The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| ‘Shame’ brings sex addiction tale to Venice Posted: 04 Sep 2011 07:32 AM PDT  McQueen laughs during a photocall for "Shame" at the 68th Venice Film Festival September 4, 2011. — Reuters pic It is the second lead role for Fassbender in a competition movie at this year's festival after his portrayal of psychoanalyst Carl Jung in David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method." In Shame, the German-born Fassbender is Brandon, a handsome, 30-something executive living in New York whose only distraction from work is seducing women, masturbating at home or in the office and looking for sex on the Internet. The tightly controlled rhythm of his life begins to fall apart when his needy, dysfunctional sister Sissy, played by Carey Mulligan, arrives for an unannounced visit. Her presence, and her craving for Brandon's attention, disrupt his lonely existence even further, and his only way out seems to be wandering the streets at night in search of new sexual adventures. Fassbender, whose portrayal of Brandon was warmly applauded after a press screening today, said taking part in the film's graphic sex scenes was not easy. "Yes (it was) uncomfortable doing the sex scenes, you just have to jump and turn really," he said. "The most important thing I guess is that everybody involved feels as comfortable as they can. And then just go for it so you don't have to do too many takes." McQueen, whose debut film was the widely acclaimed "Hunger" about the last months of Irish Republican Army activist Bobby Sands in Belfast's Maze prison, said he saw similarities between the two films. Hunger also starred Fassbender in the lead role. "Clearly Hunger was a political film but Shame is also political. That one was about a prison in northern Ireland, this one it's about how someone's freedom can actually imprison them and they need an addiction in order to numb a pain, how our lives have been changed sexually by the Internet," he said. "I love Brandon, he's trying and it's difficult. He's not so far away from most of us at the end of the day. He is not a bad person, I think the character is not at all repulsive, maybe unfamiliar but extremely recognisable." The title Shame was chosen after interviews with sex addicts and their experiences in preparation for the film. "The word shame came cropping up in those interviews," McQueen said. His career began with film-related projects, he quickly branched out to include sculpture and still photography, and his work has been displayed at the Biennale of Art in Venice. McQueen said he saw no big differences between his artworks and his feature films. "There are no barriers between the two. Of course in one you're going to have a bit more narrative and the other less so, but the process is the same, it's work." Asked why Mulligan had not come to Venice to present the movie, McQueen replied: "It's out of order. She should be here." — Reuters |
| World Heritage site in China to host country music festival Posted: 03 Sep 2011 05:21 PM PDT  Zhangjiajie, a Chinese town famed for its surrounding towering rock formations, its nearby caves and its lush forests, will host the Zhangjiajie International Country Music Week from September 10 to 16 this year. — Song Heming/shutterstock.com The connection, it seems, is a love of country music and it has this week been announced that second Zhangjiajie International Country Music Week will be held from September 10 to 16 this year in the picturesque Chinese town famed for its surrounding towering rock formations, its nearby caves and its lush forests. Organizers are hoping to line up more than 500 musicians and more than 30 country music bands from across the globe for the event, which is being held to help "promote cultural development in all the world's regions through the medium of country music." What's more, the festival is currently on the lookout for up to 60 international volunteers to help with translating during the week. Details can be found on the festival's official website. Zhangjiajie first tested the country music market back in 2009, when the city's flamboyant mayor, Zhao Xiaoming, became a sensation across China by releasing a promotional video that saw him dressed up as a cowboy and singing a unique version of the John Denver hit "Take Me Home, Country Roads". The idea, according to organisers, is to find the right balance between "culture" and "tourism" and this year's event has an animated version of the clip with Zhao but no cowboy hat. The festival is promising an eclectic mix of both international country artists and some of the homegrown variety, which will highlight the musical heritage of China's ethnic communities. "Every effort needs to be made to turn the music festival into a regular event and to develop Zhangjiajie into an international country music venue," Ye Wenzhi, general manager of one of the event's organisers, the Huanglongdong Tourist Corp, told the China Daily newspaper. The event also has the backing of Hunan provincial government and China's Ministry of Culture. — afprelaxnews.com |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan