Actor, writer, musician, director, and husband of Angelina Jolie, BILLY BOB THORNTON is currently a very busy man, with one album on release and no less than three movies queueing up at the box-office. All this and he’s constantly on his guard against germs
No mere actor boy moonlighting as a rock star, Billy Bob Thornton is steeped in music and also in the kind of brooding Southern gothic aesthetic which informs his compelling album of song and story, Private Radio. Peter Murphy meets a singular man of stage and screen
The Strokes? Pah! Last night's jammed Billy Bob Thornton gig in Vicar Street (stars on the stage, stars in the audience, queues round the block) is the current front runner for gig of the year. Hot Press, of course, was there (consider us your private radio)
Snazzily shot, deeply calculated, and enormously entertaining in its own overblown way, Pushing Tin is a sprawling mess of a movie which gets carried away yet still manages to entertain effortlessly.
The highlight of the year – and probably the decade – was scamming a trip to Havana to see the Manic Street Preachers do their live thing in front of Fidel Castro
U2 are set to feature prominently in Here Is What Is, a new fly-on-the-studio-wall documentary that’s been put together by their long-time confidante Daniel Lanois.
Superstars, rock stars, movie stars, sports stars, tv stars, authors, actors, artists, comedians, politicians, broadcasters, astrologers, chefs, outlaws, weirdoes, dingbats and Lee Scratch Perry...
The actor, director, novelist and husband of Uma Thurman on the thrill of being a non-specialist and the challenge presented by "the greatest adventure you can have" - being in love
Terry Zwigoff’s fabulously funny film, Bad Santa, works brilliantly as a dyspeptic black comedy, an anti- It’s A Wonderful Life, a tirade against the materialistic tackiness of the entire festive industry and a radical reworking of A Christmas Carol.
Filmed in permanently wintry Minnesota, drenched in spilled blood and bleak snow, A Simple Plan invites comparisons to the Coens' Fargo. It is, however, much warmer in tone and more immediately affecting, a result of palpably human performances from the four individuals at the centre of the tale.
Producer and musician Daniel Lanois talks about turning his latest album into a film, cutting out the middleman to distribute his own music, and why he's fascinated by Michael Jackson's feet.
He was supposed to be the new Tarantino. But Troy Duffy’s rampant ego destroyed his career before it ever really began. To make him feel even better, some friends caught his rise and fall (and fall..) on camera. The result is Overnight one of the most compelling documentaries in year.
In a year that saw events which will forever change the world in which we live, selected hotpress contributors offer some personal recollections of the past twelve months. We begin by listing the critics’ choice of 2001’s single and album releases
When your personal background includes dusting down knives for sex and walking up the aisle wearing a white shirt with your husband’s name written in blood on it, then playing all-action heroine Lara Croft on the big screen probably seems like the very essence of normality. Angelina Jolie describes the joy of death-defying work, explains why England is more attractive to live in than the US, underscores the importance of her UN role and, finally, talks about life and love post-Billy Bob. interview Tara Brady and Craig Fitzsimons
Four Weddings And A Funeral and Notting Hill man Richard Curtis is back with another film that has heartstrings and funnybones in its sights. But is Love Actually any good? Craig Fitzsimons and Tara Brady endeavour to find out
On a fleeting visit to Dublin the legendary Jack White sat down with Hot Press' Stuart Clark to discuss his past life as an upholsterer, jamming with Bob Dylan. Jimmy Page and The Edge and going for dinner with Loretta Lynne.
The faces so resemble reanimated death-masks it’s often like watching a Joan Rivers lookalike contest. This coldness naturally detracts somewhat from the festive vibe. After all, even It’s A Wonderful Life wouldn’t work if it starred a bunch of robots.
In a remarkable interview, the legendary David Kelly looks back on a long and adventurous career including parts in box office smashes, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and Waking Ned.
