Tony Curran: 'Defiance' news and updates

 

Tony Curran of "Defiance" attends Syfy 2013 Upfront at Silver Screen Studios
at Chelsea Piers on April 10, 2013 in New York City. Source: Zimbio

 

From Twitter:
Tony Tellado, host of Sci-Fi Talk, in conversation with Tony Curran of Defiance from SyFy Up Front - here
Tweeted by Tony Curran:

• Next weeks gonna get darker and more interesting https://twitter.com/TonyCurran69/status/325775343824822273/photo/1
• Scotty Stuart in background keeping an eye on me https://twitter.com/TonyCurran69/status/324023808010887168/photo/1
• he gets up to no good next Monday also.. April 22 9pm Syfy https://twitter.com/TonyCurran69/status/324368894242467841/photo/1
• A lot of passion and hard work went it to this wonderful journey with an amazing cast and crew Defiance2013 https://twitter.com/TonyCurran69/status/324009799547228161/photo/1
• Chilling between shooting Defiance2013 https://twitter.com/TonyCurran69/status/324007286945230848/photo/1
• Datak & Sukar hanging together before we shoot, Defiance2013 https://twitter.com/TonyCurran69/status/323996664727756801/photo/1
• "Don't mess with these fellas" https://twitter.com/TonyCurran69/status/324405766448611328/photo/1
• Shooting the final battle scene https://twitter.com/TonyCurran69/status/324026829709115392/photo/1

Defiance - Syfy Video Featurette: 'VFX Before & After' - Episode 1Take a look at the before & after visual effects from episode 1 here.

Defiance - Syfy Video Featurette: Episode 1 Recapby Antiopodalarapaima

Online Magazine - Guaranteed Post: Defiance Reviewed
by Geeks versus Nerds


Tony Curran's Favorite Scene from the PilotWatch the video at SyFy.com


Tony Curran Reveals What Really Happens in the BathVideo interview at SyFy.com

New Stills and Another Promo for Defiance Episode 1.02 - Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Goat Dread Central


Defiance Actor Tony Curran Talks Defiance TV Series And Video Game
Actor Tony Curran reveals Syfy new TV Series Defiance and his portrayal of Datak Tarr.
Watch the video interview here.


Defiance - Game Hub: Tony Curran Video Interview
Defiance Actor Tony Curran Talks Defiance TV Series And Video Game


Watch the interview here.



Defiance - Syfy Video Featurette: Tony Curran Video Interview
Tony Curran (Datak Tarr) reveals what really happens in the bath with Jaime Murray (Stahma Tarr).
Watch the interview here.

Defiance Trailer: Beast
New Earth, New Rules. The world is your oyster.
Watch the trailer here.


3 Behind the Scenes Featurettes
at SF Series and Movies.

Intro to the AliensVideo at Defiance.com

Get to Know DatakVideo at Defiance.com


Defiance [1x01] "Pilot" Opening Creditscourtesy of YouTube



Actor Tony Curran sneaks off film set to watch the Celtic game still wearing his alien costume
Actor Tony Curran sneaked out of filming his new sci-fi telly show to catch Celtic vs Barcelona - dressed in his full alien costume. The Doctor Who star was given a couple of hours off from filming Defiance to catch the game.But the die hard Celtic fan was warned by producers not to remove his make up or costume.And ex pats watching the game at McVeigh’s Tavern in Toronto were stunned when he walked in dressed as his character in the new show Datak Tarr.

The Celtic-mad actor was in the middle of shooting a new science fiction programme in the Canadian city, and had begged the producers for a few hours off to watch his team play Barcelona in the Champions League.But with a hectic shooting schedule, Tony was told he could only nip out if he agreed to keep his full make up on so he had to head to the pub dressed as alien gangster Datak Tarr from the new series Defiance.

Despite trying to hide his ghostly white face with a bunnet and scarf, he spent the whole night explaining to the members of the Downtown ...
Read much more at Daily Record

Defiance Review: New Sci-fi Drama Premieres Monday
From Cinema Blend:

We've had a long time to anticipate the arrival of Syfy's new drama series Defiance, and in that time, many of us have likely set our expectations high for what will hopefully be a new must-watch original sci-fi drama for the cable channel. The series premiere does not disappoint, bringing us into a story about human and alien characters who are trying to co-exist in a city that was once St. Louis and is now known as Defiance. Developed by Rockne S. O'Bannon, Kevin Murphy and Michael Taylor, Defiance's tone blends western with sci-fi and tells the story of humans and aliens as they attempt to co-exist with one another on what's left of Earth.

The history of the setting is explained throughout the premiere. Aliens showed up decades ago thinking earth was uninhabited, they were wrong, war broke out and after earth was torn apart by the battles and drastically changed by alien technology, humans and Votans (the collective term for the various alien species) eventually laid down their arms and have attempted to share what's left of the planet. There's a bit more to it than that, and we begin to learn the details as the first episode gets going.

Read much more at Cinema Blend


'Defiance' Review: New Syfy Drama Comes Out With Guns BlazingFrom Huffington Post:

"Defiance" (9 p.m. ET Monday, Syfy) is not just a smart, well-crafted TV show with a good cast and an adventurous flavor, it's also indisputably science fiction, which is a relief.

Read much much more at Huffington Post

Defiance: TV Review
by Hollywood Reporter


Meet the Aliens of Defiance
We love horror, which pretty much translates into loving aliens since they are often scary (exceptions include E.T., Stitch, Gleek the Monkey and that alien from Mac and Me that loved Sears). A new alien epic is coming via Syfy's Defiance (Airing Mondays at 9/8c on Syfy), where sheer terror is substituted with pure sci-fi, but that doesn't make these aliens any less tough. In the show, life on Earth is cataclysmically changed by the arrival of the Votanis Collective, a conglomeration of alien races fleeing the destruction of their world. After your standard issue alien war apocalypse, we're left with a world in which humans exist alongside a rash of extraterrestrial races.
Castithans: Of all the Votan races, Castithans are closest to humans. They are characterized physically by their white skin and hair, and culturally by their adherence to a strict caste system.
Irathient: Irathients are a proud, tribal and spiritual race possessed of excellent combat skills. They have broad and flat nasal bridges, reddish skin, and large eyes. They are sometimes seen as feral due to their love of nature and their aggression.
Indogenes: Indogene have bright, white skin laid with hexagonal patterns, and no hair. An intellectual race, they value science above all and upgrade themselves with cybernetic implants.
Gulanee: Gulanee are rarely seen, and are beings of pure energy.
Sensoth: Somewhat simian in appearance, Sensoth tend to be on the larger side, and are the longest-lived of the Votan races. Their size and strength makes them well-suited for use as muscle and manual labor.
Liberata: Short in stature and generally fairly hairy, the Liberata are a servant class with a lower social standing than the other races.
Volge: A frightening, war-like race, the Volge make use of Cold Fire weaponry and pose a threat to both Votans and humans, alike.
Source: Chiller TV


'Defiance': Everything You Need To Know
Huffington Post's very comprehensive guide to everything Defiance is here.


'Defiance': Syfy Attempts To Blend TV Series, Video Game
Earth is recovering from an apocalyptic event, alien races cooperate warily, a wise-cracking outsider suddenly finds himself shouldering new responsibilities.

Yes, the world of "Defiance" features familiar sci-fi touchstones, but it's taken an ambitious approach to how you can experience them: Through both a weekly TV series and an online-only video game.

Five years in the making, the joint project is the most high-profile and big-budget attempt at ongoing "transmedia" entertainment, promising characters and storylines that crisscross between the Syfy network show and Trion Worlds game.

Set in 2046 on a "terraformed" Earth where humans live alongside seven alien species, the series premiering Monday displays a space Western vibe with bar brawls, interspecies politics and love, plus actors familiar to genre fans like Julie Benz and Jaime Murray. The already-released game, a multiplayer third-person shooter, has plenty of guns to upgrade, quests for supplies, and boss battles in which players cooperate to bring down giant monsters.

Though they can be experienced separately, somebody who both plays the game and watches the show will gain an extra layer of insight to each, promises actor Grant Bowler, who appears in both. Bowler said he was impressed and a bit wary of that idea when he signed on to play lead Joshua "Jeb" Nolan, who becomes "lawkeeper" of the city of St. Louis, renamed Defiance by survivors.

Read more at Huffington Post




Popular video game 'Defiance' inspires SyFy TV series examining the uneasy co-existence of aliens and humans
Read more at Daily News


Defiance - Yahoo! TV: Monday's Picks Apr 15 '13 - NEW Series Syfy 9/8CRead more at Antipodalarapaima


Defiance - Syfy Video: "Down In The Ground Where The Dead Men Go' Episode Trailer - Airs Apr 22 '13
Read more at Antipodalarapaima


Defiance - Syfy: NEW Series - April 2013 ScheduleRead more at Antipodalarapaima


'Defiance' Ratings: Syfy Series Hits High NotesRead more at Huffington Post


Syfy's 'Defiance' travels between media worlds with TV series and online gameRead more at Zap2it


TV Ratings: Syfy's Pricey 'Defiance' Gives Network Best Demo Premiere Since 2006Read more at Hollywood Reporter


Defiance Behind the Scenes: Tony Curran Talks about Castithan Honor
Source: YouTube

Doctor Who - BBC America: Season 5 Marathon Schedule Apr 18 '13

04:00PM Vincent and The Doctor

Visiting a museum, the Doctor (Matt Smith) and Amy (Karen Gillan) are especially excited with the gallery for Vincent van Gogh (Tony Curran). Many of van Gogh pieces are displayed, including "The Church at Auvers (1890)". However there is something irregular discovered on the painting - a small alien image within a window pane. The Doctor quickly takes Amy back to 1890 where they locate the troubled artist that upsets the locals, cannot pay his bills, and is able to see an invisible monster that no one else is able to see.

Guest stars include Defiance's Tony Curran, Nik Howden, Chrissie Cotterill and Sarah Counsell.
Source: Antipodalarapaima

Jonathan Watson: Quiz Show reviews

Quiz Show reviews (Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh)

Jonathan Watson in Quiz Show. Photo from Traverse Theatre.

More reviews are coming in for Quiz Show, starring Jonathan Watson, which is currently playing at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.
Here's a selection from:
Telegraph
The Independent
The Journal 

There are more reviews, as well as information on the play and its cast, at the Traverse Theatre website.

Sionhan Redmond and Phyllis Logan: Sylvia Plath's 'Ariel'

 

Stars to recite Sylvia Plath’s Ariel as she intended

Stars including Juliet Stevenson, Harriet Walter and Miranda Richardson are to read aloud Sylvia Plath’s entire Ariel collection of poems as she arranged them.

As part of the London Literature Festival, 40 actresses and poets, including Phyllis Logan, Samantha Bond, Anna Chancellor and Siobhan Redmond will each read a single work from the restored edition of the manuscript found on Plath’s desk after her suicide at the age of 30 in February 1963. Plath predicted that the collection would “make my name”.
The Royal Festival Hall performance on May 26 will be introduced by Plath’s daughter, Frieda Hughes, 53, who wrote a foreword to the restored version.
Read more at London Evening Standard
Image sources: IMDB and Wooller


Doctor Faustus
Glasgow South & Eastwood Extra's review of Siobhan Redmond's Doctor Faustus is here. 

Jonathan Watson: 'Quiz Show' reviews

Quiz Show reviews

Jonathan Watson in Quiz Show

Here's a selection of Quiz Show reviews from Herald Scotland (source of pic), Thom Dibdin, The Independent and The Scotsman

James McAvoy: 'Filth' trailer, 'Trance' reviews, 'X-Men' portrait

 photo courtesy of James McAvoy MB (Twitter)

• Filth

Down and dirty: watch the first trailer for Irvine Welsh's Filth
A talking tapeworm is the least of James McAvoy's problems in Filth, the new adaptation of Irvine "Trainspotting" Welsh's novel. In this definitely 18-certificate trailer, we see booze flow, punches thrown, sex had – but that's hardly a surprise, this is Irvine Welsh after all
Read more and watch the trailer at The Guardian

Red band trailer also available at Aces Showbiz and BBC America

• Trance

Reviews are coming in. Here's a selection from Montreal Gazette, Washington Examiner, Courier Journal, and Huffington Post.
Interview at Interview Magazine.

• X-Men

From Flicks and Bits:

Stunning ‘X-Men’ portrait of James McAvoy’s Professor X

Imaliea has drawn this incredible digital portraits centering on Michael Fassbender’s Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto and James McAvoy’s Charles Xavier/Professor X. Both characters will next be seen on the big screen in 2014 in X-Men: Days of Future Past, the seventh installment in the ‘X-Men’ film series. X-Men: Days of Future Past is scheduled to go into production this month in Montreal, Canada. It will be the first film in the ‘X-Men’ film series to be filmed in 3D.
Head on over to Imaliea’s page for more top-notch artwork to feast your eyes on.

 Source: Flicks and Bits

James McAvoy: 'Trance' reviews and interview

Trance reviews and interview
James McAvoy stars in Trance, Boyle's first picture since the Olympics opening ceremony.

Reviews are in from:
Telegraph (includes photo above)
Guardian
Guardian Film Show (video) 
LA Weekly
CT Post
Inquisitr's review round-up includes links to reviews by Indie Wire, Total Film, and Variety - here 

Interview at Moviehole (video)

Gerard Butler: 'Olympus Has Fallen' screening and review, 'Chasing Mavericks' review

FREE CINEMA TICKETS: Watch Gerard Butler in 'Olympus Has Fallen' 
From Huffington Post:

To celebrate the release of Lionsgate UK’s action-thriller, 'Olympus Has Fallen', in cinemas Wednesday 17 April, HuffPost UK is happy to offer readers the chance to see the film before anyone else for free at a cinema near you on Monday 15 April.

Security officer Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is the President (Aaron Eckhart)'s last hope in 'Olympus Has Fallen' (photo courtesy of Huffington Post)

Read more at Huffington Post for your chance to see the film at a special preview on 15 April at 6:30pm

Olympus Has Fallen review by The Stylus


Chasing Mavericks review by Inside Pulse

James McAvoy: 'Trance' video review, Olivier Awards nomination for Macbeth

Trance - video review
In an excerpt from this week's Guardian Film Show Henry Barnes, Peter Bradshaw and Andrew Pulver head deep into James McAvoy's noggin with Danny Boyle's new psychological thriller. McAvoy plays am amnesiac criminal who has forgotten where he's hidden a priceless Goya and recruits a hypnotherapist (Rosario Dawson) to help him find it. Trance also stars Vincent Cassel as a ruthless gangster
Watch the video review at The Guardian

Olivier Awards 2013
Stars of the silver screen Helen Mirren, James McAvoy and Rupert Everett in competition for top theatre gongs

The nominations for the 2013 Olivier Awards were announced at The May Fair hotel earlier today, and Mirren was instantly installed among the favourites to secure the best actress award for her latest turn as the Queen in The Audience.
She will come up against Scott Thomas, star of The English Patient, for her performance in Old Times, Billie Piper, who was in The Effect, and Hattie Morahan for A Doll's House. The Audience was also nominated for best new play, and Stephen Daldry is in the running for best director.
Another production to open in recent weeks was Macbeth at the Trafalgar Studios, and  it was nominated for best revival as well as a nod for film star McAvoy in the lead role.
He will face Everett, for his role as Oscar Wilde in The Judas Kiss, as well as Mark Rylance for Twelfth Night, Rafe Spall – recently seen in Life of Pi – for Constellations and Luke Treadaway, who starred in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Read more (including full nominations list) at The Independent

Also reported by Hollywood Reporter and others

Douglas Henshall: 'Shetland' reviews, and 'Loose Ends' interview

Shetland reviews:

• Primtime Unreality
• Radio Times
• MSN TV

Loose Ends
Clive Anderson chats to 'Primeval' star Douglas Henshall, who's taken a break from battling the apocalypse to become a detective in BBC One's new murder-mystery 'Shetland'. Douglas plays native Shetlander Jimmy Perez, who finds himself leading a murder investigation, uncovering secrets and lies from the past. 'Shetland' starts on Sunday 10th March at 21.00.
Read more, and listen to the interview, at BBC

James McAvoy: 'Macbeth' review, 'Neverwhere' teaser, 'Welcome to the Punch' trailer, 'Crow' update

Macbeth

photo source: Express

A review of James McAvoy's Macbeth has been published by The Express


Neverwhere
From Radio Times:

James McAvoy in Neverwhere teaser trailer: "I'm not going mad. Am I?" 
Listen to a snippet of the upcoming Radio 4 drama starring McAvoy, Benedict Cumberbatch and Christopher Lee
James McAvoy introduces us to his Neverwhere character Richard Mayhew in this brand new clip from the BBC Radio 4 drama.
Adapted from award-winning author Neil Gaiman’s novel, Neverwhere sees Mayhew catapulted from his ordinary life into a subterranean world beneath London following an act of kindness.
“I helped a girl called Door, now something strange has happened and it's like I'm falling through gaps,” laments McAvoy in the clip. “I need to get back…my life. I’m not going mad. Am I?!”
As well as McAvoy, Neverwhere features an all-star cast including Benedict Cumberbatch, Anthony Head, Bernard Cribbins and Christopher Lee.

Read more and listen to the trailer at Radio Times 


Welcome To The Punch
Official trailer

Source: YouTube
Photos  - FanCarpet has some new photos from Welcome To The Punch here.

The Crow
From Digital Spy:

James McAvoy dismisses 'The Crow' rumours
James McAvoy has dismissed rumours linking him with the lead role in the proposed remake of The Crow. The X-Men: First Class star described the reports as "rumour mill" but did not rule out appearing in the film should he be approached. 

Read more at Digital Spy

James McAvoy: Macbeth reviews, and 'Neverwhere' cast photo

James McAvoy in Macbeth, Trafalgar Studios, review
Macbeth, starring James McAvoy, packs a powerful punch says Charles Spencer.

James McAvoy and Claire Foy in Macbeth at Trafalgar Studios. Photo: Johan Persson

James McAvoy, best known as a film actor, proves a commanding Macbeth, and the relationship with his wife is powerfully caught. The text makes it clear that the couple had a child who died in infancy and McAvoy and Claire Foy as Lady Macbeth suggest both an undertow of grief and the sense that their murderous ambition is some kind of sick compensation for their loss.
At the start it is Foy’s Lady Macbeth who leads the way, like a bossy schoolgirl who has set her heart on becoming head-girl. Unlike his morally blind wife, however, Macbeth knows what murder will cost, and initially at least, has a strong sense of what is right. McAvoy thrillingly suggests a man on the rack of his own guilty mind who learns that the only way to secure his position and silence his conscience is to become inured to atrocity with further killings.
He also does full justice to the haunting poetry of the last act in which Macbeth realises just what he has lost - not least himself and any sense of purpose or meaning in life. It is the reason that Macbeth is a genuinely tragic character and not just a serial killer.

Read more here
Source (including photo): Telegraph

More reviews at
The Independent
Metro
Contact Music
Herald Scotland
Entertainment Wise
London Theatre 

Macbeth-related interviews with James McAvoy at
London Evening Standard
Time Out


Neverwhere
First photo and air date revealed
An exclusive look at the first official cast shot for the Radio 4 adaptation of Neil Gaiman's fantasy drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy, Natalie Dormer, Sophie Okonedo and David Harewood

From Radio Times:

As anticipation mounts among fantasy fans ahead of the Radio 4/4 Extra co-production of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, RadioTimes.com can reveal the first exclusive shot of the star-studded cast, which reads like a who's who of cult TV and film.
Sherlock's Benedict Cumberbatch and X-Men's James McAvoy are joined by Game of Thrones and former Fades star Natalie Dormer, Doctor Who alumnus Sophie Okonedo and Homeland's David Harewood for the tale of London Below, an alternate reality beneath the capital where famous landmarks take on a life of their own.
Screen legends Christopher Lee and Bernard Cribbins also star in an adaptation that is being described as an "audio film".
The six-part series begins with an hour-long episode at 6pm on Saturday 16 March on Radio 4 and continues with five 30-minute instalments stripped across the week on Radio 4 Extra from Monday 18 March.
More photos and news to follow in the coming weeks...

Source (including photo): Radio Times

Iain De Caestecker: 'In Fear' reviews

A random selection of 'In Fear' reviews
from ...
Exclaim
Bloody Disgusting
Spin

Daniel Kerr: Scotland's youngest showbiz sensation

Daniel Kerr: I was The Wee Man... now I’m the big man starring with Angelina

Talented schoolboy Daniel Kerr is fast becoming Scotland’s youngest showbiz sensation. The 12-year-old, from Bearsden, Glasgow, is currently starring as a young Paul Ferris in the ex-hood’s movie biopic The Wee Man.
Last Friday, nearly four million telly viewers saw him appear alongside Royle Family actor Ricky Tomlinson in new comedy-drama Great Night Out.
And the icing on the cake for the youngster is a dream role in Disney’s animated blockbuster Maleficent, which is out next year and stars Angelina Jolie and Peter Capaldi.

Daniel has had a part in Waterloo Road too but the biggest role of his career is undoubtedly playing former gangster Ferris in the controversial film about his life.
It’s become a box-office smash in Scotland and has taken more cash per screenings across the UK than Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained and Disney hit Monsters Inc 3D. Daniel — accompanied by contracts manager Iain and hairdresser Annemarie — met with the 49-year-old convicted gun runner at a Glasgow hotel to discuss the role before filming started.
He says: “I was really quite thrilled talking to a former Glasgow gangster just drinking a wee bottle of Coke!
“But I was quite nervous and quite excited too. I kept thinking about what I was going to say. I just wanted to be polite and friendly.”
Iain, 36, adds: “Daniel knows about Paul, his past and where he came from — the good bits and the bad bits.
“He’s aware that he’s gone to jail and done a lot of things but to be honest, when Paul met with us he was brilliant. He insisted on speaking to Daniel and he was straight with him and told him he’d done some bad things in his day.
“Paul warned Daniel that people might speak about them and challenge him about them.
“My impression of him? I wouldn’t want to cross him.
“But he’s been brilliant with Daniel and a gentleman to me and my wife.
“He’s taken time out with Daniel to make sure he’s OK.
“He’ll still contact us every now and again, and he says to Daniel, ‘listen to your mum and dad’.”
Iain initially feared the part could make his son a hate figure.
He says: “We had concerns about how the film would be perceived and how Daniel would be perceived in the film because if you’re a baddie in EastEnders, you’re a baddie in real life.
“Some folk don’t like you. And I didn’t want anything like that for Daniel.”

Meeting ... Daniel Kerr with Paul Ferris

The Wee Man — which also stars Martin Compston and John Hannah — follows Ferris’s life from a youngster in Glasgow’s tough Blackhill area to feared enforcer working with ‘The Godfather’ Arthur Thompson.
It features graphic scalping, shooting and stabbing scenes. Daniel revealed he is banned from watching the film because of his age and has had to settle for a montage of his scenes.
He says: “My dad’s explained why I can’t see the movie.
“I’ve thought about trying to sneak in and watch it somewhere but it’s probably better for me to play it safe!”
He’s well aware of the controversy surrounding The Wee Man and its subject, and adds: “I know some people aren’t really going to like it and I’ll just need to cope with that.
“Nobody from my school gives me any attention about what I do so it’s quite good. I don’t really tell anybody.
“I like to keep my acting life to myself when I’m at school.
“I don’t like to broadcast what I do and I never really talk to my friends about it either.
“When I go on set, that’s when I go into acting mode.
“But when that’s over I just do my homework, get told what to do and look after my wee brother Cameron, who’s seven.”
The movie sees a young Ferris being bullied by a group of older boys that include the cruel Banks brothers.
Daniel relates to his character’s ordeal, saying: “I’m one of the smallest boys in my school.
“And at my old primary school I used to get a lot of hassle about that. I didn’t react with violence though, I just ignored them.”
In one scene the thugs kick his dog like a football, and Daniel adds: “The emotion of the dog scene I quite liked.
“I loved the dog too. I was always playing with it off set.
“I’d get my make-up done and then go and roll about on the grass with it and the make-up girls would shout on me to stop!”
The most nerve-wracking moment during filming for Daniel was rehearsing confrontational scenes with his character’s tormentors.
He says: “I was terrified even though I knew it wasn’t real.
“They were bigger boys and were up in my face. That was scary.”
Daniel’s already had his first experience of being recognised by fans.
He says: “I was in B&Q with my mum after Waterloo Road had been on and all these people were looking at me. That was a wee bit strange but I liked it. I’m quite glad about the attention.”
The acting prodigy, a first year pupil at Glasgow’s Bearsden Academy, joined a local theatre group aged five.
His supportive parents have guided his career ever since. He now combines school with regular auditions and his studies at the Glasgow-based UK Theatre School, where he’s been going for four years.
Daniel says: “Ever since I can remember, I was saying to my mum and dad that I wanted to be an actor when I grew up. It’s a really exciting time for me right now. I got into the local drama group and then they said I was good enough to go to a higher level so that’s how I ended up at the theatre school.
“I didn’t get in the first time I tried but I got a place after trying out the second time.
“When I first do an audition, I just feel like it’s a breeze.
“But then when it’s like a really important part, I have to get into the zone and I get quite nervous.”
His first appearance on screen was in a Scottish Government advert and he followed that up with a part in Waterloo Road last year, playing poverty-stricken youngster Ewan Murray.
Daniel — who was an extra in Peter Mullan’s gritty film Neds — will also pop up in BBC3 sci-fi series Being Human next month.
Iain adds: “Daniel might turn 16, get a girlfriend, do something else and walk away from acting.
“Whatever he does, we’ll support him.
“Just now, he’s a normal boy going to school, doing things right, doing things wrong and nagging his wee brother. I want him to grow up as a kid and not lose his childhood.”

Kid could be next Kevin Bridges
Daniel's scenes in Disney’s fantasy blockbuster Maleficent are expected to open the film.

The reworking of the fairytale Sleeping Beauty was shot in London last summer and is due out next year.

Incredibly it stars three of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s kids — Pax, eight, Zahara, seven and four-year-old Vivienne.

Daniel says: “Originally I went for quite a big part but I didn’t get it.

“I got a smaller part and that was amazing too.

“I’m the shepherd’s son at the beginning of the film and my face will probably be the first face that people see.

“Unfortunately I didn’t meet Angelina Jolie but I saw her and waved.

“It still seems weird that I’m going to be in the same film as her.”

Daniel still gets starstruck whenever he’s on set. He adds: “I feel really excited when I meet people I know from TV.

“The person I really want to meet is David Tennant.

“He’s the best Scottish actor I can think of, along with Martin Compston, and I’m a big Doctor Who fan.

“Martin was like a big brother to me on set.”

The young Scot dreams of becoming a comedian if acting doesn’t work out.

He says: “I like Kevin Bridges — he’s one of my favourites. My dad didn’t let me watch the DVD but keeps wondering how I know all the lines.”

Dad Iain adds: “He’s not allowed to watch Mrs Brown’s Boys either.

“But the last time we went to a family party he was giving it chapter and verse from both of those!”

Source (including photos): The Scottish Sun

The Wee Man
Whilst some of the critic response is not fantastic, Daniel Kerr is getting good press for his acting performance:

“it's a shame the film doesn't spend more time on Paul's life as a child, since Daniel Kerr delivers a likeable and engaging performance that pretty much deserves its own film”
Source: View London

“It starts well, with exceptional work from child actor Daniel Kerr as the young Ferris”
Source: The List 

Another positive report for the film is noted from the Guardian: 

The local hit
In England and Wales, not many people have heard of new release The Wee Man, or indeed of the real-life Scottish gangster-turned-author on which it's based, Paul Ferris. Consequently, the picture is playing on just one screen south of the border (London's Piccadilly Apollo). In Scotland, where it's showing in 15 cinemas, it's a different story. Thanks to stonking takings especially in Glasgow, Paisley, Falkirk, Hamilton and Clydebank, the crime tale achieved over £103,000 in Scotland, enough for fifth place in the local market and a Scottish site average of £6,897. While Scotland typically accounts for around 8% of the UK and Ireland box office, in The Wee Man's case the country is so far delivering more than 99%. A further expansion is planned from Friday. Concentrating media spend in Scottish national and local press, on Glasgow underground and outdoors, and on Scottish TV, distributor Carnaby followed the gameplan of earlier Scotland-skewing hits such as NEDS (79% of box-office from the region) and The Angels' Share (72%). The Wee Man stars locally popular Greenock-born actor Martin Compston, who got his acting break as a teenager with Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen.

'The Wee Man' reviews and interviews

Martin Compston plays the lead role in The Wee Man alongside a great cast including John Hannah, Denis Lawson, and Patrick Bergin. 
Here's a random selection of reviews from STV, Metro, Cine-Vue, and The Guardian. 
There are many more out there!

Video Interview: the Scottish stars of Paul Ferris film
Scottish actors Martin Compston and Laura McMonagle discuss their roles in The Wee Man, based on the life of notorious former gangster Paul Ferris.
The film, which stars Compston as a younger Ferris, tells the story of how he entered the city's crime underworld, working his way up the ranks as an associate of Arthur "The Godfather" Thompson Sr.
Compston, who found fame in Ken Loach’s Sweet Sixteen, discusses what it was like to play such a notorious figure, how he shaped the character and his experience of meeting Ferris in real life.
Ms McMonagle, known for her work on River City and Lip Service, plays Ferris’s girlfriend Anne-Marie.
They also talk about the disappointment in failing to secure permission to film in Glasgow, instead having to shoot scenes in London.
The Wee Man is in cinemas from Friday 18 January
Watch the interviews here 

Compston: Controversy boosted film
Martin Compston believes the controversy around his new film about Scottish gangster Paul Ferris has actually helped boost publicity.
Read more at Belfast Telegraph

Director defends making movie on Ferris
London-born actor, writer and producer Ray Purdis has defended his decision to make a movie about Paul Ferris, a one-time violent enforcer for Glasgow mob boss Arthur Thompson Sr.
Read more at Herald Scotland

Dougray Scott: 'Death Race 3' review

Review: Death Race 3: Inferno

Review by Paul Doro

January 08, 2013

Is it a bad sign that the idea of a reality TV show about criminals racing to the death does not seem as outlandish as it once might have? It is not hard to believe that a significant number of people worldwide would pay to watch something like that on their computer in the privacy of their home. 

Because the concept isn’t completely unfathomable and because it’s a direct-to-DVD sequel, Death Race 3: Inferno really should be wilder than it is. Part 2 is solid B-movie fun and a big improvement over Paul W. S. Anderson’s remake. It is unfortunate then that part 3 feels like a step back. It wisely shifts the action outside of the maximum security prison but fails to adequately exploit the new location. 

British billionaire Niles York (Dougray Scott) bullies his way to a hostile takeover of Weyland Industries. His goal is to franchise Death Race, taking it global while increasing the number of locations and frequency of races. He has purchased crumbling prisons around the world and hopes to stage a race every 2 weeks. 

The first such race takes place in the Kalahari Desert of South Africa. The famous racer known as Frankenstein (Luke Goss, who took over for Jason Statham in part 2) is racing for his freedom, having won 4 consecutive races and being promised his release after the fifth. His team has been reassembled to support his cause, including Goldberg (Danny Trejo) and Katrina (Tanit Phoenix, lovely but a lousy actress). 

Frankenstein will spend 3 days racing through the Kalahari against 9 fellow criminals, including the first female racer. The smarmy and devious York will do his best to prevent him from winning, but the famous driver has a few tricks up his sleeve. 

Death Race 3 falls short by playing it way too safe, not taking full advantage of its premise or the new location. It lacks imagination. There are too many explosions to count (along with frantic editing and copious slow-motion) and most people perish in fiery crashes that have a perfunctory feel. The majority of the kills have little creativity. 

One particular scene highlights the movie’s problems. Before the first stage of the race begins, there is a pre-Death Race event to pick the navigators. It features 16 beautiful women, including an IRA terrorist and twin Swedish serial killers, fighting to the death for 10 spots. But they all look the same, it’s nearly impossible to make out who is fighting whom, and it’s over almost before it really starts. An opportunity wasted. 

There’s also way too much melodrama, most of it involving the budding relationship between Frankenstein and Katrina. It is unnecessary padding and doesn’t belong in a movie like this. 

Despite all of its problems, there is some fun to be had. The cast (outside of Phoenix) is good. Trejo in particular appears to be enjoying himself and gets some memorable and amusing quips. There’s infrequent but solid gore, particularly when a missile makes waste of a contestant attempting to escape. And every once in a while it displays a biting wit, such as when a voiceover notes that racing like this should not be attempted at home and unauthorized piracy of the event is “punishable by death, or life imprisonment if under age 15.” 

The random wit and gore end up being the exception to the rule though. Death Race 3 promises excess, but fails to deliver it. If part 4 ever rolls around, here’s hoping for fewer explosions and more gleeful and nasty depravity.
Source (including DVD photo): Shock Till You Drop

David Tennant: TV appearances, project updates

The Jonathan Ross Show
David Tennant was a guest on The Jonathan Ross Show on Saturday 5th January on ITV. This was to promote Spies Of Warsaw and David recorded the interview the previous evening. As well as a clip from Spies being shown, David was also asked about the Doctor Who 50th anniversary this year. More information here. 

The worldwide link to download David Tennant's interview on The Jonathan Ross Show has been posted to Tumblr. The interview includes Jonathan Ross congratulating David on some personal news.
Source: David Tennant on Twitter

Spies of Warsaw
Spies of Warsaw premières on BBC Four on 9th and 16th January and on 6th and 13th Feb in the US. In Poland it will be shown in 4 parts from 11th January but will be dubbed.
As well as Spies Of Warsaw being repeated on BBC HD on Saturday evenings at 11pm, it will also be repeated on BBC Four the following Monday evening at 11.45pm each week.
More information - including photos and videos - here.

Broadchurch to air in the US
The Hollywood Reporter has reported that it was announced at the Television Critics Association Press Tour on Saturday 5th that BBC America have acquired the rights to broadcast the eight part ITV drama Broadchurch.
Source: David Tennant on Twitter

Herald Scotland's 'What to Watch'
Both Broadchurch and The Politician's Husband are in Herald Scotland's list of 2013: What To Watch On TV 
Source: David Tennant on Twitter

Love Virtually sequel
BBC Radio Four will dramatise the sequel to Love Virtually called Every Seventh Wave. David Tennant performed in the original in March 2012 and will reprise his role of Leo Leike in the sequel.
More information here.
Source: David Tennant on Twitter

David Tennant is GQ's 3rd Best Dressed Man
David Tennant was placed third in GQ's annual Best Dressed Man poll in which 275,000 voted.
More information here
Source: David Tennant on Twitter

Shakespeare Uncovered
PBS have posted a trailer for the David Tennant / Hamlet episode of Shakespeare Uncovered which premières on their station on 9th February.
More information here.
Source: David Tennant on Twitter

Doctor Who
The Radio Times reported that, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who this year, a new series of Doctor Who short stories will be released. The eleven "eshorts" will each be written by a different author and each will feature one of the Doctor's regenerations (including David Tennant's Tenth Doctor). The author of the first book will be revealed on the Doctor Who Facebook page on Monday 7th January and their story will be published on Wednesday 23rd January.  
Source: David Tennant on Twitter

Midnight Convention
Billie Piper Fans, a Billie Piper website, has added several photos of her and David Tennant at the Midnight fan Convention last month.
Source: David Tennant on Twitter

Diary dates
Sun 6 Jan - BBC Radio Three repeat of Twelfth Night from its 2012 Shakespeare Season. More information (including MP3 link) here
Wed 9 Jan - Episode one of Spies Of Warsaw premières on BBC Four at 9pm.
Fri 11 Jan - Episode one of Spies Of Warsaw premières in Poland (dubbed).
Source: David Tennant on Twitter http://www.davidtennantontwitter.com/DT.html

Review of David Tennant's career during 2012
A detailed review of David Tennant's career during 2012 including photos can be found here.
Source: David Tennant on Twitter



The above reports are brief summaries of the information found at David Tennant on Twitter, the most frequently updated website about the actor David Tennant. Find out more here

'The Wee Man' - review by The List

The Wee Man

Martin Compston stars in this uneven crime drama that glamourises its real-life subject

• Source: The List
• Date: 19 December 2012
• Written by: Hannah McGill

Based on the memoirs of Glasgow gangland figure Paul Ferris, this chronicle of a bloody underworld feud runs from the early 1970s, when a young Ferris and his friends are menaced by the ruthless Welsh family, to the 80s, when Ferris is married and expecting a child, but still engaging in increasingly high-stakes tit-for-tat attacks with his old nemeses. Oh, and getting into the odd sticky situation while working as a debt collector for a notorious crime boss.

The film makes impressive work of its shifts through time, with diligent production design and authentically heinous 70s and 80s fashions and interiors creating a highly persuasive physical environment. It starts well, with exceptional work from child actor Daniel Kerr as the young Ferris and Denis Lawson as the father who tries to guide him into the understanding that their world has real-life 'monsters' in it. However, the tale of Ferris’ ensuing adult struggle against these bad elements is told with scant recourse to subtlety, and with a partiality that leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth. While the crimes of the Welshes – which escalate from dog abuse to child rape to old lady murder – are shored up relentlessly enough for us to conclude that they are indeed as close as people come to being the fairytale monsters of Ferris Sr’s construction, Paul himself as played by Martin Compston is persistently painted as a good guy in a bad situation, and his eye-for-an-eye approach to justice as simply the only route available.

It’s of course the filmmakers’ prerogative to paint Ferris’s life story as they choose, and the performers here all share a commitment to their work that elevates the whole – but the script’s struggle to flatter its unprepossessing vigilante protagonist (he’s prone to coming out with poetic self-justifying speeches, too) is unconvincing, if not arguably irresponsible.
Selected release from Fri 18 Jan.

Source (including photo): The List

Fancarpet has some stills from the film here

Elaine C Smith: Snow White opens; first review

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs opens in Aberdeen

More than 1,000 people turned out for the opening night of Aberdeen’s Christmas panto.

And the festive favourite – Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs – will leave you with a huge smile, happily chatting about the best bits of a show that is one of the best things you’ll see all year.

The show, starring Elaine C Smith, Alan McHugh and Jordan Young is on at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, throughout December.

Source: Aberdeen Evening Express

Review

Qdos Entertainment’s creative team of director Alex Norton, choreographer Karen Martin and writer Alan McHugh once again take on north-east Scotland’s biggest panto at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen.

In their ninth year, dame Alan McHugh and sidekick Jordan Young have become a panto institution in the Granite City and their local knowledge is evident in their creatively crafted lyrics and trademark wordplay.

Panto stalwart Elaine C Smith returns as the Wicked Queen in her fourth consecutive Aberdeen panto. Her initial entrance is lacklustre, but she soon gets into her stride, despite the mirror failing to live up to its magic billing.
Adding the necessary fairytale magic, Frances Mayli McCann as Snow White sings beautifully and looks every bit the part, working well with Matt Wilman as Prince Peter.
The first act ends on a high as the Doric Dragon voiced by Scottish entertainment legend Robbie Shepherd flies out from the stage across the audience. But this dramatic entrance fails to live up to expectation, as the dragon makes only a brief and rather spurious appearance in the second act.
This panto team has been working together for a number of years and the genre is their core strength, enabling them to gloss over opening-night glitches. Combined with local knowledge and observation, you get a truly wicked panto perfectly tailored for the local audience.
Source: The Stage

Peter Mullan: 'The Fear' reviews & interviews, 'Top of the Lake' premiere

The Fear
Reviews -

• Telegraph
• Independent
• The Arts Desk
• Metro
• Guardian
• Mirror
• Express
• BBC

Interviews -

• Telegraph
• Evening Times

Top of the Lake
Jane Campion’s alternative TV miniseries heads to Sundance
The main event at January’s Sundance Film Festival may turn out not to be a movie at all, but Jane Campion’s six-part miniseries, “Top of the Lake.” Starring Elisabeth Moss and the Scottish actor Peter Mullan, the layered drama will screen just once in Park City, on Sunday, January 20, prior to airing on the Sundance Channel, which co-produced it with the BBC.
Working on separate episodes, Campion shared the directing duties with Garth Davis. The series, co-written by Campion and Gerard Lee, has been blurbed as follows: “’Top of the Lake’ is a powerful and haunting mystery about the search for happiness in a paradise where honest work is hard to find. Set in the remote mountains of New Zealand, the story follows the disappearance of a twelve-year-old, five-months pregnant, who was last seen standing chest deep in a frozen lake.
“Robin Griffin [Moss] is a gutsy but inexperienced detective called in to investigate [the girl’s] case. During the investigation, she collides with Matt Mitcham [Mullan], the missing girl’s father and local drug lord. Robin will find this the case that tests her limits and sends her on a journey of self-discovery.”
Holly Hunter (Campion’s “The Piano”), David Wenham (“The Lord of the Rings”) co-star. Lucy Lawless (“Xena,” “Spartacus”) appears in the first episode. It was photographed by Adam Arkapaw (the upcoming “Lore”).
What sounds on the surface a less perverse “Twin Peaks,” or a mystical “CSI,” is likely to require trenchant feminist analysis given the involvement of Campion, director of “An Angel at My Table,” “The Portrait of a Lady,” and “In the Cut,” as well as “The Piano.”
During an onstage interview at the Cannes TV market Mipcom in October, the Australian auteur noted that the series is thematically interested in “post-menopausal” over-40 women. As the Hollywood Reporter recorded it, “they are a ‘fascinating’ subset that no one is typically interested in dwelling on, she explained. The women are a self-contained counterpoint to the patriarchal structure surrounding them, and Holly Hunter is the central figure in their encampment.”
“We’re trying to go against the police procedural aesthetic,” co-writer Lee added. Campion said she was inspired to choose the long-form TV format after watching “Deadwood,” “Mad Men” (in which Moss plays Peggy Olson), and “The Killing.” She and Lee “determined there was ‘more freedom’ and ‘fewer restraints’ imposed upon creators nowadays in TV than in film.” The chorus agreeing with her on this — and television drama’s current supremacy over film drama — has grown exponentially in 2012.
Source: Blouin Artinfo

Alan Cumming: interviews and review

Alan Cumming updates Cabaret

Host Alan Cumming poses at the BAFTA Los Angeles 2012 Britannia Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

 
From Times Union:

Stunning talent, a likable personality and lots of embarrassing but hilarious personal anecdotes were packed into Alan Cumming's cabaret show, Sunday night at Club Helsinki.
Though he's gone on to triumph in television and film, it was a Broadway role — the emcee in "Cabaret" — that made Cumming famous. He offered one selection from that show, "Mein Herr." Otherwise, the material was all quite recent and not apparently extracted from any musicals, except a medley from "Hedwig and the Angry Inch."
So much for my comments after Charles Busch's recent show at the same venue, that cabaret always means nostalgia. The themes of Cumming's songs and stories were utterly now. They included gay sexuality, body modification (plastic surgery and regrettable tattoos), and American consumerism, among other stuff of today's world.
It's too much to say that it all came out as lovely poetry, even if there were some darned funny rhymes along the way, such as those in "Taylor, the Latte Boy," a song Cumming borrowed from Kristin Chenoweth. But even when Cumming was telling elaborate and explicit stories of drunken nights, bad breakups, and rude awakenings to middle age, he wasn't harsh and comically offensive, say like Chris Rock. Maybe along with his Scottish brogue came his gentle and eloquent way with words.
It's another matter entirely to find good songs that cover the same ground, but Cumming certainly did so. Several selections were by his fine accompanist, Lance Horne. And among Cumming's other talents, he can also write words and music. A showstopper was his "Next to Me." A kind of ode of gratitude for his husband, it starts as a ballad and ends with a belt.
Cumming has an impressive vocal technique, with a hearty and masculine forte and a fine controlled pianissimo. He handled long phrases and jumps of register with unexpected ease while his diction — for all those words about modern life — was always crystal clear.
Besides that opening from "Cabaret," the most familiar material in his set came at the end. The first encore was a medley of songs by Katy Perry and Adele, with Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory" as a refrain. That was followed by Annie Lenox's "Why?"
Bringing a star like Cumming to the intimate venue in Hudson will be tough to top. It's going to be fun to see what the producers of Helsinki on Broadway can come up with next.

Cabaret review
Alan Cumming
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Where: Club Helsinki, 405 Columbia St., Hudson
Duration: 70 minutes, no intermission

Source (including photo): Times Union



Alan Cumming, an actor for all ages

Scottish actor Alan Cumming says, in a way, he is aging in reverse. (CBS News)

(CBS News) If you haven't seen Alan Cumming in "The Good Wife," don't worry: You've almost certainly seen the 47-year-old actor in something else at the movies, on stage or on TV. Serena Altschul has a Sunday Profile:

Alan Cumming ia an actor for the ages . . . all ages. Whether he's playing to kids looking for a few laughs, or adults looking for action or drama.
So when Altschul sat down with Cumming, she had a lot of ground to cover, from "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" to playing a computer programmer in the James Bond film "GoldenEye." ("It was such fun - Boris Grishenko"). Or "Josie and the Pussycats," in which both Cumming and Altschul appeared.
When Cumming is asked a simple question, you never know where it'll lead.
"Your body of work," Altschul began, "when we look at all of the - "
"Are we talkin' about my body already, Serena?"
"We had to get there eventually, didn't we?" she laughed.
Every week on TV, Cumming plays Eli Gold, a bare-knuckles political consultant on "The Good Wife."
"What's it like for you getting into his character - he's explosive, he gets angry, he really gets in there. Is that fun to play him?" Altschul asked.
"I like him," Cumming replied. "The good thing about him is he's very repressed. I love having a laugh with the crew between takes, and then when I do him I'm very . . . a lot of eyebrows!"

But Cumming always comes back to the theater - this year, in a provocative one-man production of "Macbeth." After all, it was theater that first made him a star in this country.
He played the Master of Ceremonies in "Cabaret" in 1998. "It was an amazing thing for me. It kind of completely changed my life," he said.
Cumming and Altschul sat down in the same building where he performed in "Cabaret." In the late '70s it was the notorious club "Studio 54." It has since become a theater.
"Cabaret" became a nationwide sensation, and Cumming won a Tony Award. "You know what I thought was amazing? I would go to somewhere in the middle of America - this is before I'd done films that they knew - and I'd go into the cafe and they'd say, 'You're the "Cabaret" guy.' And I'd say, 'Oh, did you see the show?' And they're like, 'No.'"
Cumming was raised far from the big city lights, in a smallish town in Scotland.
"It wasn't a town," he said. "I grew up in a country estate."
"Country estate" sounds like the setting for an idyllic Scottish childhood. It wasn't.
"I have so few memories of my childhood," he said. "It's really weird, it's because I didn't want to make them memories because it was so painful."
Cumming says he and his big brother were terrorized by their father, who tended the forest at the estate.
"My childhood wasn't happy. My dad's very, you know, troubled person and violent and stuff like that. And I think in a funny sort of way I had a very - it sounds weird, but a very balanced childhood. I had my father telling me I was worthless and my mum told me I was precious.
"And so, you know, I didn't believe either of 'em!"
Read more at CBS News (includes extensive picture gallery)



Alan Cumming -- (TCM Podcast) December 2012

Actor Alan Cumming is the guest for the first TCM Podcast for December, 2012, discussing his love of classic films, working with legendary director Stanley Kubrick and Alan's new film Any Day Now opening Friday, December 14th.

Source: Turner Classic Movies