See what else is happening in film & TV industries around the world.
Legendary Film Critic Roger Ebert dies aged 70 Film critic, author, and historian Roger Ebert passed away yesterday, April 4th, after a long and publicised battle with thyroid cancer. Ebert was one of the most influential and famous film critics of all time and was one of the few film critics known to the general public. During his lifetime, he wrote more than 15 books, including an autobiography in 2011 titled ‘Life Itself’, and wrote over 7,000 reviews. He wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times for 46 years and he also participated in film production when he wrote Russ Meyer’s ‘Beyond the Valley of the Dolls’ in 1970. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for film criticism. Ebert will probably best be remembered for his film criticism show he ran alongside Gene Siskel and their ‘thumbs-up, thumbs-down’ method of reviewing films, which managed to bring film theory and film criticism to the masses. Our deepest condolences go out to Ebert’s wife, Chaz Hammelsmith Ebert.
Boris Johnson announces £2 million to be invested in ‘Film London’ Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has announced that £2 million will be used to expand the remit of Film London, the city’s film and media agency. The money will be used to broaden Film London’s reach, and its hope that the investment will bring in £200 million worth of additional expenditure and create 1000 new jobs in the animation and television sector. Johnson is capitalizing on a new tax relief that recently came into effect for television and animation production. Film London has generated £770million in the last four years alone and its hope this latest investment will promote London as a popular location for high-end television dramas, animations, and international productions. After reaping the benefits of a tax-relief for feature film production, London is now the third busiest city in the world for film-making after Los Angeles and New York.
Watch the new trailer for ‘The Great Gatsby’ The latest trailer for Baz Luhrman’s highly anticipated big budget adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1920s ‘The Great Gatsby’ offers an insight into the film’s eclectic soundtrack. The trailer contains excerpts from Beyonce and Andre 3000’s cover of Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back to Black’, Lane Del Rey’s ‘Young and Beautiful’, and Florence + The Machine’s ‘Over the Love’. The film is also scored by rapper Jay-Z. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, and Tobey Maguire, and is set to be released in Ireland on May 17th.
