Dedications: My four late friends Rory, Stan, Bryan, Jeff - shine on you crazy diamonds, they would have blogged too. Then theres Garry from Brisbane, Franco in Milan, Mike now in S.F. / my '60s-'80s gang: Ned & Joseph in Ireland; in England: Frank, Des, Guy, Clive, Joe & Joe, Ian, Ivan, Nick, David, Les, Stewart, the 3 Michaels / Catriona, Sally, Monica, Jean, Ella, Anne, Candie / and now: Daryl in N.Y., Jerry, John, Colin, Martin and Donal.

Friday 15 January 2010

Ray Winstone's latest ....

We have been fretting over the snow, as a second lot fell earlier this week on top of the previous melted ice and slush, and some of the roads here have not been gritted, plus those freezing temperatures! But now the footage from Haiti has been so shocking one can hardly contemplate the enormity of it. Why is it always the poorest places? All one can do here in UK is donate to the charities like Red Cross. Hopefully all that aid and troops from USA will make a big difference today....

I did get out Monday night, between the snowfalls, to see preview of 44 INCH CHEST at our London BFI NFT, with stars Ray Winstone and John Hurt in attendance for a Q+A afterwards. Its another of those SEXY BEAST type dramas with hilariously bad langauge that becomes almost poetic. Imagine a Pinter script as directed by Guy Ritchie.... Winstone has a good role after those supporting turns for Spielberg, Scorsese, but Hurt (just after his ENGLISHMAN IN NEW YORK turn as Quentin) is amazing as the vile old gangster Old Man Peanut, while Ian McShane plays gay in a totally different way, Tom Wilkinson and Stephen Dillane (who was a terrific Hamlet some years ago) are also terrific, and Melvil Poupaud (from Ozon's TIME TO LEAVE) is the French waiter they terrorise; in all the best English actor ensemble since LAST ORDERS from about 10 years ago (also with Winstone, plus Courtenay, Hemmings, Caine, Hoskins, Mirren). Ray has just played Jack Hawkins' old role of Quintus Arrius in a new tv version of BEN HUR - should be interesting whenever it surfaces...

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