Genuine Gold: PSYCHO (left); PEEPING TOM (center); and HOUSE OF USHER celebrate their 50th anniversaries.

With no new horror, fantasy, and science fiction films opening nationwide this week, the Cinefantastique Podcast turns its eye on the 50th anniversary of a trio of terror from the year 1960: Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO, Michael Powell’s PEEPING TOM, and Roger Corman’s HOUSE OF USHER. Relax and sit back in your time machine as Dan Persons, Lawrence French, and Steve Biodrowski offer their retrospective analysis of these classic films. Also this week: an interview with Richard Clabaugh, director of EYEBORGS, due on home video on July 6. Plus the usual compilation of news, events, and upcoming releases.

IN THIS EPISODE:

1. News
2. Opening in Theaters
3. Interview: Richard Clabaugh on EYEBORGS
4. Discussion: The 50th Anniversaries of PSYCHO, HOUSE OF USHER, and PEEPING TOM
5. New on Home Video
6. New at cfqmag.com

Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) takes on mob boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong).

Cinefantastique’s Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction Podcast returns with a blow-by-blow knock-down debate regarding the merits (or lack thereof) in the new comic-book superhero fantasy KICK ASS, starring Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, and Nicolas Cage. Does the film kick ass, or does it fall flatter than an empty cape? Also on the agenda, the usual round-up of news, recommendations, and home video releases.

The trailer is less than half a minute long, so checking it out won’t put too much of a time-sink on your day and will really help us out. Just to whet your appetite further, here’s the synopsis that was supplied to us:

In Cinemas Now! Written by David Baddiel and starring Omid Djalili, UK’s premiere comic talents!

Meet MAHMUD NASIR, loving husband, doting father and something of a “relaxed” Muslim.

He may not be the most observant, but in his heart he is as Muslim as it gets. But after his mother’s death a discovery turns Mahmud’s world upside down. He finds his birth certificate which reveals that not only was he adopted at birth…but he’s Jewish, and his real name is Solly Shimshillewitz!

Okay, not sure about that whole “Solly Shimshillewitz” thing, but get a look at the trailer and, who knows, maybe you’ve got your weekend entertainment all set up!

And coming up later today or on Saturday: My interviews with the directors of THE SUN BEHIND THE CLOUDS and THE SQUARE.

Rock on Board: Philip Seymour Hoffman (left), Rhys Ifans (center) and Richard Curtis on location for PIRATE RADIO

Richard Curtis had a death in the family. I’d flown in to London to do the interviews for my PIRATE RADIO coverage, and the director was at the top of my list. Some things, though, take precedence over spending fifteen minutes with a dumpy New York journalist, and for Curtis, this had to be one of ‘em.  I had no argument there. I did my sessions with actors Tom Sturridge, Talulah Riley, and Nick Frost instead (you can hear them in Part 1 of this series) and silently wished Curtis well.

Three weeks later, he and I finally had our sit-down. Frankly, I’m not sure I could’ve scraped it all together in so short a time under such conditions, but I was grateful he did. That conversation wraps up this installment, along with my exclusive one-on-one with Bill Nighy — who plays the paternal, impeccably dressed, and seemingly gay (he’s one of the few characters who doesn’t get it on in the course of the film) proprietor of the pirate broadcaster Radio Rock — and the roundtable interview with “The Count” himself, Philip Seymour Hoffman. You’ll learn a little about Nighy’s inner wild man, Hoffman’s experiences as the sole American in a cast of Brits, and Curtis’ decision to trim PIRATE RADIO (nee THE BOAT THAT ROCKED) by some fifteen minutes (or more — reports vary) for its U.S. debut.

Click on the player above to hear the show.

MMP on PIRATE RADIO:

(Almost) Live from London: PIRATE RADIO vs. THE BOAT THAT ROCKED

Part 1: Nick Frost, Talulah Riley, Tom Sturridge

“The F-Word”

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www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/pirate_radio

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Catching Up with the Past

They Were Gods in Their World: Nick Frost as Doctor Dave in PIRATE RADIO

So here’s what I did on my class trip to London: shoot a video featuring people on the street discussing whether they preferred PIRATE RADIO or THE BOAT THAT ROCKED as the title of the latest Richard Curtis film; interview some of the stars of the film itself; and eat British airport pizza. Two of those things were a helluva lot of fun, and one of them was an ungodly plummet into the depths of Hell. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which is which (hint: glad I brought some Pepto tablets with me).

The three actors featured in this first installment of our special, two-part PIRATE RADIO coverage form something of a romantic triangle in the film. Tom Sturridge plays Carl, the teenager who is sent by his mother (Emma Thompson) to spend some time on Radio Rock, the notorious pirate radio ship that in 1966 was beaming rock and roll from international waters into a United Kingdom whose own BBC couldn’t be bothered with the form. Talulah Riley is Marianne, the young woman that Carl’s godfather and Pirate Radio owner and captain Quentin (Bill Nighy) brings on-board to alleviate some of the boy’s sense of isolation. And Nick Frost is Doctor Dave, the sexually unquenchable Radio Rock personality whose interference in the kids’ first meeting proves to be something of a distraction for Marianne — because true love may be forever, but getting nailed by a DJ nets you serious street cred.

The conversations in this ep ranged far beyond the topic of PIRATE RADIO itself, covering as they did the legendary 007 water tank, the Cirque du Soleil, Steven Spielberg’s on-set attitude, and Rupert Everett in drag (but, then, don’t all conversations eventually wind up there?). Click the player above to hear the show.

MMP on PIRATE RADIO:

(Almost) Live from London: PIRATE RADIO vs. THE BOAT THAT ROCKED

Part 2: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Richard Curtis

Trailer

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www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/pirate_radio

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Wolfman Jack Calls All Pirates

Erin Go Frack Yourself: Donal Gallery (left), Alessandro Nivola (center), and Tim Hutton give Ireland some dark shading in TURNING GREEN

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the poster for TURNING GREEN lies. It showcases Tim Hutton, Colm Meaney, and Allesandro Nivola, but while they’re prominent figures in the film, it ain’t about them. Off in the lower right, with his back turned towards the camera, there’s your protagonist: A teenage boy, played quite engagingly by newcomer Donal Gallery. I can understand the motivation for pitching the name players in your marketing, but really, can’t you at least show the kid’s face?

Granted, beyond that poster, Michael Aimette and John G. Hofmann’s TURNING GREEN has had as convoluted a history as can be imagined: The story of James, a teen who, with his brother, has been shipped by their father to Ireland and who decides to rally up the cash for an escape by peddling contraband pornography to his classmates — much to the displeasure of his bookie boss Nivola and the bookie’s enforcer Hutton — the script was a finalist on the first season of PROJECT GREENLIGHT (the one that ended up producing STOLEN SUMMER — dodged a bullet there, eh, guys?), was actually shot in 2004, has been in release since 2005, and is only now making its U.S. debut. It’s a small film, but a cleverly conceived, beautifully photographed, and well-performed one — as neat a directorial debut as I’ve seen this year. Ben Affleck and Chris Moore should be kicking themselves.

Aimette and Hofmann gave me some insight into the film’s extended genesis and the olfactory-challenging lengths to which Tim Hutton would go to develop a character. Click on the player above to hear the interview.

EXCLUSIVE: Director’s Cut Trailer

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www.turninggreen.newfilmsint.com

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UNIVERSAL’S THE FOURTH KIND

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Colm Meaney Showcase

A few technical notes: First, if you’re watching this ep on Sunday the 18th or Monday the 19th, then mission accomplished — I’m actually still in London conducting my interviews. Next, I have to admit that cutting in QuickTime doesn’t allow for the most elegant product (I believe the sage physician Leonard McCoy coined the most fitting analogy: “Threading a needle with a sledgehammer”). Finally, this ep may not play on an iPod. Sorry, I just didn’t have enough time to research the proper formats. I’d appreciate hearing if you were able to see this ep or not. Just use the comments form on the MMP website.

In any case, please enjoy my chiseled good looks, and a set of rather interesting opinions on one of the more pressing issues of the day. (Okay, maybe I have to get my priorities straight.)

FOCUS FEATURES’ 9 OPENS IN THE UK ON OCTOBER 28TH
CHECK OUT THE TRAILER:

Don't Make Me Happy. You Won't Like Me When I'm Happy: Tom Hardy relishes the pain in BRONSON

You wanna talk extreme? Charles Bronson, ne Michael Peterson, has spent thirty-four of his fifty-six years of life in incarceration of one form or another — most of that time has been in solitary confinement. The system has been violent to him, but he’s been violent back, and an anti-authoritarian cult has risen around his two-fisted brand of rebellion.

He’s an artist and poet, and has published an instructional book on how to keep fit under restricted resources (like, say, if you’re kept in solitary for most of your life). He’s not the guy you’d want to have a beer with. He’s most likely the guy you’d fear is going to break the beer bottle over your head. (Although, to be fair, he’s been certified as clinically sane and hasn’t been violent for the last seven years.)

In telling Bronson/Peterson’s story in the new movie, BRONSON, Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn has decided to meet extreme with extremes. The narrative style is surreally hyperbolic; the violence is blunt and unsparing; a framing device has Bronson — played by Tom Hardy — telling his tale from a proscenium stage. There are saturated color schemes, animated sequences, and even, for obscure reasons, a reference to the artist Magritte. Some of this seems to push too hard (Whiteface? Really?), but Refn clearly has his reasons and, while I may not have bought it all, I didn’t regret being taken on the trip. If you’re going to go out there, I think, then, frack, you’d better go all the way out there. Congrats, Nick, mission accomplished.

Refn and I got to talk about the motivation behind the narrative madness and discussed how one confronts an audience with a character who defies empathy. (I also got to meet his three month old daughter, who’s another kind of extreme: extremely adorable.) Click on the player above to hear the interview.

Trailer

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www.magnetreleasing.com/bronson

IMDB Listing

FOCUS FEATURES’ 9 OPENS IN THE UK ON OCTOBER 28TH
CHECK OUT THE TRAILER:

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Refn’s Saga of Danish Drug Lords

As has been noted here and elsewhere, the plot of 9 isn’t anything to write home about, but the visuals, and particularly a corps of flat-out disturbing and scary monsters, are worth a look for anyone into atmospheric, creepy filmmaking. Click the player above to get Tim’s take on the film, and be sure to check out the trailer below.

Glee Goeth Before the Fall: Michael Sheen (right) and Timothy Spall celebrate for the camera in THE DAMNED UNITED

To be clear, I’ve got nothing against sports films that exult in good sportsmanship and the triumph of the underdog and the sheer joy of human competition. THE NATURAL? Sure. BAD NEWS BEARS? No prob. THE MIGHTY DUCKS? Let’s not go crazy, now.

But to be honest, I’m more favorably inclined towards films like THE DAMNED UNITED, films that scrape past the noble veneer of sports, films that explore how the spirit that buoys the rise of underdogs could also, possibly, sink ‘em. The film, written by Peter Morgan (THE QUEEN, FROST/NIXON), is based on a novel by David Peace, a fictionalized recounting of the curious ascendancy and rapid fall of Brian Clough (Michael Sheen), a soccer manager who in the ’70’s drove the ragtag Derby County club to a championship and then, given a chance to manage the formidable Leeds United, a team formerly run by his arch rival Don Revie (Colm Meaney), lasted all of forty-four days. If you remember Morgan’s way with the ambition, ego, and desperation of powerful people and those who aspire to be, you know that this will be a brisk, sometimes funny, sometimes brutal trip.

In case you didn’t recall, Sheen was Tony Baxter in THE QUEEN and David Frost in FROST/NIXON — he’s sort of become Morgan’s one-man stock company. Throw in Meaney and Spall, and add Jim Broadbent as the owner of Derby County, and you’ve got a cast that’d be worth seeing even if they just spent ninety minutes mopping floors. I’d even pay the Fandango ticket fee for that.

Tom Hooper spent a few minutes with us, helping to sort out fact from fiction in this story, and drawing some interesting parallels between Brian Clough’s management style and the life of a director wrangling the cream of Britain’s acting talent. Click on the player above to hear the interview.

Trailer

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Official Site [UK]

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Meanwhile, On This Side of the Pond