Scotland The Brave!

I thought I would end my ten blog entries, for my university course, on a more high, more Scottish note!

Brave, an animated film produced by Pixar, this being its thirteenth film and will be released by Walt Disney Pictures.

Set in Scotland, it tells the tale of Merida, a skilled archer voiced my Glaswegian actress Kelly MacDonald, who is determined to make her own path in life, she defies a custom that brings chaos to her parents kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse. Her father, King Fergus, played by Bill Connolly and her mother, Queen Elinor voiced by Emma Thompson are unimpressed with her actions and try to prevent her from going further forward.

Set in times before the Braveheart era, many are deeming it the same success as the Scottish set film with Mel Gibson and others!

A star studded cast, with a few being Scottish too which is nice, like Kelly from Glasgow and Robbie Coltrane who plays Lord Dingwall. Julie Walters also voices a character in the exciting new film! Kelly is also known for her roles in Nanny McPhee starring alongside Emma and also in the last Harry Potter film with Robbie Coltrane, so she will be familiar with the majority of the cast!

Pixar always entertains and proves successful and I'm sure their adaptation of Scotland back in the day will not disappoint! There will be loads of laughs, from Billy and Coltrane for sure and the other cast members will not fail us either!

Most Scottish citizens, mainly critiques, will be looking out for perfectly perfected Scottish accents from the cast and factually correct names and places, but its all a bit of fun! That's what Disney and Pixar are all about, bringing joy and laughter to kids, and adults all over and I'm sure Brave will be another great hit!

I would love to be in the recording studio with the cast, especially funny man Billy Connolly and Robbie Coltrane. It must be such a fun, exhilarating time, and it seems so easy! What a life they have!

Here's a little teaser of the film! I hope you enjoy, I also hope you have enjoyed my blogs so far, I've learned a lot and I hope I've passed some of that on to you!

Thanks again!

Scot Stars

Well, there have been many Scottish actors making a name for themselves in Hollywood and beyond, which many are due credit for!

To name a few we have Sean Connery, Ewan McGregor, Gerard Butler, Robert Carlyle and Karen Gillen. I bet some of you never knew that Isla Fisher is actually Scottish? Her parents are but they decided to bring her up in Perth, Australia.

 

I don't know many people who don't know Mr Connery, especially for his role in the James Bond movies. He is probably Scotland's most famous name today, in the acting world anyway. Now know as Sir Sean, he was given his knighthood in 2000 and was voted at the age of 69, the sexiest man of the century by People's magazine, not to mention sexiest man in 1989 and 1999! Fancy! Well he played the part of Mr Bond in seven films between 1962 and 1983.


Ewan McGregor is also well acclaimed in the Hollywood world! He is probably best known for his roles in Trainspotting along side fellow Scots Robert Carlyle, his part as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars trilogy and his role in Moulin Rouge! Again, another sexy Scotsman voted by many and he was ranked at number 36 in Empire's magazine in the Top 100 Movie Stars of all time, in the year 1997.

Gerard Butler, the most recently made famous star to hail from Scotland. He has appeared in many films, before his popularity grew as well, like Tomorrow Never Dies in 1997, from that he went on to work on an American TV series Attila. Butler has also starred in a film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera in 2004, 300, the role which shot him to fame, P.s. I Love You and more recent lead roles in The Bounty Hunter and Law Abiding Citizen, also voicing one of the characters in How To Train Your Dragon.

All Butler, Connery and McGregor have proven that us Scots have talent too, although many still will argue against that.

Not to be sexist, but I think it's time we saw some more female Scots stars in the acting world. Maybe from my last post many will seek to join acting schools, not me anyway! Apart from that I think Scotland is a place full of talent, not just actors and inventors but many others too! It's just a matter of providing adequate facilities and help to those who want to succeed and Scotland needs more of it!

Performing Platforms

Scotland is a relatively small place compared to America and England, where most actors and actresses hail from today so it's no wonder Scottish actors find it hard getting into a reputable drama school that is in Scotland, as there isn't many.

What is out there for aspiring actresses and actors to build their acting skills and get a helping hand into the very intimidating and competitive film industry?

Scotland doesn't have the same scale of drama schools, film studios, money, not to mention the weather which effects lots of things and there isn't many scholarship schemes either when compared to movie buffs America. So many young people travel and spend thousands to get into a drama school elsewhere in London or further abroad.

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, formerly known as RSAMD (Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) is available to those lucky and determined enough to succeed. Founded in 1847 as RSAMD and based in Glasgow it is one of the most reputable and acclaimed Creative Arts Schools not just Scotland but England has to offer.

Now under new name RCS, and in its first yer remains successful. It offers scholarships and programmes to all ages and talents, such as music, acting and dancing and each individual is treated with the same level of education in order to bring out the best in everyone. You can even leave with a PhD!

There has been many famous names that have studied and moved on to bigger things whilst at the school, which is situated in Renfrew Street. They include James McAvoy, John Barrowman and Richard Attenborough, most notable for his part as the professor in Jurassic Park. He continues to be an honorary associate artist for the RSC today.

I'm sure there will be many more famous faces arising from the newly names school like before, why not!?

If your interested in having a look at the website and the work they do and courses follow this like here!

There is also talks with Glasgow City Council and other councils such as the Glasgow City Council Film Office with the likes of Ewan McGregor and Gerard Butler in building a new drama school or film studio in the Glasgow or Paisley area so as more movies can be filmed in Scotland.

When I find out more I'll be sure to keep you informed. Thanks again for reading!

Gotham or Glasgow City Centre?

OK so I've talked quite a bit about films that have been filmed here recently in Glasgow and the surrounding areas. But what about films that are planned to be in the future?

I'm really hoping there will be many more blockbusters either set or filmed, or both, in Glasgow. It means us Glaswegians can get a closer glimpse of not only some of the best Hollywood actors in action, or is that being a little bit creepy ? But also we get too see how exactly things are done, what goes into a days worth of filming, the costs, how time consuming a days filming can be, all which might encourage on lookers to involve themselves in the film industry and therefore get from that some home grown fresh Scottish talent. Whether that be an aspiring actor or an amazing new director!

Now, I'm excited about this, and I've only just recently heard about it, but the new Batman: The Dark Knight Rises is reportedly having some scenes shot in Glasgow and the highlands next month! I love Batman! A superhero geek but who isn't? I really hope these rumours are true!

It has been said that the cast and crew will move into Glasgow hotels next month to begin filming. Many fans will know who Batman is, but for those who don't, its the well acclaimed Oscar winner actor Christian Bale. Also joining him for this film, which is set to be released later this year, is Anne Hathaway who is playing Catwoman, and the gorgeous, apologies but I love this guy, Tom Hardy, who plays bad guy Bane. I really hope to see him!!

 


Tom Hardy as Bane



Anne Hathaway filming

 Enough about Mr. Hardy anyway, the reason as to why director Christopher Nolan is planning to film in Glasgow and also other cities like Chicago, is because he wants to create a new Gotham City (fictional city in the film) that no one will recognise and the scenes where filming took place. So to create a totally fictional but real, in a sense, city. Due for release in July this year it is the last of Christopher Nolan's contribution to making the films, he is happy with his trilogy so far and states that someone else will make the next films where Batman is going to star along other Superhero's like Superman! Oh I cant wait for that either!

Other films reported to be filming in Glasgow or somewhere in Scotland is the new James Bond film, although it hasn't been confirmed for certain yet. It seems though that Nolan is keeping it secret as to where filming will take place so to get the job done quicker and in time for release and it's no wonder why, crazy fans interupting filming and leaking home taken videos on the internet before release.

Well it seems like a good future in store for Glasgow and Scotland and the film industry with such big films like Batman set for filming next month and lets hope it carries on!

Glasgow Painted Scarlett

Now Scarlett Johansson is a lovely lady, not only blessed with good looks but she's quite the actress too, with movies like Iron Man, The Island with Scots man Ewan McGregor, and the Avengers under her belt to name a few. Last year she was another Hollywood starlet to venture out and join the list of those setting foot in Glasgow for filming for the first time or making a return. This was her first time in Glasgow, and she spent three months filming for new movie Under the Skin.

Scarlett on set in petrol station up North

FilmNation, one of the producers of the film, say that Scarlett plays an alien on Earth, disguised as the perfect aesthetic form of a mesmerising woman, who seduces men and harvests their body parts. Lovely.

Again like my last blogs, most of the film is set in Scotland, this time not primarily Glasgow, but in the Highlands.

Under the Skin is based on a novel of the same name by Michel Faber, who lives in the Black Isle.

The book tells of an alien, Johansson's character in the film, who picks up hitchhikers on the A9 road in the Highlands to harvest body parts.

The majority of this movie was filmed in Glencoe on the A9 and A82. A crew of more than 70 descended on Auchmithie, just outside Arbroath, to film certain scenes too, crew members were from America but also Scottish companies too, again aiding and helping the Scottish Film industry. Some scenes were shot in Glasgow, including the Buchanan Galleries.

It didn't stop there though, Scarlett let her hair down in Glasgow city centre where she celebrated her 27th birthday and enjoyed a tipple with locals at a bar in Sauchiehall Street called Nice N Sleazy and was also spotted wandering around Buchanan street and the Merchant City.

However, she muddled her words and facts in an interview on the David Letterman Show, claiming 40% of Scottish prisoners were murders, when in fact it is only about 13%! She goes on to say how Scotland is a lovely place but with mad people.

Under the Skin is due for release later this year and there is no trailer as of yet!

I'll keep checking. Thanks again!

Streets of Glasgow

Many famous actors have filmed in Glasgow, as I have mentioned before. Whether the film be set in Glasgow or used for economic benefits, the city proves time again to be a well-equipped host. Voted one of the friendliest and hardest cities, contradicting I know, it has its own uniqueness and variety in landscapes, streets and buildings, that when dressed appropriately can be mistaken for somewhere else.

When Halle Berry came to town, shortly after Brad Pitt, for the three days of filming Cloud Atlas in Glasgow which was transformed into a 1970's San Francisco. Filming took place on the 16th, 18th and 26th September 2011 which was the second Hollywood blockbuster to be filmed in Glasgow that year.

Berry obviously not used to the Glasgow weather kept warm with a hot water bottle when filming between shots!

Cloud Atlas is produced by a German company who said they wanted to film in Glasgow for its geographical similarities to San Francisco, the steep hills that some of the Glasgow streets possess. So after meeting with Glasgow City Council Film Office, an agreement was made to allow permission to film there as Jennifer Reynolds, one of the film commissioners believed it would benefit Glasgow. Some of the script was set in the UK so it was perfect to film in Scotland's largest city and other scenes in London.

Vintage U.S car brought in to transform Glasgow to San Francisco

Filming took place around Blythswood Square and Montrose Street, seeing it transformed with old vintage American cars being flown in to re-create San Francisco.

Many local filming crews were hired on scene in Glasgow, benefiting them and Glasgow's economy as various hotels, restaurants etcetera were used too.

Cloud Atlas is based on British author David Mitchell's bestselling novel, of the same name, which was released in 2004 and was shortlisted for a Man Booker Prize.

The film is due for release later this year and along starring Halle Berry includes a star studded cast with Oscar winners Tom Hanks and Susan Sarandon, also co-starring are British actors Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess and Ben Whishaw.

I hope you have enjoyed my blogs so far, thanks for having a look!

Home Turf

Now there's been a lot happening in Glasgow with regards to the film industry lately. Brad Pitt was in the city filming World War Z, Halle Berry with Cloud Atlas, Scarlett Johansson with Under the Skin and most recently, James McAvoy and Jamie Bell filming Filth; a film set and based in Glasgow.

More about Filth, seen as it's a Scottish based film, with one of the lead actors being Scottish too! James McAvoy that is. Filth, is written by the Trainspotting author, Irvine Welsh, who also cast Scots actors Robert Carlyle and Ewan McGregor as the lead roles in Trainspotting. One of his other books, Ecstasy, was shown earlier this year at the Glasgow Film Festival in a film adaptation. The controversial book was published in 1998 and reads of two Scottish cops, Bell and McAvoy, who are called in to solve a brutal murder, set in and around Glasgow city.

Looks like fun! Jamie Bell and James McAvoy have a laugh on set in Glasgow

 Fans of the best selling novelist have long been anticipating the film version of the books release and I don't think it will disappoint!

Most scenes were filmed in Glasgow city centre, Stirling and Edinburgh. McAvoy and fans express their joy online and elsewhere at the return of McAvoy to his homeland and being able to use his own accent! James was born in Drumchapel, Glasgow, so he can relate well to this film in particular as Drumchapel was seen to be a turbulent, violent place, which the movie contains lots of.

This comes after his success in Hollywood where he has taken part in many blockbuster films, taking on a variety of roles and speaking with many different accents other than Scottish.

McAvoy plays a racist cocaine addict and Bell his partner. James stated in an interview that this is one of the most challenging roles he has ever agreed to play as his character Bruce Robertson is not likeable.
He told The Sun: "I'm taking probably the biggest risk of my career in playing the part in Filth.
"It's an incredible role for me, unlike anything I've ever done and a massive challenge."
Well it certainly will be a challenging role as Bruce, is also a sex obsessive and misogynist, who somehow is a cop?

Interestingly enough, fans have critiqued what the outcome of the film will be like, as in the book, McAvoy's character has a tapeworm, which has a big part in the novel. I'm not entirely sure how that will be played out? Many members of the public are slating the plot adding that it's another grim and depressing portrayal of Scotland, but they still want to see it!

Anyway, lots of fans of both the novel and James say that even though it is a challenging role to play, they believe he will fulfil the role excellently and many can't wait to watch and judge for themselves!

So already good news for director Jon S Baird, cast and crew!

I couldn't find a trailer as filming and editing is still on going but I found an interview of McAvoy and Bell about playing their controversial characters and the film itself!

There are more high profile films said to be filmed in the near future in Glasgow and when I find out more; I'll update you in one of my blogs!

I'll also be blogging about other movies I've stumbled across that have also been film in Glasgow.

Thanks for reading!

Free Man in Glasgow

Its been a busy few years for the film industry in Glasgow!

As mentioned in my first post, Brad Pitt was in the city last August filming for World War Z, with other Hollywood stars to swiftly follow, including Halle Berry, Scarlett Johansson and James McAvoy, which I'll talk about in my blogs to come.  I didn't realise just how many big "stars" had been filming on set in Glasgow in the past, at present time now and to be, in the near future.


Whilst researching for my blogs I learned that Morgan Freeman, whom I consider to be one of the many greats in the acting world, set afoot Glasgow back in 2005 for the film named Unleashed, but it was later re-released as Danny The Dog. Directed by Louis Leterrier, he describes it as an all American-British-French martial arts action thriller film!




Other cast members include Bob Hoskins, famous for many films like Roger Rabbit and Jet Li, a martial arts great! I haven't seen the film but I plan on now, it seems like a good action film plus I do like Morgan Freeman and a bit of action! Also it would be quite fun being able to point out some of the scenes Freeman and Li are in and be able to say " I've been there!", seen as most of the movie was filmed in Glasgow!

So most of Unleashed is set and filmed on site in and around Glasgow and was released in America, France and then the United Kingdom on 19th August 2005.

Basically the movie is about Danny (Li), a man with the mind of a child who is brought by Bart (Hoskins), a loan shark who wants to be part of the dark underworld of the Glasgow gang culture. He realises he can gain extra recognition, respect and some cash by training Danny and entering him into illegal fights in the gang world in return. Bart bullies Danny into running away as he doesn't want to fight anymore and this is when he meets Sam (Freeman) and his step daughter, Victoria. who is played by Kerry Condon. Sam and Victoria help Danny escape and defeat his once before owner, Bart. The film ends with Danny in Sam and Victoria's company where she is getting ready to go on stage at the Carnegie Hall to perform a song Danny's mother used to play.

Here is the trailer for the film that was released in 2005.

The film placed third in the U.S Box office in 2005 gaining $50,871,113 from this!

I hope you enjoyed reading my blog!

Weegie Film Festival!

For all of you who don't know what the word, "Weegie" means, it's the slang term for someone from Glasgow and it derives from the word Glaswegian funnily enough!

So the Glasgow Film Festival began in 2005, offering opportunities for budding film makers, film production companies, actors, producers and the likes to broadcast and share their work and gain recognition for their efforts. Anyone can involve themselves in the events that usually take place each year in the ending weeks of February. This year, they were extremely privileged to have Brian Cox, the Scottish actor, as one of their hosts! Here is the official trailer for the 2012 GFF (Glasgow Film Festival).

Most of these "contenders" are new and upcoming, some never heard before, which the Glasgow Film Festival provides the perfect platform for taking the first step into the much anticipated film industry. Not all of them are from Glasgow either. Many travel from all of the world, making the festival a more prestigious affair. This offers opportunities to everyone, allowing us Scots to experience different cultural views on film and how they adapt it differently. Here is a video of one of the films this year! Premiering earlier this year at GFF is Night is Day.

From the 6th to 26th February this year, GFF put on a show of unique programmes consisting of feature films, shorts, special events and live and interactive happenings. Across the city GFF exhibits in cinema spaces, galleries, unusual venues and are dedicated to putting on a truly great festival for film lovers from Glasgow and festival attendees from around the world.


Being in competition with Scotland's capital and the Edinburgh film festival sees organisers of Glasgow's film festival seek out new and exciting ventures and opportunities to be the best. So each year they have to out shine each other. Workshops, trials, film previews and theatres are set up for spectators to come along and enjoy and get a feel of the film industry. Hopefully in a bid to gain more admissions and sell more tickets.


School trips were also organised for the festival with earlier this year, educating primary and secondary pupils about Glasgow's film world for those who may consider making a career of it in the future! Reduced ticket rates and travel packages were issued to those schools interested.


The festival's 8th return to Glasgow saw the biggest turnout yet, organisers and critiques say this success was due to the increased interest in attracting younger audiences. Also, the variety of both films and venues saw the box office numbers rise to its highest yet; 35,000 admissions were accounted for over the eleven day festival. That's pretty impressive!


Within the festival there are other festivals, offering more choice to attendees of all age groups and interests. There is the Glasgow Short Film Festival, The Short Film Festival, Fright Fest, and the Youth Film Festival.

The Youth Film Festival proved to be a big hit in the early months of 2012, it ran on separate dates to the full event from the 5th to the 15th February. Here is a clip of some of Glasgow's younger aspiring film fans with their own film for the Youth Festival!

 

Over 9,000 admissions were made into the the youth film festival in 2012!

You can follow the link to the official Glasgow Film Festival link here, where you can keep updated and see all the winners and entries of this years and find out when the dates for next year are released!

 

I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog, sadly I never managed to go to the festival this year but I plan on going next year, from my research I found it interesting and I would like to find out more and the best way to do that would be to go along!

Glasgow's the Pitts!

Well from the looks of things it certainly isn't!

Over recent years, in particular 2011, Scotland has seen many influential people entering the city of Glasgow and using its venues to create blockbuster movies! Scotland proves to be the perfect host, with its beautiful, historic buildings, landscapes and lochs, that many argue cannot be found elsewhere in the world!

Beautiful shot of Kelvingrove Park and Kelvingrove Art Museum, one of Glasgow's many famous Landmarks

The most recent and most recognised film to be shot in Glasgow was World War Z, starring Brad Pitt, which began shooting in the city centre in August 2011.

Now who would complain about Mr Pitts presence in Glasgow? I know for a fact, myself being one of the many crazed fans, that I certainly wouldn't mind catching a glimpse of the "Hollywood Hunk" roaming around the streets of Glasgow. You don't get to see that every day!

Well sadly, even at my best efforts, I didn't manage to see him! I did however see the set, which transformed Glasgow's George Square overnight into Philadelphia.

Glasgow's George Square or Philadelphia?

It was estimated, over the seventeen days of filming, that World War Z and Mr Pitt generated around £3.3 million to Glasgow's economy last summer, according to Glasgow City council. Great for local business and aspiring actors, many of the extras in World War Z are from Glasgow based agencies which casting calls were held a month before shooting.

There was around 1200 cast and crew filming on location, staying in local hotels and dining out, all good for the city's economy, costly though for Paramount. Filming could have cost them much more, did they decide to film in Philadelphia however, they still carried the burden of changing a famously identifiable city, Glasgow, into another, Philadelphia.

So why did Paramount Pictures decide to shoot the majority of scenes in Glasgow?

According to the location manager for World War Z, Glasgow was chosen for filming for its wide roads, grid lay out and most importantly its architecture, with many of Glasgow's buildings similar to that of the buildings in Philadelphia.

Other sources say that the decision to film in Glasgow was over tax costs too, suggesting that it would be too expensive to film on set in Philadelphia and that it is too big a city to shut down major streets and roads for shooting, which could affect local business.

Changes to shop fronts, American street lights and traffic lights fitted, street names changed, cars, buses and armed vehicles too were brought in to complete the transition. All a costly matter.

World War Z is based on Max Brooks' 2006 novel World War Z: An Oral History Of The Zombie War, which is set in the aftermath of a war between humans and zombies.

There is no official trailer yet for the film as it is set to be released later this year, but I'll be sure to upload one when it appears!

For now, here is a YouTube clip of an amateur filmmakers video of some scenes he captured on set in Glasgow. Not the best, but everything else seems to be mash ups of past zombie filmes all combined together! At least this is actual footage of filming in Glasgow!

There is more links from this video if your'e interested in seeing some more scenes and people's own adaptations of what the film will be like!

Due for release in December 2012.

I hope you enjoyed reading my first blog! Next time I'll be blogging about the Glasgow Film Festival and more about other movies filmed in the Glasgow area!

Thanks for reading!

Hey all!
As part of my last trimester of my first year at uni we've all been asked to create blogs to be marked on over a 5 week period! I'll be blogging about Glasgow's film scene! So I hope you enjoy, feel free to comment and leave any suggestions as I'm fairly alien to this and would appreciate any support!
Ha thanks!
Chiara :)