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HAMLET: BRANAGH'S OBSESSION
The elements of Hamlet have intrigued and obsessed Kenneth
Branagh ever since he first saw the play at the age of fifteen.
The actor, producer, writer and director has yearned to film
Hamlet ever since. Louise Keller explores the story behind
the making of the film.
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HANGING UP
Everyone's got one - a family. And everyone's got a phone,
too. Hanging Up, based on Delia Ephron's novel, is a
drawn-from-life comedy about how the latter is the tool of
torture and information used by the former. Read all about it. .
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HANGING UP: THE STARS
Meet the Mozells: patriarch Lou (Walter Matthau) and daughters Georgia (Diane Keaton), vying for a spot on the Power List as editor in chief of her self-titled women's magazine; Eve (Meg Ryan), the daddy's girl-turned-responsible middle sister; and Maddy (Lisa Kudrow), a semi-successful soap actress.
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HANNIBAL - MAKING A MEAL OF CONFUSION
Controversial and newsworthy – a ‘man bites man’ story - the media, in
making a meal out of Hannibal, is only adding to the confusion. At their Rome Press
Conference (7/2/2001), Ridley Scott and Anthony Hopkins ("it’s acting,
that’s all…") put the film in context, while around the world, ratings
bodies take a stab at shielding children from some of the film’s more gruesome
moments. But it’s not the admittance age that matters most; it’s the advisory
tag with it, says Andrew L. Urban who canvasses the issues.
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HAPPY FEET - MUSIC TO OUR EARS
If you think recording the sound of 1500 penguins singing is a big ask, how
about getting the stars to read their lines in real time from several locations
around the US, with the director stationed in Sydney. Well, Trackdown Scoring
Stage did it as part of their music recording services for Happy Feet, which has
just been nominated for a Best Animation Oscar.
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HAPPY TIMES FOR SYDNEY ASIA PACIFIC FEST
To mark the 30th anniversary of Australia’s diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China the Festival, this year’s Sydney Asia Pacific Film Festival (August 8 – 17) will present three contemporary features from China, opening with Happy Times, a bitter-sweet comedy set in urban China, by acclaimed filmmaker Zhang Yimou (The Road Home). Andrew L. Urban reports.
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HARRISON, GEORGE: OBITUARY
George Harrison died last week at 58; he is best known for playing guitar in The Beatles,
but he later became a film producer on films like Life of Brian, Mona Lisa, The Long Good
Friday and others. In November 1986, promoting Mona Lisa and visiting Australia for the
Grand Prix, he spoke at length to Andrew L. Urban. We publish that interview as a tribute
to the guitarist who became a producer - but always wanted to be a gardener.
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HARRY POTTER: FINDING HARRY AND FRIENDS
He was having a bath when the phone rang and changed Daniel Radcliff’s life
forever; he was so excited he cried a lot, woke up at 2am and checked with his parents in
case it was all a dream. After a long and frustrating search, the filmmakers had their
Harry Potter; but Harry’s two best friends at Hogwart’s School Of Witchraft and
Wizardry were also crucial.
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HART'S WAR
Hart’s War, starring Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell, is a WWII movie with a difference. Hal Hayes probes beneath the surface of life in Stalag Luft III.
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HAUNTING - and the drinking...
Ghosts are here! With films like The Haunting and The Sixth Sense, there
has never been a better time to invite a poltergeist to your place for a cocktail or, yes,
even a spirit. We asked readers what drink they would serve up a grizzly ghoul or alcoholic apparition.
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HÄXAN - WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES
Häxan is a vivid – but silent - exploration of witchcraft through the ages, from
pioneer Danish filmmaker Benjamin Christensen. Fact and fantasy blend in this
bizarre and atmospheric docu-drama, exposing imagined rituals like witches
kissing the devil’s ass. A groundbreaking, visually stunning journey into the
superstitious labyrinth that was the breeding ground for concepts of witchcraft.
Andrew L. Urban reports.
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HAZLEHURST, NONI –2007 HECTOR MEMORIAL LECTURE
One of Australia’s most liked and respected actresses has delivered a
scathing indictment of media – of every kind – in her Hector Crawford Memorial
Lecture, addressing the country’s screen producers at their annual conference on
the Gold Coast, on Wednesday, November 13, 2007. This is an edited extract.
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HEATHER OGILVIE'S POSTCARD FROM THE US
Australian executive producer Heather Ogilvie presented her latest film,
Accidents Happen, at the 2009 Tribeca film festival in New York, where she found
herself giving a masterclass in film financing, thanks to the effects of the
Global Financial Crisis. In this exclusive report, Heather gives a deep insight
into how the crisis is altering the balance of power between Australian and
American producers – it’s no longer ‘us’ and ‘them’.
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HEAVEN
Acclaimed creative Polish writer, small French company, major US distributor, English production company, German arthouse director and stars with Australian and Italian backgrounds: a team as disparate as this may have tuned a script with the potential for cinematic bliss into some sort of movie from hell. How did they avoid the traps? Andrew L. Urban reports.
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HEAVEN'S BURNING
Heaven’s Burning re-unites Russell Crowe (pictured) and Robert
Mammone on screen after seven years, reports ANDREW L. URBAN
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HEDGES, PETER Q & A - DAN IN REAL LIFE
It was a tough Aussie 1st Assistant Director’s unexpectedly teary endorsement
of Juliette Binoche as an actress who “makes everyone better” that convinced
Peter Hedges to cast Binoche in Dan In Real Life, he happily admits in this Q&A
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HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH
Hard to describe but easy to enjoy, Hedwig and The Angry Inch comes from the theatre
– very big, very successful New York theatre. One of its creators (and star), John
Cameron Mitchell, describes it as it a post-punk neo-glam rock musical. There you have it.
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HESTON, CHARLTON - OBITUARY
The actor as large as many of his roles will best be remembered as Judah Ben-Hur,
for which he won his only acting Oscar. But he achieved much more than that,
writes Geoff Gardner.
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HIDEOUS KINKY
Kate Winslet stars in the screen version of Esther Freud’s popular novel, Hideous
Kinky, playing the mother who takes her two young daughters to live in Morocco, an exotic
and vibrant alternative to cold London. But the film is more than travelogue, as Winslet
explains.
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HITCHCOCK ON DVD – ECCENTRIC, ECLECTIC AND ESSENTIAL
With an abundance of documentaries supporting the films themselves, and a 4-page booklet in each of the 14 DVDs, this collection of Alfred Hitchcock movies marks the first time Vertigo and Psycho are available as individual releases and showcases the legendary director’s eclectic output, says Keith
Lofthouse.
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HOLIDAY MOVIE SELECTION
As we begin the new millenium, Louise Keller lists her movie picks for this holiday
season. Two films stand out above the rest – and although they both begin with the
letter 'C', they couldn't be more different. Aardman's claymation charmer Chicken Run and
Ang Lee's spectacular Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon top the list; but there's something
for everyone, including comic and poignant Australian fare, as well as Hollywood
blockbusters and the best from UK.
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HOLLYWOOD – NEXT UP: PART 1
Nick Roddick casts a glance at the casting couch and
some projects coming up next from Hollywood: is George Clooney
going to Bat again? Will Sandra Bullock be a Wonder ful woman? Is
Christopher Walken into the Bears’ den?
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES - FEBRUARY 99
There are movies in the making about two major historical figures – General Custer
(with Brad Pitt?) and Simon Bolivar – while Bernardo Bertolucci’s next movie
which will be based on the life of the painter Gesualdo da Venosa, reports NICK RODDICK.
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES : November 2001
A whistle stop through Hollywood movies planned or pre-planned or almost made is a ride
from the sublime to the ridiculous; Nick Roddick provides the tour guide services. (Pic, Angelina Jolie)
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES : OCTOBER 2002
Nick Roddick’s insider’s guide to Hollywood: will Tarantula cut it for Almodóvar and Co? Naomi Watts (pic) in heavyweight 21 Grams; Karen Black leads maniacs in House of 1000 Corpses; Freddy v Jason shooting (each other?); Bob Dylan wraps Masked And Anonymous – and more.
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES – JANUARY 1999
NICK RODDICK uncovers Mel Gibson’s shaven head, Jodie Foster’s new King - and
much more.
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES – MAY 2003 (Part 1)
More musicals to come, or is it a Phantom of Hollywood’s imagination, writes Nick Roddick in this month’s Hollywood round up (Part 2 next week).
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES – MAY 2003 (Part 2)
Damon re-doing Derek’s 10 and Darin’s bio, writes Nick Roddick, and the Cassavites dynasty continues with Xan’s new film with Vince Vaughn and Steve Buscemi. (Pic Kevin Spacey)
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES 2: JUNE 99
NICK RODDICK continues his report on the latest jostling in Hollywood. (Pic, Kevin Costner)
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES JUNE 2005 – MUSICALS, MURDERS AND MIAMI VICE
Nick Roddick does the international rounds of some of the new films being made, from the musical version of Rent to the story of the so called Blue Dahlia murder and a movie version of Miami Vice, starring Chinese superdoll, Gong Li.
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES: April 2002
Quentin Tarantino’s is up, Robert Altman’s is not, while Clint Eastwood’s Blood is also up, reports Nick Roddick from the Hollywood sidelines on the projects that may or may not turn up as movies at a cinema near you.
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES: October 2001
What’s George Clooney, Madonna, Francis Ford
Coppola, Kevin Spacey, Nicolas Cage, Jackie Chan, Nicole Kidman,
Cate Blanchett and Russell Crowe (pic) doing – or about to do?
Nick Roddick reports.
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES: 30/8/01
Harry goes to Hollywood, Spike goes into musicals,
reports Nick Roddick.
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES: 6/9/2001
Dustin Hoffman finally to direct, and James Bond gets his old car back, reports Nick
Roddick. (Pic, Steal This Movie)
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES: JANUARY 2002
Nick Roddick notes: Julia Roberts (several times, with and without George
Clooney), Jim Carrey, (Howard Hughes), Michael Douglas, Kirk Douglas (together at last
– with Fred Schepisi), Catherine Zeta-Jones, the Coen brothers, Eric Bana … and
many more in this fascinating tease of who’s doing what in Hollywood. Or about to.
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES: JULY 17, 2003
Ripley rides again as a forger, the late alcoholic beat poet, Charles Bukowski gets animated, and the 60 year old mystery of the grisly ‘Black Dahlia’ murder in Los Angeles gets another going over, as Nick Roddick notes with his binoculars focused on Hollywood.
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES: JULY 2002
Mike Myers makes peace with Universal and shoots Cat, while Arnie prepares T3 and Conan’s farewell, reports Nick Roddick from the belly of the Hollywood beast.
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES: JULY 31, 2003
Tim Burton goes cute, M. Night Shayamalan goes into The Woods and Renee Zellweger may just get into Janis Joplin’s wardrobe, according to Nick Roddick in his second report this month on what’s doing with whom and when, in Hollywood
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES: JUNE 1999
NICK RODDICK reports on the latest jostling in Hollywood.(Pic, Tom Cruise, Eyes Wide Shut)
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES: March 2002
Kidman and Cruise, while no longer Mr and Mrs, are still Hollywood favourites, both getting on with being busy in movies, doing what they do best, reports Nick Roddick. And Nicole’s latest film seems certain for Cannes this May.
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES: Nov 99
Tracking the new projects through Hollywood, our UK correspondent NICK RODDICK reports on who stars in the
horror spoof, Scream If You Know What I Did Last Halloween, which of America's nightmares
is about to be let loose on the screen, and what the director of Elizabeth is doing next
(not what you expect); and more.(Pic, Nicolas Cage)
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES: OCT 99
Our UK correspondent Nick Roddick's regular 'tour de studios' unearths the latest
casting and professional bed swapping deals; Arnie's back in the saddle, Leonardo
is in a gang and Samuel (Jackson) is remaking Shaft! Plus: 2 more Matrixes with Keanu.
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HOLLYWOOD NOTES: SEPT 2000
Cate Blanchett (pic) in Heaven, , Meg Ryan in love and war, Nick Nolte, Neve Campbell and
others Investigating Sex – and who knows who in Mr Limpet, reports NICK RODDICK, our
Hollywood eyes and ears.
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HOLY SMOKE
Animal Logic Film’s Designer/VFX Supervisor, Andy Brown, worked on the digital
effects in Holy Smoke, Jane Campion's latest film, starring Kate Winslet and Harvey
Keitel; he talks about visualising Harvey Keitel's hallucination. By Sandy George and
Rachael Turk.
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HOME ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTS – TIPS BEFORE YOU BUY
The great home entertainment revolution enables us to enjoy movies that are
no longer in cinemas, either for the first time like classics from the past – or
for an encore. But with the new technologies come new headaches and the need for
buyers to be increasingly well informed. As a service to our movie loving
readers, we have commissioned Ben Hooft of Sound Digital to give you some tips
and suggest best buys – before the mad Christmas rush to buy, overwhelms the
need to know.
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HONG KONG FILM FESTIVAL 1999
Richard Kuipers previews the action packed feast of Hong Kong cinema coming to
Australia this month (November 1999) and says the island is still alive to the sound of
mayhem, but also expect the unexpected.
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HONG KONG MOVIE MASTERS: FROM ACTION TO ARTHOUSE
Take a look at some of the 100 or so titles from the Siren library, urges RICHARD KUIPERS*,representing the cream of Hong Kong cinema's explosive last stand – when
the stuntmen couldn’t get life insurance.(Pic, John Woo's A Better Tomorrow)
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HOPPER, DENNIS – IN PERSON & ON SCREEN
In its latest major exhibition, ACMI is staging Dennis Hopper and the New
Hollywood , an expansive exhibition showcasing an extraordinary man’s career,
his collaborations and personal art collection, providing an amazing insight
into a formative era of Hollywood.
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HORSEPLAY: ON SET
It’s a comedy set around horse racing and the Melbourne Cup, but Horseplay is a lot darker than it might appear, as everyone kept telling Andrew L. Urban when he visited the set – but missed out on the horses.
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HOT FUZZ - INSIDER BRIEFING
The big question after you make a world wide hit is: what do I do for an encore?
Young British filmmakers of Shaun of the Dead fame, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg
found the right peg with a cop movie – but it’s no ordinary cop movie.
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HOTEL RWANDA - A MODERN GENOCIDE
The Rwandan conflict of the 1990s marked one of the bloodiest chapters in recent African history. The genocide was made all the more tragic by the fact that most of the world chose to ignore the conflict and the plight of the Rwandan people. While occasional reports about “tribal warfare” in Rwanda were carried by international news agencies, the horror of the conflict, instead of causing international outrage, seemed to be written off as another “third world incident” and not worthy of attention. Hotel Rwanda is the story of one man’s pivotal and noble role in that bloody moment of history.
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HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS: DVD – THE AUSTRALIAN CONNECTION
Australians tend to focus on the success of actors and cinematographers internationally, as a symbol of our prowess. However, there is another success story in Australia’s international reputation in the high growth sector of digital production. Sydney based Animal Logic has been a key driver of this sector, and House of Flying Daggers is one of its major successes. The film is now out on DVD, together with a range of extras that include the magic of digital effects.
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HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG – HOW IT GELLED
With A House Of Sand And Fog, a Russian migrant makes a film about an Iranian immigrant played an English actor, from a novel written by an American; and it gels beautifully – they were all just made for each other, unlike the protagonists.
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HOYTS AT FOX
Dreamaxx seating in stadium configuration, digital surround sound, giant screens
and eye-pleasing interiors are the basic features of the new Hoyts complex at Fox Studios;
then it just gets even classier, in La Premiere - the first class end of the cinemas, or
next door at the arthouse complex, Cinema Paris. ANDREW L. URBAN gets a guided preview
with Hoyts' Chief Operating Officer, Roger Eaton.
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HUNT ANGELS – UNCENSORING OUR HISTORY
Filmmaker Alec Morgan’s Lousy Little Sixpence (1982) was the first film to
explore the stolen generations; his latest film, Hunt Angels, explores elements
of 1930s Australia that were effectively self-censored out of the news,
including the exploits of rakish filmmaking duo, Rupe Kathner and Al (as in
Alma) Brooks.
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HURRAH: GRIEF DISPELLED
It was boots and all at Wentworth, when ANDREW L. URBAN
visited the set of the ironically titled film, Hurrah: but the
heavy weather was coming from . . . just heavy weather. The talk
on set was of love, eroticism and strange people. (Marton Csokas & Tushka Bergen, pictured)
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HURT LOCKER, THE - WAR IS HELL
The first female to win the DGA’s top award for directing The Hurt Locker is
addicted to action films; this one tells the story of bomb disposal specialists
addicted to war. Andrew L. Urban reports.
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