Official "You Instead" Website Launched with Clips, Stills from Movie

Check it out: The official You Instead website has now been launched and you can see it RIGHT HERE AT THIS LINK.

Be sure to click through for dozens of new stills from David Mackenzie's latest film, as well as a bonus clip featuring Matthew Baynton replete with muddy giddiness ;D


Highlight for me of course was a new still of actor Alastair Mackenzie (and look! is it his omni-present iPhone from the Priory? lolol LOVE YOU AL!) Be sure to check out pre-premiere interview with cast and David, as well as see a few clips as part of this BBC NEWS package here at this link. (lots of Al in the footage! :)

Great Reviews Pour In for David Mackenzie's "You Instead"

In the wake of last night's premiere of You Instead, there has a been a large and steady stream of postive reviews for the film, both critical and from fans alike. Notable are ones from STV, Variety (they like a film by David, huzzah! hope is not lost after all lol) and Screen Daily. Please note: the two trade reviews are inaccessible for most, so have posted below so we can all enjoy.
PS Photos from the red carpet premiere can be seen (lots, but wee tiny from Rex here, more available on the official You Instead FB here Plus check out one from the Herald (thanks Kirsty via Wearewire)

The Scottish Television review:

"First of all, You Instead is not the ‘T in the Park movie’, just as The Social Network turned out not to be the ‘Facebook movie’. That might be an easy mistake to make for Young Adam and Hallam Foe director David Mackenzie’s latest movie, which he and his cast and crew somehow managed to shoot on location there in just five days last year, but there is a far wider audience who will appreciate the themes on offer.

Mackenzie’s first attempt at a lighter romantic comedy – though still far from conventional – You Instead is more about the transitory nature of the festival experience, revealing emotions wrapped up in the moment, the sort of which will be familiar and relatable to anyone who’s set up camp in a rickety tent and trudged across muddy fields for a few days to see some of their favourite bands."

VARIETY:

An Icon Film Distribution release of a BBC Films presentation in association with Head Gear Films, Metrol Technology, Creative Scotland of a Sigma Films production. (International sales: Bankside Films, London.) Produced by Gillian Berrie. Directed by David Mackenzie. Screenplay, Thomas Leveritt.

With: Luke Treadaway, Natalia Tena, Mat Baynton, Gavin Mitchell, Joseph Mydell, Sophie Wu, Ruta Gedmintas, Alastair Mackenzie, Newton Faulkner, Kari Corbett, Rebecca Benson, Jo Mango.

The concept of "You Instead" -- boy gets handcuffed to girl, but they end up making sweet music together at a rock festival -- is pure college-kid fantasy. But with its breezy atmosphere and killer soundtrack, this hipster romantic comedy should prove a crowdpleaser at youth-skewed film fests, or even in cinema tents at other music events, before going on to fill niches as a specialty item. Pic may not be Scots helmer David Mackenzie's best effort, but it's easily his most lighthearted, a cheery trifle that reps a contrast to his recent pics, the apocalyptic "Perfect Sense" and U.S.-set comic misfire "Spread."

American Adam (Brit Luke Treadaway, once again playing a musician after his debut turn in "Brothers of the Head") and his bandmate Tyko ("Hereafter's" Mat Baynton, a standout with excellent comic timing) together comprise electro-pop combo the Make, and are headlining at Scotland's biggest outdoor music festival, T in the Park. (Pic was shot entirely on location during the real festival in 2010.)

On his way to meet their manager at the fest, Bobby (Gavin Mitchell), Adam gets into an argument with Morello (Natalia Tena), the English lead singer of up-and-coming, riot-grrrl-y outfit the Dirty Pinks. A passing preacher (Joseph Mydell) comes out of nowhere and handcuffs the two of them together to teach them a lesson about peace, then runs off with the key.

It's obvious that Adam and Morello will end up falling for each other sometime before crews arrive to clean up the beer cans, but first they must bicker, learn to respect one another after playing a gig together while handcuffed, and so on. Script throws a few easily circumvented impediments in their way, such as a partner for each. Adam's shallow arm candy, Lake (Ruta Gedmintas), a kind of cross between Paris Hilton and Kate Moss but not as interesting as either, obligingly dumps him. Getting rid of Morello's more likable if dull b.f., Mark (Alastair Mackenzie, the helmer's brother), poses more of problem, even at the risk of auds losing some sympathy for the central would-be lovers.

In "A Midsummer Night's Dream" style, everything and everyone gets tied up neatly in pretty albeit mud-splattered bows by the end. Along the way, the dialogue errs too often on the side of trite, and the performances feel a bit stiff, lacking the sort of spontaneity one would expect from an effort that was partially improvised, per press notes.

None of that really matters because what the pic does best, and what Mackenzie seems most interested in (apart from filming the sex scenes, which he does with his usual relish), is capturing the atmosphere of a great music festival, in all its damp, squalid, psychotropic joyfulness. Working largely with handheld cameras, pic feels properly embedded in all the hedonism, and frequently pauses just to observe the colorful crowds or take in another act performing, such Brit musician Newton Faulkner (who also interacts as himself with the characters) or folk act Jo Mango.

Given the authentic talents on display, it's a shame the music played by the lead characters' bands isn't more convincingly aces. Morello's set, produced by Glaswegian artist Brian McAlpine, is suitably raw and raucous but not very memorable, and pic strains credibility most when it tries to offer a hopelessly retro duo like the Make (with music produced by the Vaselines' Eugene Kelly) as a plausible headline act. The '80s may be coming back into fashion, but not this much yet. Otherwise, the lineup of tracks heard reps excellent work on the part of music supervisors Karen Elliott and Abbie Lister.

Camera (color, HD-to-35mm), Giles Nuttgens; editor, Jake Roberts; musical directors, Eugene Kelly, Brian McAlpine; music supervisor, Karen Elliott, Abbie Lister; sound (Dolby Digital), Chris Campion; sound designer, Douglas MacDougall; supervising sound editor, Howard Halsall; re-recording mixers, Chris Sinclair, Michael Mackinnon; assistant director, Danny McGrath; second unit directors, Adrian McDowall, Colin Kennedy; casting, Kahleen Crawford. Reviewed at Berlin Film Festival (market), Feb. 13, 2011. (Also in Glasgow Film Festival; SXSW Film Festival -- Spotlight Premieres.)

SCREEN DAILY:

Dir: David Mackenzie. UK. 2011. 90mins
Rock’n’roll rom-com You Instead delivers a delightful blend of star-crossed lovers and authentic music, all set against the backdrop of one engagingly long night at Scotland’s T in the Park music festival. Shot in just four days, David Mackenzie’s vibrant feel-good film is frothy and fun, and handled right could be a hit with music and rom-com fans.
David Mackenzie directs with a freewheeling sureness, allowing the vibrant backdrop of the festival to be a major character in the film.
The film had its world premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival prior to an outing at SXSW. It screened in the EFM at Berlin and should be of interest to indie distributors who know how to work the music connections. Working from a script by Thomas Leveritt, the sheer nature of this low-budget on-the-hoof project meant that there was also a good deal of improvisation, with Mackenzie and his cast and crew flitting in and out of the real-life festival goers and musicians at last year’s event.
It very smartly gets its cliché moments out of the way in the first few minutes. Indie US star Adam (Luke Treadaway) and his band partner Tyko (Matthew Baynton) are ‘wackily’ performing a song in the back of a tiny Smart Car for a local radio show, when they are good naturedly set-upon by a grungy Brit all-girl band led by Morello (Natalia Tena).
Their mild spat is interrupted by a roaming religious man (Al Green), who promptly handcuffs Adam and Morello together and vanishes into the crowd. Naturally enough, the pair bicker and feud as they try and find ways of getting out of the handcuffs – especially as both are due to perform before the day (and night) is out.
Both her partners in tow – she has a wealthy banker boyfriend, while he is with a supermodel named Lake (Ruta Gedmintas) – while at the same time Tyko and her fellow band members are also doing their best to help. Completely useless – and increasingly amusing – are the antics of his manager (Scottish comedian Gavin Mitchell), who simply gets drunk and tries to pick up any woman around.
Naturally enough – this is a rom-com remember – they start to appreciate each other, especially when Adam joins-in when Morello and her band have to perform their set. While she singing, the still handcuffed Adam starts to play the Soft Cell number Tainted Love on the on-stage keyboard, working the lyrics into her song. It is a triumphant centrepiece of the film and completely seals the deal in terms of charm.
Even when he is furtively handed the key to the handcuffs, Adam, who is rather more quickly enamoured of Morello than she is off him, opts to stay handcuffed to her. There is plenty of frolicking in the mud (a music festival must), drinking, playful behaviour and a charming sense of the two coming to slowly appreciate each other. And despite a moment of modest drama, the feel-good romantic ending is richly appropriate for a film that wears its sense of romance very much as a badge of pride.
Luke Treadaway – gangly, cool and with a rock-star’s quiff – is engagingly low-key as Adam and is very believable both on-stage and in moments when he slowly starts to fall for Morello. He and his twin brother Harry have played musicians before, in Brothers Of The Head, and he handles the rock’n’roll aspect perfectly.
The real find, though, is Natalia Tena as the feisty and dynamic Morello. In real-life she has her own band, named Molotov Jukebox (two of the songs in the film were written by them), and is perhaps best known for playing Nymphadora Tonks in the Harry Potter films, but here she confirms she has the dynamism and personality to handle a lead role.
David Mackenzie directs with a freewheeling sureness, allowing the vibrant backdrop of the festival to be a major character in the film. In truth You Instead is a youthful blend of The 39 Steps (for the handcuffs) withBefore Sunrise (for the romance) made with the energy of the Richard Lester Beatles films, and while at heart it never takes great dramatic risks with its characters or plotline, it is actually all the better for that.
It is a playful and thoroughly enjoyable romantic romp through the T in the Park (we also get to see cameos from the likes of real-life musicians Paolo Nutini, Biffy Clyro, Jo Mango and The Proclaimers) that really does deliver the feel-good quota in spades.

Icon Films to Distribute You Instead to UK Theatres

Rock rock this friday rocks!! Not only is Sigma celebrating their 15th birthday, and the premiere tonight of their latest film at GFF, but now comes word that You Instead will be hitting UK theatres later this year. Screen Daily reports that Icon Films will distribute David Mackenzie's latest motion picture!
Great news...can THE US BE FAR BEHIND???
Quotage of interest from Screen Daily on distribution deal:

For the UK, Icon Film Distribution has taken on the film. “Icon have shown an unrivalled level of passion and enthusiasm for this film from day one. They absolutely understand how to make audiences fall in love with it and we are very excited to be working with them to make the film a huge success in the UK,” said Stephen Kelliher, Head Of Sales & Marketing at Bankside Films.

Also, Wild Bunch struck a multi-territory deal for rights in France, Benelux, Spain and Germany.

Other deals were done with: Australia/New Zealand (Hopscotch), CIS and Baltics (Volga), Hong Kong (Golden Scene), Israel (Shani), Poland (Vivarto), South Korea (Pan), Thailand (Sahamonkolfilm), Turkey (Umut Sanat) and airlines (Jaguar).

Backed by BBC Films, Creative Scotland and Bankside Films, You Instead was produced by Gillian Berrie, Mackenzie’s partner in Glasgow-based production company Sigma Films. “The reaction to You Instead has been incredible,” Kelliher added. “From the first screening, buyers fell in love with what is a highly original piece of filmmaking. David’s film offers audiences an unexpected love story in the very real setting of a live music festival. It is a feel good film which had everyone leaving the theatre on a high.”

Icon UK MD (Distribution) Ian Dawson added: ”You Instead authentically captures the music festival experience like no other film has before it, whilst the central performances make it something truly special. This is a love story for a whole new generation. We are delighted to be working with the Sigma team to bring this film to audiences in the UK.”

You Instead Premieres Tonight at Glasgow Film Fest; Early Reviews Very Positive!

David Mackenzie's You Instead premieres tonight at a sold out event during the Glasgow Film Festival. The latest piece from Sigma Films has already been generating huge buzz, and the early reviews are quite positive. Witness:
Skinny Mag and their daily magazine issued during the film festival (be sure to check out the back issues for more great interviews) contains a new interview with David and gives 4 STARS to You Instead! Yay! Check it out:
The stars of the film are due tonight at the event including Luke Treadaway, Natalia Tena, Ruta, even screenwriter Thomas Leveritt, with what is sure to be a hopping after party at Film City Glasgow where Nat's band is due to be playing! *super super jealous I cant be there!* It should be an awesome event, complete with these type of rockin' visuals from designer Florence-To (how cool!) crossed for photos, videos and of course, will post reviews as they are released-stay tuned!

ps speaking of tunes, finally allowed to post about this on SoundCloud~
Great audio version of YOU INSTEAD, sung by Luke Treadaway :)
Latest tracks by YouInstead

Video Interviews: David Mackenzie on You Instead Plus Another on Ewan McGregor and Perfect Sense

While some may welcome the brevity of this post its the best I can do for now (sorry was in an accident recently and while not broken thank god, Ive learned dislocating a shoulder ranks up there with root canal gah); hence the lack of lengthy posts when there's been so much. Right then, please check out TWO new VIDEO interviews with Sigma's own, director David Mackenzie, now online at STV, yay!

1) AT THIS LINK, David discusses working with Ewan McGregor and making of "Perfect Sense"

2 Filmed on what looks like the main stage at Film City Glasgow, director David Mackenzie discusses his newest film YOU INSTEAD and the making of the film at T in the Park last summer (LINK HERE) You Instead premieres TONIGHT IN GLASGOW.

RADIO INTERVIEW w/2 NEW CLIPS FROM YOU INSTEAD (including very fun one with Mathew Baynton and Gavin Mitchell, plus Luke Treadaway and always fun Nat!) can be heard here during yesterday's BBC Movie Cafe courtesy of Janice Forsyth (what a great voice she has for radio)

LOVE YOU DAVID, can't get enough of these interviews (another healing tonic have to say:) Sending many good thoughts for all at Team Sigma, cast and crew for the premiere of You Instead tonight at Glasgow Film Festival! xxxxx

Music, You Instead and David Mackenzie will blow you away

Anyone else remember that old Maxell commercial? Check out this new photo of David Mackenzie :D :D :D

That photo is contained with a new interview with David in today's Sunday Herald where the director discusses his newest film You Instead. Set to premiere later this week at the Glasgow Film Festival, the piece focuses on the You Instead filming during the T in the Park festival last summer as well as the decision to take on such a daunting task (shooting over 5 days, during a live event with 100,000 errmm highly festive folks) Excerpts:

"Over four days during the 2010 festival, Mackenzie and a skeleton crew filmed almost round the clock to make dark rom-com You Instead, which has its world premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival this week. “It was knackering but amazingly invigorating at the same time,” says the 44-year-old when we meet in the Govan headquarters of production company Sigma. “When you’ve got 100,000 drunk people wandering around, there’s no way you can stop them from doing things or wanting to enjoy themselves or have fun, which is what they’re there for. So you have to flow with that human tide – and sometimes that’s quite scary.

But other times it’s an adrenalin rush.”When they weren’t working, cast and crew grabbed a few hours’ sleep in an enormous tent erected for them in a backstage enclosure. Besides food, the only other thing they stopped filming for was Jay-Z. “There was a moment when we had to drop everything for 10 minutes because we couldn’t get to where we wanted to go because he and his entourage was arriving,” Mackenzie laughs."
....

"Though the cast did a full run-through of Leveritt’s script in Sigma’s Glasgow headquarters before decamping to Perthshire, Mackenzie found himself paring away the dialogue when he started shooting. Words seemed increasingly unnecessary as the ragtaggle splendour of the festival unfolded in front of his camera. “What we got was more magical than I was expecting,” he says. “On the last day, for instance, as we were filming the dawn coming up there were thousands of seagulls all massing around in the rubbish with our characters walking through it. It was apocalyptic and incredibly beautiful – very magical and trippy.”
...

"But Mackenzie had another reason to make You Instead, beyond simply liking the script. After shooting seven features in 10 years – among them Young Adam, Hallam Foe, the Ashton Kutcher vehicle Spread and the upcoming Perfect Sense, starring Ewan McGregor and Eva Green – he was bored of what he calls “schedule bashing”. He wanted a change and a challenge, an escape from the “drudge” of by-the-numbers filmmaking. Shooting a free-wheeling story guerilla-style over four days at T in the Park seemed like just the thing.

“As we warmed up and became a cohesive group, we got better and better at it so that, by the end, we were firing so effectively that it was incredibly invigorating,” he says.“The actors loved it too. The whole thing became an immensely creative experience because you’re thinking on your feet and not being held back by anything, which is wonderful.”

Related update: One of the You Instead cast members, actor Gavin Mitchell has given a fun interview to the Daily Record, where he discusses his band manager character named Boaby :)

"No part, however, has come close to mullet-sporting Boaby, custodian of The Clansman. He was grateful to Boaby's enduring appeal while filming You Instead among unsuspecting T in the Park revellers.

He said: "I was pretending to be blind drunk and off my face. I got a slap in the face at one point and somebody threw a pint but people were generally great. I had to collapse and there was a whole group who looked after me. They picked me up, gave me water, tried to rouse me.

"When the camera crew said cut, I stood up and people were a bit shocked - but one of them went 'Boaby?' and it was fine."

New Video: Jamie Sives, James Cosmo in HBO's "Game of Thrones"

Check it out: new video tonight of the upcoming HBO series Game of Thrones. Seen via the newly wed (yay!) and always awesome George RR Martin's Not a blog (thanks Westerosorg for the heads up!), this new video (below) contains new glimpses of Scotland's own Jamie Sives as Jory (along with Ned played by Sean Bean as they visit a brothel-nah seriously now, please go read the book and then watch the series, it's great stuff well worth it I assure you) Plus there is a new clip featuring frequent Sigma star and the ever fabulous James Cosmo as Old Bear, he looks terrific I can't wait for this series! Bonus: check out new video of Joseph Mawle, hecka good actor and Jamie S co-star who gave an excellent portrayal of Jesus in BBC's The Passion, really an amazing cast they've put together on every possible level.

Don't forget, the equally wonderful Kate Dickie will also appear in this series, which begins airing on HBO April 17!
UPDATE NOW IN HIGH DEF VIA YOUTUBE!

Sigma CELEBRATES....

SIGMA IS CELEBRATING....
hmmm but what???....curious....watch this space for more!

Stone Cold Sober or Suitably Fired Up: More Interviews for You Instead

Crank it up!...or at least the press is...eh well the coverage is really starting to begin in earnest for the premiere of David Mackenzie's You Instead :D
List.co.uk has a detailed new interview now online with David, where we learn more about the bands that we will hear in the film. It is also confirmed that the two stars, both with fine musical talent indeed, wrote and contributed two pieces for the film which premieres ONE WEEK FROM TODAY at the Glasgow Film Festival. The interview, while longish WELL WORTH THE READ can be found here; quotes of interest as follows:

On the new bands in the film shot at the T in the Park festival last summer in Scotland:

DM: We have quite a few bands … We got Paolo Nutini, Newton Faulkner … Biffy Clyro are the first ones in there, they’re great; Proclaimers, and two or three others I can’t remember … Carl Cox, Calvin Harris – quite a selection. We also brought in Jo Mango, who we focus on in the centre of the film, who gives a really beautiful performance, and it’s really the epicentre of the movie. I brought Jo Mango along because I saw her play in Glasgow and I immediately fell in love with her music, and the rest was obviously a combo of who was available, who was willing, and so on.

List: It’s screening at the Glasgow Film Festival – did it seem important to have it screen there, particularly?

DM: Well, yeah, as it’s a Scottish audience, it’s their festival, but the really important thing for us is that the film is out at the cinemas before the festival season starts this year so it’s still fresh. We want people to go and see it to get them in the mood for going out to a festival. Even for me, having watched it and been involved in making it, and editing for some time, it makes me want to go out to a music festival. If that’s what it does for people, that’s a great thing. We just wanted to get it out as soon as possible – the previous film I made is actually probably going to be out later than that, just down to the way the timing worked out. It’d be a shame if it came out later in the year, if the whole festival season had already been and gone.

List: How difficult was it corralling extras?

DM: We went a day early – you know how the campsite opens on the Thursday – and we had hoped that we would be able to get about 1500 people to be in the background of one of our stage shots, but we arrived slightly late and so our scheduling was off – there was another good show on at the same time, so everybody just wandered off. We had about 50 of our own extras that really loyally stayed with the film all the way through. They’re heavily featured now … We just had to go with the backgrounds that were there. For a fairly low budget movie, we ended up getting some pretty big production values – we’ve got 90 000 extras and quite a lot of great festival texture that’s all built in. That’s one of the great things about shooting in live locations. The not so great thing is that you have no control over that, and so there are plenty people having a good time and not really caring about us.

Can't wait!

Side note: They've just removed the thousands of viewed youtube footage of Luke Treadaway singing You Instead from the film alas alas lol (why??sorry but I downloaded that baby months ago lolz aw well), but rumor has it that if you go to the official You Instead Facebook and sign up for stickybit (free) app from iTunes, you can hear him sing a bit of the song. :) Hopefully more new soundclips AND A TRAILER will be out soon!

You Instead to Premiere at SXSW March 12

Mark the calendar: March 12 will see the official international premiere of David Mackenzie's You Instead at SXSW. The film festival held in Austin, Texas has now formally released the three screening dates for the newest film from Sigma as follows:

Premiere: Sunday, March 12 4:00 pm Alamo Ritz 1

Additional Screenings: Tuesday, March 15 9:30pm Alamo Lamar A

Friday, March 18 6:00 pm Alamo Ritz 1

Individual tickets are not yet available; updates to follow asap. As a reminder, You Instead, shot over 5 days at the T in the Park festival is a rock and roll adventure starring Luke Treadaway, directed by David, written by Thomas Leveritt with original music written by Eugene Kelly of the Vaselines. The film makes it's UK premiere NEXT WEEK AT THE GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL, very exciting times ahead!

Screengrabs, Clip of Jamie Sives in BBC's "Outcasts"

Actor Jamie Sives was a guest star in last night's episode of Outcasts, seen on BBC. For those that have yet to see the show please note the following DO HAVE SPOILERS for the episode where, as reported here several times previously, Jamie plays a character named Leon. That said, in the clip below, you can see a pivotal and dramatic scene with Jamie and Daniel Mays. A few rough screencaps (again.. Spoilers) can be found on my flickr here.
The show can be viewed/downloaded from the BBC iplayer for the rest of the month. Enjoy!

'Miss It At Your Peril': You Instead Rocking the Film World in Berlin & Glasgow

Excitement is certainly building before the sold-out premiere of You Instead at the Glasgow Film Festival on the 25th. Witness: the newest film from Sigma is already making some serious waves as Bankside Films screened the movie for buyers this week at the Berlin Film Festival. Latest word has it that its going down like a storm among the buyers with great feedback and interest. Of course as only rock and roll will have it, the showing of the film got off to a bit of a turbulent start and involved some quick actions on the part of Team Sigma (gooooo Colin! :))
Per the official Glasgow Film Festival blog:

You Instead was screened to potential buyers on Thursday night but only just. A corrupted file meant that a member of the Sigma team galloped to the rescue, boarding a plane and hand-delivering a replacement to the waiting crowd of buyers in Berlin.

Fortunately, they all waited the necessary forty minutes and, in the words of producer Gillian Berrie, 'the response was fantastic. You Instead rocked Berlin.' Makes us all even prouder that the Glasgow Film Festival has been chosen to host the home town world premiere of You Instead on February 25th. The film will then have its North American premiere in March at the incredibly cool SXSW Festival in Texas.

The Guardian is also reporting on the upcoming screening of You Instead at the Glasgow Film Festival, noting over the weekend the following (see clipping as well)

Perhaps Edinburgh should start looking over its shoulder at "the fastest-growing film event in the UK". But Scotland's big enough for the both of them, for now. This one's almost too big for itself, as evidenced by the mini-festivals within it: a promising music and film festival, a shorts festival, horror strand FrightFest. And that's before you get to the international selection, the Meryl Streep and Ginger Rogers retrospectives, etc. Best of all is the healthy amount of British, and especially Scottish talent around. David "Young Adam" Mackenzie returns with rockers' romance You Instead, Natalie Press leads Hebridean family thriller Island, Ken Loach introduces Route Irish, and his son Jim makes his directing debut with Oranges And Sunshine.

Be sure to check out the official You Instead Facebook page for exclusive and fun contests, first looks from the film (including a new photo of stars Luke Treadaway and Matt Baynton), and dont forget their official Twitter for more! For as the preview on the Glasgow Film Festival reads on You Instead ..."Shot in a swirl of energy during the five days of last Summer's T In The Park it is like a funny, frisky, endearing collision between the Before Sunset/Before Sunrise indie spirit of Richard Linklater and the fizzing energy of those Beatles films that Richard Lester made in the Swinging Sixties. Miss it at your peril.

Awesome!

For more on the making of the film, be sure to check out this earlier interview from the Scotsman, where director David Mackenzie discusses his groundbreaking 5 day shoot on this motion picture at the T in the Park Festival:

It has a dynamic young British cast headed by Luke Treadaway and Natalia Tena (Tonks from the Harry Potter movies), and could be Mackenzie's happiest film to date. It is certainly his fastest. Sigma producer Gillian Berrie pulled out all the stops to get clearance to film at T in the Park for the crowd scenes.

Then Mackenzie decided that "wasn't challenging enough" and suggested they try to shoot the whole movie there.

The film team based themselves in a compound between the Main Stage and the NME Stage, contending with the ever-present throb of bass and the armies of wellies marching from one stage to another. It was exhausting but exhilarating. Mackenzie's voice fills with excitement when he talks about it.

"It's a great method. There's something about throwing everyone into that environment that unifies everyone. Somehow forcing oneself into a live environment and shooting very quickly is a liberation. You don't have control of the environment but as long as you're able to think on your feet and everyone is cool and able to roll with the punches, you can get incredible stuff."

The poetic cinematography of Mackenzie's earlier films hasn't disappeared in the frenzy: he describes a shot filmed at dawn where hundreds of seagulls swirl in the sky. "It was really visually poetic and magical. To begin with, I think we all thought the whole thing was going to be impossible, but it got better and better. The opportunities just kept on opening up, and we were more fighting fit to take advantage of them."

However, there were also moments when it rained, or when the entire film crew got boxed in by the arrival of Jay-Z's entourage, or the 1,500-strong crowd they had arranged as extras headed off en masse to catch a burlesque show. "You've got nearly 100,000 people out having a good time, not interested in having us getting in their way. That was kind of interesting."

The trade-off was that they were able to capture the atmosphere, energy and spontaneity of a live music festival.

"What's nice is the lightness of the material mixing with the grittiness of the way we shot it. It is able to avoid being too fluffy, which makes me a lot more comfortable about it. What I hope you get from the movie is the sense that you're there. Watching it is making me want to go and hang out at music festivals. I hope we get free tickets next year. We might get to see some bands!"

David Mackenzie to Direct "Stain on the Snow" (Updated)

For years now, literally, we've been hearing rumors about a possible project for David Mackenzie, and now according to Variety, it may well be coming to fruition. In a piece about super producer Malte Grunert who helped produce Perfect Sense and the forthcoming You Instead, the industry magazine reports that his brand new film company "will produce Mackenzie's next project, "Stain on the Snow."

The piece says about the new Amusement Park Films (Based in Hamburg and Berlin, Amusement will produce and co-produce local and international independent, commercial-leaning features budgeted at between €5 million and €10 million ($6.8 million and $13.5 million) and noted specifically (bolding mine)
Mackenzie's "Stain on the Snow," which he is also writing, is a dark postwar coming-of-age tale set in an unnamed country, based on Georges Simenon's novel.

UPDATE: Screen Daily now has a piece on this, confirming Sigma Films will indeed co-produce, with filming to take place on location in Germany (poss later this year, unclear at this point). Of interest:

Berlin/Hamburg-based producer Malte Grunert is to embark on a third collaboration with director David Mackenzie after being one of the producers on Perfect Sense and You Instead which have both screened at the EFM this week.

Through his company Amusement Park Films, Grunert is developing the adaptation of the Georges Simenon crime novel The Stain On The Snow for which Mackenzie is writing the screenplay and will direct. The Scottish director’s production outfit Sigma Films will co-produce the dark drama which has received development funding from UK Film Council and would be mainly shot at locations in Germany.

SOSF: I am uncertain of the status of several other Sigma productions, including Swung and the several David mentioned in his slew of interviews at Sundance, so we shall see if this gets made this year or next, stay tuned!

Sigma in the Sun

Well here's a right sunny lovely gift from the good people at Sigma I heart heart so very much: a batch of exclusive photos of the team enjoying a bit of sun and fun at the Sundance Film Festival! :)
THANK YOU SO MUCH to the wonderful generous thoughtful people who sent this to me and gave permission for these to be posted, THANK YOU!

With the director of the Sundance Film Festival, here is Team Sigma, plus some very cool folks before the premiere of the film



Here's Colin Kennedy and Brian Coffey, they of the kick butt producer/director team behind "I Love Luci"-------->
Ewen and David
and Gillian below too




Love these two lovelies very much indeed :) ->
Brian (below) looking sharp! :)







Related: There was a bit of sunny good news today too
as Screen Daily reported Perfect Sense has now been picked up by Pretty Pictures for distribution in France. Quotage of interest:

Pretty Pictures president James Velaise said: “Perfect Sense is a great film which has everything we are looking for: a real high-end art house film with great actors, a great story, and cross over potential because of the paranormal storyline.”

During Sundance a deal was closed with IFC Films, who holds the North American rights, and just recently Kalinos Filmcilik from Turkey alsocame aboard.

Christine Langan, Creative Director BBC Films, added: “Perfect Sense is a beautiful and passionate film. BBC Films are delighted that the film’s fanastic debut at Sundance attracted two great distribution partners; IFC in the US and Pretty Pictures in France.”

Trust Nordisk pre-sold Perfect Sense to more than 15 territories before its Sundance premiere, amongst these Benelux, Brazil, Korea and the
Middle East.

Valentine From Jamie Sives

Here's something sweet for this Valentines weekend ;D
NEW PHOTOS OF JAMIE SIVES!
As some of you may already know we saw this new photo of Jamie earlier this week (via Den of Geeks) from his guest star turn in the upcoming episode of Outcasts, which airs Mon, 14 Feb. Honestly I saw a clip from this show and I could swear its a scene thats a huge ass spoiler to his character so not gonna link, but still the episode should be good, can't wait!



In addition to that photo, Jamie has also added a few more, including one very very cool photo of this well read talented handsome guy chillaxing at home, PLAYING HIS GUITAR (is that a Babyshambles poster on the wall too?)...and bare feet, jammies .... Jamie jams in his jammies..heee!
ok I'll stop but sorry lovvvesss *thud* :D
If you'd like to hear more of Jamie singing and playing, be sure to check out his performance at the Eilidh Brown Memorial Concert here, or listen to his music made with the Conegatherers here.



You can also see another of Jamie with his good friend JJ Feild as they are interviewed for the BIFAs earlier this year, along with rather familar poster for "Shellshock" which as readers here will know is the UK name for Triage, and is coming out on DVD next week on the 17th. You can see all of these, plus a photo of him singing at the Eilidh Brown charity concert (Pls. note Im NOT on FB, but the great and lovely people at the Eilidh Brown Memorial Fund charity kindly linked to me and included the photo of him singing) Be sure to check out some older photos from his shooting star group shot, press for Wilbur I think in Japan and more via his official IMDB page.

baby plays guitar, and the world is right :)
xooxoxxo
Thank you Jamie~ LOVE LOVE LOVE

Video Interview: David Mackenzie, Eva Green, Ewen Bremner

Sorry for the delay on posting; a proper roundup of all of David's interviews done at Sundance will be added to this post as soon as I can get it together sorry (been one of those weeks :( Meanwhile, please enjoy a rare video interview with director David Mackenzie and his two stars Eva Green and Ewen Bremner, conducted at the Sundance Film Festival for the premiere of "Perfect Sense."

Not Me You Instead Says He of Halfs

Gah, but I love words and writers. wish I was a better one than I attempt at times to be, certainly better than I do here (talk about wordy ;), but boy there is nothing quite like the written word to get my attention. If you pay attention enough to Sigma, you know like many of their fellow Scots, they love the written word as well-shows in their dialogues, the folks they work with and so forth. Case in point: the author of the newest film from David Mackenzie-author Thomas Leveritt.

Honestly, had to chuckle when looking for more information about the award winning author of Exchange Rate of Love and Money as there was a bunch of "half this half that half american half british half half half... :D From what I know about You Instead, its definitely a film of halfs-two opposities brought together man woman opposing bands etc. While we've yet to see a trailer for the film, it might be of interest to learn a bit more about one of the minds behind this film, and you can learn more from his official Simon & Schuster page, in the video below, and on his website for his artwork (yes he has some cool photos too but note he's half-author half painter ;D) check it out!
ps be sure to follow him on his Twitter here, and check out the You Instead Facebook for a CONTESTS TO GO TO THE PREMIERE AND AFTERPARTY AT FILMCITY GLASGOW WITH THE CAST /CREW & SIGMA FILMS
* so so lucky*
pps NEW PIC OF LUKE TREADAWAY now up on the Sxsw page! :)