Col Needham

Those who know me will be aware that the website IMDb is very impportant in my life. IMDb, which stands for Internet Movie Database, contains all the information about every film, every crew member involved, and every actor and actress in the business. Personally, i use IMDb for many reasons; to find out about new releases, to find films by I certain director I like, or starring a certain actor i would like to see in something else, to identify actors whos face I know but who's name i dont, and primarily for my ongoing "film-web" project. In this project I connect the films i watch by the actors who appear in it, and sometimes i need to search for a really obscure role in order for this to work. I have the IMDb application on my phone so i can access it from anywhere, as well as from my computer, and believe i must visit the site around half a dozen times a day. This is why i was so excited to be in the audience for "spotlight in IMDb founder, Col Needham.

To my surprise, there is nothing show-biz about Col Needham. He looks just like your average man, and is, not from America which id previously thought, but from Manchester!

He explained how he never intended for IMDb to get so huge, and how, charmingly, the database began as a list he made, for himself, of all the films he had seen. The first film he ever watched was Snow White and the seven dwarfs (a re-release ;)) and claims it was seeing this, which began his love for film. He told one story, to which i can relate to very much, where at the age of fourteen he rented the film Alien. In fourteen days, he watched the film, fourteen times.

For an hour, Needham told the story of how IMDb grew into the phenomenon that it s today. From the first time he shared his list with other people, to the day the first person volounteered their information, right to the day he signed the deal with Amazon.

It was fascinating, for me, to learn how this business came from one mans obsessive watching of movies. In 1990, Col admits to seeing 1100 films. Some of the people i was with described him as being "sad", but i decribed him as "my hero"!

Ewen Bremner

This morning we had the absolute pleasure of meeting Ewen Bremner. Ewen is a well known face in cinema and has starred in many blockbusters as well as numerous indie films. Ewen is probably best known for his role as Spud in the 1996 Danny Boyle film, "Trainspotting". Since Trainspotting is one of my favourite films, it is safe to say i was totally star struck in our Q&A session.

Bremner was completely different to how i had expected. Foolishly i had thought he would be just like Spud's character during the interview scene in Trainspotting. Hyper-active and with a thick, almost un-recognizable scottish accent. In actual fact, he was an extremely laid back and friendly guy. He answered our questions wisely and seemed as interested in us as we did in him. During the Q&A I learnt a lot about him and was shocked to hear he tried very hard to "get out of" playing the role of Spud, and also tends to not watch the films he has been in. He is missing out.

It was a refreshing change, I thought, to be told about the industry from an actors point of view, especially one so well respected. He gave us a lot of advise, such as what attracts an actor to a script, and how best for a director to direct their cast.

Ewen was such a lovely guy and i really do feel lucky to have had this opportunity to meet and talk to him in a room full of only ten other people. Hopefully ill get the chance to meet him again sometime! Thanks Ewen!

**HIGHLIGHT OF EIFF

Perfect Sense

This evening I attended the premier screening of David MacKenzie's "Perfect Sense". Before I talk about the film I want to just say how amazingly exciting it was to attend my first premier and to also see Ewan Mcgregor, one of my favourite actors of all time. I can officially die happy.

Before the movie, McGregor, MacKenzie and producer (and therefore my idol) Gillian Berrie gave a small introduction to the film, and were each blown away by the reception they were receiving.

When I watched the trailer I was given the impression that the film was just your conventional love story. Meet, fall in love, fall out of love, forgive each other. And although the film does indeed follow a similar format, the twist in the story line took me completely by surprise. The ideas behind this film are Genius and nothing like anything I've ever seen before.

Overwhelmed by the story it left me crying like a baby at the end, initially with happiness but then also with grief. I highly reccomend this film to anyone. An apocalyptic romance!

FOUR STARS. x

CALVET

Last night I was lucky enough to get a free ticket to see the documentary film "Calvet" by director Dominic Allen. "Calvet" tells the story of french painter, Jean Marc Calvet and documents his journey as he tries to find his son, whom he abandoned as a child. The film follows Calvet as he confides in Allen about his traumatic childhood and battle with drug addiction. When I was lucky enough to witness the question and answer session with them after the screening, Calvet describes the process as being "therapeutic".

Tormented by the memories of his parents divorce, and years of living in hiding, Calvet turned to painting as a form of escaping. His painting, influenced by Latin American art, illustrates the pain and suffering throughout Calvet's life - and helps him to identify and understand the mistakes he has made.

The film is a beautiful and emotional journey, assisting but never intruding the eye-opening confession of Jean Marc Calvet. After watching the film I felt a great connection to the character and was left with a intense feeling of hope. I feel this film took a lot of courage on behalf of the director and the star when making this film and I respect them alot for this.

On Friday I am blessed with the opportunity to meet the director of this film. With an interest in a career in documentary film making myself, I am hoping to learn a lot from him.

FIVE STARS. x

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part One

Its the film I've been waiting for forever. I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and in my opinion the films have gotten better with each one. Especially, i must add, since David Yates started directing them. There's something i really love about the colours of Yates's Potter films. The contrast between all the black and the muted natural colours is really beautiful, and even more so within the intense landscapes that this film is set. Yates transformed the Harry Potter series from lighthearted children's films to dark and epic films for us slightly older ones. He's an absolute genius. Full stop. At the end of the last film i did not think that the films could get any better, but then once i saw the adverts i knew i was going to be in for a treat.I was not disappointed.

Naturally, every scene was styled, acted and shot perfectly. Everything was just as i imagined. If not better. Im pretty sure Voldemort is the coolest bad guy, ever - and his return to power was just too much for me to handle.

In Deathly Hallows, none of the story is set in Hogwarts. Harry, Ron and Hermione take a year out from the school, now run by Snape, to find the remaining Horcruxes. It was almost like I wasn't watching Harry Potter at all - no school, no robes- if it wasn't for the fantastical spells and ever so familiar cast.

Im finding it very hard to describe in words just how much i enjoyed this film. If i were talking to you i would probably articulate myself with a series of noises. Oooooooh's and Aaaaaaaaaagh's! The number of beautiful people, especially Ron, the number of fights, deaths, and revelations. Wow.I only cried once. With happiness, but i came close so many times by the drama and the heartbreak in the story. I have to give kudos the stars in this film for being such amazing actors. Its been an incredible journey up until now, watching them grow and develop and its SO SAD to think that after the release of Part Two, we might never see them work together again. Oh boy.

Ten out of ten. Id give it more if i could, but thats against the rules. Im gonna go see it again on monday so might have some edits to make to this post :) xx

Due Date

Last week, on orange wednesday, Emma and I went to see Due Date. After Todd Phillips' triumph with The Hangover, i was really excited to see this film. Not to mention how excited i was to see Robert Downey Junior :D

I wouldn't say it was THE funniest thing in the world ever but i was highly entertained and had a laugh! The script was very well written and Zach Galifianakis was hilarious, as always! I really enjoyed the story, the crazy things that went on- Although i do think that it was a bit of a remake of the John Hughes classic, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, but a bit more try hard. Overall i give Due Date a 7/10, for sheer entertainment :D xx

A single man

A Single Man, directed by designer Tom Ford was one of, if not, the most stylish film i have seen in a long time. Every shot was so well composed and the use of colour was incredible. It really blew me away how gorgeous the film looked, you can tell the director knows what looks good and what doesn't. I couldn't contain my excitement at how beautiful the film was and on top of that, all the beautiful clothes and beautiful people in it. Colin Firth, as ever, was brilliant. I connected with him straight away and was completely heart broken by his story :( And saw another side again to Nicholas Hoult which showed that he's not just a pretty face.

This film was beautiful and devastating. 10/10. Without question.