Brian Cox: Heart of Darkness / Blood / Vivaldi / acting masterclass

Orson Welles’s lost 'Heart of Darkness' screenplay performed for the first time

Orson Welles’s audacious adaptation of Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ has never been performed – until now.
It was the one that got away. Heart of Darkness was meant to have been Orson Welles’s first film: a monumentally ambitious, technically innovative adaptation with which he hoped to shake up the industry.

Hollywood took one look at it – and baulked. Written in the late Thirties, Welles’s 174-page re-imagining of Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella was considered too expensive, too challenging, and the theme of lust for power made the moguls uneasy. So he abandoned the project and embarked on Plan B, a little film called Citizen Kane.

Rejected by RKO’s sceptical president, George Schaefer, and bound up in rights issues with the Welles estate since his death, the Heart of Darkness script has never once been performed – until now.

On Saturday afternoon (31 March), a one-off production was staged by the Turner Prize nominated artist Fiona Banner and live-streamed around the world from the most apt setting imaginable: a riverboat installation modelled on the Roi des Belges, the vessel Conrad captained on his journey up the Congo in 1890. Scottish actor Brian Cox played – as Welles intended – both Marlow, the narrator-protagonist, and Captain Kurtz, the despotic ivory trader he seeks.

Over the entire event hang titanic spectres of hubris and defeat – both Welles’s own and those described in the story. This is what fascinated Banner. “It seemed to embody so much failure to me,” she says. “Or so much disappointment – the disappointment at the heart of Conrad’s story, the hopes and aspirations of all of us, and how they co-exist with impossibility. I think disappointment’s underrated, and such a rich part of life.

Read more at Telegraph
 

Also reported by This Week London

The Film Programme
Actor Brian Cox does his best impression of Orson Welles and explains why he’ll be performing the entire script of ‘the greatest film never made’, Welles’s adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
Broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 11:00PM Sun, 25 Mar 2012

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4:00PM Thu, 22 Mar 2012

Available until 12:00AM Thu, 1 Jan 2099

Duration 28 minutes

Find out more at BBC

International Thriller Film Festival

Brian Cox presented an acting master-class at the 4^th International Thriller Film Festival this weekend (28 March – 1 April)

Read more at Beaunefestivalpolicier

Blood

Brian Cox has recently been in Liverpool & Wirral filming Blood with Paul Bettany, Stephen Graham and Mark Strong, according to the Liverpool Echo

Vivaldi

Brian Cox is reported to co-star in the film Vivaldi with Neve Campbell and Elle Fanning, according to CBS News

Brian Cox to star in new thriller movie, "Blood"

Nick Murphy (Occupation, The Awakening) is set to direct BLOOD, a psychological thriller about two brothers who collapse under the weight of their father’s shadow. A contemporary Greek tragedy set around the investigation into the murder of a young girl. Written by Bill Gallagher (Conviction, The Fuse) it will start shooting for 6 weeks in the Wirral. 

Starring Paul Bettany (Legion, The Da Vinci Code), Mark Strong (Kick Ass, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Green Lantern), Stephen Graham (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, This Is England) and Brian Cox (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Red, The Bourne Supremacy). The film is produced by Neal Street Productions’ Pippa Harris (Revolutionary Road, Jarhead), Red Productions’ Nicola Shindler (Exile, Unforgiven, Queer as Folk) and Nick Laws (Fish Tank). Executive producers are Neal Street Productions’ Sam Mendes, Red Productions’ Andrew Critchley and Head of BBC Films, Christine Langan. Highly regarded cinematographer, George Richmond (The Hide, A Thousand Kisses Deep, Wild Bill) will work with editor, Victoria Boydell (The Awakening, Kidulthood) and production designer, Cristina Casali (In the Loop). Blood is financed by IM Global, BBC Films (who developed the film) and BFI Film Fund, and will be sold internationally by IM Global. 

Producer, Pippa Harris said “Bill’s visceral script and Nick’s inspirational vision for the film have attracted a stellar cast and production team. Blood promises to be a film of huge power and ambition, and we couldn’t be more excited to be starting production.” IM Global topper, Stuart Ford said "The combination of Neal Street's producing calibre, a highly talented young director and this cast made this an irresistible package for us to jump on board." 

Head of BBC Films, Christine Langan said "Nick is a director who brings style, verve and energy to all his projects, and we know he will deliver an electrifying take on Bill Gallagher's mesmerising story." BFI Film Fund Senior Executive, Chris Collins said: “Producers Pippa Harris and Nicola Shindler and director Nick Murphy have attracted a stellar line up of British acting talent for BLOOD, making this project one of the most exciting prospects for the year.” 

Source: Red Production Company