldn't make it either, so it was just Christopher Eccleston on his own.

He didn't need any introduction and was quite happy to take his seat and start answering questions from anyone. Christopher firstly apologised for looking 'a bit messy'. He spent most of the morning doing a ten mile run only to get back home to find that his boiler had burst and that he couldn't have a shower, and tried to sort his hair out in the car to Liverpool to look a bit more presentable.

The radio microphone he was provided with was malfunctioning, and he then started to play around with it, pretending at one point he was Alvin Stardust. Those old enough to remember him gave a wry smile, the rest of the audience thought "Who's Alvin Stardust?" In the end Christopher didn't use a mic as there were so few of us (around 100-150), and he was loud enough to be heard at the back. He said that he hated using radio microphones.

There were the obvious questions put to him on the night, mainly regarding why he initially chose to do 'Hillsborough'. He also told about working with McGovern on the ITV show 'Cracker'. He answered the questions one after another, clearly, directly and at times brutally honestly. He said he still had a deep respect for the Hillsborough families twenty-one years later, that it had left an indelible mark on him. Playing Trevor Hicks was probably the best thing he'd done as an actor.

At the time of the tragedy he was at Bristol Old Vic in 'A Streetcar Named Desire', doing a matinee, and was watching the television in his dressing room - that was his professional début as an actor. The Sun in his view was not a newspaper and could be used for something else which made people laugh and applaud.

Christopher said he hated "instant celebrity" culture that's associated with reality television shows such as 'The X Factor' and 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here', and that building up a good body of work and craft was far more important. Another person commented that he had a lovely voice and that he had not lost his Salfordian dialect, to which he replied that when he spoke his poshest during the filming of 'Elizabeth', playing the Duke of Norfolk, his father said he sounded more like the Duke of Salford!

Christopher was asked how he chose acting above all else as a career. He wanted to be a central midfielder for Manchester United when he was young (a few boos!) but not everyone could be one could they? He got into acting purely by chance at the college where he was retaking his exams (and failed them). They were putting on a play and he fancied a girl who was a bit 'posher' than he was and who completely ignored him at the time.

While people perceived him as a good actor, he said, on a personal level he thought it's just the simple reason he'd chosen good scripts and firmly believed that he's absolutely nothing without a good one - he'd been turning down a lot recently.

He became very close friends with Trevor Hicks whom he portrayed in 'Hillsborough' (and was best man at his wedding). During the filming the families who were featured in it were invited on set and watched a few of the rehearsals too. There was no need to research the role because of that. He portrayed Trevor trying to appear "suited and booted" but in the end being left devastated by the loss of the women he loved: the two daughters and ultimately his first wife Jenny.

Christopher was genuinely pleased with the people who had shown up for the screening, though the auditorium was half empty. Liverpool FC that night were playing at Anfield (winning 3-0 against Aston Villa), and the last fortnight had seen some of the worst winter weather in over forty years. The closeness to Christmas also made it hard, disaster still being a sensitive subject to the people and the city of Liverpool.

A lot of people wanted to say thank you to Chris Eccleston personally, asked for photos and autographs. He thanked and clapped along with us all for coming (some of us had come some distance and battled through the snow and ice).

2010-12-10

So this was Autumn

2010-12-01T15:34:00.014+00:00

Eventually. It started with BBC Drama autumn/winter showreel coming somewhat later than usual - in the end of September this year. The showreel did offer the first glimpses of Willy Houlihan from the opening episode of 'Accused'.

October saw Christopher Eccleston supporting joint Amnesty International and Enigma Images ('Even Though I'm Free, I Am Not') campaign urging Burma to release its political prisoners and further human rights. Read Eccleston's statement, see images, find more information and how you can help in the post here.

Later same month 'The Happiness Salesman' had an unexpected and very low-profile TV première on BBC Two Wales (screencaps available at the link).

On November 15th 'Accused' began with 'Willy's Story', starring Chris Eccleston - announced, lensed and released within half a year. The new series from Jimmy McGovern was highly anticipated - and while some reviewers questioned certain plot developments, most of the viewer reactions were positive, especially regarding Eccleston's presentation of the character.
Some quotes:

On TV Tonight: "Eccleston is a marvellous, strong, agonised presence at the centre of it all, whether bottling up gentler emotions or letting rip with one of McGovern's trademark rants. He gives the film an emotional core of iron that holds things together [...]"
Jonathan Wright, The Guardian: "Playing unfaithful Willy with a barely repressed anger, Christopher Eccleston is mesmerising throughout [...]"
Howard Male, The Arts Desk: "But it was possible to suspend a couple of moments of disbelief just to enjoy Eccleston's pitch-perfect portrayal of a man enduring a spectacularly destructive midlife crisis."
Jacob Martin, The Yorker: "This was very much Eccleston's programme. To say that he was merely excellent in the role would be an injustice, as he managed to display a strikingly diverse range of emotions in just one hour [...]"
Damien Love, Herald Scotland: "Willy Houlihan [...] is played by Christopher Eccleston in an electrifying performance that gets like watching a knot of tension pulled so tight it starts to fray. [...] The way Eccleston - brilliantly - plays it, Willy is neither good nor bad; he's wound up, fairly unlikable a lot of the time, slightly heroic at others, confused, sometimes weird and always believable."

You can still catch the episode on the iPlayer (UK). Also, in connection with this new role several press, radio and TV interviews were published - find all these materials and much more through the main 'Accused' post (plus BBC Radio Manchester interview). All3Media is still sorting out the international distribution of the series; DVD release is set for October next year.

A week later, on November 21st, 'Lennon Naked' had its American première. Shown in tandem with the documentary 'LENNONYC' on PBS it attracted plenty of attention, and garnered mixed reviews. See main 'Lennon Naked' post for more information. PBS has made the film available online, and the DVD has also been already released.

Coming next is this year's December q&a - 'Hillsborough' will be screened this coming Monday by Clapperboard UK at FACT, Liverpool (see this post for info and interesting articles). Tickets are still available - not only is this a great docudrama on a very important topic, the funds raised will go to Clapperboard's Youth Project (supporting young film-makers in the North West).

2010-12-01

'Accused' - Alex's Review

2010-11-26T05:14:00.011+00:00

I'm not the biggest fan of Jimmy McGovern. I respect him for raising the questions, tackling the problematics most gladly avoid. For his docudramas. I don't fancy though his blunt approach and square storytelling were the narrative rules over the characters (see especially: 'The Street').

Therefore I take Christopher Eccleston's praises with a pinch of salt. And it actually helps not to over-react when indeed the miracle doesn't happen. It's good TV, but it's nowhere near genius level. The polemics Jimmy McGovern and Christopher Eccleston engage in regarding 'Accused' and the first episode of the series, 'Willy's Story', are peculiarly misleading. Imagine if you analysed 'Hamlet' and you emphasised that the main points of the play are the deficiencies of monarchy and weather in Scandinavia.

So the main problem is actually not with the episode, but with namely the pre-formed expectations. And the normal reaction is to seek explanations and, indeed, discover faults and failings. 'Is this truly realistic?', 'Is this plausible?' Quite unfortunate in the case of this 'Accused' story. And aren't those so called faults and problems a tad (as in, pink-elephant-level) obvious?

Speaking of the narrative, it might be 'truthful' in its form, the technical side. What it says, however, is far more than just a pre-fab message - because the truth is a closed system that can't survive inversion or conscious/subconscious misinterpretation. This is not pseudo-documentary social realism. This is sandbox realism of McGovern. It does not take a slice of reality and present it as a generalised example, but instead concentrates reality and out of that constructs events and characters. This construction in most blatant form can for example manifest as plot ruling over everything else. When it's more elaborate, it becomes proper engaging television where you follow the characters.

And that 'Willy's Story' certainly is. On the first viewing, I felt like I was held up by my shirtfront for the entire hour and I can only wish more dramas managed the same. It took me some rewatching to actually get the episode though, and the process I went through was exactly that of casting away the proposed framing and forgetting all the context, and simply looking at it as a self-contained film. Film that is absolutely valid and not just pontification.

Which brings us to said problems. Probably it's for the best that not everyone can say 'yes, it does happen' out of their experience. But those who can, will never see 'Willy's Story' as sci-fi. There comes indeed a period in a man's life where one feels as if one lives in a western, where - while positive outcome is of course still theoretically possible - one is extra-capable of making decisions that in the end perfectly derail one's - and the family's - life. And I challenge you to find a person who hasn't experienced a "So have you been to Thailand"-moment! Add pet peeves, pride - of a man, a worker, a breadwinner, a father. That's Willy Houlihan for you. And that's why I find him interesting, not ugly, as a person (just like David Stephens and Major West, so I'm not exactly overstraining here).

The priest scene - it is staged to suggest something supernatural, but any dedicated priest with a long career is a good psychologist. There is of course a certain 'magical' atmosphere, as if reality was suspended - there's for example a notable change in how Willy talks too. The priest can probably be seen as a 'projection of Willy's doubts' - if the framing is put aside. It leaves the discovery of the money which is one thing I'm uncertain about - but mostly because it's as if emulating a certain film by Danny Boyle, especially the stylised cut-aways to the baddies. So, while even weirder things happen in everyday life, I suppose I wish there was another way Willy could have come across the loot. Story progresses through a step-system of decisions, and it could have allowed a more proactive event without losing the subtlety or the gradual build-up (that are essential to prepare the stage for the twist that comes later).

Overall, apart from a slight dip towards the middle of the episode, it's very well paced. While it could do with some breathing space, the important thing is the stability of how the story is unrolled. The authors suggest that the driving force is that you don't know which crime it was that put Willy in the dock (he even drops the cigarette outside the casino: McGovern illustrating the point Willy made earlier, that's dark humour for you). What added extra weight and poignancy to the film for me, was how by learning more about Willy, I started to understand better and better what it means for him to be in that situation, being the accused. And the end was perfect.

While there might be some issues with the story, it's a great portrayal of the character by Christopher Eccleston. In my eyes, his second best film of the last five years. And namely this performance and my willingness to allow the film its quirks that makes it work. The middle-class approach is, ironically, the one that benefits this wannabe-gritty drama.

P.S.: Having watched the whole series, I must add: 'Willy's Story' was the only one where the sentence felt native in the story universe. In the rest of the episodes, the justice or injustice took the form of a tacked-on extra point, sometimes quite ridiculous. Structure-, dialogues- and dimensions-wise, Eccleston's episode was also one of the, if not simply, the, strongest.

2010-11-26

'Hillsborough' - Screening and Q&A

2010-11-19T22:12:00.019+00:00

2010-11-19 As promised almost a year ago, Clapperboard's 'Hillsborough' screening and q&a with Christopher Eccleston will take place Monday 6th December, 7:00pm @ FACT (88 Wood Street, L1 4DQ, Liverpool, UK).

~~Tickets: Picturehouse or FACT~~

Images from the event - also here --- Jen's report --- Videos

Sarah Kelly from Clapperboard UK told ATBN:
"The film was chosen by Chris himself. When we approach any of the artists who take part in Clapperboard Presents we ask them to pick their favourite film, and screen that. Chris is a great supporter of the work Clapperboard does with young people across the North West. We hope to work with him again in the future."
As per usual, the session will eventually be made available online: "The Clapperboard Presents Q&A's are always recorded and go on our website a few weeks later. We are also creating a DVD with all past Clapperboard Presents Q&A's which will be available to purchase shortly."

Clapperboard Presents:

Hillsborough, written by Jimmy McGovern, directed by Charles McDougall, starring Christopher Eccleston, is a dramatisation of the events that unfolded on 15th April 1989 and follows three Liverpudlian families before the match, during the tragedy and at the ensuing court battles which tried to decide who was to blame and what went wrong.
Christopher Eccleston plays the part of Trevor Hicks, whose story formed the focus of the script. Hicks lost two teenage daughters in the disaster and went on to campaign for safer stadia, as well as helping form the Hillsborough Families Support Group. It was reported by many newspapers that McGovern’s drama was an influencing factor in the set up of a new inquiry in 1997.

Actor Christopher Eccleston will participate in a Question and Answers session with the audience, chaired by Professor of Film Roger Shannon, Media Department Edge Hill University.

Income raised from Clapperboard Presents... will go toward the Clapperboard Youth Project. Tickets prices are £11 each with concessions £8 direct from FACT box office 08717 042063.

• Liverpool Echo November 30, 2010

A few months before it was first broadcast, 14 years ago, Christopher Eccleston told the ECHO of Jimmy McGovern's Hillsborough: "This will show what television is really for."

Today, as he looks forward to attending a special screening of the drama-documentary at Fact in Liverpool, followed by a question and answer session, he stands by that quote – and another one: "Hillsborough is the most important piece of work I’ve ever done and ever will do."

The families of those who died and the survivors may still be waiting for justice, but this 102 minutes of television had a major impact on the country.

Recalling its power, Christopher – who played Trevor Hicks, the then chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support, whose two daughters, Sarah, 19, and Victoria, 15, died in the 1989 disaster – says: "Beyond Merseyside, no one knew the truth about what happened at Hillsborough. People had swallowed the lies that the right-wing Press told, together with what the government and the police put out there.

"Jimmy wrote it to correct those lies and, most importantly, to allow the families to grieve – because the lies devastated and destroyed the grieving process."

Before he could take the part, Christopher had to speak to the man he was portraying: "I did feel a great deal of responsibility and the first thing I did was visit Trevor Hicks to get his blessing."

Christopher, who was Trevor's best man when he remarried, in March 2009, adds: "He has said to me since that he was initially sceptical about the whole enterprise. He gave me quite a rigorous interview – he wanted to know what my motives were for doing it. Then he gave me his blessing, I accepted the role and he gave me total access to his life and his experiences.

"All the actors met the Hillsborough Family Support Group, which was completely involved – they visited the set and gave us information and opened their hearts to us."

But despite the weight of responsibility, Christopher reveals: "In the build-up to its broadcast, I felt very confident because I knew there wasn't a word of untruth in the piece. Jimmy made sure of that because the lawyers were watching."

His fellow cast members included Ricky Tomlinson, Mark Womack and Annabelle Apsion. Did a strong bond and camaraderie develop between everyone, or is "camaraderie" the wrong word given the nature of the work? "It does sound like the wrong word, but everyone was on the same money and we had just one caravan on set for 15 women and one caravan for 15 men, so there were arms and legs coming out of the windows as everyone got dressed."

And although the actors were portraying the Hicks, Glover and Spearritt families, they and the drama-documentary, itself, were, of course, representing all 96 families, although Christopher says: "I know it was agonising for Jimmy that he couldn't tell every story. Jimmy is a sensitive bloke – that's why he's a writer."

After it was broadcast at 9pm on Thursday, December 5, 1996, Hillsborough was debated on phone-ins across the country – many callers said it was the first time they had been presented with the full truth about the disaster – and thrust back onto the news agenda as the government and South Yorkshire police came under new pressure.

But Christopher admits: "I'm not sure I expected the reaction it got – I'm not sure any of us did. I think I was surprised at the scale of it. I know Jimmy had something powerful to say but I was surprised, though heartened, at the strength of the reaction.

"It was doing two things – addressing the nation's conscience and demonstrating the power of television. There is a sense now that television has, largely, turned into an idiot box – and it certainly wasn't that when I was young."

But countless TV executives, motivated by the three Rs – ratings, ratings, ratings – have since gone down the reality show route, or, in ITV's case, as Christopher puts it: "Idiots in the jungle wearing bikinis and eating cockroaches."

He adds: "Jimmy had just given ITV Cracker and they asked 'What do you want to do next?' He could have done anything, but he wanted to tell the truth about Hillsborough."

Five months after it was screened, Labour came to power and new Home Secretary Jack Straw ordered a "scrutiny of new evidence".

Christopher says: "The drama-documentary played a small part but, really, 90% of it was down to the efforts of the Hilsborough Family Support Group from 1989 onwards."

Regarding future prospects of justice for the families, he says: "I'd like to think it's inevitable but I don't want to jinx it."

And now, almost 14 years on from the original broadcast, Christopher is delighted to be heading to Fact next Monday for the special screening, with proceeds going to the Clapperboard Youth Project.

Clapperboard UK Ltd is a non-profit-making and charitable organisation which works with people aged from 12 to 19 to help bring creativity into their lives.

Christopher says: "It's a great project and when Clapperboard director Maureen Sinclair asked me to pick a piece of work I didn't want it to be about me. I thought it would be appropriate if it was something about Liverpool."

• From a recent article

TV & Satellite Week: What role are you proudest of?
Christopher Eccleston: Trevor Hicks in Hillsborough. My involvement fulfilled a dream, because I believed what we were doing had real weight and urgency, and needed to be made.

• The Mirror November 30, 1996 interview with Christopher Eccleston

For friends and family of those who died at Hillsborough, the agony lingered on long after images of the tragedy had faded. Christopher Eccleston, star of Cracker and Shallow Grave, understands the legacy of those harrowing events better than most. In Hillsborough, Chris plays Trevor Hicks, a dad who lost two teenage daughters in the crush. And while researching the role, he spent weeks talking to the bereaved father.

"I listened to Trevor's story and it was a privilege to spend as much time as I have with him," Chris says. "It is so important that Trevor and the rest of the family's stories are heard so that we can better understand what happened."

As soon as he read the script, Chris agreed to appear in the drama which tells the grim story of how 96 soccer fans were crushed to death at Sheffield Wednesday's ground in April 1989. Cracker writer Jimmy McGovern decided to pen the story when he was approached by families still struggling to come to terms with the aftermath of Hillsborough.

"When you put the part of Trevor together with the fact that it's a Jimmy McGovern script, it was a role which I really had to play," says Chris. "There were so many challenging scenes as an actor but I believe one of the toughest was when Trevor begs his wife, Jenni, to try and get on with what was left of their lives by washing some bedsheets.
"But she could not do it because they still held the scent of their dead daughters, and she was trying to cling to every single memory."

The pounds 1 million Granada special is a two-hour drama made by the company's drama and documentary departments. It is expected to spark anger from South Yorkshire police who snubbed an invitation to help with the production. McGovern was still working on the script when a court recently awarded pounds 1.2million to 14 police officers said to be "mentally scarred" by the tragedy. This encouraged him further to tell the families' side of Hillsborough.

His film focuses upon three families - the Glovers, the Hicks, and the Spearritts, who all lost loved ones. Key scenes of the build-up to the horrifying crush inside the Hillsborough ground were recreated on a piece of waste ground in Clayton, Manchester. To make it authentic, casting directors trawled Liverpool streets to sign up extras before bussing them to the location. But TV producers decided not to film the horrific scenes of people being crushed in pens.

The ghastly events have left a lasting impression on Chris who is currently unemployed thanks, he says, to a lack of quality scripts.

"There is so much dross around at the moment, I just don't want to work. I'd never take a role just for the sake of it," he says. "I'd prefer to wait for something else by McGovern.
"He's an outstanding writer. He's not controversial. He just tackles real issues."

Also, April 16, 1998:

TV writer Jimmy McGovern described the football tragedy's ninth anniversary as a "sad day". McGovern, who wrote the powerful drama-documentary Hillsborough, said: "It is sad for the families and sad for the country as a whole.
"The least you could expect from a Labour Government is to reopen the inquiry.
"It doesn't cost much commitment to social justice."
After yesterday's memorial service Hillsborough actor Christopher Eccleston said he felt privileged to have been asked to take part. He said that on hearing Jack Straw's Parliament statement in February he had been "disgusted" that there was to be no new inquiry into the disaster. Mr Eccleston added: "It was a disgraceful performance from a politician's point of view."

- - -

During the service candles were lit in front of the Kop by actors Scot Williams and Christopher Eccleston, who played Joe Glover and Trevor Hicks in the drama documentary Hillsborough. [...] A lesson was read by Charles McDougal, director of the programme.

'Accused' - In Pictures

2010-11-16T10:09:00.005+00:00

Christopher Eccleston in the opening episode, 'Willy's Story', of the new TV series.
Main 'Accused' post

Crate E15

'Accused'

2010-11-15T01:53:00.044+00:00

15 Nov 2010
TV series
By Jimmy McGovern
Dir. David Blair
Ep. 1: 'Willy's Story'
Role: Willy Houlihan (plumber).

TX:
Nov 15 9:00pm BBC One/One HD
(programme info)

DVD:
R. 2 - Acorn Media (directly from distributor) - amazon.co.uk
Extras: "Behind the Scenes" (inters with Sita Williams, David Blair, Jimmy McGovern); cast filmographies; subtitles.
Also available via iTunes and Netflix in the US.

Gallery --- Site at BBC --- IMDb --- RSJ Films

Articles:

Reviews:
Alex's (in-house)
Nov 21 Phil Hogan - The Observer - Rewind TV
Nov 20 Paddy Shennan - Liverpool Echo - TV Review: Accused (BBC1)
Anne Pickles - News & Star - Thank God, And Jimmy, For Great Dramas Like This
Nov 19 Jacob Martin - The Yorker - Accused: Willy's Story
Nov 16 Brian Viner - The Independent - Last Night's TV - Accused, BBC1 [...]
Howard Male - The Arts Desk - Accused, BBC One
Nov 15 Jamie Steiner - On The Box - Accused Review: Under Questioning
Damien Love - Herald Scotland - Accused, BBC One, Monday

Previews:
Daily Star - On TV Tonight - Screenjabber - Mirror - Scotsman - Guardian
From Sunday papers

Telegraph - Jimmy McGovern Returns With A Courtroom Drama To Remember

CE interviews:
Nov 15 The Daily Record - Accused star Christopher Eccleston accuses X Factor bosses of having contempt for TV viewers
Nov 13-19 Total TV Guide - You Be The Judge
TV & Satellite Week - In The Dock
Nov 9 Ian Wylie/MEN - Christopher Eccleston: I Owe My Career To Jimmy McGovern
TV Choice - Christopher Eccleston, Accused

Video: trailer for the episode - behind the scenes/CE inter

Audio:

Nov 15 CE

• BBC Radio WM The Paul Franks Show (iPlayer) interview (career, event TV, actors he admires)
• BBC Radio Shropshire's Vicki Archer (iPlayer) interview on life & career
Nov 13 BBC Radio 4's Saturday Review (complete on iPlayer) - two first episodes reviewed plus extract from 'Willy's Story'
Nov 12 CE's BBC Radio Leeds interview by Alex Belfield (also listen here or 'save link as' to download; source; also iPlayer) - CE also talks career, acting, 'Hamlet', 'Doctor Who', Banda Aceh trip
Nov 10 Jimmy McGovern
• Front Row programme (complete on iPlayer) - incl. brief audio excerpt from the first episode
• BBC Merseyside Billy Butler's show (complete programme on iPlayer) - also about 'Hearts and Minds' (incl. a clip from the series)

News:

• Dec 14 Series 1 will be available via iTunes in the US; as well as shown in Africa, Brazil, Slovakia.

• Nov 21 'Accused' won Best Series and CE - Best Actor at the International Emmy Awards (press release).

• Oct 12 All3Media signed a non-exclusive deal with Netflix to make 'Accused' available in the US (Broadcast).

• Oct 3 CE nominated for International Emmy Awards - Best Performance by an Actor (against Fábio Assunção, Brazil, Jang Hyuk, South Korea, Michael Nyqvist, Sweden; takes place Nov 21). ""The International Emmy® Awards is a tough competition with over 1000 entries from 61 countries, this year." said Bruce L. Paisner, President & CEO of The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences." - press release. ETA Oct 7: The series itself is now also nominated in Drama - press release.

• Sep Awards nominations: 'Accused' shortlisted for Writers' Guild Awards - Best Television Drama Series (against 'The Shadow Line' [won] and 'Doctor Who'; Nov 16); CE nominated for the Royal Television Society North West Awards - Best Performance in a Single Drama or Drama Series (against John Simm, David Tennant, Suranne Jones [won]; Nov 19).

• Feb 24 The series has been recommissioned by BBC for a second season.

• Jan 27 The series DVD has been issued with '15' certificate from BBFC for "strong language, violence and sexualised violence."

• Jan 21 2011 All3Media International has announced the first batch of export deals, for such countries as Australia (ABC), New Zealand (TVNZ), Canada (TVO), Iceland (RUV), Denmark (DR), Sweden (SVT), Finland (YLE), "as well as BBC Global Channels for Poland and Flemish-speaking Belgium. DVD rights have also been acquired in the U.K. and Australia via Acorn." (c21media.net, worldscreen.com)

Louise Pedersen, the managing director at ALL3MEDIA International, commented, "Accused is a wonderful drama for international audiences, taking universal situations and moral dilemmas and presenting them in a unique and compelling format. We are delighted to announce this strong roster of initial deals—the drama has received great interest and feedback from broadcasters around the world and we look forward to announcing yet more international sales soon."

• Audience: Ep. 1 overnights - 4.7m (18.1%) on BBC One, final - 5.39m viewers (18.8% share), 15th most viewed of the week. None of the other episodes made it into top 30 again. Overnights at series finish plummeted to 3.2m (12%), while the series average was 3.7m (14%).

• Nov 12 Sky TV: "As usual, McGovern's script is tighter than a commuter train carriage during rush hour, and Eccleston is equally as brilliant in portraying a flawed man who knows his flaws, but can't bring himself to admit them." Ed Cumming: "It is a moving and powerful piece of television, anchored by a brilliant performance from Christopher Eccleston as Willy. With his physicality and intelligence, he seems perfect for the part [...]"

• Nov 11 Ian Wylie's report from 'Accused' screening and q&a with Jimmy McGovern, Sita Williams and CE, incl. audio clip.

• Nov 9 Interviews: TV Choice article, Ian Wylie's feature.

• As a lead-in, "Jacey Normand meets Salford actor Christopher Eccleston on the set of Jimmy McGovern's new BBC drama 'Accused'" for Inside Out North West, Monday November 15th, 19:30 on BBC One.

• To be released on Region 2 DVD October 3rd, 2011 (amazon.co.uk). ETA: Moved to February 6, 2012. ETA2: May 7, 2012.

• Oct 26 Main PRESS PACK released. Watch the teaser trail, read the introduction and more at BBC here. CE interview:

Christopher Eccleston is renowned for the searing and honest way he gets under the skin of the people he plays. Last seen on BBC Four as John Lennon, Eccleston returns to BBC One to star not as a modern icon but as an ordinary, decent man, Willy Houlihan, who is in deep water and in the dock.

Willy does his best – he's a good plumber and a loving father, but he fails to be a faithful husband.

Starring as Willy sees leading actor Christopher Eccleston and acclaimed writer Jimmy McGovern reunited. Arguably, their collaborations have led to some of the most memorable and arresting dramatisations seen on British television. Eccleston outlines what working with McGovern has meant to him over the years.

"I think of Jimmy's projects as the spine of my career because I've worked with him more than any other writer during my 21 years as an actor. Luckily, for me, he came along in my early days.

"Call me old-fashioned, earnest, pompous, or whatever label helps you look away, but I've been brought up on the writer-led socially engaged TV drama of the Seventies and Eighties and wanted to make comparable drama.

"I didn't just want to be 'on the telly', but to be involved in stories that mattered and didn't patronise viewers. Jimmy's stories are all these things.

"Cracker gave me a 'face' on television and Hearts And Minds was my first lead, but Hillsborough and Sunday are the two most important dramas I've been involved with as they portrayed factual miscarriages of justice and were tools in the families' fight for justice and the right to grieve and commemorate their lost loved ones with decency and honour.

"So, this is why – over about a 17-year span – I've appeared in six McGovern projects Cracker, Hearts And Minds, Hillsborough, Sunday, the film Heart and now Accused - a crime and punishment drama.

"Jimmy respects and understands his audience and never talks down – that's why he reaches us. He's popular, commercially successful and never minds the critical plaudits.

To film Willy's Story, revered son of Salford Eccleston returned to his home turf of Manchester. Eccleston's thoughts on the new script are loud and clear.

"I immediately had a grasp of the character's world – the language and atmosphere are perfectly pitched.

"Frankly, scripts like this are 'actor-proof' and 'director-proof' – any actor with half a brain would get it, all us actors have to do is not get in the way of the words!

"Jimmy listens to how people speak. Like all great writing, Jimmy's is a combination of the detachment of hard won technique and a complete commitment to instinct and imagination."

It's clear that McGovern's latest creation meets with Eccleston's approval.

"I like and sympathise with Willy. He loves his wife and family, he works hard, he's never broken the law and he's trying to give his daughter her dream wedding. He's tempted and falls and I don't judge him for it – 'people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.'

"But Willy's deeply conflicted about his adultery. I was raised with a rudimentary Church of England religious education and am an atheist, so I had to rely on my imagination to understand his relationship with Catholicism.

"In the end, Willy's dilemma is a matter of conscience. We all have a moral code we're answerable to ... well, maybe not in the case of politicians, footballers, and estate agents," muses Eccleston, with a dry aside.

Accused is about crime and punishment, so does Eccleston think Willy should be in the dock?

"By the letter of the law he should be," he replies. "But when we had the read-through there was a vote afterwards – should Willy be found innocent or guilty? The vote was split between those who wanted to send him down and those who wanted set him free.

"Hopefully, the viewers will be just as caught up in the drama as we were hearing it off the page for the first time." And, this is surely a ringing endorsement of Eccleston's conviction that drama should provoke debate and get people engaged.

So, what is next for this marathon running, fiercely intelligent and versatile actor?

His stage, film and television credits are never predictable and encompass modernising the ninth Dr Who for a new generation of viewers, to playing the aristocratic Duke of Norfolk Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth, to acting a man who believes he's the Son of God in The Second Coming – not to forget his affecting performance as Derek Bentley in Let Him Have, or being acclaimed as Hamlet at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Eccleston's legions of fans will be pleased to hear that he's not adverse to playing some comedic roles in the future but, in the meantime, they can look forward to seeing him as Joseph Bede in BBC Two's forthcoming six-part noir thriller, The Shadow Line, written, produced and directed by Hugo Blick.

• Oct 6 Export: All3Media to take Accused to 20 new territories - broadcastnow.co.uk:

All3 set to take Accused global | 6 October, 2010 | By Jake Kanter

MIPCOM: All3Media International is finalising deals that could take Jimmy McGovern drama Accused into 20 new territories.
Managing director Louise Pedersen said interest had been high and is hopeful the agreements will be sealed by the end of the Mipcom market this week. She could not detail which territories the RSJ Films-made drama will enter for client confidentiality reasons.
The 6 x 60-minute series is in post production and is due to air on BBC1 this autumn. It was created by McGovern with an all star cast, including Andy Serkis, Mackenzie Crook and Christopher Eccleston.

• Sep 29 BBC Drama SHOWREEL for autumn/winter season has been released - more here on the blog.

• All3Media has acquired international rights to the series - broadcastnow.co.uk:

All3Media acquires Jimmy McGovern drama | 17 September, 2010 | By Catherine Neilan

All3Media has picked up the international rights to the new BBC drama from Jimmy McGovern’s RSJ Films.
Accused is currently in post-production, and is due to air on BBC1 this autumn.
The 6 x 60-minute series was created by Jimmy McGovern, Sita Williams and Roxy Spencer, the team behind dramas such as The Street and Cracker.
Each episode centres around a lead character who has been accused of a crime, and stars Christopher Eccleston, Mackenzie Crook, Marc Warren, Naomi Harris, Juliet Stevenson, Andy Serkis, and Peter Capaldi.
The series is one of a number of programmes All3 is taking to Mipcom in Cannes next month.

Also how-do.co.uk article:

Tuesday, 21 September 2010

Independent production company All3Media, has acquired the international distribution rights to Jimmy McGovern’s BBC drama, Accused.
The 6 part series, which was partly shot in Manchester will be showcased at entertainment content market Mipcom to bring in buyers from other territories.

The drama was produced by McGovern’s RSJ Films and stars Christopher Eccleston, MacKenzie Crook and Marc Warren. It's currently in post-production, with transmission slated for this Autumn.
Each of the hour-long episodes tell the story of a man who has ended up in the dock of a courtroom and the story builds as the viewer and the character find out whether or not they are guilty.

"We are delighted to announce our representation of this landmark new series from the team at RSJ Films,” said Louise Pedersen, managing director of All3Media International.
“Their fantastic pedigree in producing startling, outstanding drama speaks for itself. Accused blends true-to-life situations, moral dilemmas and compelling characters to create innovative, universally appealing drama."

Sita Williams, now at RSJ Films, worked alongside McGovern on The Street:
"We arrive at the verdict at the end of each film so the viewer like the Accused and their families is gripped by tension and fear as to what their fate will be. We look forward to this unique, suspenseful drama proving a hit with global audiences".

• On-set images at Rex Features (May 27).

• May 11 2010 Christopher Eccleston has been cast in an episode of Jimmy McGovern's coming six-part drama 'Accused'. CE and McGovern previously collaborated on 'Cracker' (1993-94), 'Hearts and Minds' (1995), 'Hillsborough' (1996), 'Heart' (1999) and 'Sunday' (2002).

Episode synopsis from BBC Press Release:

Christopher Eccleston stars as a man in turmoil in Willy's Story by Jimmy McGovern, which starts filming on 30 May. Lapsed Catholic Willy does his best; he's a good plumber, a loving father, but fails to be a faithful husband.

Just when Willy is about to confess to his wife, Carmel, played by Pooky Quesnel, his daughter announces she's getting married. Willy's guilty secret must wait while pressure from all sides keeps growing. He is about to implode when he finds something in the back of a cab and it's either the answer to his prayers or the beginning of his downfall...

Guardian reports:

Christopher Eccleston is to be reunited with Jimmy McGovern for the Cracker creator's new BBC1 drama, Accused.
Eccleston and Mackenzie Crook will play the first two lead characters in the contemporary drama, which follows how six men came to be in the dock of a courtroom.

In an episode called Willy's Story, Eccleston plays a lapsed Catholic plumber who commits adultery, while Crook stars as a soldier called Buckley in The Soldier Story.

The six-part drama will follow each lead character as the audience learns how the background of the accused men and asks if they are innocent or guilty.

Filming of The Soldier Story began in Manchester this week, with production of Willy's Story due to be start later this month. Production of the other four episodes – which are still being cast – will continue until August.

Eccleston and McGovern has previously worked together on Cracker, Hillsborough and Sunday.

McGovern said: "In the time it takes to climb the steps to the court we tell the story of how the accused came to be here.
"We see the crime and we see the punishment. Nothing else. No police procedure, thanks very much, no coppers striding along corridors with coats flapping. Just crime and punishment – the two things that matter most in any crime drama."

Accused is being made by RSJ Films, the independent producer McGovern co-founded with Sita Williams and Roxy Spencer.

Williams – who is producing Accused – and Spencer were part of the creative team behind The Street, which was made by ITV Productions for BBC1 but ended last year because of cuts at ITV's Manchester operation.

McGovern added: "It's great to work with Chris again and I've often tried in the past to get Mackenzie into something of mine. And, needless to say it's wonderful to reunite the team that made The Street."

The BBC independent drama commissioning editor, Polly Hill, said: "After three wonderful, award-winning series of The Street, we are thrilled the same team are making Accused for BBC1.
"The first commission for RSJ Films, Jimmy McGovern, Sita Williams and Roxy Spencer, together with David Blair, continue to make drama that is relevant, challenging and above all moving. I'm sure this will prove to be a real treat for the BBC1 audience."

Accused was green-lit by the BBC1 controller, Jay Hunt, and the controller of drama commissioning, Ben Stephenson.

Liverpool Echo (Feb 26, 2010):

Liverpool screenwriter Jimmy McGovern has been commissioned to write a new prime time drama for BBC1.
"Accused" will explore how the perpetrators of crimes of passion are charged by police.
It is being written by the team behind Bafta-winning series The Street and is due to air in the autumn.

The Liverpool screenwriter, who is hosting a screening of his 1994 film Priest at FACT next week to raise money for youth project Clapperboard UK, said he is pleased with how the scripts are shaping up.
He said: "I know I'm speaking miles in advance but I've got very high hopes.
"So far I think it's every bit as good as The Street and we were really, really proud of that.
"There's one story in particular about a young man who comes home from Afghanistan that I'm really excited about."

Writers on the project include Liverpool's Esther Wilson, whose verbatim play Ten Tiny Toes, about the mothers of British soldiers stationed in Iraq, received critical acclaim at the Everyman in 2008.
Alice Nutter, a former member of punk-pop band Chumbawamba, and award-winning Clocking Off and Shameless writer Danny Brocklehurst are also working on Accused.

Profwriting.com:

Structurally, each episode is set to confirm whether the accused character is guilty or not, and work backwards, illustrating their actions and addressing the reasons behind them – the grey areas in life – and inviting viewers to question morality.

RSJ Films (2009):

The BBC have ordered the 'spiritual successor' to The Street from RSJ Films. ACCUSED is a 6 x 60 minute drama series for BBC1 in Autumn 2010. When making the announcement, Ben Stephenson, BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning said "It's the spiritual successor to The Street, but takes that kind of format in another, really exciting direction. The jumping off point is that the lead character in each episode is accused of a crime, but the verdict on whether they are guilty will arrive at different points in each episode".

Said commissioning has been announced in 2009. How-Do reported (Oct 30, 2009):

Although the future prospects for acclaimed BBC One series The Street look bleak, it appears as though the corporation's desire for Jimmy McGovern penned dramas has yet to be satiated.

It emerged this week - although How-Do has had a few problems getting Auntie to confirm it - that McGovern and the team that worked on The Street, namely executive producer Sita Williams and script executive Roxy Spencer, have been commissioned through McGovern's new firm, RSJ Productions, to create what has been called 'the spiritual successor' to the show.

The Accused is set to be a six by 60-minute series which focuses on individual lead characters that, at the start of each episode, are accused of committing a crime.

BBC controller of drama commissioning Ben Stephenson told Broadcast magazine that he was so knocked out by the concept that he "read the script on the Sunday and commissioned it on the Monday."

Stephenson announced the deal with RSJ at the Screenwriters' Festival in Cheltenham, noting that it took the format of The Street in "another, really exciting, direction." [...]

The Accused has been pencilled in for the autumn 2010 BBC One schedule.

'Accused' - Sunday Previews

2010-11-14T17:26:00.009+00:00

The Mail on Sunday

The Observer

The Sunday Telegraph

Total TV Guide - 'You Be The Judge'

2010-11-12T00:00:00.007+00:00

13-19 November 2010
// Scans provided by Jen

Christopher Eccleston stars in a new series of one-off dramas by Jimmy McGovern that asks viewers to decide whether the Accused are innocent or guilty

With his intense demeanour, offbeat handsomeness and prodigious talent, Christopher Eccleston, 46, has put in memorable performances in Doctor Who, Our Friends In The North and Lennon Naked, to name but a few.
He's also well known for his work with Jimmy McGovern (Hillsborough, Cracker) and the pair reunite in a new series, with Christopher Eccleston playing lapsed Catholic plumber Willy in the first of six new dramas penned by the writer.
Depicting the crime and the punishment, each stand-alone drama tells of how six people came to be in the dock of a courtroom.

"Jimmy has been the spine of my work CV, really," says Christopher. "This is the sixth time I've worked with him and without his writing and those opportunities, my career wouldn't be where it is.
"Jimmy credits his audience with having the intelligence to make their own decision. He says, 'This is how people behave. How do you feel about them?'
"And what we're hoping with this series is to get the audience debating about what the final verdict should be."

Willy's initial dilemma is when and how to tell his wife Carmel that he's leaving her for his mistress.
But when his much-loved daughter comes home and announces she's getting married, Willy gets embroiled in a series of events that find him squarely on the wrong side of the law. But how much is he really to blame?

"I have sympathy for Willy, but things are not entirely beyond his control," says Christopher, a little sternly.
"But I'm not judging him harshly, because I'd probably do the same things that he did."

Christopher is notoriously cagey about his own private life but chuckles wryly when it comes to Willy's affair with a much younger woman.

"Willy, in mid life, has had his head turned - and I've got sympathy for him there! I don't condone what he did, but he's human.
"There's nothing that Willy does in the drama that I personally find unforgivable - and that probably says a lot about me. I've learnt during my own life not to judge other people, only myself."

Willy's wife Carmel is played by Pooky Quesnel, 45, who appeared in McGovern's recent daytime series Moving On.

"I've known Pooky since I was 17," says Christopher. "We did a play together at sixth-form college. We were from different backgrounds [Chris is from a working-class family in Salford], but we had this shared interest in being actors, which was unusual in the area we were from.
"Then she went off to Oxford to do a degree, and I wandered round the world doing not much until I pitched up at drama school.
"So this is the first time we've co-starred since the sixth form! She's a fantastic actress, and not somebody people have seen a huge amount of."

Christopher, who lives in London, says he never watches himself on TV.

"I know when I've delivered the goods or not, and if I haven't I certainly don't watch it - why put yourself through it?" he says, apparently unconvinced that a lacklustre performance from Christopher Eccleston is about as rare as hens' teeth.
"You also watch yourself age on screen - and nobody wants to see that. You look at yourself and go, 'I didn't know I was receding! What's going on?'"

TV & Satellite Week - 'In The Dock'

2010-11-11T23:34:00.006+00:00

November 13-19, 2010
// Scans provided by Jen

Christopher Eccleston and writer Jimmy McGovern team up once again to create more TV gold

From Cracker to Hillsborough, whenever actor Christopher Eccleston collaborates with writer Jimmy McGovern, the result is must-see TV, and their latest effort, Accused, is no exception.
Like McGovern's BAFTA-winning The Street, each episode of the compelling six-part BBC1 series centres on a different character, each of whom ends up in the dock accused of a crime.
Eccleston stars in this week's opener as Willy, a plumber who is about to tell his family he has been having an affair when his daughter announces that she is getting married. Willy can't afford to pay for the wedding, but then he finds a package in the back of the cab that he thinks could be the answer to his problems, setting in course a series of events that spiral out of his control.
We caught up with Eccleston to find out more...

How would you sum up Accused?
It's a human drama rather than a courtroom drama. In each episode, we meet a different character on trial, and we are aware they have transgressed and are about to be judged. Then the focus is on how and why they did what they did. There are a number of things Willy could have done wrong, but the audience is kept guessing until the end.

How would you describe Willy?
He has a good life, but it has become too predictable, so he throws in a hand grenade. He's a good man who has always worked hard and loves his family, but wanting to give his daughter a special wedding leads him to make fatal errors of judgement.

Will we be on his side?
That question is what fascinates me. We are hoping the series will provoke debate in the nation's front rooms and that, when we return to the courtroom at the end for the verdict, the audience will be the jury.

You have worked with Jimmy McGovern a lot. What do you enjoy about his writing?
As an actor, if the words aren't good, you look bad, but Jimmy always makes me look like a good actor. He credits the audience with intelligence and doesn't give them easy options.

You appeared in the sci-fi drama Heroes in America. Would you do another series over there?
I would if it was well-written, but I have a fierce attachment to my own country and culture. I enjoyed Heroes, but it was hard for me to care about it in the way that I cared about Our Friends In The North. I have always wanted the work that I do to have some gravity, and I need that to fire myself up. If I do something just for the money and the glamour, then I'm rubbish. I can't deliver if I don't believe in the project.

Is there anything left that you would still love to do?
I'd like to do some comedy and more theatre. I became a film and television actor by default, and I am fortunate that I have made a good living from it, but I would have developed differently as an actor if I'd done more theatre.

You played John Lennon earlier in the year. Would you like to play another real-life person?
I wouldn't mind playing Arthur Scargill. Playing a real person is interesting, because you can study them physically and psychologically. But everybody else has that information, too, so they have strong views about your performance.

What role are you proudest of?
Trevor Hicks in Hillsborough. My involvement fulfilled a dream, because I believed what we were doing had real weight and urgency, and needed to be made.

What's next for you?
I've just finished filming a BBC2 drama called The Shadow Line. It is a psychological thriller and I play a devoted husband who has to do things that morally compromise him in order to support his wife.

The Eccleston and McGovern double act

Accused is not the first time Christopher Eccleston has worked on a project with writer Jimmy McGovern...

Cracker (1993-4) Eccleston made an impact as ill-fated DCI Bilborough in his first project with McGovern.
Hearts and Minds (1995) A drama based on McGovern's own teaching experience, in which Eccleston played an idealistic teacher at a Liverpool comprehensive school.
Hillsborough (1996) Played bereaved father Trevor Hicks in the BAFTA-winning ITV drama about the 1989 football disaster in Sheffield.
Heart (1999) Eccleston was cast as a heart transplant patient pursued by the donor's mother in the moving big-screen drama.
Sunday (2002) The Emmy-nominated Channel 4 drama about the events of Bloody Sunday in 1972 featured Eccleston as British army officer General Ford.

Ian Wylie - 'Christopher Eccleston: I Owe My Career To Jimmy McGovern'

2010-11-09T13:57:00.013+00:00

2010-11-09 MEN article | From Ian Wylie's blog (enhanced version of the article):

[...] Christopher Eccleston insists, "I've worked solidly in television, film and theatre for the last 21 years. I've no idea what the real world's like."

The Salford actor has a nice line in modesty as he teams up again with award-winning writer Jimmy McGovern, the creator of Cracker, Hillsborough and so much more.

"Jimmy has the magic of making average actors like me look good," says Eccleston, who takes the lead in the first episode of Accused (BBC1, Monday, 9pm). [...]

It's a powerful and clever formula which begins with Eccleston as plumber Willy Houlihan, a father in turmoil, cheating on his wife and plunged into money worries when a company goes bankrupt, unable to pay him for his last job.

"I don't think he's ever been in trouble with the law before. He's very good at his job. Very honourable and decent. He married his childhood sweetheart, they had their children in their mid-twenties. He sounds very much like a man confronting mortality in his middle years. A thoroughly decent everyman who makes all too human errors."

McGovern said this week that TV drama should reflect reality and have strong points to make. His new series certainly does that. "I hope what Accused demonstrates is that audiences do not go to bed talking about tracking shots, costumes or lighting. They go to bed talking about human motivation," explains Eccleston.

"People sit down to watch drama, to watch other people in extraordinary circumstances or whatever. And the people who provide that are writers. Stories well told. Drama does not come from actors, producers or directors. We all go to work because of writers who sit alone in rooms and think up ideas. The most difficult area of making television is the writing of the script."

He adds: "I think myself and Jimmy were both very influenced by Alan Bleasdale and that era of television. I watched BBC4's repeat recently of Yosser's Story in Boys From The Blackstuff and it's just as powerful. In fact, it takes on resonance because we're heading for mass unemployment again. It's actually a very simple story, simply told.

"You can sound like an old fart and talk about the golden age. There's no doubt at that time there was some dross around also. But basically, in terms of television drama, what was at the centre was the idea of the writer as king.

"It's very important that Jimmy McGovern is always given a voice on British television because he leads the way. He sets the standard and has done for 20 years."

Seen on screen earlier this year as John Lennon in Lennon Naked, the former Doctor Who star maintains: "There are many actors who could have played Willy and many actors who could have played (DCI David) Bilborough in Cracker. I was just fortunate. My face fitted at the time. Jimmy's rhythm's I do understand, yeah. I get his writing. I'm not the only actor who could do that."

[...] One scene sees the angry plumber wielding a sledgehammer. "I followed through with the sledgehammer and hit myself on the knee, which gave the crew a laugh. I was fine. It was just sore for a couple of hours," says Eccleston.

There's no doubt that he is one of the greatest actors of his generation, with a CV that also includes the likes of Our Friends In The North, The Second Coming and Hearts and Minds. He rates the latter, also written by McGovern, as his favourite, playing an idealistic young teacher at a comprehensive school.

"The best work I've done, I think. It was a four part series for Channel 4 and I was in every scene, the first time I'd led a series. It was a huge thing for me and happened to be about something close to my heart, the education of working class children. And was quite an autobiographical piece of Jimmy's because he'd been a teacher.

"I was reasonably late to the profession. I came out of drama school in '86 and I didn't get a professional job until '89. My first job was theatre in 1989. So I was 25. Three years out, I was thinking about giving it up.

"Without McGovern, I wouldn't be where I am. Cracker gave me a face on television. Hillsborough is the most important piece of work I've ever done and ever will do. He came along at a very important time for me because I was a young actor and it seemed that the idea was, 'Well, you just make money and have fun.' And that wasn't enough for me.

"I was that typical young man who was very idealistic, who actually wanted to make television that would last. I would hope with something like Hillsborough and possibly Our Friends In The North that I've done that.

"To be involved in a piece of television like Hillsborough which has brought to the attention of the public the lies told by the press, the police and the footballing authorities, and the failure of the judicial system to mete out justice, was very important.

"I was brought up with the idea that television and art could do that kind of thing. It sounds very pompous but that's what I believed. I didn't think it was just Pop Idol, television. I thought it was a place where the nation spoke to itself and confronted itself.

"McGovern had so much power after Cracker, he could have done anything – feature films, feathered his nest. What did he do? He went to the Hillsborough Family Support Group and said, 'I want to tell your story.' And then he told the dockers' story and then he told the Sunday story.

"There's not going to be a lot of money in that for Jimmy. That was an act of conscience. It's very rare. We should be very proud of having a guy like that in our midst."

Accused begins on BBC1 at 9pm next Monday (Nov 15)

Extras:

The TV writer as king?

"We don't have an excess of great painters, we don't have an excess of classical musicians but we do have some of the greatest writers the world's ever seen. So obviously we need to keep that at the centre of our culture in terms of television and theatre. We do seem to be a literary nation. We do seem to be interested in the spoken word, the written word. It's our strength. And that's why we forged the reputation with British television. In British television now, everybody's always speaking about American television. When I came into the industry it was the other way around."

So far, I’ve seen the first and second stories. Both powerful in their own way?

"The episode is difficult to talk about because you can give so much away. This is not high concept drama. It's just drama that credits its audience with a great deal of intelligence in terms of making a moral, psychological judgement of each of the central characters throughout the six episodes. We meet each character in court, we learn that they have transgressed and then we move away from the court and the drama is about how and, most importantly with McGovern, why they did what they did. And then at the end, we have the verdict. Which is a great dramatic device.

"When we did the readthrough for Willy Houlihan's episode, there was still a great deal of debate between Jimmy and the director about what the verdict should be. So we held a vote and it was split. And what we're hoping is that the audience will be split about.

"Jimmy's not particularly that interested in the legal stuff, he's interested in – as he spoke about when he first came to prominence with Cracker – the search for the pure motive. That's always been Jimmy's thing. He X-rays each character and looks for purity. Very Catholic, you could argue."

Did the debate have any influence on the eventual court verdict?

"Nobody is going to tell Jimmy McGovern what to do. I think Jimmy always knew what should happen. And I happen to agree with Jimmy's decision."

Clever storytelling structure?

"What the director David Blair has done in the edit ... because, of course, I worked on the script, the edit can change a thing radically. And I think what Blair has done very cleverly with his editor is weave in. Suddenly we're jolted out of the flow of Willy's story, into where he's headed and it creates a tension. Also it was hard for me, because obviously I know exactly what's going to happen next, but viewing it, it's not going to be clear to the viewers what Willy has done and how he's done it. There are lots of possibilities."

Willy is a conflicted lapsed Catholic. You are an atheist. You've said you used your imagination for the role?

"How do you act? You've learned your lines and you use your instincts and your imagination ... that's only interesting in the way that it informs McGovern's work. When I first read Cracker, for instance, when it came through my door, I was drawn to his writing in a very odd way because there seemed to me to be a need to confess in McGovern's writing. The writing of Fitz, for instance. I think Fitz says, 'I rehearsed the death of my father for years.' I thought, 'That's so extraordinary, it's got to be true. This writer really need to confess to his audience.' And they respond to that, don't they? There's this interesting ingredient in McGovern's writing, a very uncompromising honesty."

One scene is set in a casino. You're not a betting man?

"No, I'm not a betting man. But Jimmy sketches in that Willy has been. He walks into that casino and the croupier says to him, 'Alright Willy, I thought you'd given it up?' And I think Jimmy's been a gambling man. It's been a motif in a lot of his dramas. And again, with that roulette wheel, like the verdict, is a great dramatic device."

His next role in The Shadow Line?

"I wrapped that last week. It's a six-parter for BBC2, written and directed by Hugo Blick, who people predominantly know from Marion and Geoff. It's a psychological thriller, very difficult to describe. Very writer led, again, and a meditation on morality and the shadow line between good and bad, viewed through police and criminals and where they intersect. And about what people will do for money, and what people will do for their loved ones, which creates the grey areas, I think, certainly in my character. What people will do for money, what people will do for their pensions, actually. What people will do to secure their future. And what it does to them spiritually."

More on 'Accused'

TV Choice - 'Christopher Eccleston, Accused'

2010-11-09T13:13:00.008+00:00

By Martina Fowler

Christopher Eccleston is one of our finest actors, but although he is just as intense in conversation as he is on screen — and woe betide you ask too much about his private life — he’s courteous, modest, and has the disarming habit of calling you by name throughout your conversation with him. (Later when I check with other female journalists, it turns out he’s pulled exactly the same stunt with them! Damn!)

He’s starred in Our Friends In The North, Dr Who, and Hollywood films such as The Others, with Nicole Kidman, but he’s also well known for his long-standing collaboration with Jimmy McGovern in shows such as Cracker and Hillsborough. Now he’s appearing in the first of six stand-alone dramas penned by Jimmy McGovern, which chart how six people came to be in court. The series boasts an impressive cast, including Mackenzie Crook (see our interview with him in next week's TV Choice, on sale Tuesday, 16 November), Juliet Stevenson and Andy Serkis.

Christopher plays lapsed Catholic plumber Willy, who is on the brink of telling his wife Carmel (Pooky Quesnel) that he’s leaving her for a younger woman, when their daughter arrives home and announces she’s getting married. But Willy’s well-meaning attempts to pay for the wedding soon see him heading for the dock….

What’s it like working with Jimmy McGovern again?
It’s a pleasure and an honour. I first worked for him in 1993, when I was about 30, and I think this is the sixth time I’ve worked with him. The piece of work I’m proudest of, Hearts And Minds, was written by Jimmy. Without his writing and those opportunities to work with him, my career wouldn’t be where it is.

Do you have sympathy for Willy?
Yeah, because he’s intensely human, as are all of McGovern’s characters. That’s what I think appeals to audiences about Jimmy’s writing — he credits his audience with the intelligence to make their own decisions.

One thing you can say about Willy is that he’s definitely trying to do the best for his kids.
I think that’s very moving about him, yeah. I think he loves his children, particularly his daughter. I think he admires his daughter because she’s not asking for a big wedding — she will be just as happy upstairs at The Crown — and he’s moved by that and proud of how she is. He tries to give her the best. I think fathers across Britain will hopefully identify with that.

Does it feel odd to be cast as the head of a family, with three grown-up kids?
[Chuckles] Yeah, it does. But that’s the beauty of what I do for a living. I can pretend to be all kinds of things.

The drama after yours stars Mackenzie Crook. Have you seen it?
That is an unbelievable episode. I’ve not seen the finished version but I heard the read-through, and that is an extraordinary piece of writing. Great cast. We read Willy’s episode and we read that story. And it was electric, the read-through for that second episode. Electric!

The six dramas are going to form a talking point because everyone will have their own opinions about them…
A lot of the psychological pressure, of course, is applied by Willy’s own conscience. I think it’s important to stress that Willy is a man with a conscience.

Do you still live in Eccles?
No, I live in London at the moment. I’ve lived in London for about 16 months. I lived in Los Angeles for a couple of years before that, before that I was based in Manchester. I don’t live anywhere, particularly, which sounds romantic — it’s not! I go where the work is. But at the moment, I’m based in London. I’ve not put down roots anywhere, particularly.

Do you tend to watch your own performances and analyse them?
I try to avoid watching myself. I know when I’ve delivered the goods or not, and if I’ve not delivered the goods for whatever reason, I just don’t watch it — why put myself through it? You know, it’s not false modesty, and it’s not neurotic, it’s just a fact. If you’re in something, you can’t judge it because you know exactly what’s going to happen. And also, you, for instance, know yourself, you hear your voice on a tape machine, you watch yourself on a family video — I bet you’re pretty critical of yourself. Well, actors are exactly the same. So, if I can possibly avoid it, I avoid it.

Source

More on 'Accused'

'The Happiness Salesman' on BBC Two Wales

2010-10-22T18:11:00.010+01:00

Available on iPlayer until the 7th Nov.

2010-10-22 Short film 'The Happiness Salesman' will have its TV première on the regional version of BBC Two for Wales Sunday the 31st October, 23:00. With Christopher Eccleston as The Salesman and Archie Panjabi as Karen. Director Krishnendu Majumdar.

Karen is resigned to a life of suburban ennui, the dreams of her youth a distant memory. On an autumn afternoon as she struggles to get her baby to sleep she is disturbed by a door-to-door salesman. Desperate for adult companionship she engages with the enigmatic salesman. He claims he can sell her something that will radically change her life, and offers Karen an opportunity to fulfil long forgotten dreams and ambitions. But is Karen prepared to pay the price?

Programme page at BBC.

The Happiness Salesman @ Crate E15

Christopher Eccleston for Amnesty's Burma Campaign

2010-10-02T07:54:00.018+01:00

[By Leo Cackett. Also see the photo at Enigma Images]

UPDATE Oct 12, 2011

Burma amnesty brings release of hundreds of prisoners, including about 200 political ones. Democratic Voice of Burma:

"Zarganar, a prominent comedian and vocal government critic, was among those released on Wednesday as part of a pardon of more than 6,300 prisoners by the new leadership, his family said."

Also BBC News article.

Christopher Eccleston (The Observer, Oct 3, 2010):

"Burma is a country of horrors. Torture is commonplace, dissent is not tolerated, and censorship is almost total. It is unbelievable that such regime can continue to exist. Take the case of popular comedian Zarganar. He is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence for criticising the junta's handling of the cyclone relief efforts in 2008. Nothing short of ridiculous. The global community needs to wake up and act as one to condemn the country's ruling military junta and their appalling human rights record."

The Observer gallery of the campaign.

From Enigma Images site:

Leading celebrities are being asked to join people from all over the world, including politicians and leading exiled Burmese activists, to stand in solidarity with Burma's former political prisoners to demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners currently incarcerated in Burma's notorious prisons.

Full details of the campaign can be seen on the Amnesty website
The campaign is based on the documentary project Even Though I'm Free I Am Not which can be viewed in full on this website

People are being asked to write the name on the palm of their hand of one of the 9 political prisoner cases that Amnesty International are highlighting. They will then have their photo taken and be able to stand in solidarity with Burma's former political prisoners who are leading this campaign.

The photographs will be collected and presented to the summit meeting of political leaders from Asia and Europe, in Brussels in October 2010 - the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). Amnesty will call on these leaders to press for freedom for Burma's political prisoners, and real human rights for Burma.

Amnesty UK:

Amnesty's action this year on Burma was inspired by the work of James Mackay, a London-based freelance documentary photographer who has photographed more than 160 former Burmese political prisoners now located all around the world - some still in Burma.

For the self-funded project, entitled 'Even Though I'm Free I Am Not', James is travelling around the world, including Burma, to photograph and interview former political prisoners who are coming together to raise awareness for their colleagues who remain in jail. He is working in collaboration with the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) and Democratic Voice of Burma.

Read about the photoshoot with Eccleston at Even Though I'm Free I Am Not blog.

Take action - Amnesty International: Human Rights for Burma

Articles:
• Amnesty UK: Leaders of Asia and Europe asked to support call to release all Burma's political prisoners UK
• Guardian.co.uk
• Independent.co.uk

BBC Drama Autumn/Winter Showreel

2010-09-29T20:27:00.006+01:00

2010-09-29 Includes glimpses of Christopher Eccleston in McGovern's 'Accused'.

Also features some shots from 'The Shadow Line'.
Press release.

Main 'Accused' post.

So this was Summer

2010-09-01T12:41:00.027+01:00

And it was, very much so. 'Lennon Naked' premièred in June. First it was shown at the second preview (BFI, 2nd), then, in a dubbed version, on Japanese TV (12th) and finally broadcast in the UK (23rd). In connection with the première, a variety of interviews, articles and reviews appeared online, in the papers and on the radio. You can find them organized in the main 'Lennon Naked' post, including video and audio materials. Especially worth attention are original press and direct radio interviews.
Some review quotes:

Neil McCormick, The Telegraph, 'The most ambitious John Lennon film yet': "For all the film’s obvious flaws, what holds it together is the quality of the writing and the sheer brio of Eccleston’s performance."
Damien Love, Herald Scotland: "In certain respects, his being the wrong age is perfect. Jones’s script is fragmentary, more a meditation on Lennon than a straight portrait, and Eccleston’s intense, mature, sometimes literally naked presence lends a certain abstract, out-of-time quality."
Martyn Palmer, Radio Times: "Eccleston is mesmerising - the voice, mannerisms, the savage, cruel wit, are all pitch-perfect."
Andrea Mullaney, The Scotsman: "Eccleston dominates every scene as much as Lennon must have dominated every room he was in, but there's one big obvious problem: he's clearly around 15 years too old for the role (23 years in the opening section). But you can suspend disbelief a bit by thinking of it as a way of showing Lennon being older and more cynical than his years. And he has the distinctive voice down near-perfectly. It's a fearsomely watchable performance and a fine comeback."

'Lennon Naked' was also showcased at Roma FictionFest (out of competition), and Region 2 DVD is already available. The film will be shown and released in the US in November.

Meantime, on the 4th of June I Am Kloot, a band supported by Eccleston, made public yet another video with him - this time in cameo capacity - for their song 'Northern Skies'. On the 14th Christopher Eccleston participated in the opening of Eccles library. Also in June were published campaign videos, Anti-whaling and Oxfam appeal, narrated by Eccleston.

After the filming for 'Accused' from the end of May through June, new casting was announced on the 2nd of July for Hugo Blick's 'The Shadow Line' (BBC Two). Lensing commenced in The Isle of Man then and has been going on since (listen to 3FM interview). While 'Accused' is set to broadcast this autumn (more info soon), 'The Shadow Line' should be ready for the spring/summer season 2011.

Last but not least event of the summer was Christopher Eccleston co-hosting Marc Riley's show on BBC 6 Music on the 24th of August. Eccleston curated the programme, selecting the music, and also talked extensively with Marc Riley various matters musical and personal.

P.S.: A note regarding 'Our Friends in the North' September re-release - seemingly it is a vanilla box-set, w/o the special features of the now obscure 2002 issue.
ETA:
• It will include though "20-page illustrated booklet by film and television historian Marcus Hearn."
• Guardian article [as suggested by Hedgehog to also add the link here].
• Independent's mini review.

• Shields/Jarrow & Hebburn Gazette article.

2010-09-01

Chris Eccleston on Marc Riley's Show

2010-08-18T14:51:00.019+01:00

2010-08-18 Eccleston is set to appear on Marc Riley radio programme (BBC 6 Music) this coming Tuesday, August the 24th. The show starts at 19:00 (UK) and is available to listen worldwide via the iPlayer.

From Marc Riley's gallery:

Tracklist:
Faces — Stay With Me [CE]
The Walkmen — Angela Surf City [MR]
Curtis Mayfield — People Get Ready [CE]
Smoke Fairies — Strange Moon Rising [MR]
Live - The Burns Unit — Trouble
The Smiths — How Soon Is Now [CE]
The Specials — Blank Expression [CE]
Live - The Burns Unit — Since We've Fallen Out
Paul Robeson — My Curly Headed Baby [CE]
Sparks — This Town Isn't Big Enough For Both of Us [CE]
I Am Kloot — Favourite Sky [CE]
Toots & The Maytals — 54-46 Was My Number [CE]
Live - The Burns Unit — All of This In Writing
June Tabor — Now I'm Easy [CE]
Bob Marley & The Wailers — Stir It Up [CE]
Aretha Franklin — Soul Serenade [CE]
Sweet — Blockbuster [CE]
Linton Kwesi Johnson — It Dread Inna Inglan [CE]
Euros Childs — Spin That Girl Around [MR]

From programme's page:

24/08/2010 Tuesday, 19:00 on BBC 6 Music:
An actor extraordinaire joins us this evening - Christopher Eccleston, plus live a live band are in the studio to provide musical magic - The Burns Unit ... a Scottish super group!!

Christopher Eccleston will be in the studio with Marc helping him choose the music for the show ... so if you're wondering what the ex Dr Who is into, musically, now's your chance to find out!!! There's bound to be some I Am Kloot and more than likely some Richard Hawley.

Christopher Eccleston is a Salford born lad and fab actor. He has appeared in hit TV shows Cracker, Our Friends In The North and Heroes. His film repertoire includes Shallow Grave, Elizabeth & The Others.

Interestingly he's only recently passed his driving test and can only drive an automatic car - so there.

BBC 6 Music publicity:

Christopher Eccleston joins Marc Riley this evening to co-present the show, which includes live musical magic from guest band The Burns Unit.

Christopher Eccleston pays a visit to Marc in the BBC 6 Music Manchester studios to co-present, sharing his musical choices and anecdotes.

Christopher is an award-winning actor whose career is as eclectic as they come – ranging from movies including Shallow Grave, to being the ninth incarnation of Doctor Who and a recent starring role in BBC Four's Lennon Naked, a drama which charted Lennon's transition from "Beatle John" to enduring and enigmatic icon. He has also starred in two videos for Mercury Prize-nominated band – and friends of Marc's show – I Am Kloot.

Marc and Chris's live band for the evening are Scottish "supergroup" The Burns Unit. [...]

Thanks to Jen for additional pics.

Eccleston Narrates Oxfam TV Ad

2010-07-25T01:01:00.007+01:00

Oxfam posted this video on their youtube 10th of June, but the date that it first went into rotation is unknown (if anyone knows, please share!) - UK residents report seeing it recently.

Oxfam.org.uk

3FM Interview w/ Christopher Eccleston

2010-07-15T12:26:00.008+01:00

2010-07-15 Whilst filming in the Isle of Man, Eccleston spoke to the local radio 3FM about 'The Shadow Line', the island and filming there, his career, 'dream roles' and future, 'Doctor Who', his 'legacy'.

~~Listen here.~~

3FM:

Christopher Eccleston has established himself as one of the UK's biggest acting exports with major roles in TV and Film on both sides of the pond.

Perhaps his biggest role to date was when he took on the Dr Who reboot in 2005, bringing a tired character back to life and along with writer and director Russell T Davies turning it into one of the most popular shows in the Western World.

He's currently filming a gritty 6 part drama for BBC2 on the Island, The Shadow Line.

He kindly took time out of his hectic schedule to talk to 3FM, we asked him about this new project, how he's finding the Isle of Man and of course Dr Who.

~~3FM also posted an excerpt here.~~

Mojo - 'All Back To My Place'

2010-07-12T16:32:00.008+01:00

Mojo // August 2010 nr. 201

Christopher Eccleston
Lots of Planets Have A North

What music are you currently grooving to?
The Meters - I heard them in a bar in New Orleans, it really gets me going in the morning. Terry Callier because of the beauty and precision of his voice, and a great James Brown compilation In The Jungle Groove. Also Van Morrison's a perennial for me.

What, if push comes to shove, is your all-time favourite album?
Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. I had identical twin bothers, eight years older than me, and I thought they were very cool. They brought this home - politics you can dance to. It reminds me of sunny afternoons in the back garden with my brothers, but, it's such a heavy record.

What was the first record you bought? And where did you buy it?
It was, I'm afraid, a Manchester United single, I think it was in '76, I bought it on a stall on Salford market.

What do you sing in the shower?
Listen To The King by Van Morrison.

Which musician have you ever wanted to be?
I wanted to be Rod Stewart when he was in the Faces, but he led me to the singers I'd really like to be - Solomon Burke, Otis Redding, Al Green. To be able to sing like that... masculinity in its true form!

What is your favourite Saturday night record?
Family Affair by Mary J Blige, Got To Give It Up Parts One and Two by Marvin Gaye, The Payback by James Brown. My ideal night would be a pub with a very good jukebox and no mobile phones, TVs or Space Invaders machines.

And your Sunday morning record?
Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You, Van Morrison's Veedon Fleece and the Ronnie Lane track The Poacher.

Christopher Eccleston stars in Lennon Naked on BBC4 this month

© Mojo

NB In the same edition of the questionnaire is Andre Williams, who appeared with Eccleston in Almereyda's film 'New Orleans Mon Amour' (hence full page).

'The Shadow Line'

2010-07-03T02:43:00.124+01:00

5 May 2011

TV series (seven parts)
By Hugo Blick
Role: Joseph Bede (criminal florist).

TX: May 5 9:00 pm BBC Two & HD
Series pages at BBC Two w/ info & clips

Episode 1: listing & synopsis - programme page
Episode 2: l & s - page | Episode 3: l & s - page
Episode 4: l & s - page | Episode 5: l & s - page
Episode 6: l & s - page | Episode 7: l & s - page

DVD & Blu-ray: Region 2 - Jul 4
Amazon DVD - BR | BBC shop DVD - BR | at distributor 2entertain
DVD extras: 8 deleted scenes (10min. 30s. in all; class. 12 - BBFC). ETA: None w/ CE.
Trailer (Amazon)

'The Shadow Line' is also available through iTunes UK.

Gallery --- Sites at BBC --- Company Pictures --- Isle of Man Film --- IMDb

Audio:
Radio interviews

Video:
• The Review Show inter (also Ejiofor; May 13; alt on youtube)
• BBC Breakfast inter (May 5; alt on youtube)
• The One Show inter (youtube; May 2)
• Trails (youtube): Original British Drama on BBC Two | on the BBC

Reviews: (w/ spoilers)
Alex's (in-house)
#TheShadowLine hashtag on twitter
The Guardian - 'The Shadow Line' episode-by-episode blog
David Lewis - Cult Box - 'The Shadow Line':
Whole series || Episode 7 review - Episode 7 teasers || Episode 6 review - Episode 6 teasers || Episode 5 review - Episode 5 teasers || Episode 4 review - Episode 4 teasers || Episode 3 review - Episode 3 teasers || Episode 2 review - Episode 2 teasers || Episode 1 review
Scott Matthewman - The Stage - Square Eyes: May 9-12 - May 23-26 - Jun 13-16
Jul 8 Joe Kennedy - The Quietus - BBC's "Primetime Hauntology" The Shadow Line Reviewed
Jun 17 Adam Sweeting - The Arts Desk - The Shadow Line, Series Finale, BBC Two
May 22 Sarah Crompton - The Telegraph - Chilly thriller is a pale shadow of 'The Wire'
Andrew Anthony - The Guardian - Rewind TV: The Shadow Line [...]
May 6 Jasper Rees - The Arts Desk - The Shadow Line, BBC Two
May 5 Keith Watson - Metro - The Shadow Line is a riddle wrapped inside an enigma
May 4 James Walton - The Telegraph - The Shadow Line, BBC Two
Gerard Gilbert - The Independent - The Shadow Line: When shots in the dark are right on target
May 1 Damien Love - The Herald - The Shadow Line, BBC Two, Thursdays / scan

For CE interviews, see Articles, and here for newest scans.

Ratings:
Episode 1 overnights - 2.9m (12.3%) + 190k on BBC HD; consolidated - 3.421m [2nd most viewed on BBC Two] + 294k [1st on BBC HD] + 320k on iPlayer.
Episode 2 - 2.06m (8.8%); consolidated - 2.473m [4th] + 150k [1st; shown later, at 11pm on HD].
Episode 3 - 1.6m (7.1%) + 116k (0.5%); consolidated - 2.094m [8th] + 231k [1st].
Episode 4 - 1.8m [1.69*] (8.1% [7.4*]) + 146k (0.6%); consolidated - 2.138m [9th] + 231k [1st].
Episode 5 - 1.63m [1.54*] (6.9% [6.5*]); consolidated - 1.93m [17th] + 176k [3-4th].
Episode 6 - 1.31m (5.5%) + 142k (0.6%); consolidated - 1.77m [15th] + 190k [5th].
Episode 7 - 1.73m (7.81%) + 158k (0.7%); consolidated - 2.08m [14th] + 217k [1st].

Slot average on BBC Two had been 1.32m (6.3%). The series averaged 1.83m (7.92%).
Consolidated data doesn't include iPlayer.
(Sources: Attentional, DigitalSpy [*], Barb, Guardian)

News: (most recent first)

• 2012 May 13 BAFTA TV Craft Awards - Hugo Blick won best Director: Fiction (all winners and nominees, video).

• Davy Jones was responsible for the make up sfx - ~~hi-res pic of CE~~ alt here (spoilers).

• Nov 21 RTS Craft & Design Awards 2011 - won in Sound - Drama (full list):

Glen Marullo, Nigel Edwards, Linda Murdoch & Lee Crichlow – The Shadow Line, A Company Pictures/Eight Rooks/Baby Cow Production in association with CinemaNX and Isle Of Man Films for BBC Two

"This sound team demonstrated excellent location recording coupled with a highly detailed mix to create a subtle and yet tense atmosphere. It was the intimacy of the quiet scenes that particularly impressed the judges."

• Nov 16 The Writers' Guild Awards 2011 - won Best Television Drama Series (all winners & nominees, w/ images).

• Nov 4 Nominated in RTS Craft & Design Awards 2010/2011 for Effects - Special and Sound - Drama (ceremony Nov 21).

• Oct 2 Shown as a special preview marathon at Norrköping's film festival Flimmer in Sweden. Those who endured to the end were promised a prize, and the series producer Johann Knobel was answering questions. To be transmitted in a normal fashion on SVT in January (source).

• Sep 16 The series is shortlisted for Writers' Guild Awards - Best Television Drama Series (against 'Accused' and 'Doctor Who'; takes place Nov 16).

• Aug 3 'The Shadow Line' will be among shows presented at BBC Showcase Latin America in Rio de Janeiro (Aug 28-30; press release) - again as 8x50' and not as aired, 7x60'.

• Jun 7 FiveLightsDown (promo images) has updated with a post and also added materials to the portfolio (image by Dean Rogers, image by Nick Wall).

• DVD classification: rated '15'
Ep. 1 - strong language and gory images (site), 2 - strong language and threat (site), 3 - strong bloody violence and language (site), 4 - strong language (site), 5 - strong language (site), 6 - strong language and violence (site), 7 - strong language and bloody violence (site).

• May 5 Producer Johann Knobel on shooting the series - The Shadow Line: Getting the shot (BBC tv blog).

• Ian Wylie's article on the series, reporting from the BAFTA preview.

• Isle Of Man News article on 'The Shadow Line' with quotes from BAFTA screening: "Mr Eccleston said: 'I was attracted to the script first, but then I met Hugo and he promised to take me to the Isle of Man! The rest is history.'"• Apr 26 New promotional images over at Blogtor Who.

• Apr 17 Guardian interview with Lesley Sharp who plays Joseph Bede's wife Julie.

• Apr 13 Short audio excerpt from the q&a on dimming airport lights, from Ian Wylie.

• Beehive City's report-cum-review from BAFTA screening of episode 1.

• PRESS PACK - BBC Press Office. CE interview from the press pack:

What were your first reactions when you read the scripts?That it was excellent and that I wanted to be part of it.

How would you describe the drama? I would say that it is a genre piece, a thriller – a psychological thriller, a meditation on good and bad, a meditation on morality.

Can you describe your character and his moral dilemma? Joseph Bede is a devoted husband. He is an accountant, who trained originally in insurance, and because of events in the drama he is pushed forward to lead an operation of drug smuggling. What he is trying to do is to keep himself alive materially because of his wife's illness, and at the same time keep himself alive spiritually – and, of course, the two things are not mutually complimentary. So he wades into a very grey moral area.

Bede and Gabriel work almost in parallel on the same investigation but never meet. I think they are very different people, and I will be honest I did not study Chiwetel's character (Gabriel) as I studied my own. They work on different sides of the law for a start – I would say they are very different men. One is more introverted perhaps, Bede, because of his work. But, of course, we don't know what Chiwetel's character was like before the bullet in the brain; and indeed he doesn't know what he was like, that is part of the drama. We didn't talk about the job, I think we were aware that we were carrying two very different storylines, he wasn't aware of what I was doing and I wasn't aware of what he was doing.

Were you surprised when first reading the scripts?
I was puzzled at first, it takes two or three reads. Drama scripts are not really meant to be read, drama scripts are meant to be broadcast and watched with all the visual clues and information that one gets from television and film. It's very complex, it is like a Swiss watch really – the complexity and the way that things interlock, plots parallel each other. I was very, very intrigued.

How would you describe working with Hugo?
Well I would stop short at the word "genius" because knowing Hugo as I do I don't think he would want anyone calling him a genius! He is very, very talented to have written these scripts and to direct them in the way he has done with the attention to detail. What's definite is that the atmosphere on set was as good as I have known amongst cast and crew and that came down to Hugo's leadership, which was impeccable, light and funny. What you want from a director is: firstly to know exactly what they want; and secondly you want that to be of good taste – and that is true he's got great taste and he leads well. It was a great experience.

Did Hugo give a back story, or does your character start from the page?
No, there is a modesty to Hugo which is why I think actors and crew work so well for him. He doesn't presume that he knows everything and he allows room for the actors' imagination and the crew's imagination otherwise there is no point in us turning up really. So there are intuitions that an actor can have about a character, and indeed a cameraman can have about how to shoot the scene, which Hugo gives room for. He does an interesting thing in that he speaks about the script as though it was written by somebody else, which I think is quite interesting. When he is the director on the floor he has the director's head on and he sometimes says: "I can't remember why I wrote that." It's all very collaborative.

Had you seen any of his other work?
Yeah, I watched Marian And Geoff and I watched Sensitive Skin before accepting the job. I liked them very much.The Shadow Line feels quite different to those? Very different, that's what I was intrigued by, and I completely understand it. They can't nail Hugo down to belonging to any particular area, which I think is very acute of him.It's an incredible cast – had you worked with any of the other actors before? I had worked with Lesley Sharp before, who plays my wife, we worked together on Second Coming. I was in great company and have seen some fantastic performances emerge during the course of the shoot.

Were you surprised by any of them?
No, I knew they were all quality, actors but sometimes actors will do things in front of your eyes that will take your breath away and that happened a lot – with Malcolm Storry in particular, and Stephen Rea.

When you read the scripts and found out who was cast were you surprised? No, because I know that very well written scripts in drama in this day and age are very thin on the ground. And I know when actors see them they jump on them, because the bottom line is no matter how good an actor is, if you haven't got the script you are not going to be very good. This was an easy job for the actors because the scripts were so well written.Can you compare The Shadow Line to anything else?I can't compare it to anything else and it is difficult when you have been so closely involved in something to actually say what it is. I think the most important thing about it is that it credits its intended audience with great intelligence, it does not offer simplistic plot twists, and it doesn't offer simplistic takes on human psychology. It has taken a world entirely of its own. It is going to be very stylish and intelligent, and I think that's quite rare.

• BBC TWO SPRING 2011 TRAIL - on youtube or at Guardian.
• Hugo Blick @ BAFTA's q&a from Broadcast:

Blick: BBC2 is "our HBO"
13 April, 2011 | By Lisa Campbell

The drama community should think of BBC2 as "our HBO", according to Shadow Line writer Hugo Blick.

"That's what we really should be thinking about. It we don't do that, we'll always be looking across the water," he added.

Speaking at a Bafta screening of the film noir-style thriller last night, Blick said it was important to bring big, intelligent and uncompromising drama to the screen and said that the BBC had reciprocated his ambition when it grew from a two-room drama to a complex conspiracy thriller exploring the worlds of drugs barons and cops.

He acknowledged that it was a significant shift from his previous work, Marion and Geoff, which took place inside a car, but added that both pieces are similar in their exploration of morality.

"Marion and Geoff had big themes," Blick said.

"It was an epic that just happens to take place in a car. With The Shadow Line we're taking that further by looking at what it means to be heroic. It’s the same themes, but a bigger template."

Passionately committed

BBC2 controller Janice Hadlow welcomed the extra investment in BBC2 drama that has resulted in a strong slate, including The Crimson Petal and the White, The Hour, White Heat and The Line of Duty.

Hadlow said: "The channel is passionately committed to nurturing the ambitious, the complex, the surprising and the unexpected."

Controller drama commissioning Ben Stephenson added: "We wanted to do something to signal the BBC's commitment to drama in this country. The Shadow Line is one of the most complete authored and auteured pieces of work I've ever seen."

The Shadow Line reveals how characters on both sides of the law negotiate the repercussions of drug baron Harvey Wratten's death and how the question of which side of the line they stand on becomes increasingly blurred.

• Mar 16 Has been announced BAFTA PREVIEW of episode one (of seven) and q&a with Hugo Blick and CE - Apr 12 - see this post.

• TX: While Amazon's DVD release date (April 18) is no longer possible, Guardian mentions that the series is supposed to air "later this spring". ETA: Current date is Jun 6; this new Guardian article suggests six-part (sic) series starts in May.

• Mar 9 The Guardian article mentions among the drama coming during the year to BBC Two "seven-part conspiracy thriller The Shadow Line".

• Feb 22 'The Shadow Line' is among the titles BBC Worldwide is taking to this year's Showcase export fair in Brighton (27th February - 2nd March) - press release. The series is now of eight 50 min episodes.
[50 min could theoretically be an international variation of UK 60 min episode, but the episode count - could it be a typo? The press release indicates dramas with different cuts for domestic and international markets by presenting alternatives, it isn't the case with this series. - ATBN]
• Feb 3 BBC press release, with more precise plot details and the fact that the series now consists of seven (still hour-long) episodes:

The Shadow Line is a major new drama serial created by Hugo Blick for BBC Two. A sophisticated conspiracy thriller in seven parts that brings to life a cinematic world of blurred morality and the conflicted characters who inhabit it, it features a star-studded cast, including: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Eccleston, Sir Antony Sher and Stephen Rea.

When police officers discover the body of a man, shot at close range, they soon realise the victim is Harvey Wratten, head of one of the UK's largest crime organisations. Having served two years of an 18-year sentence for his part in importing £11m worth of heroin into the country, Wratten had only just been released from jail under the very rarely obtained royal pardon.

Assigned to investigate Wratten's death is Detective Inspector Jonah Gabriel (Ejiofor), in his first case since being shot during a botched police operation that left his partner dead. He has amnesia, caused by the bullet still lodged in his brain, which leaves him doubtful of his own moral compass and his colleagues regard him with suspicion. Gabriel has to follow an increasingly complicated line of investigation, all the while wondering whether he can trust anyone, not least, himself.

On the other side of the line is Joseph Bede (Eccleston), an associate of Wratten's, who has built up a legitimate fruit and flower business during Harvey's time in prison. Now, driven by a profound personal tragedy, Joseph finds himself planning one last deal: a massive drugs operation that he is desperate to see through, so he can retire and step out of the business for ever.

Watching from the shadows is the brilliantly lethal puppet master – Gatehouse (Rea). He knows how to find people. He knows their secrets and he'll find them when they are at their most vulnerable.

As Gabriel begins to unravel the threads around Wratten's organisation, the web of intrigue becomes more complex – and the line that divides the players becomes increasingly blurred.

Hugo Blick's unique style has brought together a star-studded cast including: Chiwetel Ejiofor (American Gangster, Endgame), Christopher Eccleston (Lennon Naked, Doctor Who), Sir Antony Sher (The Wolfman, Primo, God On Trial), Stephen Rea (The Crying Game, Breakfast On Pluto), Rafe Spall (Pete Versus Life, Desperate Romantics, He Kills Coppers), Kierston Wareing (Fish Tank, The Take, Five Daughters), Lesley Sharp (Afterlife, Clocking Off), Sean Gilder (Shameless), Freddie Fox (Worried About The Boy), Malcolm Storry (The Knock), Richard Lintern (The Bank Job), David Schofield (The Take, Pirates Of The Caribbean), Stanley Townsend (Zen, Sherlock Holmes) and Eve Best (The King's Speech, Nurse Jackie).

Hugo Blick says: "The Shadow Line is about a murder investigated by both sides of the line – cops and criminals – and the opposing methods they use to solve it. But the real line is the morality within each character and how far they will go before they cross it".

Ben Stephenson, Controller, Drama Commissioning, says: "As we continue our drive to build a bold and exciting drama story on BBC Two with commissions like Crimson Petal and The Hour, I am thrilled that we have attracted such world class talent to Hugo Blick's thrilling scripts. Chiwetel and Chris are two of our finest actors and we couldn't be more excited to have them, and the rest of the amazing cast, on board for this original and epic seven-hour series."

Written, produced and directed by Hugo Blick (Sensitive Skin, Marion And Geoff), produced by Johann Knobel (Shameless, Inspector George Gently), executive produced by George Faber and Charles Pattinson (Shameless, Skins, The Devil's Whore, Generation Kill), Henry Normal and Lindsay Hughes (Sensitive Skin, Marion And Geoff, Gavin And Stacey), Marc Samuelson and Steve Christian (The Disappearance Of Alice Creed, Me And Orson Welles) and Polly Hill for the BBC.

The Shadow Line was commissioned by Ben Stephenson, Controller, Drama Commissioning, and Janice Hadlow, Controller, BBC Two.

The Shadow Line is a Company Pictures/Eight Rooks Ltd/Baby Cow/CinemaNX production for BBC Two in 2011.

• Jan 15 Five Lights Down has published an early release image. See it here. Quote: "This shot was taken by John Wright back in September but has only been released very recently. We did a whole days studio photography with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Eccleston & Stephen Rea and the main shots are being worked on as we speak! More details on the tech coming soon..." (post) Visit 'The Shadow Line' section of the artist's portfolio for more info. Also, from Dec 10, 2010:

"The week kicked off with some in depth head scratching over the key publicity images for upcoming BBC drama Shadow Line. The scripts on this seriously kicked ass and I loved Hugo Blick's complex Hitchcock'esque thriller from the outset :) The studio shoot was done way back in September with John Wright and all the material looks gorgeous (and dark, which I love but am not allowed to by the 'powers that be'). Anyway, the task now is to bring the key composite image together from John's material. Getting the balance of the 3 key characters is proving tricky but I'll post results as soon as I can. Watch this space!"

• Jan 1 2011 The Guardian's TV preview for 2011 (also article on commissioning from Sep 25, 2009).

• Jul 15 CE's INTERVIEW FOR 3FM, on his character and series.
• Jul From Ex-isle, Isle of Man casting agency:

Also coming over in July is a 6 part BBC Drama Called "The Shadow line" which is set in London in present day, so we are looking for multi-national people, also people with bright colour hair, goth's punks and any weird & wonderful looks including Afro Carribean, Asian, Mediteranean, Eastern European. We are looking for an Afro Caribbean Male 5ft 10" who can be available for approx 8 weeks as a stand in for the main actor. Also an eighteen month old boy of Afro Caribbean/Caucasian birth along with a baby born eo July beg Aug also of Afro Caribbean/Caucasian birth.

• Jul 6 Filming starts (Gov.im, Isleofman.com):

Mrs Clare Christian MLC, Department member with responsibility for film and media said: "We are thrilled to welcome the wonderfully talented cast and crew of The Shadow Line to the Island.
"This week sees the culmination of many months of hard work and collaboration between CinemaNX, Isle of Man Film, Company Pictures and the BBC.
"The production will be filming at various locations around the Island over the next 10 weeks and we’re very much looking forward to working with the production throughout their stay on the Island."

• Jul 5 (back-dated to 3rd Jul) BBC Press Release:

Chiwetel Ejiofor (American Gangster, Endgame, Talk To Me), Christopher Eccleston (Lennon Naked, Doctor Who), Sir Antony Sher (The Wolfman, Primo) and Stephen Rea (The Crying Game, Breakfast on Pluto) are to star in The Shadow Line, BBC Two's landmark noir thriller written, produced and directed by Hugo Blick (Sensitive Skin, Marion And Geoff).

They are joined by Rafe Spall (Desperate Romantics, He Kills Coppers), Kierston Wareing (Fish Tank, Five Daughters), Lesley Sharp (Playing The Field, Clocking Off), Sean Gilder (Shameless), Freddie Fox (Worried About The Boy), Malcolm Storry (The Knock), Richard Lintern (The Bank Job) and David Schofield (The Bill).

The esteemed cast play Jonah Gabriel (Ejiofor), Joseph Bede (Eccleston), Peter Glickman (Sher), Gatehouse (Rea), Jay Wratten (Spall), Lia Honey (Wareing), Julie Bede (Sharp), Robert Beatty (Gilder), Rattalack (Fox), Maurice Crace (Storry), Chief Superintendent Patterson (Lintern) and Sergeant Foley (Schofield) – diverse individuals whose worlds become interwoven after the murder of drug baron Harvey Wratten.

From the cop with a bullet in his brain, whose amnesia leaves him doubtful of his own moral compass; to the drug-lord driven by a profound personal tragedy, risking it all on one last deal; to the brilliantly lethal puppet-master who gradually emerges from the shadows to bring the story to its shocking climax – The Shadow Line explores the morality of these characters as they negotiate the repercussions of Wratten's death and attempt to navigate the fine line between right and wrong.

As the thread around Wratten's operation begins to unravel, the web of intrigue becomes more complex – and the question of which side of the line they stand on becomes increasingly blurred.

An intelligent and gripping conspiracy thriller that delves to the heart of human morality, The Shadow Line will have audiences enthralled over six taut and thrilling episodes. Faced with similar dilemmas, on which side of the line would you stand?

Ben Stephenson, Controller, Drama Commissioning, says: "As we continue our drive to build a bold and exciting drama story on BBC Two with commissions like Crimson Petal and The Hour, I am thrilled that we have attracted such world class talent to Hugo Blick's thrilling scripts. Chiwetel and Chris are two of our finest actors and we couldn't be more excited to have them, and the rest of the amazing cast, on board for this original and epic six-hour series."

The Shadow Line is a Company Pictures/Eight Rooks/Baby Cow production in association with CinemaNX. It begins filming in the Isle of Man at the beginning of July, with location shoots also taking place in London.

The series is written, produced and directed by Hugo Blick, with Johann Knobel (Shameless, Inspector George Gently) co-producing. Executive producers are George Faber and Charlie Pattinson for Company Pictures (Shameless, Skins, The Devil's Whore, Generation X), Henry Normal and Lindsay Hughes for Baby Cow (Sensitive Skin, Marion And Geoff, Gavin And Stacey), Marc Samuelson and Steve Christian for CinemaNX (The Disappearance Of Alice Creed, Me And Orson Welles) and Polly Hill for the BBC.

The Shadow Line was commissioned by Ben Stephenson, Controller, Drama Commissioning, and Janice Hadlow, Controller, BBC Two. The series will be broadcast in 2011.

This is CinemaNX's first foray into TV - Tim Adler / Deadline:

The Isle of Man-based equity investor has announced its first TV drama, a six-part thriller for the BBC. Until now CinemaNX has invested in features, covering up to 100% of the budget. Company Pictures (Skins) is making The Shadow Line, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor (Children of Men) and Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who). Stephen Rea and Anthony Sher also feature. The writer/director is Hugo Blick (Marion and Geoff), who also produces. Company is making the conspiracy thriller with Blick’s regular producer Baby Cow. The Shadow Line will screen in 2011.

CinemaNX is always the lead investor in projects, which must shoot a minimum of 50% of their schedule in this small island off Liverpool. Ecosse Films is currently making romantic comedy The Decoy Bride on the Isle of Man, starring David Tennant, another ex-Doctor Who. [...]

• Jul 2 Christopher Eccleston has been cast in BBC Two six-part thriller series 'The Shadow Line'. Initial reports:
• BBC News - Christopher Eccleston to play drug lord in TV thriller
• Digital Spy - Ejiofor, Eccleston cast in 'Shadow Line'
• Scotsman - Eccleston goes from Time Lord to drug lord

'Lennon Naked' - DVD Review

2010-06-29T15:26:00.008+01:00

Region 2+4, Blast! Films, 2 | entertain, BBC.
Written by Robert Jones, directed by Edmund Coulthard.
With C. Eccleston, N. Mori, C. Fairbank, R. Kinnear et al.

"For contractual reasons, certain music edits have been made," says it on the cover. And that's right, BBC didn't dish out on the Beatles stuff - and subsequently there's only John Lennon solo material and original score as the soundtrack for the film version released on DVD.

It starts now with what's probably the poorest choice of all changes, 'Look At Me' - instead of the engagingly trippy original beginning - which I loved since I heard it first in May. And in a way it sets the mood and pace for the rest of the feature. I'll leave it to the experts to judge the validity of stand-in tracks, but - while certain connecting scenes benefited from loosing explicit commentary in the form of the lyrics, overall the change from the Beatles trademark melodious mix of light and dark to relentlessness and sort of severity of Lennon's tunes did introduce a new somewhat solemn, or jaded shade to the film.

On the picture side, there are thankfully no adjustments, no cuts. DVD doesn't offer anything else but English HOH subtitles - which is of course a shame. Still, it is a nice gesture to make the film available to worldwide audiences so soon after the première - and I'm certain it's absolutely possible to enjoy 'Lennon Naked' whatever the version, thanks to Christopher Eccleston's outstanding performance.

/Alex
2010-06-29

Main 'Lennon Naked' post.

Have A Radio

2010-06-27T21:30:00.030+01:00

Please don't link directly to any items

Radio

Steve Wright programme (2014)

2014
• Steve Wright in the Afternoon, BBC Radio 2: on 'The Leftovers', 'Fortitude', life (Sep 23)
Info & audio

2012
The Arts Show, BBC Radio 2: Claudia Winkleman and Michael Billington review 'Antigone' (Jun 15)
Info

Extract from 'Antigone', as presented on BBC Radio (May 31)
[More on the play here]

2011
↑ Jools Holland, BBC Radio 2: on childhood, acting, music (Nov 14)
Incl. tracks: Paul Robeson - My Curly Headed Baby; John Barry - The James Bond Theme; Prince Buster - Al Capone; The Impressions - It's Alright; John Martyn - Spencer The Rover; Aretha Franklin - Soul Serenade
Info / Transcript

'Accused' materials, incl.:
↑ The Paul Franks Show, BBC Radio WM: on career, event TV, actors he admires (Nov 15)
Info
↑ Vicki Archer, BBC Radio Shropshire: on life & career (Nov 15)
Info
• Saturday Review, BBC Radio 4: two first episodes reviewed plus extract from 'Willy's Story' (Nov 13)
Info & audio
• Alex Belfield, BBC Radio Leeds: also on career, acting, 'Hamlet', 'Doctor Who', Banda Aceh trip (Nov 12)
Info / listen here or 'save link as' to download (source)

↑ Jo Whiley, BBC Radio 2: Mix-tape, 3 CE's favourite reggae tracks (Aug 9)
Incl. tracks: Desmond Dekker - 007 (Shanty Town); Lee 'Scratch' Perry - I Am The Upsetter; U-Roy - Natty Rebel
Info

↑ Jo Whiley, BBC Radio 2: on music, USA, future (Jun 1)
Incl. tracks: Fleet Foxes - Blue Spotted Tail; The Slickers - Johnny Too Bad; Louis Armstrong - (What Did I Do To Be So) Black And Blue; Gillian Welch - I Made A Lovers Prayer; T. Rex - Life's A Gas
Info
• Front Row - 'Depictions of Christ from Dorothy L Sayers to James Frey' - comments by Russell T Davies and CE on 'The Second Coming' (Apr 22)
Info / iPlayer

↑ 'The Shadow Line' materials - interviews (Jul 15 2010, Apr 27 - May 8 2011)

2010
↑ 'The Book Thief' - a story by Markus Zusak (Dec 30-31)

↑ Becky Want, BBC Radio Manchester - on 'Accused' + all things life & career (Nov 15)
Info

↑ Marc Riley programme (Aug 24)

↑ Tom Dunne, Newstalk, Ireland (info; live on the phone); John Barnes, BBC Radio Lancashire (info; pre-recorded) - on 'Lennon Naked' (Jun 22)

• 'Lennon Naked' radio reviews (Jun 12-28)

• 'Lennon Naked' q&a at BAFTA (May 4)
Info and audio

↑ 'Intimate Letters' (Mar 21)
Info

Jo Whiley (2005)

2009
• Saturday Review, BBC Radio 4: Extract from 'A Doll's House' (Nora and Thomas) plus the discussion of the play hosted by Tom Sutcliffe (May 23)
Info & audio

• Project TH2058 short stories - 6 visions of the future (Jun)
Download

2007
↑ The Devil's Christmas - 4 spooky tales
The four story feuilleton aired on BBC Radio 2 in December 2007 and 2008.
The Signalman 1/4. By Charles Dickens. The ghostly tale of a haunted railway tunnel.
The Necklace 2/4. By Guy de Maupassant. A young wife yearns like Cinderella to go to the Twelfth Night ball.
Thurlow's Christmas 3/4. John Kendrick Bangs' tale about a demon, a mysterious stranger and a magical manuscript.
The She-Wolf 4/4. By Saki. At a winter house party, one unbearable guest has pretensions to be a master of the dark arts.
Info

Orbital's 'You Lot' and Modeselektor's 'The Rapanthem' are techno tracks with samples from, respectively, 'The Second Coming' and '24 Hour Party People'

More info on radio plays and other programmes in Narrations section.

"Do you like music? Have a radio."

'Lennon Naked' - In Pictures

2010-06-26T15:20:00.004+01:00

Main 'Lennon Naked' post

Crate E15

'Lennon Naked' - Radio Reviews - Audio

2010-06-20T16:35:00.012+01:00

• Jun 12 BBC Radio 4 - Saturday Review - Tom Sutcliffe and his guests Paul Morley, Maria Delgado and Dominic Sandbrook review the week's cultural highlights. Incl. an excerpt from the film (John Lennon (CE) and his father Freddie)
Info & audio

• Jun 21 BBC 6 Music - Lauren Laverne and Grace Dent review "week's best TV"
Info

= BBC Radio 4 - Front Row - Review by Kirsten Lang and Andrew Collins. Incl. an excerpt from the film (Eccleston, Mori)
Info & audio

• Jun 28 BBC Radio 2 - The Radcliffe & Maconie Show - "Noddy [Holder] joins Mark and Stuart in the studio to discuss 'Lennon Naked' - BBC Four's new one-off drama charting John Lennon's life from 1967 to 1971." Incl. two scenes from the film
Info

'Lennon Naked'

2010-06-19T02:15:00.025+01:00

12 Jun 2010
TV film
Dir. Edmund Coulthard

Wr. Robert Jones
Role: John Lennon.

Note on versions:
British TV - The Beatles & Lennon music soundtrack
Region 2 DVD - John Lennon music soundtrack
USA version - censored + Lennon music soundtrack

TX
USA: Nov 21, PBS
Jul 6 Roma FictionFest
UK: Jun 23, 9.30 pm, BBC Four, BBC HD
Japan: Jun 12, 8 pm, NHK BShi
Jun 2 Screening at BFI
May 4 Screening at BAFTA + report + q&a audio

Gallery --- Sites at: 2 | Entertain --- PBS --- BBC --- IMDb --- Blast! Films

DVD release info - review

Video:
Trailers: at BBC site (UK) - on the blog
Excerpts: Magical Mystery Tour [Alt from Blast! Films] - 'You Are Here' Exhibition
Materials and - in the US - whole film available online for a month after TX at PBS

Audio:
Radio reviews w/ excerpts from the film - Brief excerpts from the junket (via I. Wylie) - Naoko Mori LA inter

Pre-TX reviews:
USA
Lesley Smith (PopMatters Nov 21), Tom Jicha (Sun Sentinel Nov 21), Mark Dawidziak (Cleveland Nov 20), Neal Justin (Star Tribune Nov 19), David Wiegand (San Francisco Chronicle Nov 19), Dean Robbins (Isthmus Nov 18), Michael Toland (KLRU Nov 18), Matt Roush (TV Guide Nov 18), Dave Shiflett (Bloomberg Nov 18), Ellen Gray (Phily Nov 18), Brian Lowry (Variety Nov 17)
UK
Damien Love (Herald Scotland Jun 21), Andrea Mullaney (The Scotsman Jun 21), Neil McCormick (Telegraph Jun 19), David Smyth (Evening Standard Jun 18), Ali Hughes (Jun 6 - post-BFI), Penders (May 11 - post-BAFTA)

Alex (in-house)

Articles:
Jun 21 Orig. inter. Laura Kelly - Christopher Eccleston - The Big Issue
Jun 21 Orig. inter. Keith Watson - Former Dr Who star Christopher Eccleston gets Naked - Metro
Jun 19 Orig. inter. Amy Raphael - Imagine John Lennon played by Doctor Who [...] - The Guardian
Jun 18 Junket plus Andy Welch - Christopher Eccleston reveals all about Lennon Naked - AOL
Jun 18 Junket plus Ian Wylie - Lennon Naked: Christopher Eccleston - Manchester Evening News
Jun 18 BAFTA rehash Lisa Sewards - Imagine... Doctor Who's playing Lennon - Mail Online + review by David Wigg
Jun 16 Junket Laura Davis - Christopher Eccleston on playing John Lennon [...] - Liverpool Daily Post
Junket Adrian Lobb - Mind games - TV Times
Junket Richard McClure - All you need is love - TV & Satellite Week
Orig. inter. Martyn Palmer - 'TV is my way into my country, my culture' - Radio Times
Jun 14 Off Radio Times Eccleston quit Doctor Who to be his 'own man' - Wales Online
Jun 14 Junket Lennon star Eccleston bares all - Wales Online
Jun 12 Orig. inter. Paul English - I couldn't believe producer wanted me to play Yoko Ono [...] - Daily Record [Naoko Mori on the film and the role]
Orig. inter. Look at him - Mojo [CE on the film and the role]
May 7 From BAFTA Ian Wylie - Naked Lennon? I can stomach that, says Chris - Manchester Evening News

News quick navigation:

Jun 15 BBC Press Pack
Mar 25 BBC Four Spring/Summer season
Feb 24 BBC News article on biopics
Jan 13 BBC Winter/Spring season
Dec 30 Variety article
Nov 27 BBC Four Press Release
Nov 15 Set Report Also: Images off-site at Capital Pictures

News (most recent first):

TX - November 21 is the American transmission date for the film (on PBS, check with your provider/local station). The DVD will be released Nov 23 (details tba). Also, the DVD (vanilla) is out in Netherlands Sep 23.
Audience: 792,900 (4%) watched the film on BBC Four (peaking with 882,800 (4.3%)).
Jun 15 BBC released the press pack for the film. Introduction with writer and director. CE on the role:
Award-winning actor Christopher Eccleston reveals why taking on the role of one of Britain's enduring and enigmatic icons was difficult to refuse.

"I'd been watching and reading about John Lennon avidly for over 20 years or more. I'm absolutely fascinated by him – he seems to have been kind, brutal, funny, arrogant, insecure, passionate and brilliant, in short – human.
"I wanted to play Lennon because of Robert Jones's script. He captured Lennon's character and the world in which he lived with imagination and great originality. I had three weeks from accepting the role to prepare, so I read, watched and listened to everything I could get my hands on," says the 46-year-old actor, who starred in the relaunch of Doctor Who in 2005.

"I re-read the Philip Norman biography and watched many documentaries and videos, but the chief source was the interview John gave to Jann Wenner, for Rolling Stone magazine," explains the star of critically-acclaimed dramas The Second Coming, Flesh And Blood and Hillsborough.
"I think Lennon was intensely human and his flaws were amplified by fame. He had to wrestle with his qualities and his demons in a very public forum. Lennon had a very contradictory nature. I was hugely sympathetic to what happened to him when he was a young boy of only five years old – his mother and father told him to choose between them. It was insightful because I felt that incident drove him on in both good and bad ways.
"The breadth and originality of his and the Beatles music is astounding, for example the leap from Love Me Do to Tomorrow Never Knows. I've got most of The Beatles music and music by John. There is a real confessional quality to his work. My personal favourite of John's, and I think a key to his life and this film, is Julia."

The Salford-born actor, who trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, also sought help with perfecting Lennon's accent.

"I had a brilliant dialect coach in Jill McCullough. John had a very distinctive voice, accent and physicality, the challenge was to capture his spirit without just resorting to impersonation. The costume and make-up departments were really brilliant and took great care in to perfecting the shapes and the look of Lennon, on a tiny budget."

The 90-min film which includes the famous bed protest also features the iconic Two Virgins cover in which an unabashed John and Yoko bare all for the cameras. But for Chris and his co-star Naoko Mori this was more of a challenge.

"Nudity – that's the hard stuff to do, but you just have to get on with it," says Chris. "I'd worked with Naoko before but we weren't naked in Doctor Who!" laughs Chris. "We had a good rapport on set... with nudity, actors always watch each other's backs, literally, instead of looking anywhere else."

So what's next?

"I have just finished filming the first episode of The Accused, by Jimmy McGovern. I've worked with Jimmy a lot. I'm excited. It's a really good script."
Naoko Mori:
"I'd worked with Chris before in an episode of Doctor Who and felt we'd worked really well together. I have always admired his work and had a lot of respect for him. He really is a tremendous actor – and a wonderful man."

Guardian:

There are a few new shows this year though, starting with one-off Lennon Naked, in which Christopher Eccleston plays the Beatle during the "bed-in" years. Another solid Eccleston performance, and some great lines: "I was on acid, she was on the wane." Lennon says of meeting Brigitte Bardot.

TX - UK, June 24 23 (press release).

TX - Japan, June 12 (film's page at broadcaster's site); USA, autumn (tba, PBS Masterpiece).

BFI screening to take place June 2nd with Q&A. More.

May 6 Blast! Films page for the film - more here on the blog.

May 4 The advance screening was held at BAFTA together with Q&A. Report here on the blog.

BBFC have issued the film with "15" certificate (for strong language and one scene of hard drug use). Run time is 82 min 14 s.

The film will have its international première at Roma FictionFest (July 5-10). UPDATE: To be screened out of competition. -- Article - in Italian; calls it one of the three major premières and mentions that CE won Best Actor at the festival in 2007 for 'Perfect Parents' -- Variety report -- THR report

Advance screening and Q&A at BAFTA May 4.

Now part of Fatherhood Season on BBC Four:

John Lennon’s role as a father, and the impact of the brief and unhappy reappearance of his own absent father into his life, is the focal point of this drama, in which Christopher Eccleston stars.

Mar 25 TRAIL - here on the blog or UK only at BBC Four Spring/Summer press release (link on the right).

Christopher Eccleston plays John Lennon in a single film charting his transition from Beatle John to enduring and enigmatic icon.
Spanning a period of wildly fluctuating fortunes for Lennon between 1967 and 1971, writer Robert Jones articulates the burden of genius, as well as issues of fatherhood and fame.

The unexpected death of Beatles' manager Brian Epstein in 1967 marked a turning point in Lennon's life. This film focuses on the turbulent and intense period of change that followed, and how John was haunted by his troubled childhood.

Made in high definition, Lennon Naked also reveals the impact of re-establishing contact with his long lost father, and the events that led John to shed everything both personally and creatively, including calling time on The Beatles.
Meeting Yoko Ono was the catalyst for this new era and the film explores the development of their extraordinary relationship, their growing disillusionment with Britain and what caused Lennon to abandon the UK to start a new life in America, a process which ultimately inspired him to record arguably the most powerful solo work of his career.

DVD for pre-order at HMV. Or at BBC Shop.

Trailer had been screened during BBC Showcase 2010 in Brighton (21-24 Feb).

TX: According to BBC News article, release now set for 'summer' (Naoko Mori had mentioned late spring/June; listen to her talk about the film and CE here).

Lennon Naked will be the second film of the past 12 months to tackle the subject of one of British music's most enduring and enigmatic icons - John Lennon.

Nowhere Boy, the debut feature by artist Sam Taylor-Wood, portrayed the precocious teenage Lennon before the Beatles and his complex relationship with his domineering aunt and free-spirited mother.
The new BBC film, which stars former Doctor Who actor Christopher Eccleston, shows Lennon at the opposite end of his career from 1967 to 1971, fame-weary and disillusioned with the very band that made his name.

The impact on Lennon of the death of the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein comes under the microscope as does his break-up with wife Cynthia and his meeting with Yoko Ono and the subsequent period of his life which resulted in his defining song, Imagine.
Lennon Naked has been based, in part, on an historic "jaw-droppingly open" interview that Lennon gave to Rolling Stone editor Jan Wenner in 1970. During the course of the interview, Lennon spoke at length about the break-up of his band and his fractious relationship with Paul McCartney.

"It's an extraordinarily revealing interview about Lennon's character," says Lennon Naked director Ed Coulthard.
"He's very bitchy about The Beatles, he slags people off and it's very bitter. He also says he knew he was a genius at the age of 12.
"It was that last comment that captured me, really. It got me thinking about him and that late destructive period of his life."

[listen to the J. Lennon interview in full off-site here - ATBN]

Fan fears
The film is set to be one of the highlights of the BBC's summer schedule and has Beatles fans salivating, if not also feeling a little apprehensive.

"Fans have an image of John and the biggest fear that any Beatles fan has, is that it doesn't capture what he was feeling at the time," says Ernie Sutton from the British Beatles Fan Club.
"If it gives the impression that John wasn't bothered about his divorce from Cynthia or the break-up of the band and loss of Brian, that would be a real let down.
"John had a caring side and was really quite thoughtful. If he comes across as just an angry person then it won't give an accurate portrayal."

But Lennon Naked, at least according to the director, is not in the classic rock biopic mould.
Rather than cramming Lennon's 40 years into a neat hour and a half, the film centres on a specific period in his life.
But does this mean the film will avoid any number of dreaded rock biopic cliches?

"I think that you've got to avoid the moments that we know about already which will just seem really corny. That's why Nowhere Boy really worked because it's his early years," says Radio 1 film reviewer James King.

Lennon Naked shows Lennon telling the assembled Beatles the band is finished, surely a potential stumbling point. But Coulthard insists he should have avoided any.

"I think the two pitfalls are that you make a hagiography, that is just a cardboard cut-out version of an artist's popular image or you choose to tell a negative story," he says.
"The best films of this kind, and what I aspire to, is something in between that has light and shade. It is three-dimensional and has some complexity to it and gets you to a deeper sense of who this person was."

Jan 13 BBC announced Winter/Spring line up - see image and watch the clip w/ short extracts.
The Sun provides an original photo of Lennon. Further explanation.

Dec 30 Variety:

John Lennon is the next famous Brit to get the BBC4 biopic treatment. "Lennon Naked," set in the late 1960s as the Fab Four begin to fall apart, stars former "Doctor Who" thesp Christopher Eccleston as Liverpool's most famous son. [...]

"Lennon Naked," a co-production between U.K. shingle Blast! Films and the BBC, may gain much-deserved international traction for these films, which deserve a wider audience than can be achieved on a niche net such as BBC4.

"Potentially the Lennon film has the ability to reach a bigger audience because it is a more contemporary story than some of the previous films we've done," says BBC4 controller Richard Klein.

"A lot of the things that Lennon is seen dealing with in our story -- coming from a broken family, drugs, divorce, the art world, celebrity -- are very modern subjects that will resonate strongly with today's audience."

What all these films share are strong scripts ("Enid" was written by Lindsay Shapero while the Lennon biopic was penned by Robert Jones) and the opportunity for actors to engage at a deep level with the main character's personality.
Lavish sets, crowd scenes and special effects are conspicuous by their absence.

"They are all low-cost films that extract a huge creative dividend," says Ben Stephenson, the BBC's head of drama commissioning.
"The focus is on a single, central performance and the script, which makes them incredibly attractive from an actor's perspective. The main actor or actress is on screen for pretty much every scene." [...]

Coming so soon after Sam Taylor-Wood's portrayal of Lennon's teenage years in the feature "Nowhere Boy," isn't there a danger of over-dosing on Beatles nostalgia with "Lennon Naked?"

"I don't think so," counters Klein. "Our story covers the years from 1967 to 1971 so it shows a completely different period in Lennon's life.
"It covers areas that everyone wants to know about, including why did Lennon break up the Beatles and why did he leave London to go and live in New York."

It also promises an intense performance from Eccleston, who may end up rivalling Bonham Carter's interpretation of Blyton.

Following the sighting of Christopher Eccleston on set for a new film about John Lennon on Nov 14, official information has been made available Nov 27.

BBC4 Press Release:

Christopher Eccleston is to star in Lennon Naked, a major one-off drama from Blast! Films for BBC Four.
Lennon Naked charts his transition from "Beatle John" to enduring and enigmatic icon. It covers a period of wildly fluctuating fortunes from 1967-71; a time of worldwide adulation at one extreme, a combination of frustration and despair at the other.
Writer Robert Jones articulates the burden of genius, as well as issues of fatherhood and fame in this 90-minute film.
Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning says: "Securing Christopher Eccleston to play John Lennon is further testament to the calibre of drama on BBC Four." [...]

When The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein died unexpectedly in 1967, it was a turning point in John Lennon's life. The film focuses on the turbulent and intense period of change that followed, and how John was haunted by his troubled childhood.
The film reveals the impact of re-establishing contact with his long lost father Freddie and the events that led John to shed everything both personally and creatively – from divorcing his long-suffering wife Cynthia, to changing his name and ultimately calling time on The Beatles.

Meeting Yoko Ono was the catalyst for this new era and the film explores the development of their extraordinary relationship. Together they experimented with both the musical and artistic avant garde but in doing so become outsiders.
It looks at their growing disillusionment with Britain and what caused John to abandon the UK to start a new life in America. A process that included John harnessing the power of radical Primal Scream psychotherapy to lay the ghosts of his past and go on to record arguably the most powerful solo work of his career.

Key cast also include Christopher Fairbank as Freddie Lennon, Naoko Mori as Yoko Ono, Claudie Blakley as Cynthia Lennon, Rory Kinnear as Brian Epstein, Allan Corduner at Art Janov, Michael Colgan as Derek Taylor and Andrew Scott as Paul McCartney.

Lennon Naked is currently filming in London; the 90-minute drama is written by Robert Jones (The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Party Animals) and will air in 2010. The director and co-producer is Edmund Coulthard (Tales From Pleasure Beach, Soundproof); co-producer is Katherine Lannon (The Secret Life Of Mrs Beeton, The History Of Mr Polly) for Blast! Films, and BBC executive producer is Kate Evans.

Naoko Mori, as Doctor Sato in the TV series 'Doctor Who' (ep. 4 'Aliens of London', 2005), and Rory Kinnear, as Father Dillane in 'The Second Coming' (2003), had previously appeared alongside CE. Also, Michael Colgan was Gerard Donaghey in 'Sunday' (2002).

Naoko Mori and CE in 'Doctor Who' (2005)

BBC News:

Former Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston is to play John Lennon in a BBC drama marking 30 years since the singer's murder in 1980.
Lennon Naked will tackle the death of Beatles manager Brian Epstein, Lennon's developing relationship with Yoko Ono and his departure from the fab four.
The 90-minute drama ends in 1971 - the year Lennon released his album Imagine and he and Ono moved to New York.

Other secondary articles: Guardian, The Stage, c21media.net, Ireland On-Line.

Nov 15 'Set report' that broke the news first, at Daily Express:
The former Dr Who star started his first day of filming as the Beatle yesterday for a BBC drama called John Lennon – Naked.
The dramatic scenes being shot in London depicted the day Lennon and his then girlfriend Yoko Ono were arrested.
The reconstruction is believed to be of when the real couple were taken into custody on October 18, 1968, following a drugs raid at the flat in London where they were staying.

In the real event, police read a warrant through a bedroom window to Lennon and Ono, who days earlier had revealed she was pregnant, despite the fact they were both still married to other people.
Police who broke down the front door found 200 grams of marijuana and half a gram of morphine inside the basement flat in London's Montagu Square. [filmed in Gordon Square, North London - ATBN]

The property, near the famous Abbey Road studios where The Beatles recorded their greatest hits, belonged to Lennon's band-mate, Ringo Starr.
Days after the raid, Yoko had a miscarriage.
Lennon later pleaded guilty to possessing the drugs because he was worried that his lover would be deported. He was fined £150.

Audio:
Naoko Mori guested on LA Talk Radio (Feb 7). Be advised it's a novelty show - site and source (there you can hear the whole programme, or if you want just the Mori interview, start at the minute 65).

Notes:
Daniel Tatarsky's tweet had the first mention of the project: "Just heard: Christopher Eccleston (Aged 45) to play John Lennon from the 24 to 31. I guess Sheila Hancock will be Cynthia. 4:54 AM Oct 16th from web"