James with Kiera and Sienna
Now in its 62nd year, The Edinburgh International Film Festival is the longest continuously running film festival in the world.
At this year’s opening, Edinburgh saw some of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars descend on the Scottish capital, stepping out onto the red carpet, at Fountainbridge, for the opening night of the this year’s festival.
They had all gathered together to attend the World premiere of ‘The Edge of Love’, a story about the famous Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas.
Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller joined Matthew Rhys, who plays Dylan, at the star-studded red-carpet opening, alongside Scotland’s most famous export and the festivals patron, Sir Sean Connery. The one time Bond actor was ‘achin’ but not stirred’, in a ‘shling’, if you’ll forgive the pun, after a golfing accident the week before.
Nevertheless, the Edinburgh born actor, who spent much of his early years living just down the road from the cinema, was in good spirits declaring: “It only hurts when I laugh. But it’s getting better.”
Sir Sean didn’t speak to the press, somewhat appropriately, reminding me of that that famous snippet of dialogue “Do you expect me to talk?”, that has attained an almost legendary status, in the Bond series, as 007 is on the verge of being emasculated by Goldfinger’s laser, in the 1964 epic.
Although ‘The Edge of Love’, opened the festival it was interestingly rejected for three possible categories at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, after it was called: ‘extremely disappointing’. This, however, was something that didn’t bother the film's director, John Maybury, as he is a big Edinburgh fan.
His film ‘Love is the Devil’, based on the life of the British artist Francis Bacon, won the festival’s major trophy, the Michael Powell Award, ten years ago. In fact, he called it: “one of the best festivals in the world… a real film festival about cinema, about film-making, not about commerce”.
He joked, to loud laughter, at the film’s press conference: “We are all chuffed to bits to be here. I'm really glad the French didn't take it for Cannes,” adding, “the French festival, for all its lustre, was partly a hideous trade fair.”
Most of the film was shot in Wales, Dylan Thomas’ home, and the country plays a key role in the film. Keira who plays Dylan’s lover, Vera, said: “We were in West Wales the whole time. It was idyllic and I’ve already been back for pleasure”, while Matthew Rhys explained enthusiastically: “It really was the dream job to go to Wales over the summer and play Dylan Thomas. Everything ticked the boxes, the script, the cast. It was great.”
Keira shot to fame at the tender age of 17, when she appeared in ‘Bend It Like Beckham’. Since then, it seems, she is always learning new skills for her films, whether it be playing football, or sword fighting. In this film she had to do all her singing.
She said: “I’d actually gone into a studio and recorded all the songs beforehand so I thought I’d be miming on set, but John Maybury, the director, came to me on the day and said no you are going to be singing it live in front of about two hundred people. I nearly died. But I was alright after someone kindly gave me a couple of shots of vodka.”
The film, which is by no means a bio-pic in the traditional vain, was written by Keira’s Mum, Sharman Macdonald. She said: “I’m absolutely delighted with it. It’s a gorgeous film. It was remarkably easy writing for my daughter. She just wouldn’t play the part I had written for her (laughs).”
After the films premiere, I headed to the Teviot Union, one of Edinburgh University’s older and more decorative structures in Bristo Square, after receiving an invite to the tightly guarded after party, where 40’s dress was a must. Given the media scrum that converged to catch Sienna and Keira on the red carpet, the heavy security was arguably quite a good thing.
Set out on three floors, the venue was fascinating. It was a labyrinthine maze full of staircases and rooms which had been tastefully converted to accommodate the 40s theme. Divided into ‘Dancehall’, for live acts , the ‘Loft Bar’, a place where people could go outside, the ‘Canteen’, where food was served, ‘the writing room’, for listening to the voice of Dylan Thomas, and the ‘Library Bar’, which was a beautifully old fashioned terrace bar on the ground floor with ornate fittings and, aptly, shelves of books around a balcony. There were also a number of ‘chill-out’ rooms where exhausted party goers could slump in elegant poses over an armchair or two.
The whole place was stuffed to the gills with dapperly attired men and glamorously draped women. Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, and Matthew Rhys, all turned up at about ten o’clock, and watched Beth Rowley, who has been tipped, by ‘The Times’, as the next big thing, perform a beautiful set in the packed out Dancehall. The party went on long into the night, with an endless supply of food and drink, which made for a great atmosphere, setting the tone for what was still to come during the rest of the week.
Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller joined Matthew Rhys, who plays Dylan, at the star-studded red-carpet opening, alongside Scotland’s most famous export and the festivals patron, Sir Sean Connery. The one time Bond actor was ‘achin’ but not stirred’, in a ‘shling’, if you’ll forgive the pun, after a golfing accident the week before.
Nevertheless, the Edinburgh born actor, who spent much of his early years living just down the road from the cinema, was in good spirits declaring: “It only hurts when I laugh. But it’s getting better.”
Sir Sean didn’t speak to the press, somewhat appropriately, reminding me of that that famous snippet of dialogue “Do you expect me to talk?”, that has attained an almost legendary status, in the Bond series, as 007 is on the verge of being emasculated by Goldfinger’s laser, in the 1964 epic.
Although ‘The Edge of Love’, opened the festival it was interestingly rejected for three possible categories at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, after it was called: ‘extremely disappointing’. This, however, was something that didn’t bother the film's director, John Maybury, as he is a big Edinburgh fan.
His film ‘Love is the Devil’, based on the life of the British artist Francis Bacon, won the festival’s major trophy, the Michael Powell Award, ten years ago. In fact, he called it: “one of the best festivals in the world… a real film festival about cinema, about film-making, not about commerce”.
He joked, to loud laughter, at the film’s press conference: “We are all chuffed to bits to be here. I'm really glad the French didn't take it for Cannes,” adding, “the French festival, for all its lustre, was partly a hideous trade fair.”
Most of the film was shot in Wales, Dylan Thomas’ home, and the country plays a key role in the film. Keira who plays Dylan’s lover, Vera, said: “We were in West Wales the whole time. It was idyllic and I’ve already been back for pleasure”, while Matthew Rhys explained enthusiastically: “It really was the dream job to go to Wales over the summer and play Dylan Thomas. Everything ticked the boxes, the script, the cast. It was great.”
Keira shot to fame at the tender age of 17, when she appeared in ‘Bend It Like Beckham’. Since then, it seems, she is always learning new skills for her films, whether it be playing football, or sword fighting. In this film she had to do all her singing.
She said: “I’d actually gone into a studio and recorded all the songs beforehand so I thought I’d be miming on set, but John Maybury, the director, came to me on the day and said no you are going to be singing it live in front of about two hundred people. I nearly died. But I was alright after someone kindly gave me a couple of shots of vodka.”
The film, which is by no means a bio-pic in the traditional vain, was written by Keira’s Mum, Sharman Macdonald. She said: “I’m absolutely delighted with it. It’s a gorgeous film. It was remarkably easy writing for my daughter. She just wouldn’t play the part I had written for her (laughs).”
After the films premiere, I headed to the Teviot Union, one of Edinburgh University’s older and more decorative structures in Bristo Square, after receiving an invite to the tightly guarded after party, where 40’s dress was a must. Given the media scrum that converged to catch Sienna and Keira on the red carpet, the heavy security was arguably quite a good thing.
Set out on three floors, the venue was fascinating. It was a labyrinthine maze full of staircases and rooms which had been tastefully converted to accommodate the 40s theme. Divided into ‘Dancehall’, for live acts , the ‘Loft Bar’, a place where people could go outside, the ‘Canteen’, where food was served, ‘the writing room’, for listening to the voice of Dylan Thomas, and the ‘Library Bar’, which was a beautifully old fashioned terrace bar on the ground floor with ornate fittings and, aptly, shelves of books around a balcony. There were also a number of ‘chill-out’ rooms where exhausted party goers could slump in elegant poses over an armchair or two.
The whole place was stuffed to the gills with dapperly attired men and glamorously draped women. Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, and Matthew Rhys, all turned up at about ten o’clock, and watched Beth Rowley, who has been tipped, by ‘The Times’, as the next big thing, perform a beautiful set in the packed out Dancehall. The party went on long into the night, with an endless supply of food and drink, which made for a great atmosphere, setting the tone for what was still to come during the rest of the week.
James at the opening of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (2008)
1 comment:
Nice picture - lucky you! > Great work James. Edinburgh sounded great in 2008!
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