Co-written and directed by Dave McKean, Gaiman’s regular inker, with creature effects provided by the Henson Creature Workshop, the film momentarily recalls any number of spectacular rites-of-passage fantasies – The Wizard Of Oz, Labyrinth and Spirited Away all come to mind – while not being quite like anything you’ve ever seen before.
The daughter of a famed cinematographer and an accomplished actress, Zooey Deschanel had an easier entrée into Hollywood than most. But with an array of cred-heavy indie hits to her credit, and a stellar turn in The Hitchiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, she’s proven a good deal smarter than your average LA starlet. Interview by Tara Brady.
Irish songstress Camille O'Sullivan wowed the crowds at the Pet Sounds stage at Oxegen earlier today, with an energetic and sultry set of old and new favourites.
With his first film The Station Agent, Tom McCarthy has fashioned a magnetic fable of Fin, the new-dwarf-in-town, which has invited comparison with Ford and Cassavetes.
Tara Brady talks to director Pete Docter about the latest Pixar mega-hit Up, which tells the story of an elderly widower who sets sail on an Amazonian adventure.
Unlike most Hollywood remakes, the new version of Hairspray succeeds in being as deliciously camp as the John Waters original. One of its young stars, Amanda Bynes, talks to Tara Brady about the joys of getting hot and sweaty with John Travolta.
I’d always have said that Irish people were good at huddling. Our history and our climate, not to mention the controlling influence of the Roman Catholic Church, had tended to give us an inward-looking aspect. We had a thing about bars, matter a damn how dark or gloomy they might be. What we wanted, it seemed, was good place to whisper and to hide.
LA, Joshua Tree, Alabama, New Orleans . . . Kristin Hersh verbally back-packs her way around the most significant places in her life and career thus far.
Interview: Nick Kelly.
It took ten years for debutante director Kerry Conran to complete his film, even though most part was done before he uttered the word "Action!". Tara Brady meets the brimming brain behind the film-geek opus, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
After a pair of critical and commercial misfires, Joel and Ethan Coen have returned with what many critics are hailing as the best film of their career, the dark noir No Country For Old Men.
The Flaming Lips, whose new record is a 'concept album about death' are possibly the most life-affirming band you’ll hear this year. Frontman Wayne Coyne explains why
Currently the hottest female property in music, Alicia Keys has come a long way from the little girl whose first record was kermit's 'it's not easy being green'. Admittedly, she's had some serious assistance from heavy friends - including music biz mogul Clive Davis - but mainly she can thank her own prodigious talent and spirit of independence. Matt Diehl hears how Alicia Keys came to share the grammy limelight with U2
Yes, well, let’s remember our manners, shall we?A meticulously, lovingly crafted homage to the Art Deco aesthetic and early twentieth-century matinees, the film is entirely composed using only digital effects and actors, although Jude Law occasionally blurs the distinction between the two.
In advance of his latest movie, From Hell, in which he plays a policeman investigating Jack The Ripper, American superstar JOHNNY DEPP is adopting a low-key profile. Here, however, he talks extensively about on-set pranks, the lure of acting, sobriety versus excess and how movies, movie stars and moviegoers might cope with the world after September 11.
Words: JANE GARDNER with additional input by EARL DITTMAN
As the son of horror writer Stephen King, Joe Hill has a great deal to live up to. Far from being over-shadowed by his father, however, Hill has crafted a chilling and original debut novel.
They may refuse to play the media game, but whether it’s dating page three models, accepting awards dressed as the Village People or earning the ire of Keith Richards, there’s never a dull moment in the world of Alex Turner and Arctic Monkeys.
Until recently one of the ultimate indie cult bands, The Flaming Lips have survived the ravages of heroin, acid and a hunting trip with William Burroughs. Now, their new album At War With The Mystics finds them taking their funky psychedelia to strange new places – including the upper reaches of the charts for the first time. Could it be that their moment has finally come? Interviews: Craig Fitzsimons (now) and Peter Murphy (then). additional reporting: Stuart Clark, Ed Power and Jackie Hayden
Always possessed of a more obviously childlike sensibility than almost any other director working in Hollywood – Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and his take on Roald Dahl in James and the Giant Peach would prove the point - Tim Burton’s output has always been a twisted delight, like the grimmer tales of the brothers Grimm.
Unquestionably one of the truly great works of American literature – I am being entirely serious here – Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Who Stole Christmas still doesn’t seem in itself to contain enough plot development to justify big-screen treatment (plot: Grinch nicks all the presents, then realises there’s more to Christmas than presents, cue collective ‘ahhh!’)
No rabble-rousing rock panto pandering, no gratuitous guitar solos or simplistic speechifying, just towering songs garnished with soaring melodies and counter-melodies.
While Mr Rice is a notoriously camera-shy chap, we shouldn’t mistake this reticence for a meekness of character. Far from it – because from beginning to end, 9 is a serious statement of authorial intent.
From the goodtime vibes of Hot Chip to the full-on sonic assault of Primal Scream, this year's Electric Picnic was even more fab than its predecessors.
While the line-up may not be as strong as it has in previous years, the fact that the schedule isn’t crammed with must-sees means we have more capacity to take in everything else on offer.
Those were the final, prophetic words from STEPHEN GATELY on Twitter, as he planned to finish his children’s fantasy novel, The Tree of Seasons. Tragically, death was to intervene, bringing a sad and premature end to the career of a man who was much loved, warm and wonderfully likeable.
