The Times Feature on "New Town Killers"

The Sunday Times has a nice profile online today regarding the upcoming "New Town Killers" starring Alastair Mackenzie and Dougray Scott. The article features a good interview with director Richard Jobson who describes the film as "a metaphor for banks and “what they do on the margins of society to socially invisible people”.

Calling the new film 'a David and Goliath fable for our time, in which the Armani-wearing, Maserati-driving agents of rabid capitalism get everything that’s coming to them,' the director gives his thoughts on how he sees the roles played by Dougray Scott and Sigma Films own Alastair Mackenzie as follows:

“It’s Burke and Hare in beautiful Armani cashmere jackets: two handsome men with guns in their hands driving a Maserati Quattroporte. It’s a pretty high-octane chase movie. It doesn’t slow down."...'They are nihilistic in the extreme.' "

A bit of news for Claire Forlani (Hallam Foe) fans, for the piece notes that Mr. Jobson is making another film with Dougray Scott, and has cast his wife in the film as well, a 'a film noir of Macbeth.' Excellent news!

New Town Killers opens this month at the London Film Festival on October 28

New Cover of US Mister Foe DVD Released!

Check it out-DVD Empire posted the new cover art for the Mister Foe DVD, which as reported before, is due out November 11, 2008.

Yes! MUCH MUCH BETTER than the horrible US poster for the movie!

As mentioned before, the DVD is available for pre-order via Amazon and more...btw it's actually 3 dollars cheaper to pre-order at the DVD empire than from Amazon for those keeping track at home lol.

Directed by David Mackenzie, Mister (Hallam) Foe stars Jamie Bell, Sophia Myles, Ciaran Hinds, Claire Forlani and Jamie Sives and is a Sigma Films production :)))

New York Times Says Hello to Mister Foe, and then there's a Parade with Jamie Bell

For as long as I can remember, Ive loved to read, and read newspapers too. There is even an early photo of me at the orphanage at an age where I surely was unable to begin to read, holding a copy of the wall street journal of all things (guess the nuns were big on those bull markets or something) Anyway, Ive been waiting and hoping that the New York Times, which I still hold in reluctant highest regard, would review Mister Foe, and that has now come past.

A.O. Scott, author of some previously beautifully written movie reviews in the past, took a turn at the film and has posted a review of Mister Foe which is now online via this link. While I am not altogether sure if its a positive outlook-I think it is sorta maybe yes?, it was clear there are some praises bestowed on both Jamie and David, with kudos to other cast members ie Ciaran Hinds gets several lines, which is a big deal when column space is seriously limited. Highlights of note as follows:

Hallam (played by the excellent Jamie Bell, who has gained some skill and shed a bit of cuteness since “Billy Elliot”) would no doubt benefit from some counseling, and the melodramatic twists of the plot ultimately serve as a kind of substitute therapy. It’s certainly more entertaining to watch a confused young man work out his issues through kinky sex and daredevil wall-climbing than to be a fly on the wall as he talks things out with a shrink. And if the extremity of Hallam’s temperament tests the limits of our sympathy as well as our credulity, Mr. Bell’s ability to seem by turns sweet and scary prevents us from losing interest entirely.

So does Mr. Mackenzie’s success in translating Mr. Jinks’s prose into an atmosphere that is both gritty and picturesque. He infuses the examination of Hallam’s emotional disorder with enough macabre and comical touches to prevent “Mister Foe” from sliding into the clinical sensationalism of the case study. That is more or less what it turns out to be in the end, but the film is also a nimble, acrobatic tour of Edinburgh, traipsing through narrow alleyways, up drainpipes and across gables and gutters as it follows Hallam on his pathological way.

Kate’s insistence, late in the movie, that she is just that is both superfluous and unconvincing. In her loneliness, her toughness, her perfect mix of maternal warmth and sexual adventurousness, she is at heart a literary conceit, an inhabitant of that realm of the male imagination where lust and sentimentality meet and mingle. But Ms. Myles inhabits the role with such crisp and understated wit that she manages to hold such doubts at bay. Common sense might suggest that a woman in Kate’s position should change her locks, call the police or move to another town when a guy like Hallam shows up, but somehow she never seems more sensible than when she does the opposite of what prudence might dictate.

The smaller performances are nearly as strong as Ms. Myles’s and Mr. Bell’s, even when the characters are a bit too broadly drawn, like Ms. Forlani’s gold-digger or a philandering brute played by Jamie Sives. Ciaran Hinds, a welcome presence wherever he goes — from “Munich” to “Miami Vice” to “Margot at the Wedding” — strikes the right notes of obliviousness and paternal worry as Hallam’s father, vexed and concerned about his son even as he is unable to see how much of the boy’s waywardness is his fault.

To the rest of us it’s pretty clear from the start. And the main problem with “Mister Foe” is that Hallam’s strangeness is a puzzle only to him and those around him. He’s more of a mystification than a mystery, and never quite creepy enough to risk our not liking him."

INDEED!

In pale pale comparison, Parade now has their interview online with Jamie Bell. Surprisingly, they avoid (for the most part) asking the usual twee questions, with Jamie elaborating on his character of Hallam Foe:

We hear 'peeping Tom' and we think 'weirdo' but your character, Hallam Foe, is just a curious boy.

A: I think it was definitely a fine line. My character has an obsession with voyeurism, of observing people in various different forms of activity. And it was a tightrope walk to make sure that you don’t cross a line to portray him as a pervert because that's something that he definitely isn't. He’s very far removed from what voyeurism actually is. If anything, he’s observing people to learn about life, to learn things that maybe his mother would have taught him had she been around.

Q: His cleverness and his desperation can be funny too.

A: I feel like the loss of his mother made him very introverted. He went back inside of himself and removed himself from the world, really. And his only outlet is by observing people. So although the film does touch on many dark levels and many dark themes, I think that there's still definitely a lightness and a humor to everything that happens in the film.

New Behind the Scenes Footage of Hallam Foe Featuring Jamie Bell, Claire Forlani and Ciaran Hinds

Another great treat for us today, courtesy of the wonderful 4cSlater who has posted some fabulous new behind the scenes footage of the making of Hallam Foe. In the video, you can see some top notch stuff of Jamie Bell(Hallam) at work with Claire Forlani (Verity) goofing around at that freezing loch, then later in the heated pool to shoot those intense scenes from the later part of the movie. Also new is footage of Ciaran Hinds (Julius Foe) at work with Claire and Jamie, filming some of the scenes at the hotel, so fun to watch an actual scene being made-just aces!

In addition there are lots of comments from director David Mackenzie, and also his director of photography Giles Nuttegens -this also seems to be shot the day that is reflected in that Kodak article about that was posted in Dec 06 during the course of filming on Get your people. Dunno if all of this wonderful footage was filmed by the Getyourpeople blogger Colin Kennedy (who made the four (Mister) Hallam Foe podcasts that are available on iTunes), nonetheless, it is a real treat for us to see today I think.

JAMIE BELL=Adorable, funny, talented as exhibited time and time again during the snippets of behind the scenes filming, the stuff of him as Hallam flinging down out of the trees is great. The last part is also hilarious-love you Jamie! Thanks so much to 4c for the constant vigilance and dedication in finding these great nuggets for all of us loyal fans!

New Video Interview with Claire Forlani on Hallam Foe

What a great surprise this morning to discover two new video interviews from the German Hallam Foe DVD, including a rare interview with actress Claire Forlani. She has always struck me as an elegant reserved yet lovely person, and it shows in this video interview. Noting that Jamie Bell is 'inherently talented,' she feels we will all be hearing much more excellent work ahead from Jamie. Agreed! I have to say though, her thoughts on David seemed to confirm what I had suspected, as she noted that being on set was like in the old days when they made films, and the director was there creating and actually enjoying the process. YES! So many directors you hear about or even see at work, seem caught up in being cool, all style over substance, and rather detached from what they are doing...its all about making something slick, and the true love of creating and wanting to show something original, thought-provoking and fresh seems to have gotten lost behind all the hype. It's so nice to hear an actress actually speak to the fact the director on their project is actually enjoying the work.

Speaking of the director, there is also another interview with David Mackenzie from this DVD. To the person who takes the time to put these things up there on youtube THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Claire Forlaini Interview


David Mackenzie Interview