The Malaysian Insider :: Breaking Views
The Malaysian Insider :: Breaking Views |
| London’s ‘porn king’ stars on the big screen at Berlin festival Posted: 11 Feb 2013 08:42 AM PST  Director Michael Winterbottom and actors Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, Steve Coogan and Tamsin Egerton (L-R) pose during a photocall to promote the movie "The Look of Love" at the 63rd Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin February 10, 2013. — Reuters pic Dubbed the "king of porn", or, more politely, the "King of Soho" after the London area where his empire was based, Raymond began amassing his fortune in 1958 with the opening of the "Raymond Revuebar" and expanded to theatre and men's magazines. The erotica club played host to the likes of The Beatles and Frank Sinatra in its heyday and Raymond was named Britain's wealthiest man by 1992, the year his daughter and heir apparent Debbie died of a drug overdose aged 36. "I thought he was an interesting character who was sort of largely ignored because he was associated with porn," Coogan told reporters at the Berlin film festival where "The Look of Love" was screened outside the main competition. "His character was ignored in pop culture for that reason, because the British have got a very difficult relationship with sex in a way that the Germans and the French (do not)." Coogan said Raymond dealt candidly with sexuality while British filmmakers struggled to handle sex in an interesting way. "It's either very, very serious, portentous, or it's titillation, and I thought we could combine that and have titillation and portentousness," he said. "The Look of Love" features plenty of nudity — on stage, in bed at photo shoots — and Coogan plays Raymond and his playboy lifestyle with obvious relish. But the actor also attempts to convey his subject's sense of loss and bewilderment at the death of a daughter he had cared for materially if not emotionally. "NOT A FILM ABOUT PORN" "The Look of Love" is the fourth time Winterbottom and Coogan have collaborated following "24 Hour Party People" about music producer Tony Wilson, "A Cock and Bull Story" based on "Tristram Shandy", and "The Trip" about restaurant critics. Winterbottom said the latest picture, which hits British theatres next month, was not about pornography. "It's about his life," the filmmaker said of Raymond, who died in 2008 aged 82. "His career lasted 50 years and we could have told lots of different stories about his life, but I think our film is organised around the three women closest to him." These were his wife Jean, played by Anna Friel, his lover Fiona Richmond (Tamsin Egerton) and daughter Debbie (Imogen Poots). Coogan admitted the movie had taken "plenty of liberties" with the truth, but the on-screen Raymond openly cheats on his wife, works hard, drives expensive cars and has a preference for menages-a-trois-or-more. Cocaine and champagne fuel business meetings as well as parties, but life in the fast lane takes its toll on friends and family, most notably his daughter. There is a nod to Raymond's humble roots - he was actually born Geoffrey Quinn in a modest suburb of Liverpool - and Coogan portrays him as someone with deep-rooted insecurities that turned him into a serial name-dropper. Ringo Starr helped him design his luxury penthouse, Raymond tells visitors, and he is good friends with all of the Beatles "except Yoko", a reference to John Lennon's wife who some say was behind the band's eventual split. Winterbottom sought to capture changing fashions — clothes were sourced from second hand shops, vintage fairs and eBay — and reflect how the streets of Soho also altered over the years, all on a shoestring budget. The annual Berlinale, one of Europe's most important film festivals, runs until February 17. — Reuters |
| G7 expected to issue statement to cool currency rhetoric Posted: 11 Feb 2013 08:22 AM PST  The euro sculpture is pictured outside the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, February 5, 2013. — Reuters pic The language, which could be subject to change, implies that the major powers would not indulge in unilateral currency devaluation and reads very similarly to the last statement issued by the G7 on currencies in 2011. "It focuses on a commitment to market-determined exchange rates and (governments) not using policies to drive currencies," one official said. Two officials from different countries told Reuters that if agreed, the statement could be released around the time G20 finance ministers and central bankers meet in Moscow on Friday and Saturday. US and European officials have expressed concern about comments from Japanese officials that they are targeting a specific level for the yen. Japan's new government has pressed for aggressively expansionary monetary policies, which have prompted the yen to weaken sharply. Last week, France went as far as calling for a medium-term target to be set for the euro. Berlin rejected that suggestion and said it did not view the currency as being overvalued as things stand. French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said he and his euro zone peers would discuss closer cooperation on exchange rate policy at a meeting today. "We should have — I have insisted that this debate takes place — a coordinated approach between us that will allow for us to argue for exchange rate stability, especially within the G20," he said upon arrival in Brussels. The EU's top monetary official, Olli Rehn, made a similar call at the weekend, noting the particular problems a strong euro would pose for southern, highly indebted members of the euro zone. But any action beyond a bland statement remains a long way off. Some analysts said the very fact those problem countries in the currency bloc had not gone away could send the euro into reverse, negating the need for any policymaker action. "The pace of the euro's gains in January made me feel uncomfortable, it was too far, too fast ... if news from Cyprus, Spain and Italy is not good we could see US$1.30 (RM4.03) again," said Jane Foley, senior currency strategist at Rabobank. Since late last year, the euro has climbed more than 10 cents from below US$1.27 before subsiding in recent days after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi indulged in a bit of gentle verbal intervention, saying he would monitor the impact of a strengthening currency. On Friday, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said the yen had weakened more than intended during its recent decline to around 90 against the dollar from around 78 yen a few months ago. MONEY PRINTING The US Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan are expanding their balance sheets rapidly by printing money, while the ECB's balance sheet is tightening, partly due to banks paying back early cheap money the central bank doled out last year. All else being equal, that could drive the euro yet higher as others explicitly or implicitly follow policies that will drive their currencies down - the last thing a struggling euro zone economy needs. Any pain will be just as acute in emerging markets. As newly minted cash pours into developing economies in search of higher yields, either their exchange rates will rise, making exports less competitive, or they will have to cut interest rates and/or intervene to hold down their currencies. That could fuel credit and asset price booms that sow the seeds of inflation. Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega, the man widely credited with coining the term currency war, told Reuters last week that it could get even worse if Europe joins the fray. The issue will be discussed in Moscow, but officials do not expect Japan to come under any serious pressure at this stage. — Reuters |
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