I'd Wait For ...Wet Barlow

In 1995 Gary Barlow escaped from the Back For Good video set with minimal amounts of wetness compared to his soaked bandmates. In what has become boyband legend, Barlow was not overly enamored with the thought of becoming soaked through and mostly stayed toasty dry under the wooden thingymajig featured in the video. Whilst Mark, Jason, Howard and Robbie embraced the rain - dancing and frolicking in it, and then having water poured over them for the close-ups, Barlow concentrated on singing the song.

But now, with the imminent release of 'I'd Wait For Life', an underwater set is being built at Pinewood... and with it, the promise of that rarest of Barlow forms (ignoring his early muscular solo career) - WET BARLOW. At this point I'd begin a campaign for Wet GB-Gary Barlow, making posters, t-shirts and hounding anyone who could make a difference. But frankly I'm just so damn happy to have Barlow and co back I don't care... but I do hope. Oh yes... I hope.

Actors Should be Seen on the Screen and Not Heard...

A couple of weeks ago I went to a screening of the new Danny Boyle film Sunshine at the newly named BFI Southbank (the NFT). After the really rather enjoyable sci-fi flick ended, during which I almost drowned in Cillian Murphy's eyes, Danny Boyle came out to talk to us about the film and explain the rather bizarre ending (Madness or reality? Madness makes more sense to me). He was really entertaining, full of the energy of a ten year old boy and answering the questions fully and with thought.

Then the thing I can't get over happened. Cillian Murphy came out to talk about the film. Actually, no, when I say 'talk about the film' I mean 'mumble incoherently and pass all the questions to Boyle'. It's not that he wasn't perfectly nice and polite (well he probably would have been if he'd spoken up)... it's just; he was so small. It's such a cliche that actors are short, but Cillian was SO short. And skinny, and hunched... and quiet. And normal. Bah. Those eyes were not as big and blue as previously thought, they looked tired and pale and a little bloodshot. And he was so quiet, and so unenthused when compared to his director. I was so disappointed. I'm not even a big fan of his, or even a fan... I don't think I've ever thought about him too much. But after seeing him on screen for the best part of a couple of hours and then seeing him in front of me... hmm.

Much disappointment. Maybe if his posture had been better I wouldn't have been so disappointed. I've never even really thought about posture before. But... well, now it's important to me. In fact as I'm writing this I have three magazines (InStyle, Elle and Nylon) and two biographies of President Jimmy Carter balancing on top of my noggin. No bad posture for me; oh no. And I'm also reading this blog back to the (empty) room, projecting my voice from the base of my spine, out into the house and, as the window's open, my parents' back garden and street and my childhood village. Should I get cast in some Hollywood or British film any time soon I will not be a disappointment to my fans during the inevitable screening/ Q&A (note to self; get some anecdotes).

Superb. Well, that's that sorted then. I don't blame Murphy for bringing this life lesson to me... but it hurts...

Skins: Season Finale Thoughts...

This is just a quick post to say that the ending of Skins on E4 surpassed anything I expected of the series. It was a charming and well written series, often well-acted particularly in the case of the actors playing Sid, Cassie, Michelle and Chris and laughed at teenagers and their parents.

The last five minutes of the final episode of this first series was unexpected and blindingly fantastic. It could have all gone wrong, it could have been overly ambitious, but it was played superbly. You could finally see the parallels with Shameless, in that even the most frustratingly annoying characters had their charms (i.e Tony). Also I must note that Sid and Cassie are my new favourite 'will they, won't they' TV couple... they have made me almost cry on a few occasions now. I know, I'm a wuss...

If you missed it, try and catch the repeats on E4 and no doubt it will be all over Channel 4 sometime soon. The second season is confirmed... I look forward to seeing where it all goes.

RIP The O.C

It's finally ended, after a last season which lost the plot in a far better way than any part of season three (bar Marissa dying). Season Four gave us dream episodes, lots of Taylor Townsend, spirit animals, French husbands, Ryan's sense of humour, Hercules, Chris Pratt naked and a heck of a lot of comedy and knowing in-jokes. Airing in the US recently and soon to be shown in the UK the final episode of The O.C was jam-packed.

********SPOILERS BELOW:*********

The final episode was no different. From Rachel Bilson's Summer expressing upset that two actors from her favourite tv show The Valley had split up in real life (much like Bilson herself and castmate Adam Brody) to the enabling gay couple living in Kirsten and Sandy's old Providence house who just happened to be a much-needed midwife and a wedding planner, the final episode provided equal laughs and tears. Much rushed, as the season had to be when it was cancelled, summing up four seasons in one episode was obviously a challenge for the writers and, although not one of the best episodes in my opinion, The O.C went out on a suitably satisfactory note.

Here's the final montage, set to Patrick Park's Life Is A Song, revealing what happens to all the characters... it's happy endings all round with weddings, pregnancies, 'Team Julie' T-shirts (get me one now), Uni lecturing and sisters doin' it for themselves! Ahhh..



*wipes away the tears*

So sad. Anyway, one of my favourite things about the show was the fantastic music; I was introduced to various bands and artists (Death Cab For Cutie, Joseph Arthur, The Faint, The Killers and The Shins to name a few) through the show. Silly Pipe Dreams has put together his top 10 music moments on the show, complete with YouTube clips to get those memories flowing, including the beautiful 'Hallelujah' by Jeff Buckley. CLICK HERE TO VIEW. Agh, it's all too much... too soon! I'll watch them all again once I am a little more emotionally sound over this televisual loss...

Here's a fun clip from the most recent season to show how much fun they were having with it... signing off!


"Ryan Likes Journey..."

Sidekicks RULE!

The Onion's A.V Club has posted a fun article about sidekicks that are cooler than the heroes of TV and film; a couple I completely agree with are Willow from Buffy and Arthur from fantastic shortlived superhero TV series The Tick.

Lets face it, most sidekicks are infinitely more relatable than the heroes and they're our hook into the world of the show or film. Those heroes ain't nothing without their sidekicks!

Read the rest of the article here and see if you agree!

Quick Oscars Roundup

So, yes. They happened. Some people won, however, a small child and an old man did not. This is sad. Here are some more of my thoughts...

• Ellen DeGeneres presented (a great choice if you ask me, asking Steven Spielberg to take a photo of her and Clint Eastwood for her MySpace was v funny...)
• There were no big surprises in the 4 main acting winners, although I am still surprised that Helen Mirren has a tattoo on her hand.
• Reese Witherspoon looked far too gorgeous.
• Jake Gyllenhaal had a good time at the aftershow... well, last year. But any excuse for pics of Jake... (credit JustJared.com)
  
• Martin Scorsese finally got his dues with the Best Director award and Best Picture for The Departed. About time too, etc, etc...
• Will Ferrell, Jack Black and John C. Reilly performed a number about how comedians never win at the Oscars, which lots of internet people did not find funny. I did, partly because of Ferrell's fab hair, and partly because I love anything with singing and dancing. ANYTHING. *Except Chicago.
• I WON the house Oscar Sweepstakes for the SECOND year running. I got about 12 winners right... I have so much knowledge of the Academy that is had to happen. It was certainly not just random luck. At all. Ahem. Check out Plattenspieler to laugh at the losers and for my celebratory thumbs-up photo.
• Ellen cried on her talkshow the other day after watching some footage of herself preparing for the ceremony, it was rather touching.
• Did I mention I WON???!

So that's it for another year... I'm sure there is more to take note of than this, but it has all been covered in more depth and with more serious thought on other blogs and sites....

Oscars 2007

Stay tuned for all the results and some pictures tomorrow... a girl's gotta sleep!

Rainn Wilson on Saturday Night Live

We don't get Saturday Night Live over here in the UK, and from most of the clips I've seen of the show I'd say this is not a terrible thing. But lately there's been a couple of chucklesome moments which I'm glad to have had access to. The first was the funny Justin Timberlake sketch / song 'Dick In A Box'... search for it on YouTube if you somehow missed it's proliferation on the web... and the second was the fact that Rainn Wilson from the American version of The Office presented it last week. Here's his opening monologue and some pitch perfect impersonations of the rest of his castmembers...

A Bald Move

Um... so Britney's seeming more and more insane as days go by. Having gone from blonde to brunette again to refresh her image, Spears has decided to go a couple of steps further and get rid of her hair completely. By shaving it off.

Well, it's a look.

On a side note, she still has kids, right? Where are they?

Joss Whedon 'does' The Office

Yes, geeks like me the world over are so damn excited about Joss Whedon (creator of TV's Buffy, Firefly and follow up film Serenity) directing an episode of The Office (the fantastic American version, airing this week in the US).

In the episode it looks like Jim will be playing one of his fabulous pranks on Dwight by pretending he's turning into a Vampire... it looks set to be a hilarious classic.

For a list of other pranks Jim has played on Dwight over the three seasons the show has been running, check out this site.

This version of the comedic UK show has surprised me beyond belief by how funny and touching it is. I don't think anyone thought it could be as good as the British original, but it really is and has a life of its own now. I think it owes a lot to staying true to the original formula.

Steve Carell (Little Miss Sunshine, The Daily Show, The 40 Year Old Virgin) plays a very much Americanised version of the David Brent (Ricky Gervais) character and is backed up by a flawless team of supporting players such as John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer and Rainn Wilson as the slightly psychotic Dwight.

Genius.

Brits 2007...

So... this year ITV gave me the fabulous present of The Brit Awards on my birthday...
I say fabulous; of course I mean mediocre.

A few thoughts...

• The pre and after-show programmes on ITV2 served only to show us that Lauren Laverne is dead behind the eyes, Matt Willis could be presenting daytime telly in a couple of months time and that Alesha Dixon (the ex-Mystique girl with the hips worshipped in N.E.R.D's She Wants To Move video) is far better off without Harvey (her ex-So Solid Crew husband, who cheated with ex-Popstars:The Rivals 'star' Javine... are you keeping up?!).
• Joss Stone is apparently now officially American and clearly thought she owned the place, striding around the stage with a confidence not quite earned. The fact she's dyed her hair all different shades of red and had a perm also confused me. Get yourself back to Devon, love.
• Noel Gallagher's gentle humour about his lout of a brother is still mildly amusing 10+ years later.
• Russell Brand can be quite funny. But then, he can also be quite annoying... picturing his 'ball bags' or his 'dinkle' is not anything anyone wants to be doing. Except those mullet-haired, eyelinered 13 year olds screaming for him in the cold outside Earls Court.
• Take That rule! The tears brought to the eye when Jason announced his reunion with his father and said Dad appeared on screen with watery eyes melted hearts across the country. But Barlow brought it back to business by thanking the record company... again.
• Amy Winehouse is clearly slightly gone in the head. But I'd love to go out and have a drink with her.
• Does anyone care who wins these awards anymore? Granted we all know it's an 'Industry Thing'... but James Morrison? Best British Male?!! Are you kidding me?
• Scissor Sisters don't 'alf put on a show... what an opening performance! Ana Matronic is a goddess.(see below)
  
  
  
  • Antony Kiedis was better looking about 3 years ago... and Flea carrying around his own urine in a bottle is just weird. Not weirdly cool and rock-starry. Just weird.
  • Jamelia is possibly the nicest woman in pop. She's lovely! Although agreeing to let Richard Hammond drive you to the ceremony may not be the best idea in the world...
  • Did I say Take That rule?
  • Fearne Cotton has a fabulous sense of style (most days). Although her overexcited interview technique, while charming, can grate slightly. This does not stop my love for her, however.
  
  And so endeth my thoughts on The Brits 2007. Should I be without plans next year (or if Take That are performing once more) I shall no doubt tune in again... and be slightly disappointed once more.