DECEMBER 2004
________________________________
28th December 2004
'My Shakespeare' premiere
- Last night, My Shakespeare premiered on UK television. I found the programme to be intriguing and most enjoyable to watch, and I have now created a new page dedicated to the project. I have spent much of today manually transcribing Luhrmann's quotes, and reviewing the programme as a whole. Tomorrow I plan to add a banner to the main page of this site for easy access to this new section. In the meantime, please feel free to click here to read all about My Shakespeare.
Update 29/12 - The My Shakespeare page is now linked through a banner on my main page. Enjoy! :-)
________________________________
24th December 2004
Happy Holidays!
Merry Christmas from 'Baz the Great'!
Chanel No. 5 articles
- The Chanel No. 5 film has been screened across the world during November and December, and it seems to be unanimous that fellow fans think the film is exquisite. :-)
I have now updated my Chanel page with two more scanned articles, kindly provided by the excellent Nicole Kidman fansite, Nicole Kidman United. The first is a three page UK Vogue article entitled 'The Famous Five'. Unlike the previously posted US and Australian Vogue articles, the UK article does not contain excerpts from Luhrmann's diary, but it is still entertaining and definitely worth a read.
The second article is from If Magazine and is entitled 'Love in a Bottle'. This feature actually showcases two articles - one being an in-depth piece focussing on Catherine Martin and her work on the Chanel No. 5 film, and the other focussing on the Animal Logic special effects team. It is a very interesting feature that I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to learn more about how on earth they pulled off such an amazing visual feat.
________________________________
23rd December 2004
'My Shakespeare' article
- Yesterday, The Independent published the below article, which provides the most detailed information I have come across so far regarding the upcoming UK premiere of My Shakespeare. The article features direct quotes from Luhrmann about his involvement with the project, as well as giving an insight into the backgrounds of the production's director and stars. I would urge anyone living in the UK to watch what I'm sure will be a most inspirational programme. :-)
Baz and the Bard
When youngsters from a run-down estate decided to stage Romeo and Juliet, they brought in a Hollywood hotshot. James Rampton reports
22 December 2004
"An angry young man dressed in military fatigues starts to rap: "Capulet and Montague, claiming dignity, inflaming infamy, but can't they see, their conceit and vanity lead to complete tragedy, in this mad city of despair, fair Harlesden?" The charismatic 17-year-old Shan Abdullah is playing Sampson in a production of Romeo and Juliet featuring amateur actors from a poor estate in north-west London, which is the subject of My Shakespeare, a Channel 4 documentary.
This time last year, Paterson Joseph, the actor, who has starred in productions ranging from Casualty toThe Beach, hit on the inspired idea of returning to his native Harlesden and attempting to win people over to the Bard by putting on a play. He reckoned they could be "converted" in the same way that he was when he read his first Shakespeare play as a painfully shy 18-year-old and it turned his life around. He put his faith in the transformative power of art. Joseph trawled through 300 Harlesden auditionees with no professional acting experience. He then had four weeks to prepare 20 of them for a production at the Jerwood Vanbrugh Theatre at Rada.
"Harlesden is one of those areas people call a ghetto," Joseph says. "[It's] one of the least likely places to have Shakespeare or high art. But I thought, 'Why not?'"
But Joseph, a first-time director, was not left on his own to tackle this daunting task. The producers of My Shakespeare gave the project some vital back-up - and a bit of big-screen gravitas - in the shape of Baz Luhrmann, the film-maker responsible for the most celebrated updating of the Bard in recent years, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
Luhrmann was invited to act as a mentor for the project - a role he was happy to fulfil. He feels that as his film was made 10 years ago, the time is now ripe for someone else to subject the play to a radical reinterpretation. Throughout the four-week rehearsal process, Luhrmann was in constant contact with Joseph via a video link to his Sydney home. At one point, Luhrmann gives Jonathan Taylor, the young man playing Romeo, crucial tips about inhabiting his obsessive character: "Romeo is the super-romantic hero. He's in love with the idea of being in love. He's in love in a ridiculous, almost chemical way, like he's addicted to love for the sake of it.''
Luhrmann emphasises the universality of Shakespeare's work. "He was able to tell a story that everyone got, no matter how simple your mind or how complex," he says. "So Shakespeare's genius was finding a way of telling stories that could play for all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds."
Muska Khpal, who plays Juliet, is an 18-year-old science student; she only came to this country from Afghanistan eight years ago. Her dream is to become a doctor and open a clinic in Afghanistan. Mustafa Iman, a 17-year-old A-level student who takes the role of Mercutio, is a refugee from Somalia, and reveals that he saw people dying there "right in front of me".
The role of Romeo is played by Jonathan Taylor, a magnetic 22-year-old. Now a youth worker, he has been stabbed in the back twice during a street fight. He recalls the moment his mother came to see him in the hospital: "I just broke as soon as I saw my mum. All that toughness went straight away. My sense now is that every day in my life I'm going to meet someone I don't like. But am I going to fight them all? No. Now I'm able to say, 'Just let it go, man, let it go'."
Romeo and Juliet very much chimes with his experiences. "I knew nothing about Shakespeare beforehand, and when I first got the part, I couldn't understand a word of it," Taylor says. "But you become like a sponge and just absorb so much information. The play reflects my own life. I've discovered that the stories which arise in Romeo and Juliet are still relevant. There is still young love, prejudice and hatred. I could easily identify with the idea of the gang culture in the play. When you grow up in Harlesden, you're surrounded by it and you just have to do your best to get through it."
Of course, the whole idea of My Shakespeare has the potential to be terribly worthy - but all cynicism starts to ebb at the opening night. There is a palpable feeling of excitement in the air. That only increases as the auditorium fills with the cast's friends and family - not your average West End audience, but they lap up the show and greet the curtain calls with the sort of whooping and hollering.
Given that the actors only had four weeks to rehearse, the production is pretty good. The contemporary Harlesden setting - lads in hooded tops and baseball caps - lends the play an air of street authenticity. The cast have got to grips with the text, and some of the young actors, especially Taylor and Iman, could go very far indeed.
'My Shakespeare', 7pm, Monday, C4 "
________________________________
21st December 2004
'My Shakespeare'
Premieres in the UK on Monday, 27th December 2004 at 7pm on Channel 4
- My
Shakespeare is currently being advertised on Channel 4. This evening, I saw a commercial outlining the basic concept of the project, with short clips showing the actors, the director, and Luhrmann himself, who seemed to be talking from his 'red room' in the House of Iona. It was a very touching advertisement, with the
Balcony Scene instrumental music from Luhrmann's own Romeo + Juliet playing in the background as we heard some of the people involved comment on the difficulties they faced in bringing this project together.
As reported in previous news updates, I am very intrigued by this television production and I am looking forward to watching and reporting back here with my views. For those of you who do not know what
My Shakespeare is all about - a couple of weeks ago, The Telegraph reported a detailed article regarding the production, a transcript of which can be found in my 11th December news update
below.
Furthermore, TV
Today has highlighted the programme in its online Christmas and New Year television schedule and reports the following:
"MY SHAKESPEARE In the space of four weeks, 20 non-actors from the tough, predominantly Afro-Caribbean north-west London neighbourhood of Harlesden get together to put on a production of Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London’s West End. Through satellite link, acclaimed Australian film director Baz Luhrmann helps to inspire and encourage the cast and novice director - highly respected, British stage and screen actor Paterson Joseph - as they examine the text and gear up for the live night."
In the next week or two, I plan to create a new section on this site especially for
My Shakespeare, which will include my full review, articles and reviews, as well as any other relevant information I come across. If you are able to watch this programme, feel free to
contact me with your opinions for possible inclusion on this site. :-)
Australia Week
- It's coming up to that time of year again! Australia Week will be held in Los Angeles from 15th January - 23rd January 2005 and will showcase all things Australian at a series of events across the city. The official Australia Week website has announced that Nicole Kidman, among others, will be honoured at the Penfold's Gala Dinner on 15th January. Last year, Baz Luhrmann was honoured at the same dinner for his international achievements. Kidman has had a very successful year, with highlights including her starring role in the Chanel film, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for her role in Birth. Tickets to the 2005 Penfold's Gala Dinner are still available, and more information can be found here. Another more detailed article regarding the event can be found here.
________________________________
18th December 2004
ATG speculation
- Until we hear something
official from Luhrmann and co, it seems inevitable there will be continuing
media speculation regarding the fate of ATG. Yesterday, Zap2it.com reported an article on its site entitled,
'DiCaprio Glad He Didn't Go Alexander Route'. The article is misleading in that it simply elaborates a question and answer session that was first reported by
romanticmovies.com back on 3rd December. The full Zap2it.com article reads as follows:
DiCaprio Glad He Didn't Go 'Alexander' Route
Fri, Dec 17, 2004, 11:12 AM PT
By Mike Szymanski
"LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) -- Leonardo DiCaprio breathes a sigh of relief that he hasn't continued the planned "Alexander the Great" project with Baz Luhrmann.
"I don't have any regrets certainly after seeing the movie again last night," DiCaprio says following a screening of his latest film "The Aviator," where he plays billionaire playboy Howard Hughes. He originally was going to do "Alexander the Great" with his "Aviator" director Martin Scorsese. But, then DiCaprio's "Romeo + Juliet" director Luhrmann took over the project with plans to cast DiCaprio as the young warlord and Nicole Kidman as Alexander's mother Olympias.
"[Martin and I] are both fascinated with Alexander the Great as well as Howard Hughes," DiCaprio says. "They're men that keep on reaching for their ultimate goal and stop at nothing until they achieve that. It just happened to be that this script and project was way further advanced in the development stage than the script that landed in our lap about 'Alexander.' We wanted to go forth and we had an intention at one time of doing them both, but you don't get everything that you want all the time."
Although he hasn't yet seen Oliver Stone's "Alexander" starring Colin Farrell and Angelina Jolie, he's aware it's perhaps one of the biggest box office bombs of the year. Since then, he's not talked to Luhrmann about the project and it isn't in his schedule.
"A lot of people were toying with it, that's the way it is in the business," DiCaprio says about the multiple film projects about Alexander. "An idea pops up and all of a sudden it's a piranha feeding frenzy. Oliver [Stone] got his off before anyone else."
The article attempts to elaborate on what DiCaprio actually said at the Q&A session
at the beginning of December, with its 'breathes a sigh of relief' comment being a tad off the mark! The fact is, this article only reports the first line from DiCaprio's
answer, the full version of which goes on to explain why he doesn't have any
regrets in doing The Aviator. As for DiCaprio being aware that Stone's Alexander is "perhaps one of the biggest box office bombs of the year",
this is general knowledge. And yes, we know from his actual Q&A session that he has not talked to Luhrmann about ATG recently, and therefore it is obviously not
DiCaprio's schedule at the moment.
As a reminder, and to clarify the information at hand, here is the full Q&A session, as quoted on
romanticmovies.com,
and as reported back in my 8th December update:
"How did you go from the idea of an Alexander the Great movie to doing "The Aviator?" Do you have any regrets about not being able to take on that role at this point?
I don't have any regrets. Certainly after seeing ['The Aviator'] again last night - not all at all. Alexander the Great was also - like [I've] said before -
it's one of those things where Scorsese and I just share the same tastes in similar things. We were both fascinated with Alexander the Great, as well as Howard Hughes. They were completely different time periods, different men, but similar dynamics. You know, men who keep on reaching for their ultimate goal and stop at nothing until they achieve that. It just happened to be that this script and the project was way further advanced in the development stage than the script that landed in our lap was for Alexander. We wanted to go forth. We had the intention, at one time, of doing them both but you
don't get everything you want all the time [he says with a smile].
Are you still developing an Alexander the Great movie with Baz Luhrmann?
Baz - I can’t even tell. I’ve talked to him about it. I have no idea if he’s still going to do it or not.
But there definitely was also a Scorsese "Alexander" project?
There was. A lot of people were toying with it. That's the way it is in the business. An idea pops up and all of a sudden it’s a piranha feeding frenzy. Oliver got his off before anyone else."
Miramax Films 25th Anniversary
- Miramax has recently issued a
press release in which it
announced that, in order to celebrate the company's 25th anniversary, the Museum of Modern Art in New York is set to show 50 films to highlight the diversity of its productions, one of which will be Luhrmann's landmark initial feature,
Strictly Ballroom. Excerpts from the press release read as follows:
"This Thursday, December 16, 2004, MoMA will kick off a film retrospective to honor Miramax Film's 25-year history. The evening will begin with a special on-stage discussion between Miramax co-founders and co-chairmen Bob and Harvey Weinstein and Academy-Award winning director Quentin Tarantino followed by a screening of Tarantino's first feature film "Reservoir Dogs." Following the kick off event, the Museum will mount a retrospective featuring the extraordinary body of work from Miramax and Dimension Films"... The retrospective will be held in two phases, in the winter and summer of 2005, and will feature a selection of fifty significant films that have been distributed and/or produced by Miramax and its division, Dimension. The titles to be shown include... Strictly Ballroom (Directed by Baz Luhrmann,
1992)".
So, to anyone living in New York, feel free to check out this excellent event! If anyone has any further information as to what date
Strictly Ballroom will be shown, please contact
me.
________________________________
11th December 2004
Luhrmann and 'My Shakespeare'
- You may remember that back in my 7th November news update, I reported the following:
'Regarding Luhrmann's plans for 2005, I have come across a tidbit of information in the UK Guardian that implies he could be working in the UK next year. An article was posted on 3rd November detailing some of the 2005 programmes in development for the UK television channel, Channel 4. The article states: "The broadcaster will also be recruiting Oscar-winning film director Baz Luhrmann to help 20 young people from Harlesden in north London put on their own production of Romeo and Juliet."'
This was the first news I'd heard about the project, and I said I would report back if I found out any more information. Well, it turns out that this project is indeed a reality. In fact, it has already been completed and is due to air in the UK on Channel 4 on 27th December!
The Telegraph today reported this detailed article about the production and Luhrmann's involvement:
Romeo, Juliet bravo
By Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent
(Filed: 11/12/2004)
"Almost a decade ago, Baz Lurhmann, the Australian director, made Shakespeare relevant to the MTV generation with his film William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet set in modern-day America.
Fired with the same zeal, he has now helped on a truly daunting task – coaching a group of young Londoners with no theatrical experience to stage a full-blown performance of Romeo and Juliet in the original language with just four weeks of rehearsals.
The 18-strong cast, few of whom could recognise, let alone recite a single line from Shakespeare, was plucked from the streets of
Harlesden, a predominantly Afro-Caribbean area of north London.
Though Montague/Capulet-style gang warfare is not unknown, Harlesden is no 16th-century Verona.
The task of playing tragic Juliet fell to 18-year-old Muska Khpal, an Afghan refugee who had never kissed a boy and didn't dare tell her parents that she had won the part.
The part of Romeo was taken by 22-year-old Jonathan Taylor, a part-time youth worker who disclosed during rehearsals how he had nearly died when he was stabbed twice in a fight.
Mustafa Iman, a 17-year-old Somali refugee, played Mercutio. He, too had stories to tell his new company of actors, notably about a close friend who died in a stabbing in an alleyway.
Rehearsals were held in a Baptist church. The famous balcony scene was practised on and below a balcony on the notorious Stonebridge Estate. Romeo and Juliet's death scene was tried out on a tombstone in the chapel of the local cemetery.
The exercise - to find out whether an underprivileged group could understand, and then communicate and learn from Shakespeare - is the latest television adventure from Shine.
The company has previously made the highly-praised talent show series Operatunity (to find two amateur singers to perform with English National Opera) and Musicality (to find five actors to appear in the West End musical Chicago). The challenge for the Harlesden players was to perform Romeo and Juliet - with less rehearsal time than many professional companies expect - at the main theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in the heart of the West End.
The blood, sweat, tantrums and tears they experienced on their inspiring journey will be broadcast in a two-hour programme, My Shakespeare, on Channel 4 on Dec 27.
The job was made as tough as could be.
Lurhmann, who had Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as his young screen lovers in 1996, was cast as "guide". From Australia, he and the Harlesden cast talked to each other about their technique and worries via live television links. The job of director fell to Paterson Joseph.
Though one of Britain's best black actors - he starred in The Beach with DiCaprio and has worked in the West End and Broadway - he had never directed a play.
To recruit his actors he simply handed out leaflets to complete strangers in
Harlesden.
The programme charts his frustration as his initially indifferent young cares casually turn up late for rehearsals, struggle to master the language and fail to respond to his demands.
It shows Taylor begging Luhrmann for guidance on how to bring more emotion to his scenes with Juliet. The director tells him: "It's not what Shakespeare is trying to express; it's what you are trying to express. Are you trying to impress Juliet or to scare her away?"
It also shows the actors' thrill after their Rada performance. "It was the biggest high you can get. No drug can get close to that," one said to the camera.
Another rings his mother on his mobile. Beaming, he declares: "Hello Mum. It was wicked."
Personally, I am very much intrigued by this project and look forward to viewing the programme on 27th December. It is remarkable to think that Luhrmann made his Romeo + Juliet nearly a decade ago and how quickly time has passed since then. Now, Luhrmann has helped create this new production, and I applaud him for taking on this task. This project has been kept very quiet compared to, say, the production of the Chanel film. And yet it is a very important programme that I'm sure will make a real difference to people's lives.
I am not sure if this programme will be shown worldwide, but I urge anyone outside of the UK to keep an eye out in early 2005. I will, of course, report back with my comments once I have seen the programme at the end of this month.
________________________________
8th December 2004
ATG - to be or not to be?
- To be or not to be? This is the question
that still surrounds whether or not Luhrmann will go ahead with ATG. So far, there has been no word. While I am hopeful that Luhrmann will speak out before the New Year, I have now realised he may in fact wait until
Stone's Alexander premieres worldwide next year. According to the
IMDb, Stone's movie is not due to be released until 7th January here in the UK, and 20th January in Luhrmann's home country of Australia. Perhaps he will wait and see what the Aussie public think of the film before making his decision? As always, only time will tell.
Meanwhile, as the media have not heard anything concrete about Luhrmann's ATG for some time now, the speculation continues. The latest is the false revelation that Leonardo DiCaprio has confirmed Luhrmann's ATG is dead. Just last month, Nicole Kidman was misquoted as 'confirming' the same thing simply by saying "no" to a non-specific question from a reporter. In this case, DiCaprio does indeed directly answer a set
question regarding Luhrmann's ATG project, but his reply is short, vague and does not confirm
a thing.
The latest speculation originated from quotes taken from an article reported by Romantic Movies
on 3rd December entitled, "Leonardo DiCaprio Talks About Alexander the
Great". The article gives a brief insight into the history behind some of the proposed
films about the life of Alexander, and then features three questions and answers
with DiCaprio. These Q&A are as follows:
- How did you go from the idea of an Alexander the Great movie to doing "The Aviator?" Do you have any regrets about not being able to take on that role at this point?
"I don’t have any regrets. Certainly after seeing ["The Aviator"] again last night - not at all. Alexander the Great was also - like [I've] said before - it’s one of those things where Scorsese and I just share the same tastes in similar things. We were both fascinated with Alexander the Great, as well as Howard Hughes. They were completely different time periods, different men, but similar dynamics. You know, men who keep on reaching for their ultimate goal and stop at nothing until they achieve that. It just happened to be that this script and the project was way further advanced in the development stage than the script that landed in our lap was for Alexander. We wanted to go forth. We had the intention, at one time, of doing them both but you don’t get everything you want all the time [he says with a smile]."
- Are you still developing an Alexander the Great movie with Baz Luhrmann?
"Baz... I can’t even tell. I’ve talked to him about it. I have no idea if he’s still going to do it or not."
- But there definitely was also a Scorsese "Alexander" project?
"There was. A lot of people were toying with it. That’s the way it is in the business. An idea pops up and all of a sudden it’s a piranha feeding frenzy. Oliver got his off before anyone else."
Question 2 is the only really relevant question and, as you can see, DiCaprio admits that, like the rest of us, he still has "no idea if he's still going to do it or not." Luhrmann probably hasn't talked to either DiCaprio or Kidman about the project for some time, as he has spent much of this year concentrating on the ATG script and spending time with his family. So, like I said above, only time will tell regarding
the fate of ATG.
Craig Armstrong downloads
- A couple of months ago, Sanctuary Records contacted me asking if I would help promote Armstrong's latest album,
Piano Works. I am a huge fan of Armstrong's works and, as a result, I created a new
Craig Armstrong page. I am yet to buy my own copy of
Piano Works, but hope to receive one in my Christmas stocking and write a review in the New Year. :-)
Meanwhile, I have been asked by Sanctuary Records to post links to clips from two of Armstrong's music videos. The first is a 2 minute 35 second clip of Armstrong performing
Leaving Paris. The second is a 2 minute 50 second clip of Armstrong performing one of my favourite tracks,
Weather Storm. I highly recommend downloading these tracks to sample for yourself Armstrong's wonderful works!
There are four versions of each of the two music clips to choose from. I just
used the Windows Media Player versions, but I assume the other two are Quicktime. Enjoy!
Leaving Paris
Windows Media Player - small
Windows Media Player - large
Quicktime - small
Quicktime - large
Weather Storm
Windows Media Player - small
Windows Media Player - large
Quicktime - small
Quicktime - large
________________________________
HOME
________________________________