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Tim Roth's career has been "healthily messy".The 63-year-old actor has starred in a host of well-known movies, including 'Reservoir Dogs', 'Pulp Fiction' and 'The Hateful Eight' - but Tim admits that there's also been a chaotic element to his career.The London-born film star told The Hollywood Reporter: "My feeling is that the career that I was after was anarchy. I always like that - and chaos. "So, I always do a film to finance another film. Because a lot of these films that I love to do, these crazy films I love to do, have no money. They’re the little independent things that are trying and are struggling to be made even more now than ever. So you got to do the ones that finance them. But sometimes they are terrible, and sometimes they are great, and sometimes the little independents don’t work.

When Tim Roth was first approached to co-star inGridlock’d(1997), he was hesitant about working with Tupac Shakur.

According to THR, in a recent discussion at Luxembourg City Film Fest, Roth revealed the journey that ultimately led to him acting alongside legendary music and film icon Tupac. The film, a crime comedy directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall, follows two heroin addicts, Spoon (Tupac) and Stretch (Roth), as they navigate a bureaucratic nightmare while trying to enter rehab. Westworld actress Melanie Thandiwe Newton also starred in the film. Initially, Laurence Fishburne was set to star in the film, and Roth was eager to work with him. But after Fishburne dropped out, Roth was informed that a rapper would be taking his place—an idea he immediately rejected.

"But he dropped out, and he was really a big part of the reason why I wanted to do it," Roth recalled. "So then the...

On Saturday 21 September 2024, BBC One broadcasts The Hit List!

Season 7 Episode 6 Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “The Hit List” promises to be an exciting hour of music and competition. Hosted by Marvin and Rochelle Humes, the show continues its tradition of high-energy fun as contestants race against the clock to identify hit songs and artists from various decades and genres.

In this episode, three teams will compete for a chance to win the £10,000 cash prize. The first team consists of Alex and their mum Glenda, who have traveled from Whitley Bay. They are eager to showcase their music knowledge. Next, best friends Madi and Kieran from Manchester bring their close bond and competitive spirit to the stage. Lastly, siblings Nigel and Maria from Kent will join the mix, hoping to leverage their family connection for an edge in the game.

Viewers can expect plenty of laughter and surprises as...

On Saturday 14 September 2024, BBC One broadcasts The Hit List!

Season 7 Episode 5 Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “The Hit List” promises to be an exciting event for music lovers. Hosted by Marvin and Rochelle Humes, this play-along music quiz challenges contestants to name hit songs and artists under pressure. The thrill of the game is sure to keep everyone on the edge of their seats.

In this episode, three teams will compete for the £10,000 prize pot. Elin and Alex from Cardiff will bring their music knowledge to the table, while mum and daughter duo Phoebe and Sharon from Leeds aim to showcase their skills. Best friends Zain and Rich from London are also in the mix, ready to battle it out for the top spot. Each team will face intense challenges as they try to recall as many songs and artists as possible.

Viewers can expect plenty of fun and...

Welcome to our weekly rundown of the best new music — featuring big new singles, key tracks from our favorite albums, and more. This week, Ice Spice drops her hugely anticipated debut album and joins forces with Travis Scott, Halsey taps into the melancholy side of Britney Spears, and Post Malone teams up with Luke Combs for some feel-good country. Plus, new music from Kacey Musgraves, Calvin Harris, and Ellie Goulding.

Ice Spice feat. Travis Scott, “Oh Shhh…” (YouTube)

Halsey, “Lucky” (YouTube)

Post Malone feat. Luke Combs, “Guy for That” (YouTube)

Kacey Musgraves,...

Anyone familiar with Christopher Nolan's work won't be surprised to learn that he's a fan of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, and Lawrence of Arabia, since their fingerprints are all over his own films. The director's tastes are wide-ranging enough to encompass everything from the sublime to the silly who would've guessed he'd have so much affection for Talladega Nights? One of the director's lesser known favorites is The Hit, a gritty little thriller that left an indelible mark on Nolan that can be seen in his own movies, especially the first three.

Stars: Abm Sumon, Frank Grillo, Matt Passmore, Michael Jai White, Niko Foster, Oleg Prudius, Kelly Greyson | Written by Asif Akbar, Nazim Ud Daula, Abdul Aziz | Directed by Asif Akbar

Mr-9: Do or Die is based on the first of a long-running series of mostly ghost-written novels chronicling the adventures of Masud Rana, Bangladesh’s answer to James Bond. Somewhat surprisingly given there are 500 or so novels in the franchise, this is only the second attempt at bringing them to the screen, the first being Masud Rana in 1974. Fifty years later, will the world be more receptive to the Bangladeshi Bond?

The film certainly starts on a familiar note with Rana running unnoticed across wide open lawns in broad daylight without being noticed. Despite his best efforts and his leaving a trail of bodies behind him, his target gets away and the two agents he was supposed to rescued are killed.

Exclusive: Two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds), Stranger Things and Maestro star Maya Hawke, Cannes Best Actor winner John Turturro (Severance), and Emmy winner Jon Hamm (Mad Men) are set to star in Oscar-nominated director Stephen Frears’ (The Queen) Wilder & Me, which will be a buzzy package at this month’s EFM market.

Hawke will play Calista, a young musician whose life takes on a whole new meaning while working on the set of Billy Wilder’s film Fedora. Waltz will play legendary film director Wilder, known for classics including Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard and The Apartment. Turturro will play his lifelong friend and screenwriting partner I.A.L. Diamond. Hamm will play famed actor William Holden.

Described as a “bittersweet drama”, the project has been adapted for the screen by two-time Oscar winner Christopher Hampton (The Father) with Oscar winner Jeremy Thomas (The Last Emperor) producing and shoot scheduled for early 2025 in Greece.

Punch is a coming-of-age drama directed by New Zealander Welby Ings and stars Tim Roth, newcomer Jordan Oosterhaf, and former professional surfer Conan Hayes.

Jim is a young but focused professional fighter and at just seventeen years old, wants nothing more than to make his demanding father proud. With his life on track for success, Jim meets Whetu, a gay Maori boy who spends his time in an old shack by the beach. Despite his dedication and self confidence, after meeting Whetu, Jim must confront the truth about his own sexuality and his choices.

The Star: Tim Roth Tim Roth. Depostiphotos

Tim Roth is an English actor, director and producer who has had a long and successful career in Hollywood. He first rose to prominence with his performance as Tim ‘Fool’ Condon in the 1985 film The Hit. Since then Tim has gone on to appear in numerous leading roles in films such as Reservoir Dogs,...

Tim Roth is an English actor, director and producer who has had a long and successful career in Hollywood. He first rose to prominence with his performance as Tim ‘Fool’ Condon in the 1985 film The Hit. Since then Tim has gone on to appear in numerous leading roles in films such as Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Planet of the Apes and The Incredible Hulk. Tim has also starred in television series such as Lie To Me and Tin Star. He won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama for his role as Cal Lightman in Lie To Me. Tim has directed several films including The War Zone, Little Odessa, Restless and Broken. He won the BAFTA Award for Best Short Film for his directing work on The War Zone. Tim is an active philanthropist and serves on the board of directors at Artists For...

Tim Roth was on his way to the Cannes Film Festival a couple of years ago when a script came through from his agent. It was for a movie called Resurrection.

“I had taken my boy with me, my youngest,” Roth tells Den of Geek. “And I sat down and I read it, and I was kind of shellshocked afterwards. So my son was like, ‘What is that?’ And I said, ‘Well, I don’t know how you would describe it. It’s a psychological horror movie, but it’s a new thing to me.’ So he said, ‘Give it to me.’ He read it and he went, ‘Okay, you’re doing it.’”

In Resurrection, written and directed by Andrew Semans, Rebecca Hall plays Margaret, a successful career woman and single mother who is getting ready to send her daughter Abbie (Grace Kaufman) to college.

Margaret tightly controls every aspect...

Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz will portray legendary Old Hollywood director Billy Wilder in a biographical film from director Stephen Frears, the film’s producer Jeremy Thomas announced Monday.

“Billy Wilder and Me” is part coming-of-age-story and part true-life portrait about a young woman who begins working with Wilder during the filming of “Fedora” on a Greek island in 1977. But as she continues with him to Germany to continue the shoot, she finds herself joining him on a journey into the memory of his family history. The Austrian-Hungarian born Wilder is the director of such masterpieces as “Sunset Blvd.,” “The Apartment,” “Some Like It Hot,” “Double Indemnity” and many more.

Christopher Hampton, who is collaborating with Frears for the third time after working together on “Dangerous Liaisons” and “Cheri,” wrote the script based on the novel “Mr. Wilder and Me” from author Jonathan Coe.

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Sarah Silverman Joins Bradley Cooper’s...

Christoph Waltz will play Hollywood legend Billy Wilder in a new project from producer Jeremy Thomas.

“Billy Wilder & Me” will be adapted by Christopher Hampton from Jonathan Coe’s book, with Stephen Frears directing. Billed as part coming-of-age story and part true-life portrait of Wilder, the film looks to capture “a heroic icon of Hollywood’s golden era for all cinema lovers.”

Wilder’s directing credits include “Sunset Blvd.,” “The Apartment” and “The Seven Year Itch.”

Here’s an official synopsis for the pic: In the summer of 1977, an innocent young woman begins working for famed director Billy Wilder and his screenwriter Iz Diamond on a Greek island during the filming of “Fedora.” When she follows Wilder to Germany to continue the shoot, she finds herself joining him on a journey of memory into the heart of his family history.

Frears has again teamed with two-time Oscar winning screenwriter Hampton,...

Tim Roth is a director’s actor. The London native began his on-screen career under the helm of Alan Clarke with a volatile role in his 1982 television play “Made In Britain,” exploding in front of the camera and immediately putting himself on the map. One director after another was lining up to work with him, leading to plum subsequent parts in the years to follow with Mike Leigh (“Meantime”), Stephen Frears (“The Hit”), Peter Greenaway, and Robert Altman (“Vincent & Theo”) by the time he had reached his first full decade in films.

Continue reading Tim Roth On Making ‘Sundown’ Like a Silent Movie, The Directors Who Shaped Him & Rejoining The MCU In ‘She-Hulk’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

Wonwoo Park, the creator of “The Masked Singer” format, has signed a first-look deal with Fox Alternative Entertainment.

Under the deal, Fox and Park’s Seoul-based production company, dI turn, will jointly develop series for global territories and the American market. The two companies are currently developing the international format for the Korean talent-competition series “Lotto Singer,” in which viewers can win cash prizes by correctly betting on contestants’ performances. Created by Park, and from Seoul Broadcasting System’s content hub FormatEast, “Lotto Singer” aired on Mbn last year.

“Thanks to the creative genius and vision of Wonwoo Park, the success of ‘The Masked Singer’ and the impact it has had on Fox and numerous other networks throughout the world cannot be understated,” said Allison Wallach, head of Fox Alternative Entertainment. “Wonwoo’s ability to identify and develop concepts that are unique in premise and universal in appeal makes him...

This past week I happily immersed myself in the latest book by protean film critic/biographer/sometime novelist David Thomson, A Light in the Dark: A History of Movie Directors. Even as he approaches 80, the author of the invaluable Biographical Dictionary of Film editions is able to find fresh things to say about such cinematic imperishables as Hitchcock, Welles, Lang, Renoir, Bunuel, Hawks, Godard and Nicholas Ray.

Midway through the new tome, Thomson delivers his most unexpected and welcome piece, a savory appreciation of a director who, almost defiantly, is not an auteur and therefore remains somewhat taken for granted, far too much so, despite having made any number of notable films of considerable class and merit. That would be Stephen Frears, who himself will turn 80 in June.

Like such Hollywood non-auteurs as Michael Curtiz, Raoul Walsh, Don Siegel, Henry Hathaway, Richard Fleischer and any number of others, Frears is not a writer.

If you like Euro-crime and haven’t seen this one you’re in for a real treat. English killers are on the road in Spain, executing a hit on a ‘Supergrass’ who’s spent ten years in protective custody. The brilliant cast — Terence Stamp, John Hurt, Tim Roth and Laura Del Sol give the criminal twists extra credibility. The suspenseful show is one of Stephen Frears’ best, and it builds to a highly satisfying conclusion. It’s also the feature debut of Tim Roth, and as such shouldn’t be missed.

The Hit

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 469

1984 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 98 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 20, 2020 / 39.95

Starring: Terence Stamp, John Hurt, Tim Roth, Laura Del Sol, Fernando Rey, Bill Hunter, Jim Broadbent.

Cinematography: Mike Molloy

Film Editor: Mick Audsley

Original Music: Paco de Lucía

Written by Peter Prince

Produced by Jeremy Thomas

Directed by Stephan Frears

Class-act...

The 1984 film The Hit is out today on Criterion Collection --- and they're having a 50% off flash sale right now, so if you've been waiting to score some awesome box sets, get to it Asap. Directed by Stephen Frear, the film stars Terence Stamp as Willie, a former gangster-turned-informer. He's been hiding out in a sunwashed Spanish village for a good ten years when his luck runs out and he's found and delivered by a group of amateur thugs who are immediately dispatched of in...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The Criterion Collection has announced an October release date for its “Parasite” Blu-ray release, a fitting date as the release will mark the one-year anniversary of Bong Joon Ho’s U.S. theatrical release. The Criterion “Parasite” release includes not only a 4K remaster of the original film supervised by Bong Joon Ho himself, but also the movie’s much-touted black-and-white version and new audio commentary track with Bong and film critic Tony Rayns.

“A zeitgeist-defining sensation that distilled a global reckoning over class inequality into a tour de force of pop-cinema subversion, Bong Joon Ho’s genre-scrambling black-comic thriller confirms his status as one of the world’s foremost filmmakers,” Criterion wrote in a statement announcing the film’s October release date. “A bravura showcase for its director’s meticulously constructed set pieces, bolstered by a brilliant ensemble cast and stunning production design, ‘Parasite’ cemented the New Korean Cinema...

Almost exactly one year since it began its theatrical release in the United States, Bong Joon Ho‘s Parasite is arriving on The Criterion Collection. The Best Picture winner leads their October 2020 lineup, and for those who bought the standard Blu-ray edition earlier this year, you can now plan to give it to a friend as the disc is packed with extras.

Among the special features is the black-and-white version of the film, an audio commentary by Bong Joon Ho and critic Tony Rayns, a feature on the New Korean Cinema movement featuring Bong and Park Chan Wook, a storyboard comparison and more.

Also part of the October lineup is Stephen Frears’ crime drama The Hit, starring Terence Stamp, the Gregory Peck-led western The Gunfighter, John Berry’s Claudine, which features an Oscar-nominated performance by Diahann Carroll, and a new restoration of the Jean-Luc Godard classic Pierrot le fou.

British actor Tim Roth is to receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award in recognition of his “exceptional contribution to the art of film.” The ceremony at the Sarajevo Film Festival will be held on Tuesday. He will hold a masterclass on the same day.

His first screen role was the lead in the controversial Prix Italia award-winning TV movie “Made in Britain.” Roth’s second project came immediately after, starring in Mike Leigh’s critically acclaimed film “Meantime.” As his success continued, Roth starred in more than 15 film and television projects including Stephen Frears’ “The Hit,” for which he won the Standard Award for best newcomer, Peter Greenaway’s “The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover,” Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” and Robert Altman’s “Vincent and Theo,” in which he portrayed Vincent Van Gogh.

Roth gained worldwide recognition for his roles in two Quentin Tarantino films,...

The passing of famed “Blade Runner” actor Rutger Hauer has prompted an outpouring of tributes from filmmakers, actors, and fans on Twitter, honoring a career highlighted by one of the most famous monologues in sci-fi history.

Director Guillermo Del Toro praised Hauer as “an intense, deep, genuine and magnetic actor that brought truth, power and beauty to his films.” “Law and Order: Svu” star Ice-t reflected on the time he worked with Hauer on the action film “Surviving the Game,” while Kiss frontman Gene Simmons posted a picture of a VHS copy of “Wanted Dead or Alive,” in which the rock star played a terrorist being hunted down by a CIA agent played by Hauer.

Hauer’s “Blade Runner” co-star Daryl Hannah said in a statement to Fox News Wednesday, “I have a profound love and respect for Rutger Hauer. I am heartbroken to learn he has left us. He was unpredictable,...

As we near the 61st Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, make sure you’re ready for music’s biggest night. The Best New Artist category has eight contenders in it, making it the largest number of artists ever competing in the category and the first time since 1966 that there are more than five artists vying for the title. This year’s category is heavy on country hitmakers (one of them, a pop star with a surprise crossover hit in the genre). While rock, R&B and pop nominees show off an incredible range,...

Louisa Mellor Sep 8, 2017

Tim Roth leads an excellent cast in unpredictable new Sky Atlantic revenge drama Tin Star, out now…

“It’s the disposal,” says Tim Roth. “The killing isn’t the problem, it’s the disposal that’s the problem. You run out of space.” The storage issues faced by serial killers aren’t something to which many of us will have devoted much thought. Roth has. Reassuringly, he’s had reason to thanks to his recent sinister role as real-life murderer Reg Christie in BBC drama Rillington Place. “Charming fella” he jokes.

See related 26 new UK TV shows to look out for Life On Mars: revisiting a terrific UK crime drama Line Of Duty series 4: creator Jed Mercurio interview

Roth is back on UK television on the other side of the law in new Sky Atlantic drama Tin Star, which has already been renewed for a second series.

It’s 1930s America as seen in the movies, through music, and the evasions of newsreels. Franklin Delano Roosevelt preaches prosperity while James Cagney slugs out the decade as a smart-tongued everyman — in a dozen different roles. Director Philippe Mora investigates what was then a new kind of revisionist info-tainment formula: applying old film footage to new purposes.

Brother Can You Spare a Dime

DVD

The Sprocket Vault

1975 / B&W / 1:33 flat full frame / 106 min. / Street Date ?, 2017 / available through The Sprocket Vault / 14.99 (also available in Blu-ray)

Film Editor: Jeremy Thomas

Research by Michael Barlow, Jennifer E. Ryan, Susan Winslow

Produced by Sanford Lieberson, David Puttnam

Directed by Philippe Mora

Years before he was briefly sidetracked into sequels for The Howling, Philippe Mora was an accomplished artist and documentary filmmaker. Backed by producers Sanford Lieberson and David Puttnam, his 1974 documentary Swastika pulled a controversial switch on the usual historical fare about...

For a man whose first claim to screen immortality came when an extraterrestrial freak of nature ripped a hole in his chest and screeched bloody murder in Alien, John Hurt was a hell of an actor. "The alien won the Oscar," a laughing Hurt told me nearly three decades later, referring to the Academy Award that Ridley Scott's 1979 film took home for H.R. Giger's visual effects. It might be the only time in his 55-year career that anyone, let alone a creature that looked like a penis with teeth,...

John Hurt, the Oscar-nominated British actor who starred in films like The Elephant Man, Midnight Express, Alien and the Harry Potter series over a career that spanned more than 50 years, died Friday at the age of 77. Hurt's agent confirmed the actor's death to the BBC.

No cause of death was immediately known, but Hurt revealed in 2015 that he was battling pancreatic cancer. "I can’t say I worry about mortality, but it’s impossible to get to my age and not have a little contemplation of it,” Hurt told the Radio Times after the diagnosis.

Just 20 movies.

First starting in the brilliant John Schlesinger film Sunday Bloody Sunday, Daniel Day-Lewis has become arguably one of the greatest and most highly regarded thespians in the history of cinema. And yet he has only 20 credits to his name. For a craft that sees even the biggest of Hollywood stars sign on for just about any project that comes their way, Daniel Day-Lewis has become a genre defining actor on almost a part-time like schedule.

It’s not something new for the actor either.

Look at one of his greatest achievements, Stephen Frears’ My Beautiful Laundrette. 14 years after his debut, this marked his first performance of any real note, taking secondary billing in what would become one of the definitive cinematic achievements of 1980s British cinema.

Penned by Hanif Kureishi, My Beautiful Laundrette stars Gordon Warnecke as Omar, a young man who convinces his uncle Nasser (Saeed Jaffrey...

He was the star of some of the decade’s most memorable films – and dated some of its most beautiful women. With the reissue of 1967’s Far From the Madding Crowd, the actor talks about his friendship with Michael Caine and his topsy-turvy career

Terence Stamp sticks his head round the door and opens his mouth. How will this legend of British acting introduce himself? What pearl of wisdom will he divulge? Stamp, self-confessed “decadent” and former holder of the title of world’s best-looking man (1963-1969) speaks: “Gotta take a slash, man. Where’s the gents?” Having been pointed in the right direction, Stamp returns, visibly relieved.

It’s funny how things work out. Now 76, Stamp had a fantastic 1960s, during which he starred in a handful of imperishable classics (Billy Budd, Ken Loach’s Poor Cow, Pasolini’s Theorem) and consorted with some of the era’s most beautiful women (Julie Christie,...

He was the star of some of the decade’s most memorable films – and dated some of its most beautiful women. With the reissue of 1967’s Far From the Madding Crowd, the actor talks about his friendship with Michael Caine and his topsy-turvy career

Terence Stamp sticks his head round the door and opens his mouth. How will this legend of British acting introduce himself? What pearl of wisdom will he divulge? Stamp, self-confessed “decadent” and former holder of the title of world’s best-looking man (1963-1969) speaks: “Gotta take a slash, man. Where’s the gents?” Having been pointed in the right direction, Stamp returns, visibly relieved.

It’s funny how things work out. Now 76, Stamp had a fantastic 1960s, during which he starred in a handful of imperishable classics (Billy Budd, Ken Loach’s Poor Cow, Pasolini’s Theorem) and consorted with some of the era’s most beautiful women (Julie Christie,...

Director of The Queen, Philomena and the upcoming Lance Armstrong biopic to receive honour at BFI London Film Festival.

British director Stephen Frears is to receive a BFI Fellowship on Oct 18, ahead of the close of the 58th BFI London Film Festival.

The BFI Fellowship is awarded to individuals in recognition of their outstanding contribution to film or television and is the highest honour bestowed by the organisation.

BFI chairman Greg Dyke described Frears as one of the UK’s most important directors.

“Throughout his extraordinary career, Stephen has produced a body of work which never fails to surprise – from sweeping costume drama to powerful social realism, his films strike a perfect balance between drama, humour and pathos helping to make them a hit with audiences and critics alike,” added Dyke.

Frears said he was “thrilled” to be receiving the honour. “I’ve spent much of my life in the cinema and quite a lot of it at...

Director Richard Shepard on how he persuaded Jude Law to let it all hang out

"My cock – I can write about my cock forever!" Richard Shepard is revisiting a eureka moment, the point he realised he had created a character that could support a film. It arrived when Shepard wrote a monologue in which the character boasted about his penis. 'It just poured out of me: it could have been a one-act play, really," says the 47-year-old writer and director. "So suddenly I'm like: 'Who is this guy?'"

The guy with the knob that required grand oratory was Dom Hemingway, and this week the film that bears his name arrives on the big screen. The story, which begins with that very monologue, goes on to tell of a seasoned south London crim released from jail into a series of chaotic gangland set pieces. It's a brash, mouthy affair with...

Terence Stamp Finds His Song

By Alex Simon

One of the iconic actors and faces of London’s “swinging” sixties; Terence Stamp was discovered by actor/director Peter Ustinov for the titular role in his adaptation of Melville’s “Billy Budd” in 1962. The Cockney lad from London’s notorious Bow district was thrust into the limelight almost overnight, becoming a symbol of the English working class “intelligentsia,” which helped shape that decade’s pop culture. Along with game-changers like Joe Orton, (Stamp’s former roommate) Michael Caine, and the Beatles, Stamp et al proved to the world that one needn’t have graduated with a First from Oxford to make a mark on the world.

Terence Stamp marked his 50th year in show business with the release of last year’s “Unfinished Song,” being released today on DVD and Amazon Instant Video by Anchor Bay Entertainment. Stamp plays grumpy pensioner Arthur Harris,...

Watching on mobile? See the trailer here

The hit man has been a recognisable figure in our dramatic literature since at least the time Richard III and Macbeth hired anonymous murderers to do their dirty work, though the actual term didn't become widely used outside the American underworld until the 1960s. There are now so many around that they take in apprentices, especially when they start ageing. In serious Hollywood thriller The Mechanic (1972), hitman Charles Bronson offers informal indentures to Jan-Michael Vincent, as does Jean Rochefort to Guillaume Depardieu in the French comedy Wild Target (1993). A tradition of sorts is now developing. In Stephen Frears's The Hit (1984), dead-keen pupil Tim Roth is taken on as assistant to jaded hitman John Hurt, Thirty years later, in The Liability, Roth has become Roy, a middle-aged hitman who engages a teenager to help him carry out his final killing.

The Liability is a black comedy,...

★★☆☆☆ The second feature from Craig Viveiros, The Liability (2012) straddles a number of interesting sub-genres (road trip, gangster yarn, the world-weary hitman). It's a shame these outwardly intriguing elements have to do battle with a predictable and pretty contrived story. Even an impressive visual canvas eventually plumps for style over substance as the script begins to drag and the pace slackens. A teen tearaway (Jack O'Connell) trashes her criminal stepfather's prized automobile. As a means of paying off his debt, he's given the job of driving a professional killer (Tim Roth) to a grizzly job up in the North East.

As their long journey unwinds, an unlikely bond develops between the pair, with the young upstart taking an interest in his passenger's macabre occupation. Before it all turns into a mutually cheery apprenticeship, a young Eastern European traveller (Talulah Riley) interrupts their disposal of a victim. Escaping from the duo, her...

A British hitman movie, starring Tim Roth, owes a debt to a little-known 1980s Us noir thriller, superbly crafted by Eric Red, which deserves to be better known

Twenty years ago, when I first started reading credits of movies I loved to see who'd written the screenplay, one name leapt out at me: Eric Red. In the space of three years in the late 1980s he wrote the terrifying Rutger Hauer road movie The Hitcher and two brilliant genre movies for a young director called Kathryn Bigelow: the trailer-trash vampire movie Near Dark, and Blue Steel, a feminist cop movie with Jamie Lee Curtis as a rookie up against an amorous serial killer. The first two of those have gone on to become bona fide cult classics. But Red remains little known – as does the film of his I really loved, one he wrote and directed in 1988, Cohen and Tate.

Terence Stamp | Southend Film Festival | Sci-Fi London | Rooftop Film Club

Terence Stamp, London

His beauty is often admired before his acting skills, but while the former has faded somewhat the latter survives, at least when Stamp isn't topping up the retirement fund with another offhand baddie role. Those dodgier movies have thankfully been omitted from this selective retrospective (don't worry, Superman II is still in there). He lit up the screen, and the 1960s, with early films such as Billy Budd, The Collector, Far From The Madding Crowd, Poor Cow and Theorem, then took an extended break in an Indian ashram. Since his return to the day job, he's reminded us what he can do, in The Hit, The Adventures Of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, even last year's Song For Marion. He's a terrific writer and talker, too, which should make his on-stage interview (8 May) a hot ticket.

BFI Southbank,...

Director Christopher Nolan has selected his Top Ten films for Criterion.  His choices are varied, and the themes unsurprising: morality, mortality, life-or-death decisions, larger-than-life situations, and characters pushed to their total limits.  The films he selected -- from Erich von Stroheim in 1924 and Orson Welles in 1955 to Terrence Malick in 1998 -- share ambition.  Watch the trailers and clips from Nolan's selections below. The full list is here, published in the Criterion newsletter. "The Hit" | 1984 | Dir. Stephen Frears Starring John Hurt, Tim Roth, Terence Stamp, and Laura Del Sol, this breakthrough 1984 feature has music by Eric Clapton.  The gangster flick was famously difficult to find until Criterion claimed it. Nolan says: "That Criterion has released this little-known Stephen Frears gem is a testament to the thoroughness of their search for obscure masterworks. Few films have gambled as much on a simple portrayal of...

Christopher Nolan has a thing for “desperate men.”

That’s the takeaway, or one of them, from the director’s list of top 10 Criterion releases, which includes Stephen Frears’ The Hit and Sidney Lumet’s Twelve Angry Men in the No. 1 and 2 spots.

“Few films have gambled as much on a simple portrayal of the dynamics between desperate men,” Nolan said of Frears’ film.

It’s a varied list, spanning genres, decades and countries. And it’s notably anti-American (or America-lite), though that may have more to do with the field Nolan chose from than his actual choices: Terrence Malick...

What does the director of Inception and The Dark Knight like to watch? What may have inspired some of his visual and storytelling cues? Well, Christopher Nolan has just made a list of his top ten Criterion titles, including one that may be a hint as to what's to come. I have included his rankings below along with his brief thoughts as well as a link to buy each. Personally, of those he chose I personally love 12 Angry Men and The Thin Red Line and also enjoyed both The Hit and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse enough to purchase each. I have never, however, seen Bad Timing, The Complete Mr. Arkadin or Greed the latter of which was directed by Erich von Stroheim who may, now, best be remembered as first husband and butler to Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. I have never seen any of the films he directed,...

Let me begin with a slight word of defense on behalf of Stephen Frears' Lay the Favorite: The movie isn't as scorn-worthy and unpleasant as most reviews will likely make it sound. It's a perfectly harmless, casually watchable, movie-of-the-week type romp that never really takes enough chances to really risk being actually unpleasant or infuriating. It would probably be an agreeable movie to drift in and out of during a Trans-Atlantic flight. Unfortunately, it is not playing on airplanes, but rather in theaters, and it was directed by the often-great Frears (The Queen, The Hit, The Grifters), who it seems should be able to tease more out of the Las Vegas sports-betting milieu, especially with such a game cast including Rebecca Hall, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bruce...

He made his name playing criminals and low-lifes – now Tim Roth is back as the nicest father in town. Catherine Shoard meets him in Cannes to talk films, politics and bringing up his own teenagers

When Clarice Starling is first assigned to interview Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, we are told, in Thomas Harris's novel, that "a brief silence follows the name, always, in any civilised gathering". Something similar happens when you say you're off to interview Tim Roth. A light gasp, a small step back. Roth – who was set to play the younger Lecter in 2002's Red Dragon, until Anthony Hopkins dyed his hair and reprised the role – has a reputation for being slippery. He just doesn't give, I'm told. Meet him in California, people caution, and he clams up. Get an audience in London and he is prickly, defensive.

So why is it that in Cannes,...

Craig here with the third season of Take Three. Today: John Hurt

Take One: Brighton Rock (2010)

Hurt has alternated starring roles with supporting performances since he began acting in films with The Wild and the Willing in 1962. The amount of quality supporting turns he’s delivered over the years is vast: 10 Rillington Place, Midnight Express, The Shout, The Hit, Scandal, The Field, Contact, The Proposition, Melancholia, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy are a mere few. His fine turn as accountant Phil Corkery in the Brighton Rock remake (backing up Helen Mirren, Sam Riley, Andrea Riseborough and Andy Serkis) is a recent solid addition to the list and deserves due credit. Phil’s a gaunt shambles, but loyal to Mirren’s Ida, his long-time crush. He’s one of the old guard. A proud man accustomed to propping up bars whilst waxing forth about the state of the world. He’s the...

HollywoodNews.com: English actor and director Tim Roth will be the president of the Un Certain Regard Jury, part of the Festival de Cannes Official Selection, for which twenty films will be announced at the same time as those for the Competition during the press conference on April, 19th.

He is an English actor who began his career in television before moving on to cinema with The Hit directed by Stephen Frears, Tim Roth made his first appearances at Cannes with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino (Palme d’or, 1994) which earned him international renown. In 1995, he was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Rob Roy directed by Michael Caton-Jones. Roth directed his first film in 1999: The War Zone, which received nominations at Cannes, Sundance and Toronto. He also appeared in The New World directed by Terrence Malick, Don’t Come Knocking directed by Wim Wenders,...

Tim Roth

English actor and director Tim Roth will be the president of the Un Certain Regard Jury at the Cannes Film Festival 2012.

Un Certain Regard is part of the festival’s Official Selection, for which twenty films will be announced on April, 19th.

Tim Roth is an English actor who began his career in television before moving on to cinema with The Hit directed by Stephen Frears. He made his first appearances at Cannes with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino (Palme d’or, 1994). In 1995, he was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Rob Roy directed by Michael Caton-Jones.

Roth directed his first film in 1999: The War Zone, which received nominations at Cannes, Sundance and Toronto. He also appeared in The New World directed by Terrence Malick, Don’t Come Knocking directed by Wim Wenders, Planet of the Apes directed by Tim Burton, Funny Games...

Tim Roth will be the president of the Un Certain Regard jury at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, it was announced today. Full press release below. English actor and director Tim Roth will be the president of the Un Certain Regard Jury, part of the Festival de Cannes Official Selection, for which twenty films will be announced at the same time as those for the Competition during the press conference on April, 19th. He is an English actor who began his career in television before moving on to cinema with The Hit directed by Stephen Frears, Tim Roth made his first appearances at Cannes with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino (Palme d'or, 1994) which earned him international renown. In 1995, he was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Rob Roy directed by Michael Caton-Jones. Roth directed his first film in 1999: The War Zone, which received nominations at Cannes,...

English actor and director Tim Roth will be the president of the Un Certain Regard Jury, part of the Festival de Cannes Official Selection, for which twenty films will be announced at the same time as those for the Competition during the press conference on April, 19th. He is an English actor who began his career in television before moving on to cinema with The Hit directed by Stephen Frears, Tim Roth made his first appearances at Cannes with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino (Palme d’or, 1994) which earned him international renown. In 1995, he was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Rob Roy directed by Michael Caton-Jones. Roth directed his first film in 1999: The War Zone, which received nominations at Cannes, Sundance and Toronto. He also appeared in Don’t Come Knocking directed by Wim Wenders, Planet of the Apes directed by Tim Burton,...

Shepard Fairey, the street artist associated with an iconic image from the 2008 presidential campaign, whose ‘Hope’ poster of Barack Obama became an enduring symbol of it has been a major part of trying to get the new adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 off the ground. The Los Angeles graphic designer has teamed up with [...]

Continue reading New Film Version of George Orwell’s ’1984′ Starts from Shepard Fairey on FilmoFilia.

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If there is one thing about Stephen Frears, he doesn't usually let too much time pass before he's on to the next project. And barely a week after his latest film "Lay The Favorite" premiered at Sundance, it looks like he may be on to something new. And now, it's not the developing remake of "The Hit" or "The Bengali Detective." Instead, it's "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight" and it's gearing up at HBO. The folks over at Shadow & Act first got wind of the project, and have learned that casting is underway. The film seems to be moving under the radar, but when is known thus far is that it has a script from Shawn Slovo ("Catch A Fire," "Captain Corelli's Mandolin") and Scott Ferguson ( past HBO successes "You Don't Know Jack," "Temple Grandin," "Recount") is one of the producers according to Montana Artists Agency. So what's it all about?...

I heard a lot of negative buzz about Lay The Favorite before I saw it, and thanks to lowered expactations, I didn't think it was as terrible as everyone claimed. I don't see the point of the film, or why acclaimed director Steven Frears decided to direct it, but I found the movie to be a pretty straightforward dramedy that didn't disappoint or excite. It's just sort of...there.

For one of the most star-studded films of Sundance 2012, I'm surprised at how tepid the final product is. Bruce Willis looked like he was really having fun with his character, a rare feat for the usually stoic actor. But Rebecca Hall, an actress I believe has the potential to reach superstar status, doesn't do herself any favors in this one: she adopts a strange high-pitched voice and the air of a teenage ditz that belies her character's amazing talent with numbers.