(3) REEL NEWS
‘Disco Pigs’. Remember that? Well, the second song played during the credits called "So New" was written and performed by Cillian Murphy, who played Pig.
Five cinematic snippets you simply need to know about this month...
REEL NEWS
Five cinematic snippets you simply need to know about this month...
1 – Out with the old and in with the new. The impossibly successful ‘Tudors’ has, as we know, upped sticks and left the garden of Ireland like post-Electric Picnic Stradbally. But with the portaloo seats still warm, a bright, shiny and positively colossal new production looks set to roll into town.
Former minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, Martin Cullen, has confirmed that ‘Camelot’, a contemporary spin on the Arthurian legend, will bed-in at Ardmore Studios in June.
The series has big names behind it, too. Oscar-winning producer, Graham King (‘The Departed’, The Tudors'), will be pulling the strings along with Morgan O’Sullivan and James Flynn of the Irish production company, Octagon.
As ministers so often so, he went on to say, “Landing a series of this scale is indicative of the quality of Irish film talent both in front of and behind the camera. Congratulations are due to Morgan O’Sullivan and James Flynn who, between them, have a remarkable track record of making award-winning TV series in this country.”
2 – Odd one, this. The men behind new Irish comedy, ‘Zonad’ (see review), have, well…lost it. Not the 2009 version, you understand. That’s reeling away in cinemas nationwide. But the first version, made in 2003, starring Cillian Murphy.
Long the subject of banter in film circles, it seems only one scene remains of the original short, the rest having vanished into thin air.
"Cillian was in the original Zonad but the tapes got stolen.” said John Carney, who wrote and directed both films with his brother Ciaran. “If anyone has them, we'd love to get them back.”
3 – Not for the first time in recent days, months and years, TV3 have opted to take a chance, calculated though it is, on an Irish production shown the door by RTE.
The production in question is ‘Beyond The Fire’, an award-winning feature about clerical sex abuse across the 26 counties.
Justifying his decision to air a film which, for obvious reasons, won’t pull in the big bucks on advertising, TV3’s Director of Programming, Ben Frow, said, “Our advertisers won’t find this sexy. It won’t provide us with big ratings, but TV3 has a duty to tell people’s stories.”
Keep and eye out for ‘Beyond The Fire’ over the next few weeks.
4 - Irish actor Gabriel Byrne, star of the HBO series ‘In Treatment’, has been rewarded for his long-standing heavyweight status with a new role - Ireland's ambassador for culture.
The honor, announced by An Taoiseach Brian Cowen, means the Dublin-born actor will work with the Culture Ireland agency to promote Irish artists, shows and festivals in the US.
The Irish government says the 59-year-old Byrne will advise Irish diplomatic staff about "creating a dynamic program of art, ideas, debate and reflection which helps to foster a renewed, forward-looking cultural relationship between Ireland and America." No better man.
5 – Michael Fassbender’s (‘Inglorious Basterds’,‘Hunger’), stock is on the up again. The German born, Irish raised actor has just signed on to play one of literatures most iconic roles in an upcoming film adaptation of Jane Eyre.
The Killarney man, who made his mark as Lt Archie Hicox in ‘Inglourious Basterds’, will be playing Mr. Rochester alongside Mia Wasikowska, who plays the title role in ‘Alice in Wonderland.’
Now an a-list force to be reckoned with, Fassbender has worked with some of the movie industry's biggest names including Michael Douglas, Keira Knightley and Megan Fox.
