When Balamory was on CBBC screens from 2002 to 2005, it was a total hit with youngsters. But 18 years later, two of the show's well-known stars have now reunited for an upcoming project.
14.11.2023 - 11:34 / variety.com
Savina Petkova A vampire with qualms about killing to survive is no longer a figure exclusive to the “Twilight” franchise, when a Canadian French-language debut places a teenage girl in a tricky situation, torn between what the world demands of her and what she herself wants. The film’s title is eloquent enough — “Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person” — and it already won Ariane Louis-Seize the best director prize at this year’s Venice Days, and was praised for a “strong directorial vision.” The film screened as part of the main competition at the Thessaloniki Film Festival last week.
“Humanist Vampire” is a contemporary gothic tale, a coming-of-age story, and a comedy-drama all at the same time. It stars Sara Montpetit of Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight entry “Falcon Lake” as the fanged protagonist, Sasha, and Félix-Antoine Bénard as the consenting suicidal person, Paul.
Louis-Seize co-wrote the script together with Christine Doyon and the producers are Jeanne-Marie Poulain and Line Sander Egede of the Montreal-based company Art et Essai. The film, which Variety critic Jessica Kiang described as “a good-natured, dark-tinged, teen rom-com,” is at heart a playful take on the human condition.
“‘Playful’ is a key word for me,” she says, speaking to Variety in Thessaloniki, “and I saw the vampire story as a playground to explore deeper human themes.” Since hybridity was already part and parcel of the plot, mixing registers and tone was one of the draws for her. The film is both gothic and comedic, inspired by various genres.
“I wanted to make a deadpan comedy, but I also liked mumblecore, coming of age, and vampire tales. All that amounted to something unique, that made me feel freer in the writing process.”
.When Balamory was on CBBC screens from 2002 to 2005, it was a total hit with youngsters. But 18 years later, two of the show's well-known stars have now reunited for an upcoming project.
Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the year’s most talked-about scripts continues with Rustin, Netflix‘s biopic of civil rights icon Bayard Rustin. Colman Domingo stars in the film, which is directed by Tony winner George C. Wolfe and hit theaters and the streamer in November after its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival.
Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service have announced their 2024 co-headline tour and teased their return to the UK.Frontman Ben Gibbard (who plays in both bands) will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Postal Service’s debut album ‘Give Up’ and Death Cab for Cutie’s fourth record ‘Transatlanticism’. Each band will play the 2003 albums in full.After a string of shows in September and October, Gibbard announced today (November 30) a string of extra US tour dates, and revealed an extra London show.
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don’t share a lot of family photos with the public, so it’s up to the couple’s kids to give us an inside peek into their adorable family life.On November 27, , posted a photo to his Instagram grid showing himself, his parents, and his two younger sisters posing for a selfie together while snuggled up in bed over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Broderick is on the far side of the bed, followed by , one of whom is playfully sticking out her tongue.
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Zack Sharf Digital News Director Sarah Paulson revealed on “The View” that Matthew Perry helped land her a supporting role on Aaron Sorkin’s short-lived TV series “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” Perry headlined the NBC show opposite Bradley Whitford and Amanda Peet, all of whom were cast already when Paulson was auditioning for the role of fictional actor Harriet Hayes. The Emmy winner said Perry took her under his wing and ensured she had an advantage in her final audition by personally running lines with her. “I was at a particular place in my career where I needed that job very desperately,” Paulson said.
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When train driver Mark Haigh thinks about the moment somebody took their own life by stepping in front of his cab he says it 'breaks my heart'. Mark had worked for Northern for four years when was at the controls of a service that hit and killed a man in West Yorkshire in 2022.
Emmerdale stars Charley Webb and Matthew Wolfenden, who have been together for 15 years, recently sparked fears of a split. Fans were worried after noticing that Matthew had unfollowed his wife Charley on social media, fuelling rumours of a breakup. Rumours about their relationship being on the rocks have been swirling for months, with talk of past unfaithfulness, social media snubs, and public appearances without wedding rings.
There were so many celebs in attendance at the 2023 GQ Men of the Year party in Los Angeles this year, with Kim Kardashian, Megan Thee Stallion, and Megan Fox among those bringing star power to the event.
Pep Guardiola has been dealt yet another injury scare during the international break as Manchester City await an update on Erling Haaland before their impending Premier League showdown with Liverpool.
Lily Gladstone teared up giving a passionate speech honoring activists who work to protect Indigenous women at Variety’s Power of Woman event Thursday in Hollywood, presented by Lifetime. The “Killers of the Flower Moon” actor — who is one of Variety‘s honorees and cover stars this year — offered an account of how Martin Scorsese’s script’s evolution from a criminal investigation to a tale about an Osage woman, Mollie Kyle, and the husband who murdered her sisters and tribe members, speaks to the ongoing abuse facing Indigenous women today. “At one point, Leo wasn’t playing this complicated villain.
Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor Michael Fassbender is a two-time Academy Award nominee who trained at the Drama Centre London before touring with the Oxford Stage Company; he’s performed Chekov and Shakespeare and worked a veritable who’s who of greatest living directors. Rookie actor Kaimana had never even considered trying to be an actor, noting she avoided school plays “like the plague.” Yet the two form a winning pair in “Next Goal Wins,” the funny, touching, uplifting new film from “Jojo Rabbit” filmmaker Taika Waititi, hitting theaters Nov.
K.J. Yossman In 2013 Jamie Byng, CEO of publisher Canongate, gathered a host of familiar faces including Nick Cave and Gillian Anderson in a disused London church and persuaded them to read a bunch of letters in front of an audience for charity. Cave selected the message he’d sent to MTV turning down a nomination for Best Male Artist while Anderson re-enacted a letter Katharine Hepburn wrote to Spencer Tracy decades after he’d died.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to buy a minority stake in Manchester United after his failed Chelsea takeover attempt.
Valerie Wu Intern Conny Van Dyke, a singer-songwriter signed to Motown Records who starred in such films as “W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings” and “Framed,” has died. She was 78.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “Black-ish” star Anthony Anderson and his mother, Doris Bowman, are once again teaming up to host another game show together. The son-and-mother duo have been announced as the new hosts of Fox’s upcoming music gamer “We Are Family,” which premieres Wednesday, Jan.
Prince Harry shut down reports that he had rejected an invitation to his father King Charles' 75th birthday earlier this week with the duke claiming he has had "no contact" from his family and was actually snubbed instead.