Irish gong show will go on

FOR the last few years the Irish Film and Television Awards have provided newspapers with happy photographs of various celebrating Byrnes and Brosnans. Last week it emerged that a formal body, The Irish Film and Television Academy, will be set up to drive industry initiatives, encourage film education and, of course, organise that annual distribution of gongs.

It was further announced that, to synchronise the bash with other, less prestigious international awards ceremonies, the prize giving will move from autumn to February.

Industry professionals keen to join the academy - and thereby gain voting rights for the awards - should seek out the application form at www.ifta.ie. The deadline is August 25th.

Buying time

Irish distributors have, in recent times, made commendable efforts to screen Irish shorts with commercial features. But there are still a great many more shorts around than there are support slots available. Hats off, then, to Brothers Gonna Work It Out Ltd, an Irish production company, for seeking out a novel solution to the dilemma. The company recently purchased time from Carlton Advertising to present their picture, Red Wire Blue Wire, among the commercials before the main feature at Dublin's Savoy Cinema. "We'll be buying space in Cork and Galway over the next few weeks," explained Jason Butler, the film's director. See www.brothersgonnaworkitout.com for details.

Music for silents

Readers lucky enough to have experienced the musical collective 3epkano performing their innovative accompaniments to such silent classics as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and Faust will not want to miss the group's upcoming appearance at the Kilkenny Arts Festival. On successive nights next weekend, 3epkano will accompany screenings of Dziga Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera and Jean Cocteau's The Blood of a Poet. Don't miss. www.kilkennyarts.ie

Mel's Schneider problem

You thought you'd get through Reel News without happening upon a Mel Gibson story? You thought wrong, mate. For the last two weeks, soothsayers have been scrutinising the media runes in an attempt to discover if the boozed-up diplomat's career may be salvageable. Jodie Foster's generous tribute brought good news for Gibbo.

"Mel is honest, loyal, kind, but alcoholism has been a lifelong struggle for him and his family," Foster said of her Maverick co-star. Somebody called Patrick Swayze was equally supportive. But what are we to make of these comments from Rob Schneider? "I, Rob Schneider, a half Jew, pledge from this day forth to never work with Mel Gibson, actor-director-producer and anti-Semite," the supposed comedian ranted in an advertisement in Variety.

We don't wish to trivialise this important story, but if Mel were to even consider appearing alongside the star of Deuce Bigalow, the soothsayers would surely deduce that his career was doomed beyond even the restorative powers of Quentin Tarantino.

Sly goes the distance

Entertainment writers, exhausted by their efforts to invent ever more imaginative boxing metaphors, were relieved to hear that Chuck Wepner, a former heavyweight fighter, has ended his attempts to gain compensation from Sylvester Stallone for using his story as the basis for the Rocky films.

Stallone, currently at work on Rocky Balboa, the sixth episode in the saga, has admitted that Wepner's brave 1975 defeat by Mohammad Ali did have quite an effect on him. The dispute, which centres on an alleged promise by Stallone to remunerate Wepner, has been dragging on since 2003. But now, without revealing the details of the settlement, the lawyers have thrown in the towel. The bell has been sounded. The case is out for the count. And so on.

Trick or treat?

Rob Zombie's last two horror films, House of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects, had much to recommend them, but in neither did the director demonstrate any great talent for the subtle accumulation of tension. Whatever. Mr Zombie has been commissioned to direct a new version of John Carpenter's Halloween, arguably cinema's finest exercise in slow-burning anxiety. Rob claims his film will be "an extended prequel, sort of combined with an update of the first film." We are already very frightened.