ALTHOUGH it is not necessarily a strong year for British film at Cannes, there will be a Scottish presence in the south of France this week, determinedly keeping the country's film industry foremost in the minds of distributors and directors. One Scottish filmmaker...
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US studio snaps up British tearjerker
A GENTLE low-budget British film could be one of the surprise hits of the year after being seized by Miramax, the American movie giant, for initial screening in the United States rather than Britain. It is extremely rare for a British film to be shown in America...
Dear Frankie Review – Rolling Stone
Emily Mortimer, Gerard Butler, Sharon Small, Jack McElhone, Mary Riggans Directed by Shona Auerbach 2005 Drama Rated PG-13 - for language Gerard Butler hid his looks behind a mask and disfiguring makeup in The Phantom of the Opera. But onscreen in Dear Frankie, Butler...
HEARTLAND FILM FESTIVAL – Capsule Reviews
This year's Heartland Film Festival winners celebrate the positive values of life. But the fare isn't always kid-friendly. 'Dear Frankie' ***1/2 A fiercely protective mother (Emily Mortimer) concocts an elaborate lie to shield her deaf son from the truth about his...
Heartfelt and moving
THE PRESENCE OF Gerry Butler has presumably inspired Miramax to postpone the public release of Dear Frankie until 2005, when his rising star is expected to be further illuminated by his title role in Joel Schumacher's film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom...
‘Dear Frankie’ a letter-perfect drama about mother, son
Last week at SIFF, the comedy "Touch of Pink" turned out to be a sweet story about the love between a mother and her son. Now, Shona Auerbach's wistful drama "Dear Frankie" (11 a.m., Cinerama), from Scotland, provides another variation on that theme. Nine-year-old...
An Interview with Gerard Butler – Part Two
Once again Gerard Butler is apologizing profusely. He is relatively late in calling me. He's an hour and 40 minutes late to be exact. He says, "You were probably sitting there thinking 'that bastard, he isn't going to call again.'" Pretty much, yeah. But I figured I...
An Interview with Gerard Butler – Part One
It's early in the morning, the phone rings and Gerard Butler is on the line. He is apologizing profusely for having not called sooner. I have been less then enamoured with him for months now after he agreed to do this interview and then didn't get around to actually...
Gerard Takes the Ones2Watch4 This or That Psychology Quiz!
Gerard Butler Takes the Ones2Watch4 This or That Psychology Quiz! But what does it all mean?? Harry or Gandalf? Gandalf. (He hated Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone with a vengeance.) {Editor’s note: gotta love a man with discriminating taste} Timeline or...
Groundbreaking Short Film “Jewel of the Sahara” Premieres
"Jewel of the Sahara," a 15-minute short film directed by Ariel Vromen, will have its United States Premiere June 28, 2001 in Los Angeles. The film stars Gerard Butler, star of Wes Craven's "Dracula 2000," and USA Network's "Attilla.". Gerard has recently finished...
JEWEL OF THE SAHARA
“Jewel of the Sahara” is a droll short film based on an ancient dirty joke. Set in a French Foreign Legion Camp circa 1954, it follows the (mostly) mental adventures of a British Captain, desperately missing his home and wife. With opium stoking the fires of desire...
JEWEL OF THE SAHARA
“Jewel of the Sahara” is a droll short film based on an ancient dirty joke. Set in a French Foreign Legion Camp circa 1954, it follows the (mostly) mental adventures of a British Captain, desperately missing his home and wife. With opium stoking the fires of desire...
DRACULA – WITH A TOOTHY GRIN
Blame Bram Stoker, if you think Dracula sucks. But point the finger at Hollywood for never, never, never giving up on Stoker's novel creation. In movieland, Stoker's vampire king has been Bela Lugosi-ed, Christopher Lee-ed and Frank Langella-ed. Dracula's had a...
WES CRAVEN’S DRACULA A FANGSTASTIC FUN TIME
In movieland, Bram Stoker's vampire king has been Bela Lugosi-ed, Christopher Lee-ed and Frank Langella-ed. Dracula's had a daughter and a dog, and gone up against Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello. The latest redo is Dracula 2000, a grungy metal version of the...
THERE ISN’T MUCH BITE TO THIS ‘DRACULA’
Not just "Dracula" - "Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000," and that humble title is a thoughtful tip that the updated proceedings cross-breed Craven's "Scream" trilogy with the classic myth of Nosferatu. It all opens promisingly enough, in 1897 with dark and moody...
THE CRAVEN IMAGE OF DR. JEKYLL
Of the big Scream movie Wes Craven is to get his hands on the classic spine chiller Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The director is to make the tenth version of Robert Louis Stevenson's captivating story. But Craven, whose Scream trilogy has made over GBP250million worldwide...
Neck & Neck
The stakes may not have seemed high, but finishing 'Dracula 2000' for a year-end release was no bloody picnic.(Holiday Movie Preview: The Rush) Here's a hint for all those perfectionist directors who think they can dawdle their way through a movie, Stanley...
Twenty-first century Dracula is not scary enough
What does today's audience expect from a horror movie? Someone inevitably will follow a spooky sound into the dark, there will be some number of gory murders, the main bad guy will be really hard to kill and the dialogue will be sprinkled with one-liners. "Dracula...
Bite Club
Wes Craven's Dracula 2000 is an anemic addition to vampire lore As the wizened Van Helsing, Christopher Plummer speaks in a standard, fakey sort-of-German accent, at least until the moment he has to intone the name of the evil one. Believe me, you have never heard it...
Fangs … but no fangs
In his encore to playing "60 Minutes" interrogator Mike Wallace in "The Insider," Christopher Plummer is again going after big game in "Dracula 2000," the latest attempt at dragging Bram Stoker's well-traveled vampire into modern times - a frequent destination for the...
A surprisingly good Dracula movie
Most vampire movies are downright awful, but "Dracula 2000" is better than most, achieving some suspense and a lot of creepiness with some deft direction by veteran horror film editor Patrick Lussier, backed by a lot of flashy special effects and competent acting....
‘DRACULA 2001’ A BLOODSUCKING GOOD TIME AT THE MOVIES
JAKARTA (Japan): It seems that vampire movies never die, just like the fanged immortals themselves. However, filmmakers have their work cut out for them in the effort to make something interesting from the seemingly ready-to-use formula so familiar to audiences....
FANGS AIN’T WHAT THEY USED TO BE
DRACULA 2001 15 Release: Next Friday. Running time: 99 mins. Quick plot: Drac's back when some misguided thieves steal the count's coffin in London and fly him to New Orleans. Van Helsing, now an antique dealer, soon has a stake in the proceedings. ROSS: WHAT we have...
Those Wacky, Drooling, Foaming, Biting Undead
Horror films with delusions of historical grandeur have to strain awfully hard these days to come up with fresh explanations for the origins of evil. Hasn't it all been done at least 10 times over? Well, as it turns out, no. The doozy of an explanation offered by...
ANCIENT STORY COMES ALIVE IN ADEQUATE ‘DRACULA’ UPDATE
Dark prince prowls New Orleans So who is this Dracula, really? Depends on who's asking. According to Dracula 2000 screenwriter Joel Soisson, he's not a myth, a legend or the ravings of an Irish novelist. He's got a real history, this poor undead seducer of women,...