News

The Who’s Pete Townshend has taken a jab at Rick Rubin, saying “someone needs to occasionally slap” the producer over his creative methods.

Townshend’s comment came during an appearance with his wife Rachel Fuller on the Rockonteurs with Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt podcast.

While discussing the idea of creativity, Townshend remarked (as transcribed by Ultimate Guitar), “You see a lot of stuff on YouTube and Instagram, people nagging you about the way that you have to be creative. Somebody needs to occasionally slap Rick Rubin, because, one minute he’s telling us that we need to do whatever we like, and then, on the other hand, he’s telling us that we mustn’t do this, and we mustn’t do that.”

Bringing up Rubin seemed a little random, as the guitarist is not known to have worked with the producer, who has helmed such iconic albums...

Kevin Costner almost returned for a sequel to 1992’s The Bodyguard with the late Princess Diana, he revealed in a recent interview. The actor, who currently works on his own franchise, Horizon: An American Saga, thought he could never replace the royal princess in his movie after she passed away.

Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard / Warner Bros. Pictures

The film also starred Whitney Houston, Gary Kemp, Bill Cobbs, and Ralph Waite, to name a few. It was helmed by Mick Jackson and was a massive commercial success despite its critical negative reviews.

Kevin Costner And Princess Diana Almost Starred Together In A Sequel Film

During his guesting on The Howard Stern Show, actor-director Kevin Costner revealed he was planning to make a follow-up movie to The Bodyguard and he was on the verge of hiring the late Princess Diana.

I said, ‘I’m going to do Bodyguard 2 and I think...

The story of MTV is set to be rolled out in a new podcast series hosted by former VJ Dave Holmes.

Audacy Podcasts is launching Who Killed the Video Star? The Story of MTV, an eight-part series that launches today, March 27.

“MTV is still on the air in 2024, and it’s still profitable, but my nieces and nephews know it as a logo on an Urban Outfitters t-shirt. I wanted to know what happened, and where the spirit of MTV exists now,” said Holmes.

The series will explore the cultural history, impact, legacy, and phenomenon of MTV and looks at what it turned into.

Holmes, who previously hosted Waiting for Impact, the wild story of boy band Sudden Impact, is hosting with guests including former VJs such as Julie Brown, Damien Fahey, and Kevin Seal, former MTV News correspondents Gideon Yago, Chris Connelly, and Suchin Pak, former Viacom Music and Entertainment Group president Doug Herzog,...

Following the news of Christine McVie’s death, tributes from celebrities, including fellow musicians, authors, journalists and actors have begun pouring in.

The Fleetwood Mac artist’s family announced on Wednesday 30 November that McVie had died after a “short illness”. She was 79.

An official cause of death has not been disclosed.

Since the news of McVie’s passing, many have honoured her in tributes posted to social media.

Fleetwood Mac wrote in a statement: “There are no words to describe our sadness at the passing of Christine McVie. She was truly one-of-a-kind, special and talented beyond measure. She was the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life.”

McVie’s bandmate Stevie Nicks shared a handwritten letter with Haim’s 2020 song “Hallelujah” lyrics: “I had a best friend, but she has come to pass. One I wish I could see now.

Exclusive: French-Anglo director J.K. Amalou’s off-beat Cannes and Saint Tropez-set crime comedy Queen Of Diamonds has begun principal photography on the French Riviera.

Popular French comedy actress Frédérique Bel, whose credits include Serial (Bad) Weddings and Ducobu Président!, plays a woman who settles in Cannes after the murder of her British husband in London.

Leo Gregory co-stars as one-half of a British police detective team who travel to Cannes to question the woman about the theft of the precious gem The Queen of Diamonds, which might have been handled by her deceased husband. Andy Beckwith plays his sidekick.

Not convinced they are really policemen, she evades them and a cat-and-mouse caper ensues across the French Riviera, with her path crossing that of a veteran diamond trader, played by Christophe Lambert. Gabriella Wright also features in the cast as his wife.

French-Anglo filmmaker Amalou also wrote the screenplay and produces...

Update (3/21/22): Nick Mason has announced rescheduled tour dates, updated below, for the fall. “We are really looking forward to returning to North America and we’re happy to be able to now announce these new dates for later this year,” the drummer said in a statement. “We wanted to make sure to come back when it’s safe for our fans, the band, and our crew.” The trek now includes several new dates, which will go on sale March 25 at 10 a.m. local time.

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Nick Mason’s Saucerful of...

Genesis have rolled out dates for the North American leg of their The Last Domino? tour. It kicks off November 15th at Chicago’s United Center and wraps up December 15th at Boston’s Td Garden. Pre-sale tickets go on-sale via Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan system on May 5th and the general public will have access on May 7th.

Genesis have been completely inactive since the end of their 2007 Turn It On Again reunion tour. This time out, core members Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks will be joined...

About two years ago, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason decided it was time to emerge from semiretirement and hit the road for the first time since the band last toured in 1994.

He recruited Spandau Ballet guitarist Gary Kemp, longtime Floyd touring bassist Guy Pratt, guitarist Lee Harris and keyboardist Dom Beken with a very bold idea in mind: they’d only perform songs written before Floyd broke through to mainstream success with Dark Side of the Moon in 1973.

“I knew I couldn’t play ‘Comfortably Numb’ better than David or Roger,...

Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets — which explored the pre-Dark Side years of Pink Floyd’s music — will release a concert film this spring documenting the drummer’s 2019 performances at London’s Roundhouse.

Live at the Roundhouse — out in select theaters for one-night-only on March 10th ahead of its April 17th release — boasts more than 20 tracks from Pink Floyd’s formative years as interpreted by Mason and his all-star band, which includes post-Roger Waters Pink Floyd bassist Guy Pratt and Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp.

Ahead of the concert film/live album’s release,...

The former drummer of Pink Floyd is sitting in the catering area backstage at the Beacon Theatre eating from a tiny bowl of pea soup about three hours before his new band, Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, make their New York debut. The last time the 75-year-old played a venue in the city anywhere near this small, it was 1972 and Pink Floyd were road-testing songs from their in-progress LP Dark Side of the Moon. That was just before his life became a blur of private airplanes, sold-out football stadiums...

Mike Cecchini Apr 19, 2019

Roger Waters joined Nick Mason on stage in New York City for a rendition of a Pink Floyd classic.

Pink Floyd fans attending the Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets concert at New York City's Beacon Theater got an unexpected surprise on Thursday night, when another founding member of the legendary psychedelic rock band appeared on stage: Roger Waters. Waters, who was Pink Floyd's bassist, vocalist, and one of the band's chief songwriters during its first 20 years, rarely makes guest appearances at other Floyd side projects, but joined Mason's new band to provide vocals (and gong) on "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" from 1968.

While Pink Floyd frontmen David Gilmour and Roger Waters have had lucrative solo careers over the last few decades, Nick Mason's public appearances as a drummer have been incredibly sparse. Last year, the drummer announced the formation of Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets,...

The age of the celebrity supergroup charity single truly began in October 1984, when Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof watched in horror as footage of the worsening Ethiopian famine played across his television screen as part of a BBC News documentary. He was still haunted by the images a week later when a chance encounter reunited him with an old friend, Ultravox frontman Midge Ure, who was just as troubled by what he had seen on the report. The men decided to channel their outrage into a new charity single.

The...

Earlier this year, after waiting nearly a quarter century in vain for Pink Floyd to reunite, drummer Nick Mason decided to start a Floyd of his own: Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets. The group features Spandau Ballet guitarist Gary Kemp, longtime Pink Floyd touring bassist Guy Pratt, guitarist Lee Harris, and keyboardist Dom Beken. From the get-go, Mason knew the band needed to differentiate themselves from the Floyd-heavy tours that Roger Waters and David Gilmour have staged in recent years. “I knew I couldn’t play ‘Comfortably Numb’ better than David or Roger,...

Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets is crossing the Atlantic early next year for their first North American tour. The group – which features the Pink Floyd drummer alongside longtime Floyd touring bassist Guy Pratt, Spandau Ballet guitarist Gary Kemp, guitarist Lee Harris and keyboardist Dom Beken – launched their inaugural tour in Europe earlier this year to play shows devoted entirely to Floyd’s pre-Dark Side of the Moon catalog. The tour begins March 12th in Vancouver, BC and wraps up April 22nd in Washington, D.C. Tickets go on sale early next month.

“Just for once, we couldn’t find an anniversary,” Nick Mason says with a laugh, explaining the imminent arrival of Unattended Luggage, a new box set of the Pink Floyd drummer’s solo work, on August 31st. The three-disc reissue, in vinyl and CD editions, collates Mason’s eclectic releases under his own name in the early and mid-1980s, as Pink Floyd hit their theatrical peak with The Wall, then ruptured over creative control and direction. Nick Mason’s Fictitious Sports, made in 1979 but not issued until 1981, was the...

It’s been almost a year to the day since we lost David Bowie, but the rock icon and beloved creative force is still foremost in the minds of those who knew and loved him best. As Billboard reports, on Sunday evening, some of those people — including fans, friends and even former bandmates — gathered together to celebrate what would have been Bowie’s seventieth birthday for a three-hour charity concert at London’s Brixton Academy. It was an appropriately rocking and raucous event.

The show was hosted by actor (and close Bowie pal) Gary Oldman, who took the stage not only to emcee the event, but to rock out to a few of Bowie’s classics, including “Sorrow” and “The Man Who Sold the World.”

Read More: David Bowie’s ‘No Plan’ Music Video Is a Posthumous Tribute to the Departed Space Oddity — Watch

Oldman was joined by other luminaries and performers,...

It's not just X Factor winners who keep us coming back year in, year out, it's the ludicrous novelty acts who make the show so memorable. In the words of Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, "it may be borderline bonkers, but I love that".

But since Louis Walsh's departure from the show, there's been a noticeable lack of novelty fodder. Damn them for employing judges who actually value musical talent over mad outfits and insane dance routines.

So in tribute to the former finalists who may have made us visibly cringe but always smile, here's nine of our favourites, brought to you in association with TalkTalk's new Bopheads app:

1. Wagner (2010)

"On my death bed, I shall remember this moment..."

A 54-year-old, Brazilian-born former lion owner from Dudley, Wagner Carrilho won Sharon Osbourne's heart with his sheer eccentricity at the Judges' Houses.

From his mashup of 'She Bangs/Love Shack' to his...

Martin Kemp has given his stamp of approval to Tom Hardy's Krays movie Legend.

The Spandau Ballet star spoke to Digital Spy about the upcoming crime film in which Hardy plays both Ronnie and Reggie, having previously starred in The Krays alongside his brother Gary Kemp in 1990.

"I think Tom's a great actor, if anyone can do it he can do it really well. I'm not a fan ever of one actor doing two different parts, but if anyone can pull it off, he can."

When asked if he felt protective of the role, he said: "No, it's not my film. I'm proud of what we produced as a team. It was a great episode of my life, and a great learning curve. I used to be a child actor, and then I went in to the band, and so The Krays was like a springboard to the next part of my life.

The rise of the New Romantics and other flamboyant music camps in early-Eighties British pop led Paul Weller (the Jam, Style Council) to carp that it was "like punk never happened." The fantastic documentary Soul Boys of the Western World blurs cultural lines and complicates the politics (and dismissiveness) of Weller's comment. Director George Hencken charts the rise, fall, and rebirth of Spandau Ballet, first of the New Romantic superstars. Early in the film there's footage of a young Gary Kemp, Spandau's songwriter and lead guitarist, noting middle-class blokes' disdain of glamour and the appearance of success, while working-class folks like him and the rest of the band happily embraced them. Through superb editing of stock footage, home movies, new and vinta...

Stars: Danny Dyer, Gary Kemp, Martin Kemp, Anouska Mond, Deborah Moore, Robert Cavanah, Holly Weston, Paul Terry, Natalia Ryumina, Bruce Lawrence, Kris Sommerville | Written and Directed by J.K. Amalou

What can we say about Danny Dyer? Well that you probably had a reaction to that name at least shows that he has an impact on the pop culture of movies and television. This isn’t going to be a review that takes a look at him at his worst though, or even his best, but we can’t get away from the fact that Assassin is a film that is using not only his star quality but that of Martin and Gary Kemp to get some attention. Not to say that is a bad thing though.

In Assassin Danny Dyer plays the part of Keith a cold-faced assassin given the job to kill a business man who has managed to...

The Voice UK star Tim Arnold has revealed that he thought he would get disqualified from the show after Ricky Wilson saw him on his morning run.

Arnold joined Team Ricky in this weekend's show and told Digital Spy that he feels he has "a lot in common" with the Kaiser Chiefs frontman and was "overwhelmed with emotion" when he made it through to the next round.

"I didn't think I was going to be on that show any longer than one appearance at the blind audition," he said. "My career – which is something that I love – has always been underground. And all the opportunities that have happened that may have given me more exposure have never worked out.

"I always take each day as it comes and I just really didn't expect that I would be on that show any longer than that blind audition. So it was hard...

It's week four of blind auditions on The Voice and the show ain't messing around - we're getting fifteen acts taking to the stage this week in a bid to win an all-important chair spin from the coaches.

And if you want to know a little bit more about those 15 hopefuls, you're in luck, because we have all their pictures, song details and info. Read on for everything you need to know before Saturday night...

1. Tim Arnold - 39, London

Song: 'Running Up That Hill' - Kate Bush

What you need to know: Tim's mum is Polly Perkins who played Rose Cotton in EastEnders - June Brown is a close family friend. Tim also had a taste of success with Britpop band Jocasta in the '90s, but they were dropped on the day their album came out (way harsh). He's still working on music and recently recorded with Gary Kemp.

You've probably seen all the '90s movies, like "Pulp Fiction," "Clueless" and "Wayne's World" that Netflix has to offer, but there are also plenty of lesser-known gems available to stream. Sit down and enjoy these indies, first films by famous directors and some other great '90s movies you might have missed.

1. "Big Night" (1996) R

A great movie (co-directed by stars Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott) about two Italian brothers in 1950s running an unsuccessful restaurant who go all out when a celebrity's visit promises to save their business.

2. "Boys Don't Cry" (1999) R

Hilary Swank won her first Best Actress Oscar for her searing portrayal of a woman who lives life as a man, until her secret is found out by her redneck friends.

3. "Clueless" (1995) PG-13

How many times have you seen Alicia Silverstone make over her friends and try to play matchmaker? Not enough!

4. "Croupier" (1998) Nr

The movie...

Prime Minister David Cameron apparently spent New Year's Eve "dad dancing" and "sipping on red wine" at a party held by Blur star Alex James.

A report in The Sun claims that the Conservative leader let his hair down at the "old school disco-style" party and that he was almost persuaded to take part in karaoke.

Cameron and his wife Samantha both attended the event in Oxfordshire, and it is described by the paper as "an off-duty night for the Pm".

Other celebrities at the event included Spandau Ballet star Gary Kemp.

An eyewitness told the paper: "Alex kept trying to get [Cameron] to sing karaoke and looked like he was almost persuaded. But that was the point he realised it was probably time to go home.

"Samantha was a great laugh and dancing around. It looked like she was playing a leg as a guitar at one point."...

It doesn't feel like a week has passed since One Direction Overload Generation and Blonde Electra said their goodbyes, but it's time for two more solid hours of Saturday night-in entertainment with The X Factor.

The remaining 14 acts will sing their hearts out to earn the praise of the judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Mel B and Louis Walsh, as well as the millions watching at home, complete with five free votes each should they wish.

Join Digital Spy from 8pm as we settle down for the night for the inevitable judge fisticuffs, impressive high notes and dodgy boyband hand movements.

22:20That's your lot, guys and girls! Thanks for joining along in the fun - hope you enjoyed it - see you back tomorrow night to find out who must leave the competiton.

22:19So tomorrow we have Jessie J and Maroon 5. Yay?

22:16Fleur also gave a great performance.

Spandau Ballet are in the middle of a renaissance. They recently marked the 35th anniversary with a Prs for Music Heritage Award, they will soon release brand new music, and will have a primetime ITV special later this year.

Kicking off the Spandau revival though, is Soul Boys of the Western World, a brand new documentary about the band from filmmaker George Hencken.

However, it isn't just your average music documentary with talking heads and hindsight views, as it is made almost entirely out of archive material. Spandau Ballet had been planning on making a movie about their time as a band for several years, and began work on such a project after reuniting for comeback shows in 2009.

However, the project stalled until it was offered to Hencken, who had previously worked with Julien Temple on 2012's London - The Modern Babylon.

"I suggested that perhaps it would be a...

Name and focus changes for every section, which are now all competitive, resulting in the festival’s structure being “slimmer’.

The ninth Rome Film Festival (Oct 16-25) has revealed a diverse line-up including the Italian premieres for potential awards contenders including David Fincher’s Gone Girl. the world premiere of Takashi Miike’s As the Gods Will and Burhan Qurbani’s We are Young, We are Strong and European premiere of Oren Moverman’s Time Out of Mind, Toronto hit Still Alice and Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet.

This year for the first time the award-winners in each section of the programme will be decided by the audience on the basis of votes cast after the screenings.

Each section has changed name and focus for 2014 and are all competitive, resulting in the festival’s structure being “slimmer’.

Italian comedies Soap Opera and Andiamo a Quel Paese bookend the line-up.

Full line-up

Cinema D’Oggi

World premiere

• Angely...

Want to know what British films are coming out this month? Then look no further than our fabulous movie calendar...

Welcome to our new, regularly updated calendar of all the British movies due for release in UK cinemas over the coming months. So if you're keen to keep up-to-date on the latest in home grown cinema - from documentaries to dramas, and comedy horror to science fiction - this is the ideal post for you. 

So here's what's coming up in the future. 

12 September 2014

Pride

Director: Matthew Warchus

Cast: Bill Nighy, Dominic West, Andrew Scott

Details: A drama about a group of gay and lesbian activists donating to people in need during the 1984 miners' strike.

Jack To A King - The Swansea Story

Director: Marc Evans

Cast: Tbc

Details: A documentary about Swansea football fans.

19 September 2014

Night Will Fall

Director: Andre Singer

Cast: Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Bernstein

Details: A documentary...

The first photo of Tom Hardy in Brian Helgeland's Legend has been unveiled.

Brian Helgeland's thriller will see the Bronson star play both Ron and Reggie Kray, the twin brothers who ruled over London's East End criminal underworld in the '50s and '60s.

Emily Browning also features in the cast of the film as Frances Shea, Reggie's estranged wife who died in 1967.

An inquest ruled that she committed suicide, however a former lover of Reggie claimed that Ron killed Frances in a jealous rage.

The gangsters' exploits were previously explored in 1990's The Krays. Spandau Ballet stars Martin and Gary Kemp played the roles of Reggie and Ronnie respectively.

David Thewlis, Christopher Eccleston, Taron Egerton, Tara Fitzgerald and Chazz Palminteri round out the supporting cast for Legend, which is shooting in London now.

Exclusive: Metro International to screen documentary about 80s band to buyers.

Soul Boys of the Western World, a documentary about 1980s group Spandau Ballet that proved a hit at SXSW in March, is to be screened to buyers at the Cannes Marché next month, handled by UK sales company Metro International.

Members of the band, which had more than 20 hit singles such as True and Gold, are expected to make an appearance on the Croisette, five years after launching the project at the film festival.

They will be joined by first-time director George Hencken to screen the film and launch international sales, ahead of a theatrical release later this year.

The film charts the rise of the band, which formed in the late 70s and went on to sell more than 25 million records around the world. The archive-only feature tells how band members Tony Hadley, Gary Kemp, Martin Kemp, Steve Norman and John Keeble came together, broke...

The '80s were an interesting time for music, especially in London, with fashion and politics often playing as large a part in a band's image as the notes they played. One such band was Spandau Ballet, who formed during the late '70s, but who didn't become big until they released their global hit "True." The band started to drift apart by the end of the '80s, leading to some disputes over royalties--guitarist Gary Kemp was the only credited writer on their songs--although a few members of the band tried to keep things going. Singer/frontman Tony Hadley and brothers Gary and Martin Kemp all remained present in various media, particularly television, but in 2009, the band reunited with the Kemps for a series of sold out British shows that generated new interest in a group...

Scheduled To Appear: *Days subject to change Monday (tentative schedule, times in Cdt/Pdt): 11:00/9:00 a.m.: Ted Hope, Chris Kelly Fandor 11:15/9:15 a.m.: Elijah Wood, Sasha Grey, Nacho Vigalondo “Open Windows” 11:30/9:30 a.m.: Tony Hadley, Gary Kemp Spandau Ballet 12:00 p.m./10:00 a.m.: Leigh Janiak, Phil Graziadei ”Honeymoon” 12:30 p.m./10:30 a.m.: Larry Abrahamson ”Frank” 1:00 p.m./11:00 a.m.: Shaq, “Shaq Fu 2″ 1:30 p.m./11:30 a.m.: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg “Neighbors” 2:00/12:00 p..m.: Kerry Trainor Vimeo 2:20/12:20 p.

Exclusive: Tom Hardy in talks for thriller about notorious UK gangsters, from La Confidential screenwriter Brian Helgeland; Working Title producing.

Working Title is the new home of a thriller about the Kray twins, written by Oscar-winning writer Brian Helgeland (La Confidential), who will also direct.

Tom Hardy is in talks to star as both brothers in Legend (working title), which will chart the tortured and unique relationship between gangsters Ronald and Reginald Kray, the identical twin brothers infamous for their criminal exploits in London during the 1950s and 1960s.

According to sources close to the British actor, the project is one of several The Dark Knight Rises star is considering. Currently in development, the production is aiming to shoot in the UK later this year.

Working Title, whose recent features include Rush, About Time and Berlin title The Two Faces of January, is developing and producing the project.

The script takes in associates, rivals - such...

Will Young and Emeli Sandé are among the stars who will explore their artistic heroes in ITV's Perspectives.

The documentary strand sees a number of well-known figures exploring the lives of people they are interested in, with Young finding out more about artist Rene Magritte and Sandé travelling to Mexico to find out more about Frida Kahlo.

Elsewhere, Sir Bruce Forsyth will speak about Sammy Davis Jr and opera star Alfie Boe will find out more about Freddie Mercury.

Rounding out the strand are Gary Kemp, who will explore the life and work of the controversial Young British Artists, and Alan Davies, who attempts some of Harry Houdini's most famous tricks.

ITV's controller of factual Jo Clinton-Davis said: "The key to Perspectives films is a distinctive, individual voice, keen to search for and share fresh insights through genuine, in some cases life-long, passion and curiosity for the chosen subject.

Exclusive: UK sales outfit boards SXSW-bound doc about iconic 80s band.

Metro International has boarded sales on documentary Soul Boys of the Western World about iconic 1980s band Spandau Ballet, which is set to premiere at SXSW in March.

The archive film charts the rise, fall and reunion of the New Romantic group, comprising Tony Hadley, Gary Kemp, Steve Norman, John Keeble and Martin Kemp, which sold an estimated 20 million records worldwide.

The documentary, which debuts in SXSW’s 24 Beats Section, is directed by long-term Julien Temple collaborator George Hencken. Producers are Steve Dagger and Scott Millaney.

Metro International partner and head of sales Natalie Brenner told Screen: “We are very excited to have George Hencken’s entertaining and beautifully crafted documentary on our slate.

“It’s going to thrill the hordes of Spandau fans around the world but also delight anyone who harbors nostalgia for the 1980s music, fashion and culture.”

Brenner and Metro...

Sundance just ended, and we are already preparing for the next big film festival, South By Southwest. Not too long ago, the festival announced a few of the films premiering this year, but now they’ve announced the main slate. The midnight selections and some inevitable late-breaking additions are still to be announced, but this should be more than enough to get you excited. Along with many World Premieres, and Sundance favorites like Richard Linklater’s Boyhood and Gareth Evans’ The Raid 2, the line up also includes an anniversary screening of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and an extended Q&A screening of The Grand Budapest Hotel with Wes Anderson. SXSW 2014 runs March 7 through 15 in Austin, Texas. Check out the line up after the jump.

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Narrative Feature Competition

Eight world premieres, eight unique ways to celebrate the art of storytelling. Selected from 1,324 films submitted to SXSW 2014. Films screening in Narrative...

Today the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival announced a diverse features lineup for this year’s Festival, the 21st edition and running March 7 – 15, 2014 in Austin, Texas. The 2014 program expands on SXSW tradition of embracing a range of genres and span of budgets, featuring a wealth of vision from experienced and developing filmmakers alike.

For more information visit http://sxsw.com/film.

Listed in the announcement are 115 of the features that will screen over the course of nine days at SXSW 2014. The lineup below includes 68 films from first-time filmmakers, and consists of 76 World Premieres, 10 North American Premieres and 7 U.S. Premieres. These films were selected from a record 2,215 feature-length film submissions composed of 1,540 U.S. and 675 international feature-length films. With a record number of 6,482 submissions total, the overall increase was 14% over 2013. The Midnighters feature section and the Short Film program will be announced on February 5, with the complete...

After announcing earlier this month that Jon Favreau’s Chef and the Veronica Mars movie will be making their world debuts at SXSW this year, the festival has revealed its full line-up, including further very promising world premieres, alongside appearances from some of the year’s most high-profile films.

The Midnight programme will be announced early next month, along with the Shorts line-up, and the complete Conference slate a little later as well.

Led by Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, Nicholas Stoller’s anticipated R-rated comedy, Neighbors, will be making its world debut at the festival, notably marked out as a ‘work-in-progress’ ahead of its theatrical release in May.

David Gordon Green’s acclaimed Joe will make its Us premiere, having bowed at Venice and then Toronto last year. Early reviews have Nicolas Cage giving one of the finest performances of his career, with Tye Sheridan (Mud) excellent alongside him.

Not sure if there is a Short Term 12 equivalent in this year’s Narrative Feature Comp, but on paper SXSW programmers are serving up a mean (and the usual lean group of 8 out of a whopping 1,324 film entries) for the upcoming competitiuon of eight which includes notable entries (that we’ve been tracking for a good time now) such as Zachary Wigon’s The Heart Machine, John Magary’s The Mend, Leah Meyerhoff’s I Believe in Unicorns and Lawrence Michael Levine’s Wild Canaries. Undoubtedly one of the most anticipated docs of the year, on the non-fiction side we find Margaret Brown’s The Great Invisible. Below you’ll find a breakdown of the other sections (notable world preems in We’ll Never Have Paris and Faults (see Mary Elizabeth Winstead above), some Sundance items with Texan connections and other nuggets.

Narrative Feature Competition

Eight world premieres, eight...

The X Factor finalists received VIP treatment at Wembley Stadium last night (October 11) while watching England's latest World Cup qualifying match.

Luke Friend, Tamera Foster, Nicholas McDonald, Sam Bailey, Sam Callahan, Rough Copy and Kingsland Road enjoyed a night away from rehearsals, ahead of the first live show of the series.

They watched England defeat qualification rivals Montenegro 4-1 in a tense match at Wembley Stadium.

The 12 finalists will take to the stage tonight (October 12) to perform 80s classics in a bid to stay in the competition.

Louis Walsh, who is mentoring the boys this year, revealed that his trio will tackle hits by Spandau Ballet, Bryan Adams and Sting during the live show.

Giving his predictions about the programme, Walsh said that Sharon Osbourne's contestant Sam Bailey "will be so safe this week".

> 15 reasons we still love The X Factor Live Shows

The X Factor airs tonight at 8pm on ITV.

Louis Walsh has revealed his song choice for his three acts as they take on this week's '80s theme.

The mentor, who is leading the boys' category this year, has chosen tracks by Spandau Ballet for Nicholas McDonald, Bryan Adams for Sam Callahan and Sting for Luke Friend.

Walsh said: "It's all about my three guys this week - Nicholas is doing Spandau Ballet. He's so young that I don't think he even knows who they are, he didn't know the song beforehand."

Callahan, meanwhile, will take on Adams's 'Summer of 69'. Speaking ahead of the show, Walsh said that the Essex bartender reminds him of the singer.

The veteran judge also admitted that Luke's performance is the one he is most concerned about.

He said: "It was his song choice, I wouldn't have chosen the song." However, Walsh added: "He is very musical, he is a little bit...

The top-line on the big film news stories for Friday 23 August 2013 – plus everything else that we're launching on the film site today

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In the paper today

• We've the full quota of reviews in Film & Music today, including Peter Bradshaw on Lovelace, Elysium, What Maisie Knew, We're the Millers, Morrissey 25: Live and Winter of Discontent.

• Also in Film & Music, we've Joe Queenan's cover story on why the movies always get stuck in the past when they imagine the future.

Plus: Rick Moranis speaks to Hadley Freeman about his new album and Jim Rash and Nat Faxon talk Oscars, Angelegging and The Way, Way Back.

The headlines today

This morning on the site we'll be launching full stories on the following. But you can get a sneak preview right here, right now.

• Dun-a-nun-a-nun-a-nun-a-nun-a-Ben-Aaaffleck! We've already got one story up on the dark knight casting announcement,...

Martin and Gary are back, in Danny Dyer gangster movie Assassin

• Martin and Gary Kemp: 'We complement each other'

The good news: Martin and Gary Kemp are to be reunited on the big screen for the first time since their critically-acclaimed performances in 1991's The Krays. The less good: the former members of 80s new romantic act Spandau Ballet are set to appear in a Danny Dyer gangster movie.

Titled Assassin, the new film has Jk Amalou on board as writer-director. The Kemps will play London gangsters the Albert brothers, with Dyer himself set for the lead as a professional contract killer who discovers his latest target is the estranged father of the woman he loves.

Producer Jonathan Sothcott, whose credits include infamous 2012 low budget turkey Strippers vs Werewolves (which took just £38 in its first week at the UK box office) is working with Dyer on a number of new films.

Martin and Gary Kemp reunite as villainous brothers for the first time since The Krays in Assassin, which stars Danny Dyer.

Martin and Gary Kemp, best known as musicians in Spandau Ballet and gangsters in biopic The Krays, are to play the Alberts brothers in new film Assassin. It marks their first big screen appearance together since cult classic The Krays in 1990. They will star opposite Football Factory actor Danny Dyer.

Producer Jonathan Sothcott said: “The Krays is one of the best-loved British films of all time, an untouchable classic that only a lunatic would remake, but at the core of that movie are the fantastic performances of Martin and Gary.

“Reuniting them for Assassin is a real coup, a dream come true, and I know their army of fans are going to love seeing what unpleasant plans they have for Mr Dyer.”

Assassin is a Richwater/Silver Leaf co-production produced by Jonathan Sothcott and written, produced...

Martin and Gary Kemp are re-teaming on screen for the first time since they played the title roles as the vicious British siblings in The Krays. The brothers will play sinister gangsters The Alberts brothers in Assassin, starring opposite Football Factory‘s Danny Dyer. I always found it amusing that the Kemp brothers transitioned from the soft pop ballad band Spandau Ballet (best known for “True”) and did such a convincing job portraying the ruthlessly violent and twisted Kray Brothers in that 1991 cult favorite film directed by Peter Medak. “The Krays is one of the best-loved British films of all time, an untouchable classic that only a lunatic would remake, but at the core of that movie are the fantastic performances of Martin and Gary,” said producer Jonathan Sothcott. “Reuniting them for Assassin is a real coup, a dream come true, and I know their army of fans are going...

They went from being new romantics in Spandau Ballet to playing London gangsters in the film The Krays. Now the brothers are about to appear on TV together again

An enduring tale of sibling harmony, Gary and Martin Kemp have spent decades working companionably alongside one another without ever, publicly at least, succumbing to fraternal combustion. The arts, and particularly pop music, is littered with brothers (more so, curiously, than sisters) who have tried to do the same and failed, among them Ray and Dave Davies of the Kinks and Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis, each undone by ego and the need to dominate. But the Kemps are different, an anomaly. Now both in their 50s, they remain essentially one and the same, and consequently stronger together than the sum of their parts.

But how? Gary Kemp, who, at 53, is two years Martin's senior, thinks that it is down to their upbringing.

Martin Kemp and Gary Kemp have spoken to Digital Spy about their new series Gangs of Britain.

The investigative documentary explores the dark "underbelly" of a different city each week, with Gary looking into gangs of the past, while brother Martin investigates contemporary gang culture.

Watch our exclusive video interview above to learn which shocking moments didn't make the final cut and which terrifying scenes shocked Martin "to the core".

Gangs of Britain with Gary and Martin Kemp begins on Sunday, April 21 at 9pm on the Crime & Investigation Network (Sky 553 | Virgin 237).

Rylan Clark has revealed that he wants to be "mates" with The X Factor judge Gary Barlow. The controversial contestant was placed in the bottom two of the competition on Sunday night's results show with Barlow's act Carolynne Poole, but was saved after the judges went to Deadlock. Barlow had said he was "embarrassed" while watching Clark's performance of Spandau Ballet's hit 'Gold', and criticised mentor Nicole Scherzinger for picking him to go through to the live shows. Asked whether he hated Barlow following the comments, Clark told the official site: "I have absolute respect for Gary as a mentor and as a musician. I really want to win him over - I don't want there to be a war between us. "I reckon by the end of the series we'll be bessie mates – move over Robbie, I am taking (more)...

Sadie Frost was given a police caution yesterday (08.10.12) for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend. The 47-year-old actress is said to have been involved in an after-dinner argument with former model James Gooding, 37, on Sunday night (07.10.12). Police questioned the mother-of-four at her multi-million pound home in Hampstead, north London, and asked her to report to a central London police station, according to The Sun newspaper. Sadie - who has son Finlay from her first marriage to Spandau Ballet singer Gary Kemp and three kids, Rafferty, Rudy and Iris, with second husband Jude Law, who she divorced in 2003 after six...

Sadie Frost was given a police caution yesterday (08.10.12) for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend. The 47-year-old actress is said to have been involved in an after-dinner argument with former model James Gooding, 37, on Sunday night (07.10.12). Police questioned the mother-of-four at her multi-million pound home in Hampstead, north London, and asked her to report to a central London police station, according to The Sun newspaper. Sadie - who has son Finlay from her first marriage to Spandau Ballet singer Gary Kemp and three kids, Rafferty, Rudy and Iris, with second husband Jude Law, who she divorced in 2003 after six years of marriage - returned to her house at 6pm yesterday. She smiled to waiting photographers but...