Donald Clarke

• Cannes
• March 29, 2011, 22:49

I know what you’re thinking. Terrence Malick’s much-anticipated epic — due for about two years — has been delayed yet again. That’s that. We’ll never see the blasted film now. Screenwriter was correct and the whole thing is a big …

• Steven Spielberg
• March 27, 2011, 19:26

As images reach us of Steven Spielberg’s upcoming War Horse, we might perhaps ponder the current status of this staggeringly successful director. Few other film-makers divide opinion as much as does our Steven. That sounds like an odd statement. After all, …

• Uncategorized
• March 24, 2011, 12:18

By now, you may be aware that the landlord of The Light House, John Flynn, has issued a petition for a so-called winding-up order against the cinema following a dispute over rent. Laura Slattery, one of our business boffins, laid …

• Deaths
• March 23, 2011, 13:55

It does not involve hyperbole to state that Elizabeth Taylor was an institution. A star for over 60 years, she represented an ideal of Hollywood glamour that died with the 1960s, but, somehow, despite relegation to TV and glorified B-movies, …

• Uncategorized
• March 22, 2011, 22:59

Yes, that’s right. I have chosen to celebrate the great man’s passage into a ninth decade with a cheap crack at his notoriously eccentric delivery. He won’t mind. If ever there were an actor who revelled in his own ridiculousness …

• Hell
• March 20, 2011, 21:46

Has ever a supposed genius (more anon) had such a run of debacles as has Julie Taymor? It’s nearly a decade since Taymor, a director of theatre, film and opera, delivered the perfectly decent Frida. A biopic of Frida Kahlo, …

• Box Office Figures Television
• March 15, 2011, 21:21

Here’s an interesting rumour. The Hollywood Reporter is, erm, reporting that Walt Disney has backed out of plans to develop a remake of Yellow Submarine. The picture was to have been directed by Robert Zemeckis, the man behind Back to …

• Posters
• March 11, 2011, 22:58

Following on from our discussion about The Company Men, here’s another interesting case study of publicity wonks in action. Hall Pass, the latest film from the Farrelly Brothers, is released today. It’s not very good. Like too many of their …

• Uncategorized
• March 9, 2011, 17:36

To the annoyance of H P Lovecraft nuts and Guillermo Del Toro fans (the intersection between the relevant Venn diagrams takes in most of the two sets and includes this writer) the Mexican director has confirmed that his “long-cherished” adaptation …

• Moaning Television
• March 8, 2011, 15:56

When Channel 4′s attempt at a satirical news show was launched, more than a few commentators urged caution before condemning it outright. After all, comedy takes a while to settle in. It is well known that the initial reviews of …

• Posters
• March 6, 2011, 14:56

This is a genuine question. You may have seen the posters for The Company Men, a redundancy drama starring Hollywood’s finest, littering up your local bus shelter. Does it remind you of anything? Hmm? A bunch of wage slaves worry …

• Box Office Figures Oscars
• March 3, 2011, 16:58

It’s a hard one to answer. Last year, we would have replied with a definitive “no”. Sure, Avatar was the biggest film of all time, but nobody would seriously argue that the success of Cameron’s epic was down to its …