It all started yesterday with this teaser from Mark Gatiss...
So do stay tuned after Bake Off final, won't you? #Sherlock
— Mark Gatiss (@Markgatiss) October 7, 2015
As many deduced with their detective skills, a new Sherlock trailer was about to drop.
A few minutes after Nadiya sobbed through her Great British Bake Off win, it happened. Then Twitter exploded for the next day or so.
There was the immediate comparison with what went before
That was an astonishing and emotional bit of TV. Bravo, BBC!
Did anyone else catch the #Sherlock trailer?
— Ian Rankin (@Beathhigh) October 7, 2015
And then more of this sort of thing than we can even start to catalogue
new sherlock trailer got me hyped!!
#wearthedamnhat
— Quenth (@quenth_c) October 8, 2015
Just saw the new Sherlock trailer aaaaaaaaand now I don't know how to proceed with the rest of the day. Welp...
— Olivia Williams (@oliviamwilliams) October 8, 2015
The #Sherlock trailer came...
So do stay tuned after Bake Off final, won't you? #Sherlock
— Mark Gatiss (@Markgatiss) October 7, 2015
As many deduced with their detective skills, a new Sherlock trailer was about to drop.
A few minutes after Nadiya sobbed through her Great British Bake Off win, it happened. Then Twitter exploded for the next day or so.
There was the immediate comparison with what went before
That was an astonishing and emotional bit of TV. Bravo, BBC!
Did anyone else catch the #Sherlock trailer?
— Ian Rankin (@Beathhigh) October 7, 2015
And then more of this sort of thing than we can even start to catalogue
new sherlock trailer got me hyped!!
#wearthedamnhat
— Quenth (@quenth_c) October 8, 2015
Just saw the new Sherlock trailer aaaaaaaaand now I don't know how to proceed with the rest of the day. Welp...
— Olivia Williams (@oliviamwilliams) October 8, 2015
The #Sherlock trailer came...
- 10/8/2015
- Digital Spy
Mystery Writers of America have announced the nominees for the 2014 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television, published or produced in 2013. The Edgar Awards will be presented to the winners at our 68th Gala Banquet, May 1, 2014 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City. Best Novel - Sandrine's Case by Thomas H. Cook (Grove Atlantic – The Mysterious Press) - The Humans by Matt Haig (Simon & Schuster) - Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books) - How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books) - Standing in Another Man's Grave by Ian Rankin (Hachette Book Group – Reagan Arthur Books) - Until She Comes Home by Lori Roy (Penguin Group USA – Dutton Books) Best First Novel By An American Author - The...
- 1/17/2014
- by Pietro Filipponi
- The Daily BLAM!
Hilary Mantel, Jonathan Franzen, Mohsin Hamid, Ruth Rendell, Tom Stoppard, Malcolm Gladwell, Eleanor Catton and many more recommend the books that impressed them this year
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw (Fourth Estate) is a brilliant, sprawling, layered and unsentimental portrayal of contemporary China. It made me think and laugh. I also love Dave Eggers' The Circle (Hamish Hamilton), which is a sharp-eyed and funny satire about the obsession with "sharing" our lives through technology. It's convincing and a little creepy.
William Boyd
By strange coincidence two of the most intriguing art books I read this year had the word "Breakfast" in their titles. They were Breakfast with Lucian by Geordie Greig (Jonathan Cape) and Breakfast at Sotheby's by Philip Hook (Particular). Greig's fascinating, intimate biography of Lucian Freud was a revelation. Every question I had about Freud – from the aesthetic to the intrusively gossipy – was...
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw (Fourth Estate) is a brilliant, sprawling, layered and unsentimental portrayal of contemporary China. It made me think and laugh. I also love Dave Eggers' The Circle (Hamish Hamilton), which is a sharp-eyed and funny satire about the obsession with "sharing" our lives through technology. It's convincing and a little creepy.
William Boyd
By strange coincidence two of the most intriguing art books I read this year had the word "Breakfast" in their titles. They were Breakfast with Lucian by Geordie Greig (Jonathan Cape) and Breakfast at Sotheby's by Philip Hook (Particular). Greig's fascinating, intimate biography of Lucian Freud was a revelation. Every question I had about Freud – from the aesthetic to the intrusively gossipy – was...
- 11/23/2013
- by Hilary Mantel, Jonathan Franzen, Mohsin Hamid, Tom Stoppard, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, William Boyd, Bill Bryson, Shami Chakrabarti, Sarah Churchwell, Antonia Fraser, Mark Haddon, Robert Harris, Max Hastings, Philip Hensher, Simon Hoggart, AM Homes, John Lanchester, Mark Lawson, Robert Macfarlane, Andrew Motion, Ian Rankin, Lionel Shriver, Helen Simpson, Colm Tóibín, Richard Ford, John Gray, David Kynaston, Penelope Lively, Pankaj Mishra, Blake Morrison, Susie Orbach
- The Guardian - Film News
Scottish author James Hogg's 1824 novel The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, a kind of religious satire/polemic crossed with a doppelganger tale and a forerunner of the plot twists of both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Fight Club, ends with a curse against anyone tampering with its text.
In 1988, celebrated Scots filmmaker Bill Douglas prepared a screenplay adaptation, but died before he could get it made. I was present when the producer suggested it as a suitable project for Lindsay Anderson to take over, but Anderson himself died not long afterwards. A fresh script has recently been created by crime writer Ian Rankin and James Mavor, but has yet to go before the cameras. Those involved are advised to beware falling objects, shadowy assassins, sudden illnesses.
But in 1985, Polish director Wojciech Has created his own version, Osobisty pamietnik grzesznika przez niego samego spisany, known more...
In 1988, celebrated Scots filmmaker Bill Douglas prepared a screenplay adaptation, but died before he could get it made. I was present when the producer suggested it as a suitable project for Lindsay Anderson to take over, but Anderson himself died not long afterwards. A fresh script has recently been created by crime writer Ian Rankin and James Mavor, but has yet to go before the cameras. Those involved are advised to beware falling objects, shadowy assassins, sudden illnesses.
But in 1985, Polish director Wojciech Has created his own version, Osobisty pamietnik grzesznika przez niego samego spisany, known more...
- 11/13/2013
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
This feelgood musical featuring the Proclaimers' work is likable but feels too staged – except for some stirring star performances
Andy Warhol's famous prediction about everyone getting to be world-famous for 15 minutes may soon be replaced by something else. Soon every band in the world will have its own feelgood jukebox musical. Everyone who has ever released a record, or performed live, will by EU directive get their greatest-hits catalogue crowbarred into a high-energy musical on the lines of Mamma Mia! – including Joy Division, Jesus and Mary Chain, Freddie and the Dreamers, the Wurzels and Slipknot. Every band's songs will be crammed into a laughter-and-tears story about family parties, love and young women with lovably rumpled dads they didn't know they had.
Such a one is Sunshine on Leith, a good-natured, likable but sometimes contrived and eerily artificial movie-musical – like something cultivated in a lab or generated from a computer...
Andy Warhol's famous prediction about everyone getting to be world-famous for 15 minutes may soon be replaced by something else. Soon every band in the world will have its own feelgood jukebox musical. Everyone who has ever released a record, or performed live, will by EU directive get their greatest-hits catalogue crowbarred into a high-energy musical on the lines of Mamma Mia! – including Joy Division, Jesus and Mary Chain, Freddie and the Dreamers, the Wurzels and Slipknot. Every band's songs will be crammed into a laughter-and-tears story about family parties, love and young women with lovably rumpled dads they didn't know they had.
Such a one is Sunshine on Leith, a good-natured, likable but sometimes contrived and eerily artificial movie-musical – like something cultivated in a lab or generated from a computer...
- 10/3/2013
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Our pal Timothy Truman, perhaps best known for his work on such comics features as GrimJack, Conan, Hawkworld, Jonah Hex, Hawken, and Scout, has teamed up with writer Ian Rankin to present a 44 page comics story inspired by the work of rock-and-blues musician Rory Gallagher. From the press release:
“On October 29, 2013, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release Kickback City, a unique immersive album inspired by the crime noir passion and music of Rory Gallagher (Msrp $29.98). Featuring a specially compiled album of Rory Gallagher’s best crime novel-influenced music; the stunning package also includes an exclusive new novella by Ian Rankin, fully illustrated by graphic artist Timothy Truman. This unique immersive album also includes a special narration of the story by actor Aidan Quinn.
“Inspired by Rory Gallagher’s passion for crime novels, Kickback City is a creative collaboration combining the words of Ian Rankin, the illustrations of Timothy Truman and of...
“On October 29, 2013, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release Kickback City, a unique immersive album inspired by the crime noir passion and music of Rory Gallagher (Msrp $29.98). Featuring a specially compiled album of Rory Gallagher’s best crime novel-influenced music; the stunning package also includes an exclusive new novella by Ian Rankin, fully illustrated by graphic artist Timothy Truman. This unique immersive album also includes a special narration of the story by actor Aidan Quinn.
“Inspired by Rory Gallagher’s passion for crime novels, Kickback City is a creative collaboration combining the words of Ian Rankin, the illustrations of Timothy Truman and of...
- 9/12/2013
- by Mike Gold
- Comicmix.com
Interview Louisa Mellor 3 Sep 2013 - 07:00
Philip Hinchcliffe, Doctor Who producer 1974 - 1977, chats about Tom Baker, villains, visual FX, companions, the 2005 revival, & more…
A week or so ago in a Brighton basement, Den of Geek attended a fun evening organised by the - aptly named, in this instance - arts and entertainment group, Space.
A regular Brighton-based event, Space regularly welcomes luminaries from the creative world to talk to its intimate group. Past guests have been from the world of film and television (Mark Gatiss, Toby Whithouse, Nicholas Roeg, David Morrissey, The Dark Knight trilogy and Inception visual effects artist Paul Franklin, Star Wars, Superman and Raiders of the Lost Ark production designer Norman Reynolds), literature (Ian Rankin), and music (William Orbit, Skunk Anansie’s Skin, Goldie).
There are two Q&As per event, and opportunities to ask questions in an informal, friendly and geeky atmosphere, making the nights well worth the £8 advance ticket price.
Philip Hinchcliffe, Doctor Who producer 1974 - 1977, chats about Tom Baker, villains, visual FX, companions, the 2005 revival, & more…
A week or so ago in a Brighton basement, Den of Geek attended a fun evening organised by the - aptly named, in this instance - arts and entertainment group, Space.
A regular Brighton-based event, Space regularly welcomes luminaries from the creative world to talk to its intimate group. Past guests have been from the world of film and television (Mark Gatiss, Toby Whithouse, Nicholas Roeg, David Morrissey, The Dark Knight trilogy and Inception visual effects artist Paul Franklin, Star Wars, Superman and Raiders of the Lost Ark production designer Norman Reynolds), literature (Ian Rankin), and music (William Orbit, Skunk Anansie’s Skin, Goldie).
There are two Q&As per event, and opportunities to ask questions in an informal, friendly and geeky atmosphere, making the nights well worth the £8 advance ticket price.
- 9/3/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Martin Amis, Ian Rankin and Jackie Collins are among fellow authors and fans paying tribute to the Us crime writer
Fans and fellow writers have paid tribute to Us crime writer Elmore Leonard after he died yesterday, from complications associated with a stroke suffered in July.
Award-winning crime writer Ian Rankin told the Guardian: "Elmore Leonard could write hard-boiled and soft-boiled. He could make you laugh at a one-liner and wince at a scene of brutal violence. He could write westerns, crime stories, and political satire. And all of it in the leanest prose imaginable. In short, he was a master."
The style and humour of Leonard's writing won him fans across the globe during a 60-year career in which he wrote 45 novels, including Get Shorty in 1990, which catapulted him to fame when it became a blockbuster film starring John Travolta.
In the Guardian, Mark Lawson wrote: "The plots … were...
Fans and fellow writers have paid tribute to Us crime writer Elmore Leonard after he died yesterday, from complications associated with a stroke suffered in July.
Award-winning crime writer Ian Rankin told the Guardian: "Elmore Leonard could write hard-boiled and soft-boiled. He could make you laugh at a one-liner and wince at a scene of brutal violence. He could write westerns, crime stories, and political satire. And all of it in the leanest prose imaginable. In short, he was a master."
The style and humour of Leonard's writing won him fans across the globe during a 60-year career in which he wrote 45 novels, including Get Shorty in 1990, which catapulted him to fame when it became a blockbuster film starring John Travolta.
In the Guardian, Mark Lawson wrote: "The plots … were...
- 8/21/2013
- by Liz Bury
- The Guardian - Film News
Jeremy Paxman became a Twitter trending topic last night (August 12), after he appeared with a beard on TV for seemingly the first time.
The broadcaster resembled Charles Dance as he was seen sporting stubble on Newsnight, prompting Twitter users to discuss and joke about the unexpected facial fuzz.
Gary Bainbridge wrote: "Night Editors: Quick, put Paxman's beard on Page 1 so he has to mention it when he does the papers."
Lauren Laverne tweeted: "I like the beard. It's Fawkesian. Doublet next."
Ian Rankin joked: "It is 1973 and I'm really digging the new album by Paxman's Beard..."
Meanwhile, Kirstie Allsopp said: "Paxo with a beard is like me going blonde, there are just some things that are not meant to be."
Fellow BBC presenter Emily Maitlis tweeted: "Right that's it. I'm working on a moustache for Thursday's newsnight."
Other viewers jokingly pointed out that Paxman's beard must grow quite fast, as...
The broadcaster resembled Charles Dance as he was seen sporting stubble on Newsnight, prompting Twitter users to discuss and joke about the unexpected facial fuzz.
Gary Bainbridge wrote: "Night Editors: Quick, put Paxman's beard on Page 1 so he has to mention it when he does the papers."
Lauren Laverne tweeted: "I like the beard. It's Fawkesian. Doublet next."
Ian Rankin joked: "It is 1973 and I'm really digging the new album by Paxman's Beard..."
Meanwhile, Kirstie Allsopp said: "Paxo with a beard is like me going blonde, there are just some things that are not meant to be."
Fellow BBC presenter Emily Maitlis tweeted: "Right that's it. I'm working on a moustache for Thursday's newsnight."
Other viewers jokingly pointed out that Paxman's beard must grow quite fast, as...
- 8/13/2013
- Digital Spy
Life and work of Iain Banks to be honoured at 30th festival, with Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood and Neil Gaiman also featuring in two-week event partnered by the Guardian
The life and works of the late Iain Banks will be celebrated by close friends including Ian Rankin and Val McDermid in a special event at this August's Edinburgh international book festival, for which the Guardian is media partner.
"Scotland and the world were rocked by his death last weekend," said Nick Barley, the festival director. "We'd been planning a celebration anyway as we're marking our 30th birthday, and his first novel, The Wasp Factory, was out in 1984. I spoke to him many times about what he'd like to do. He wanted to be there – sadly he can't be."
Instead, the event on the festival's closing Sunday will see Scottish authors including Rankin, McDermid and Ken MacLeod looking back over Banks's 29-year career.
The life and works of the late Iain Banks will be celebrated by close friends including Ian Rankin and Val McDermid in a special event at this August's Edinburgh international book festival, for which the Guardian is media partner.
"Scotland and the world were rocked by his death last weekend," said Nick Barley, the festival director. "We'd been planning a celebration anyway as we're marking our 30th birthday, and his first novel, The Wasp Factory, was out in 1984. I spoke to him many times about what he'd like to do. He wanted to be there – sadly he can't be."
Instead, the event on the festival's closing Sunday will see Scottish authors including Rankin, McDermid and Ken MacLeod looking back over Banks's 29-year career.
- 6/20/2013
- by Alison Flood
- The Guardian - Film News
British writer Stuart Evers addressed the question of mystery fiction as literature, observing that, “...at its best, crime writing offers unique insights into society, psychology, and human behavior. It can be both engaging and literate; compelling and well-written. It can be innovative and surprising, but what it can't be, it seems, is feted in the same way as literary fiction. The most crime writers can hope for is to be told, as Ian Rankin indeed was, that their novels 'almost transcend the genre.' Faint praise indeed.”...
- 2/19/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Beauty and the beastly Hitchcock: a peerless study of sexual obsession
"Blondes make the best victims," Alfred Hitchcock once said. The Girl (BBC2) was Tippi Hedren, the blonde who ultimately refused to be his victim and, as this HBO film was largely based on Hedren's own interviews and Donald Spoto's Hitchcock biography, it is reasonable to assume it's a fairly accurate account.
Directed by Julian Jarrold and written by Gwyneth Hughes, it began with Hitchcock choosing Hedren, an unknown New York model, to star in two of his finest films, The Birds and Marnie. It ended with her frozen out of Hollywood for five years after a stand-off in which she refused to work for him and he refused to release her from her contract. As a study of Hitchcock's peculiar and demanding directorial methods, together with some eye-catching early 60s Hollywood period detail, The Girl was a class...
"Blondes make the best victims," Alfred Hitchcock once said. The Girl (BBC2) was Tippi Hedren, the blonde who ultimately refused to be his victim and, as this HBO film was largely based on Hedren's own interviews and Donald Spoto's Hitchcock biography, it is reasonable to assume it's a fairly accurate account.
Directed by Julian Jarrold and written by Gwyneth Hughes, it began with Hitchcock choosing Hedren, an unknown New York model, to star in two of his finest films, The Birds and Marnie. It ended with her frozen out of Hollywood for five years after a stand-off in which she refused to work for him and he refused to release her from her contract. As a study of Hitchcock's peculiar and demanding directorial methods, together with some eye-catching early 60s Hollywood period detail, The Girl was a class...
- 12/27/2012
- by John Crace
- The Guardian - Film News
Political thriller Secret State was stripped of ideology and a plot, while Dara O Briain had a decent stab at making science sexy
Secret State C4|4oD
Dara O Briain's Science Club BBC2 | iPlayer
Richard Hammond's Miracles of Nature BBC1 | iPlayer
Imagine BBC1 | iPlayer
In an age when politics lacks any great thrills, it appears harder to make a great political thriller. The last one that comes readily to mind was Paul Abbott's State of Play, which was way back in 2003, during Tony Blair's eventful second term as prime minister. But since then the air has seeped out of the Westminster bubble and not even the prospect of global economic collapse has succeeded in reflating public interest or screenwriters' conspiratorial imagination. The Killing and Borgen suggest the Danes know how to breathe life into coalition politics but so far it's an art for which British TV...
Secret State C4|4oD
Dara O Briain's Science Club BBC2 | iPlayer
Richard Hammond's Miracles of Nature BBC1 | iPlayer
Imagine BBC1 | iPlayer
In an age when politics lacks any great thrills, it appears harder to make a great political thriller. The last one that comes readily to mind was Paul Abbott's State of Play, which was way back in 2003, during Tony Blair's eventful second term as prime minister. But since then the air has seeped out of the Westminster bubble and not even the prospect of global economic collapse has succeeded in reflating public interest or screenwriters' conspiratorial imagination. The Killing and Borgen suggest the Danes know how to breathe life into coalition politics but so far it's an art for which British TV...
- 11/11/2012
- by Dara O Briain, Andrew Anthony
- The Guardian - Film News
DC Comics' decision to cancel Vertigo title Hellblazer in favour of a new John Constantine solo series has been met with a strong reaction from the industry. Numerous creators have expressed disappointment at the news that the horror title is ending in February, while others have criticised the publisher, predicting that the replacement comic will be heavily toned down. Warren Ellis, who penned the title in 1999, wrote on Twitter: "Hellblazer cancelled, replaced by PG version. Sad to see that place for British horror stories go." Scottish crime novelist Ian Rankin, whose only work in the comics field was a Constantine story for the Vertigo Crime imprint, predicted that the end of the series will lead to the demise of the character. "Just heard Hellblazer comic book is for the chop. Only series I've ever written for. Only one (more)...
- 11/8/2012
- by By Mark Langshaw
- Digital Spy
The actor turned novelist on why he's written a crime thriller
John Gordon Sinclair grew up in Glasgow and found fame as an actor playing Gregory in the 1981 Scottish teen drama Gregory's Girl, directed by Bill Forsyth. Other acting roles followed in The Producers, The Invisible Man and She Loves Me. His first crime novel, Seventy Times Seven, is published by Faber.
How did you find the process of writing your first novel?
Well, writing is actually much more suited to my personality, disturbingly so. I didn't realise quite how much I would enjoy it. The biggest problem I have doing my acting is having to interact with other people. I think if it wasn't for my wife and my kids I'd probably be a hermit.
What does the title mean?
It's a quote from the Bible that asks what limits there are on forgiveness. In the book, if you...
John Gordon Sinclair grew up in Glasgow and found fame as an actor playing Gregory in the 1981 Scottish teen drama Gregory's Girl, directed by Bill Forsyth. Other acting roles followed in The Producers, The Invisible Man and She Loves Me. His first crime novel, Seventy Times Seven, is published by Faber.
How did you find the process of writing your first novel?
Well, writing is actually much more suited to my personality, disturbingly so. I didn't realise quite how much I would enjoy it. The biggest problem I have doing my acting is having to interact with other people. I think if it wasn't for my wife and my kids I'd probably be a hermit.
What does the title mean?
It's a quote from the Bible that asks what limits there are on forgiveness. In the book, if you...
- 8/18/2012
- by Gemma Kappala-Ramsamy
- The Guardian - Film News
The Fifty Shades of Gray phenomenon has shaken the literary scene in a heap of ways: Concerns of cultural backlash over the objectification of women. Lurid delight that kink has been diluted, prettied up, and packaged in soft language enough to be devoured by the mainstream. Despair that yet another bestseller of dubious literary merit has swept away the American market.
Love it, hate it, or simply want to ignore it, you have to admit that Fifty Shades of Grey has cast light on an important literary talent. Author E. L. James’ husband, Niall Leonard, scored a three-book crime thriller contract.
And while I freely admit that Leonard’s hearty lit deal is linked to his wife’s mega success, a recent look into his career by the Herald Sun reveals a more surprising factor. He damn well deserves to be in print.
I’d expected the bio on Niall...
Love it, hate it, or simply want to ignore it, you have to admit that Fifty Shades of Grey has cast light on an important literary talent. Author E. L. James’ husband, Niall Leonard, scored a three-book crime thriller contract.
And while I freely admit that Leonard’s hearty lit deal is linked to his wife’s mega success, a recent look into his career by the Herald Sun reveals a more surprising factor. He damn well deserves to be in print.
I’d expected the bio on Niall...
- 7/20/2012
- by Matthew C. Funk
- Boomtron
Photos from G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Prometheus, The Chernobyl Diaries, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Expendables 2, Rust and Bone and Lawless.
Posters for The Amazing Spider-Man, Wreck-it Ralph, Take This Waltz, Moonrise Kingdom and The Raven.
"Open Road is setting a February 8th 2013 release date for Steven Soderbergh's "Bitter Pill" which is currently shooting in New York. Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Channing Tatum, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Vinessa Shaw star…" ( full details)
"William Friedkin is suing Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios over rights to exploit his 1977 thriller 'Sorcerer'. Friedkin filed his complaint last week and seeks a declaration on his rights…" (full details)
"Joe Gazzam has been tapped to write an untitled family adventure set in Hawaii for Disney. Details of the project are being kept under wraps…" (full details)
"Paramount Pictures has acquired Sascha Rothchild and Randi Barnes's script pitch "Status Update", a high school comedy that utilizes social media.
Posters for The Amazing Spider-Man, Wreck-it Ralph, Take This Waltz, Moonrise Kingdom and The Raven.
"Open Road is setting a February 8th 2013 release date for Steven Soderbergh's "Bitter Pill" which is currently shooting in New York. Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Channing Tatum, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Vinessa Shaw star…" ( full details)
"William Friedkin is suing Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios over rights to exploit his 1977 thriller 'Sorcerer'. Friedkin filed his complaint last week and seeks a declaration on his rights…" (full details)
"Joe Gazzam has been tapped to write an untitled family adventure set in Hawaii for Disney. Details of the project are being kept under wraps…" (full details)
"Paramount Pictures has acquired Sascha Rothchild and Randi Barnes's script pitch "Status Update", a high school comedy that utilizes social media.
- 4/17/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Stephen Fry
B Van Heusen
Click here to friend Best British TV on Facebook or here to follow us on Twitter
TV’s favorite cabbie is putting away his A-z and turning to crime in ITV’s new heist drama Doors Open. Set in Edinburgh and based on Ian Rankin’s best-selling book of the same name, Doors Open tells the tale of a professor, a banker and a businessman who attempt to rob an art gallery.
Dougie Henshall plays a businessman named Mike Mackenzie who comes up with a scheme to steal priceless pieces of art in order to impress his ex-girlfriend. The artworks in question are stored in a heavily guarded bank vault but a bank open-house day provides Mackenzie and his chums with an opportunity to get their hands on the goods. Professor Gissing (Stephen Fry) and banker Allan Cruickshank resent the fact that the wealthy hide...
B Van Heusen
Click here to friend Best British TV on Facebook or here to follow us on Twitter
TV’s favorite cabbie is putting away his A-z and turning to crime in ITV’s new heist drama Doors Open. Set in Edinburgh and based on Ian Rankin’s best-selling book of the same name, Doors Open tells the tale of a professor, a banker and a businessman who attempt to rob an art gallery.
Dougie Henshall plays a businessman named Mike Mackenzie who comes up with a scheme to steal priceless pieces of art in order to impress his ex-girlfriend. The artworks in question are stored in a heavily guarded bank vault but a bank open-house day provides Mackenzie and his chums with an opportunity to get their hands on the goods. Professor Gissing (Stephen Fry) and banker Allan Cruickshank resent the fact that the wealthy hide...
- 4/12/2012
- by admin
Resident UK renaissance man Stephen Fry is returning to British drama in the adaptation of Ian Rankin’s Doors Open. The ITV-commissioned 2-hour film is produced by Fry’s Sprout Pictures. He’ll star with Scottish actor Dougie Henshall in the art heist project. The story follows a self-made millionaire, an art professor and a banker who undertake a scheme to swap a priceless Edinburgh art collection with forgeries and make off with the goods. Fry is playing the professor, Henshall is the millionaire. Further cast will be announced soon. James Mavor and Sandi Toksvig adapted the book. Marc Evans (Collision, Hunky Dory) is directing, Jon Finn (Billy Elliot) is producing and executive producers are Sprout’s Gina Carter, Fry and Toksvig. Shooting starts on April 23 in Scotland.
- 4/12/2012
- by NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor
- Deadline TV
Stephen Fry and Primeval star Dougie Henshall will lead the cast of ITV1's Ian Rankin adaptation Doors Open. The two-hour film, which has been adapted by James Mavor and Sandi Toksvig, is based around an audacious arts heist and is set in Edinburgh's corporate banking and fine art world. One of Rankin's best-selling books, Doors Open follows Mike Mackenzie (Henshall), who becomes bored by his millions and business. After an evening drinking, Mackenzie teams up with close friend Professor Gissing (Fry) and the love of his life Laura Stanton to come up with a plan to swap priceless masterpieces for accurate forgeries. Laura Mackie, director of drama at ITV, said: "Doors Open is full of excitement with many twists and turns and it is as much of a love story as an (more)...
- 4/12/2012
- by By Alex Fletcher
- Digital Spy
Reuters Author J.K. Rowling in London in November of 2011.
Can J.K. Rowling work her magic with adults?
Rowling, the children’s book author behind the bestselling Harry Potter series, has announced that she has an agreement with Little, Brown to publish her first novel for grownups in the United States and Britain. The Harry Potter books were published by Scholastic in the U.S. and Bloomsbury in Britain.
Details about the new novel, including the title, subject and the release date,...
Can J.K. Rowling work her magic with adults?
Rowling, the children’s book author behind the bestselling Harry Potter series, has announced that she has an agreement with Little, Brown to publish her first novel for grownups in the United States and Britain. The Harry Potter books were published by Scholastic in the U.S. and Bloomsbury in Britain.
Details about the new novel, including the title, subject and the release date,...
- 2/23/2012
- by Christopher John Farley
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Ricky Gervais, Scarlett Johansson, Usher, Bruno Mars, Kevin McKidd and other great celebrities are “loosening up” and ditching their ties in aid of Cahonas Scotland’s celebrity e-bay auction helping in the battle to raise awareness of Male Cancers.
Opening to the public at www.loosenupauction.com on November 24th, the auction is part of Cahonas Scotland’s aims to erase stigma often attached to male cancers.
Many Scottish celebrities have rallied round the cause with donations already confirmed from Kevin McKidd, Amy MacDonald, Ian Rankin and Kenny Logan.
Read more...
Opening to the public at www.loosenupauction.com on November 24th, the auction is part of Cahonas Scotland’s aims to erase stigma often attached to male cancers.
Many Scottish celebrities have rallied round the cause with donations already confirmed from Kevin McKidd, Amy MacDonald, Ian Rankin and Kenny Logan.
Read more...
- 11/25/2011
- Look to the Stars
Jimmy Carr is to make his debut as a comic book writer in this week's CLiNT magazine. The comedian has penned a strip titled 'Beat My Score' - tackling the contentious issue of school shootings around the world - for Mark Millar's publication. "We've been incredibly lucky with CLiNT in this first nine months," said Millar. "We just got nominated for a big award before we've even reached our first birthday and the talent lineup has been unmatchable. "We've had people as diverse as Victoria Coren, Ian Rankin, Jonathan Ross and Frankie Boyle in here and now we've got Jimmy Carr doing comic books. It's crazy. What's nice is that he rose to the occasion and gave us maybe (more)...
- 6/29/2011
- by By Mark Langshaw
- Digital Spy
Comedian Jimmy Carr has written his first comic strip.
The stand-up funnyman, who hosts Channel 4's panel show 8 out of 10 Cats, has penned an exclusive tale of "violent point-scoring and social alienation" for the latest issue of CLiNT.
A first look at the artwork is featured below, while the magazine cover is above.
The story, Beat My Score, is described as "a nihilistic satirical sideswipe at the glamorisation of violence, tackling the difficult and disturbing effects as seen in school shootings around the world. Its manga-styled images by Japanese artist Ryusuke Hamamoto will resonate in the brain like a ricochet long after the final shots have been fired."
The premise of the tale is: When every action is assessed for its potential as a Tweet, and every success is accompanied by Achievement Points, what will one maladjusted Japanese college student do to claim pole position?
CLiNT, which launched last September,...
The stand-up funnyman, who hosts Channel 4's panel show 8 out of 10 Cats, has penned an exclusive tale of "violent point-scoring and social alienation" for the latest issue of CLiNT.
A first look at the artwork is featured below, while the magazine cover is above.
The story, Beat My Score, is described as "a nihilistic satirical sideswipe at the glamorisation of violence, tackling the difficult and disturbing effects as seen in school shootings around the world. Its manga-styled images by Japanese artist Ryusuke Hamamoto will resonate in the brain like a ricochet long after the final shots have been fired."
The premise of the tale is: When every action is assessed for its potential as a Tweet, and every success is accompanied by Achievement Points, what will one maladjusted Japanese college student do to claim pole position?
CLiNT, which launched last September,...
- 6/29/2011
- by David Bentley
- The Geek Files
Jonathan Franzen's family epic, a new collection from Seamus Heaney, Philip Larkin's love letters, a memoir centred on tiny Japanese sculptures ... which books most excited our writers this year?
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
In Red Dust Road (Picador) Jackie Kay writes lucidly and honestly about being the adopted black daughter of white parents, about searching for her white birth mother and Nigerian birth father, and about the many layers of identity. She has a rare ability to portray sentiment with absolutely no sentimentality. Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns (Random House) is a fresh and wonderful history of African-American migration. Chang-rae Lee's The Surrendered (Little, Brown) is a grave, beautiful novel about people who experienced the Korean war and the war's legacy. And David Remnick's The Bridge (Picador) is a thorough and well-written biography of Barack Obama. The many Americans who believe invented biographical details about Obama would do well to read it.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
In Red Dust Road (Picador) Jackie Kay writes lucidly and honestly about being the adopted black daughter of white parents, about searching for her white birth mother and Nigerian birth father, and about the many layers of identity. She has a rare ability to portray sentiment with absolutely no sentimentality. Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns (Random House) is a fresh and wonderful history of African-American migration. Chang-rae Lee's The Surrendered (Little, Brown) is a grave, beautiful novel about people who experienced the Korean war and the war's legacy. And David Remnick's The Bridge (Picador) is a thorough and well-written biography of Barack Obama. The many Americans who believe invented biographical details about Obama would do well to read it.
- 11/27/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
The bleak Scandinavian landscapes have inspired a series of hit books about dour detectives, and more writers are now lining up to claim the Nordic crime crown
Among the growing band of the faithful – the millions of readers drawn to the bleak tradition of Swedish crime fiction – the litany can be recited with ease: Inspector Martin Beck, created by Sjöwall and Wahlöö in the 1960s, begat Henning Mankell's Wallander, and then Wallander begat Stieg Larsson's Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo.
With new episodes of Kenneth Branagh's Wallander promised and big-screen versions of Larsson's Millennium Trilogy due out soon in English as well as Swedish, what started as a genre with cult appeal has become part of the money-making mainstream.
Yet well before Mankell and Larsson's crime-solving anti-heroes reached our cinema screens, true aficionados of this Scandinavian genre understood that the family tree was more complex.
Among the growing band of the faithful – the millions of readers drawn to the bleak tradition of Swedish crime fiction – the litany can be recited with ease: Inspector Martin Beck, created by Sjöwall and Wahlöö in the 1960s, begat Henning Mankell's Wallander, and then Wallander begat Stieg Larsson's Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo.
With new episodes of Kenneth Branagh's Wallander promised and big-screen versions of Larsson's Millennium Trilogy due out soon in English as well as Swedish, what started as a genre with cult appeal has become part of the money-making mainstream.
Yet well before Mankell and Larsson's crime-solving anti-heroes reached our cinema screens, true aficionados of this Scandinavian genre understood that the family tree was more complex.
- 9/11/2010
- by Vanessa Thorpe
- The Guardian - Film News
Crime writer Ian Rankin meets Tim Marlow at the National Galleries of Scotland to discuss his life and career through works by Francis Bacon, Eduardo Paolozzi and Douglas Gordon. Missed your favourite show, forgot to record it and can't wait for the repeat? Then why not watch TV online, check it out on Sky Player - simply register and start watching straight away.
- 9/1/2010
- Sky TV
We've got anoter packed week on the Pull List. There's so many titles coming out to close out August that it may just blow your mind. Vertigo Crime releases two new crime novels: Filthy Rich, from Brian Azzarello and Victor Santos, and Dark Entries, from Ian Rankin and Werther Dell'edera. From Marvel Comics we're checking out Shadowland: Moon Night #1. One of the hottest arcs from Marvel matched with one of the most underrated heroes is definitely one to check out. Over at DC, it's the week of the Bat with several Batman titles coming out, including this week's BuzzFocus Must Read Title of the week Batman #702. DC is stating that Grant Morrison will be revealing secrets that lead to the Return of Bruce Wayne. When you hear secrets and Morrison in the same sentence, you always want to know exactly what shocker he has in store for you next. Now...
- 8/25/2010
- by Terry Boyden
- BuzzFocus.com
"Any idiot can write voice-over narration to explain the thoughts of a character!" thunders Robert McKee (Brian Cox) in "Adaptation.," a movie that has, naturally, until that point been defined by wall-to-wall voice-over of what's on the mind of its hero. Is voice-over really all that bad? This week on the IFC News podcast, we discuss some of its different incarnations, from a tool to make the audience complicit in the actions of a movie's characters to a door into an otherwise impenetrable protagonist to, yes, a screenwriting crutch.
Download MP3, 1:03:32 minutes, 58.2 Mb
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This week's keyword game giveaway is a pair of graphic novels, Will Eisner's "A Contract With God" and Ian Rankin's "Dark Entries."...
Download MP3, 1:03:32 minutes, 58.2 Mb
Subscribe iTunes | Xml
This week's keyword game giveaway is a pair of graphic novels, Will Eisner's "A Contract With God" and Ian Rankin's "Dark Entries."...
- 8/2/2010
- by Alison Willmore
- ifc.com
"The Greatest," which opened last week, happens to have in its cast Carey Mulligan and Aaron Johnson, the two young actors (both coincidentally British) most touted as up and coming in the last year. That combination inspired us, for this week's IFC News podcast, to come up with a list of our personal favorite actors from the big and small screens, some new, some having paid their dues, that we think are poised for a breakout.
Download: MP3, 59:30 minutes, 60.6Mb
Subscribe to the podcast: [iTunes] [Xml]
This week's keyword game giveaway is a copy of Ian Rankin's graphic novel "Dark Entries," courtesy of Vertigo Crime.
Download: MP3, 59:30 minutes, 60.6Mb
Subscribe to the podcast: [iTunes] [Xml]
This week's keyword game giveaway is a copy of Ian Rankin's graphic novel "Dark Entries," courtesy of Vertigo Crime.
- 4/5/2010
- by Alison Willmore
- ifc.com
Mark Millar, a lay preacher, has shot to Hollywood fame with his comic book characters
Mark Millar still has the air of a man who needs to pinch himself to appreciate his good fortune. After 20 years of rupturing the boundaries of taste and decency, the enfant terrible of the comic world has finally hit paydirt. Millar's stellar levels of bad language and violence may not raise eyebrows in the geeky world of comic novels, but when transferred to the big screen in Kick-Ass, they have generated the sort of publicity certain to ensure the film's success.
"Anything goes in the comic world, so sometimes you forget the sensibilities of the mainstream," says Millar. "But even I chuckled to myself at that line, because I knew it would cause a huge amount of fuss if it ever hit the big wide world. Sure enough . . ."
He is referring to the line delivered by Chloë Grace Moretz,...
Mark Millar still has the air of a man who needs to pinch himself to appreciate his good fortune. After 20 years of rupturing the boundaries of taste and decency, the enfant terrible of the comic world has finally hit paydirt. Millar's stellar levels of bad language and violence may not raise eyebrows in the geeky world of comic novels, but when transferred to the big screen in Kick-Ass, they have generated the sort of publicity certain to ensure the film's success.
"Anything goes in the comic world, so sometimes you forget the sensibilities of the mainstream," says Millar. "But even I chuckled to myself at that line, because I knew it would cause a huge amount of fuss if it ever hit the big wide world. Sure enough . . ."
He is referring to the line delivered by Chloë Grace Moretz,...
- 3/25/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
A British charity that works with vulnerable children and their families is to launch a celebrity charity auction this month featuring “love tokens” from some big stars.
Over 50 celebrities have donated items to the auction, including Annie Lennox, The Who, Lulu, Joanna Lumley, Jeremy Irons, Ian Rankin, Jason Donovan, Jacqueline Wilson, Blur's Damon Albarn, Jo Whiley, Jason Durr, Sebastian Faulks, Gordon Brown and Stephen Fry.
The auction has been organized by charity Coram, which has been working with disadvantaged children since 1739 when Thomas Coram established the Foundling Hospital, to care for abandoned babies dying on the streets of London.
Read more...
Over 50 celebrities have donated items to the auction, including Annie Lennox, The Who, Lulu, Joanna Lumley, Jeremy Irons, Ian Rankin, Jason Donovan, Jacqueline Wilson, Blur's Damon Albarn, Jo Whiley, Jason Durr, Sebastian Faulks, Gordon Brown and Stephen Fry.
The auction has been organized by charity Coram, which has been working with disadvantaged children since 1739 when Thomas Coram established the Foundling Hospital, to care for abandoned babies dying on the streets of London.
Read more...
- 3/10/2010
- Look to the Stars
A friend of Paul Schneider's recently referred to him as "the reluctant actor," a label Schneider disputes. "I'm not reluctant," he explains, choosing his words carefully. "When I do a job, I do it 100 percent. I am so grateful for the chance to do what I do. But I also feel differently from the guy who wanted to be an actor since he was 5 years old. I didn't grow up wanting to be an actor, and I didn't go to acting school." Schneider, currently seen as the object of Amy Poehler's obsession on the NBC comedy "Parks and Recreation," takes a moment to clarify, lest he sound ungrateful for the opportunities he has been given. "I'm so happy to be able to do these jobs. But I'm not desperate to act. I don't know what I'm desperate to do—I don't know what I'm going to do when I grow up!
- 12/10/2009
- backstage.com
It is being reported (http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/tv-showbiz-news/entertainment-news/2009/09/13/exclusive-friend-spills-beans-on-jk-rowling-s-latest-harry-potter-book-78057-21669831/) that an attorney representing J.K. Rowling has stated recently that the author's Harry Potter comprehensive encyclopaedia "simply remains something Ms Rowling would like to complete sometime in the future." This official word has come about as a result of a comment author Ian Rankin made in regards to the progress of the encyclopaedia, where he stated: ---Quote--- "The last I saw of her she was writing the Harry Potter encyclopaedia. Drawing family trees for all the characters, so it would go back over generations." ---End Quote--- Please note that this is not confirmation that Jo has completed the encyclopaedia, nor does it give a reference date as to when it will be released. Rankin also never stated when he last saw Jo, so there is no proof that she has been working on the family trees recently.
- 9/14/2009
- by masterofmystery
- Snitchseeker.com
We are chock full of Vertigo Comics this week, as the mature line of DC Comics debuts its Crime Line with two hardcovers from Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets) and best selling mystery author Ian Rankin.
Azzarello offers us Filthy Rich about an ex-football player contracted to protect a mob boss’s daughter. I’ve read a long preview of this and Azzarello’s acid tongue slips into every panel that somehow plays a jazz tune. I don’t know what it is, but just reading the pages I did I just thought I heard a Louis Armstrong song.
Ian Rankin gives us Dark Entries a crime line title featuring Vertigo’s longest running character, John Constantine, as he tackles a haunted house set up as a reality television program. I don’t know this doesn’t seem like a crime story, per se, but seems more appropriate for the main Hellblazer title.
Azzarello offers us Filthy Rich about an ex-football player contracted to protect a mob boss’s daughter. I’ve read a long preview of this and Azzarello’s acid tongue slips into every panel that somehow plays a jazz tune. I don’t know what it is, but just reading the pages I did I just thought I heard a Louis Armstrong song.
Ian Rankin gives us Dark Entries a crime line title featuring Vertigo’s longest running character, John Constantine, as he tackles a haunted house set up as a reality television program. I don’t know this doesn’t seem like a crime story, per se, but seems more appropriate for the main Hellblazer title.
- 8/18/2009
- by David Press
- The Flickcast
Another Comic-Con has come and gone, but I arrived back at Splash Page HQ to find a big ol' pile of boxes waiting for me. Some of the new swag included some great Comic-Con exclusives -- not the least of which was a massive Abe Sapien that is now staring down at me as a write this. It is unnerving, to say the least.
There were also some great books, toys and an assortment of geekery that reminds me why being the editor of Splash Page is such a privilege.
Read on for the full breakdown...
By far the biggest (literally) surprise waiting for me when I returned from San Diego was the 18-inch Deluxe Abe Sapien figure from Mezco Toyz. Based on Doug Jones' creepy portrayal of the character in "Hellboy" and "Hellboy II," the figure is ridiculously detailed for its size -- and I can't keep my eyes off it.
There were also some great books, toys and an assortment of geekery that reminds me why being the editor of Splash Page is such a privilege.
Read on for the full breakdown...
By far the biggest (literally) surprise waiting for me when I returned from San Diego was the 18-inch Deluxe Abe Sapien figure from Mezco Toyz. Based on Doug Jones' creepy portrayal of the character in "Hellboy" and "Hellboy II," the figure is ridiculously detailed for its size -- and I can't keep my eyes off it.
- 7/31/2009
- by Rick Marshall
- MTV Splash Page
Best-selling crime writer Ian Rankin is to make his comic book debut by penning a story featuring supernatural detective John Constantine, it has been reported. The Scottish author's new graphic novel Dark Entries sees the anti-hero investigate a series of mysterious attacks on a group of reality television show contestants. Fellow writer Brian K. Vaughn, author of Y: The Last Man, described the book as "a very clever, very modern new take on the old haunted house story".
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- 7/17/2009
- by By Mark Langshaw
- Digital Spy
If you love the many great genre titles that DC/Vertigo has put out over the years -- everything from Sandman to Preacher to the just-concluded 100 Bullets to the latest hit mindfuck Air -- then you're probably eagerly awaiting the company's new line of dark thriller graphic novels, launching this August -- under the new Vertigo Crime imprint -- starting with 100 Bullets writer Brian Azzarello and artist Victor Santos' Filthy Rich, and bestselling Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin and Loveless artist Werther Dell'edera's Dark Entries. Vertigo just hooked us up with advance reading copies of both titles, and an exclusive four-page preview of Dark Entries to share with you. Having...
- 5/1/2009
- FEARnet
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