Cinema Archives - Page 4 of 8

An Interview With Jonny Paterson

May 302014

Voice’s Suzanne Kelly interviews young Scots Hollywood producer Jonny Paterson.

From the moment Sean Connery first ordered a Martini ‘shaken not stirred’ on the big screen, Hollywood’s love affair with Scottish acting talent has been unshakable. Today’s young Scots actors can be found wandering ‘round Westeros, camping at Beaver Falls, and playing Quidditch with Harry Potter (if not kissing him).

These actors and actresses are representing Scotland’s talent in front of the camera – but there is also an influx of Scottish-born talent getting into Hollywood’s boardrooms.

Jonny Paterson is one such home-grown talent.

Paterson was accepted to the prestigious BAFTA Los Angeles Newcomer program, he’s worked with one of Hollywood’s most powerful and respected executives, and has a whole raft of projects he’s keen to get on with in his own production company. Amazingly, he’s 26 years old.

So how does a guy get from Edinburgh to LA? Aberdeen Voice caught up Paterson to find out.

AV: Jonny, what have you been doing today?

JP: I’m in London right now; my sister is here, and we’re all off out to dinner with my dad.

AV: How did you get interested in production? Many young people who are interested in film seem attracted to roles in front of the camera.

JP: I grew up in Scotland where I studied; I was always interested in the theatre. I decided to go to Carnegie Mellon [a greatly-respected American University] and did a Master’s degree tailored to the entertainment business. I was involved in theatre at school, and I had the business skill set from working in a talent agency and production company in LA – but I figured out I didn’t like either.

I tried being a runner; there’s probably something Scottish about me… I was a bad assistant; I was not very good at organising someone else’s life. I came across some good material and pretty much took it from there; got option on a few projects and started JP International Productions to manage my quickly evolving ‘slate’.

AV: Are there many fellow Scots in Hollywood?

JP: There’s a few of us; we kind of just found each other.

There’s Declan Laird for instance (Laird has just signed to a lead role in an Amazon Video production this week) and we became good friends. He and I are actually developing a TV show together and there’s every scope for him to be involved in one of my upcoming movies.

He’s a real talent.

There’s not too many people from our kind of generation (I’m 26) doing the deal-making/production work though.

AV: Tell me about the BAFTA newcomers and the award

JP: The BAFTA award is different to a lot of other awards; it wasn’t made for any one specific film I’d done. It looks to the business side of the industry and finds people in the corporate world who are forging a path for themselves in that realm. It is show business after all. I told them (BAFTA) I was setting up my own company; it’s really an award based around future potential.

My old boss Paula (former CEO and co-owner of United Artists and Cruise/Wagner Productions ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise, ‘The Last Samurai’, ‘War of the Worlds’, etc.) had championed me, and when you have someone like her in your corner…well, it’s amazing. Paula was fantastic.

This award is a vindication of sorts for choosing the path I have chosen, and shows why l love what I do. Whilst on the talent management side of the business everything was the same; every day was the same; in Lionsgate Entertainment I was in sales; it was formulaic.

With Paula every five minutes was different and a new challenge; she’s a master at working through things; and I thought ‘this is so exciting!’ I learnt a lot from Paula; in a nutshell, if I do make it, then I owe her great deal.

It’s exciting in Scotland in the year of independence; but in LA, well, if I had to describe energy and positivity, it would be top of the list and it’s great. Scotland has punched above its weight in every field; I respond to the atmosphere where everyone is aiming for the top.

AV: What are you doing in Scotland now, and please tell me about football aid and your role

JP: I’m back in land this weekend; between Edinburgh and Glasgow; then I’m going to Spain for a few days. Football Aid is a Scottish charity my dad started it around 12 years ago; I’m a non-executive director.

I was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and my dad started to raise money via football aid – we’ve raised over 5 million pounds so far; Declan Laird will be playing at our Celtic Park event after his parents bought him a position for his 21st birthday this year.

Football Aid is a series of events taking place throughout the month of May at Celtic Park and stadiums across the UK in order to raise funds for juvenile diabetes research and local charities.

Further information can be found here http://www.footballaid.com

Jonny jokes that Declan Laird will make a fool of himself at Celtic Park (Laird is a Celtic supporter, while the rest of his family have different ideas about football team choices). I decide not to weigh in.

JP: I popped into West Ham the other day; Football Aid is all over the UK now and we’re going international [Italy is now onside, as it were with Genoa and Sampdoria the first clubs to get involved].

AV: You’re working with Quinton Aaron, best known for his breakout role as the co-lead in Academy Award nominated film, The Blind Side. It was Aaron’s first film; he starred with Sandra Bullock. (We discuss the happy story of Quinton, who went from unknown, tall, overweight kid about to hit money worries to a much-admired Hollywood star). I hear Aaron features in your current projects – tell me more.

JP: This October we’re filming in the US; it’s called Halfway. Ben Caird is directing; Ben also won the BAFTA newcomer award the year after I did. Ben comes from an entertainment background; John Caird is his dad, Eliza Doolittle is his sister. Quinton stars; he’s best known for The Blind Side; and he’s also my producing partner.

He’s a lovely, lovely young guy and we’re very fortunate to have him. What’s exciting about Halfway is the way in which we’re looking to raise awareness about the film and as a by-product of that, some of the money as well.

Over the past 18 months a precedent has been set in the realm of crowd-funding with high profile movies like Zach Braff’s Wish I Was Here and the film adaptation of the Veronica Mars television show proving that there is an appetite amongst the general public to get involved with films by contributing small donations, as low as £5 in some instances. The key is to offer in exchange an experience or product that money can’t necessarily buy.

Next year, I have The Scavengers – a modern day Bonnie and Clyde set in the Wild West of Ireland. Colin Morgan’s been cast; Merlin is his best-known role; and Sarah Bolger (The Tudors, Once Upon a Time, As Cool As I Am) has been cast opposite him. We’re still packaging it; it’s in its infancy.

AV: I guess like many people I have a stereotyped vision of a Hollywood producer; cigars, Armani suits, limos – and someone a lot older than you.

JP: The age thing is funny to me; usually film producers are older; it’s a by-product of the various skills one associates with the position: high level connections to talent, production companies etc, financing and sales, project managing at a high level – those are the kinds of things traditionally associated with being a Hollywood producer, however I would argue that there have always been people who break the mould and shake things up a bit. I have aspirations and a fairly unique skill set of my own that I believe will lead to success.

AV: How do you feel about film and music piracy?

JP: The truth is our job is to create content that people want to actually pay for. The reality is you can’t beat free, but you can compete with it; if you’re putting your product across in a way that appeals to the consumer… things like releasing film ‘day and date’ in the cinemas, on VOD, and on DVD all on same day it’s released in cinema, you’re giving the consumer choices.

There is still a lot to be said for the experience of going to watch a movie on the big screen in a dark room with a bunch of strangers. It’s part of our culture. If you give people these options, it helps. In 2014, it is becoming evermore apparent that the consumer wants their product instantaneously and seamlessly, on their I-Pad, smart phone etc.

We have to be careful about how best to approach that.

It’s still flawed and we’re going through yet another transition in our industry; the film industry has always been cyclical; the studios rise up and become all powerful and then something in the realm of technology or business change things – whether it’s the 20s with the advent of the talkies or the arrival of television in to homes across America in the 50s – and now it’s a distribution change – DVDs are becoming less and less reliable as a projected revenue stream for movies of all scopes and now we have online platforms such as Netflix and so on.

In time, the studios catch on to what works, but as an independent producer in 2014 we’re at the crux of transformation in this industry. I have the opportunity and in many respects, the responsibility to try something new. Crowd funding would give us more control of the product and we’d be less at the behest of the investors.

After Paterson’s delivered this take on things with barely a pause for thought or for taking a breath, I think this may be the savviest 26 year-old I’ve ever spoken with.

I mention that the Sheffield Docfest is a fortnight away, and that Anthony Baxter from you’ve been trumped documentary fame will be premiering his second documentary in the UK. Baxter’s first film won all manner of accolades around the world.

JP: Documentaries don’t tend to make much money but they have a certain respect in the business.

I am developing both a documentary and feature film inspired by the Koh Panyee Football Club (the club which played on a floating pitch its members created) with partner Tom Pellegrini (‘Jiro Dreams of Sushi’).

At this count I make it 2 features, a documentary. a new production company, and this year’s Football Aid he’ll be juggling at present. Well, I’m impressed.

Jonny and I decide to leave it there for now; I’m surprised he’s found so much time to speak to me, all projects considered. I hope I’ll be speaking with him again soon; it seems inevitable that we’ll be hearing more about him as well as from him very soon indeed.

Children In Chains: Blue Lamp – Thurs 27 March

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Mar 252014

With thanks to Dave Black.

As part of Aberdeen’s Festival of Politics, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign Aberdeen are screening the film Children in Chains (40mins), followed by a Q&A with the director Jon Pullman, a political activist and film director from Edinburgh.
Children in Chains is his most recent project, and focuses on the abuse of Palestinian children in the Israeli Military Court System.

Many children stand up against the occupying soldiers of Israel combatting tanks and guns with mere stones but as the film explains, “for them the consequences of defiance can be kidnap, torture and imprisonment”.

SPSC asked him to explain a bit about the making of the film;

SPSC:Tell us something about your latest film project

JP: Children in Chains was inspired by a seminar which I attended and filmed back in 2011. Having been involved in the campaign for justice and human rights in Palestine for many years, I really thought I knew all there was to know about the suffering endured by ordinary people living under Israeli occupation. However, the main presentation at this event was given by a West Bank-based lawyer, Gerard Horton.

Gerard spoke powerfully and in some detail about the appalling treatment of young Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli military court system. It was a shocking revelation to most of us and I realised that I had to make the information more widely available through film.

SPSC: How did you make it?

JP: The core of the film is Gerard’s presentation. However, in order to avoid just a talking head, with the limited appeal that would have, I built up a selection of commentary and often harrowing real-life footage that would help bring the issue alive and hopefully engage a much wider potential audience.

SPSC: What challenges did you face?

JP: The difficulties are always in the edit. And deciding on a target audience. I wanted to produce a documentary that was short enough to be usable at meetings, classes and public events, but long enough to make an impact with the subject matter. I also wanted to give a bit of background historical context for those not necessarily familiar. This is a challenge in itself because how do you summarize a conflict so misrepresented and so disputed in just a few minutes.

SPSC: What was the most striking/surprising/shocking thing when you made the film?

JP: The sheer volume of incriminating material on the internet. Much of the footage I used in Children in Chains was filmed by Palestinian activists on the ground. These days, we rarely have to rely on third party witnesses to tell us what’s going on in the world; there is usually somebody there with some sort of lens. It is shocking to me that the cruelty and violence involved in the oppression of the Palestinian people is so visually documented and freely viewable and yet unacknowledged by the political powers that really matter.

SPSC: Why should people see this film?

JP: Israel-Palestine is a subject that most people glaze over at the mere mention of. This is largely due to how the conflict is portrayed – an intractable squabble over land. The reality is much darker and disturbing. The brutal and illegal abuse of Palestinian children is just another aspect of Israel’s project to destroy Palestinian identity, but, by nature of the subject, has a particular power to move people, and through that, transform awareness. This film aims to do that.

SPSC: Do you have any other Palestinian projects in the pipeline?

JP: I visited the West Bank twice in 2011 and brought back many hours of vibrant, life-affirming footage of ordinary life among Palestinians and remain determined to produce a film that documents this experience. I think it’s important to depict and celebrate the positive aspects.

‘Children in Chains’ and Q&A with Director Jon Pullman will be taking place on Thursday 27th March, 7.30pm, upstairs at the Blue Lamp. The event is free. All welcome.

Samantha’s Baby Is A Cinematic Lemon

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Jan 242014

Horror flick Devil’s Due promised much, given its interesting premise, but simply lurched from one supernatural shock to the other. Aberdeen Voice’s Andrew Watson comments upon a film simply going through the motions.

Vue on Shiprow was lightly sprinkled with cinemagoers on a usually busy Thursday night for the High Street.

I thought the film started well. Lovebirds Samantha (Allison Miller) and Zach McCall (Zach Gilford) are a recently hitched couple spending their honeymoon in South America.

They decide to go for a psychic reading and find themselves pleasantly surprised by the accuracy of the forecast.

However, things take a somewhat sinister turn. Samantha’s told she’s ‘born of death’, and the psychic goes from lightly holding Mrs McCall’s palms to gripping her arms violently.

The whole film is shot with handheld cameras and CCTV footage, and the concluding recordings of their honeymoon show candlelit ceremonies and satanic symbols.

Once back from holiday, Samantha discovers she’s pregnant, and from then on her whole character changes. It’s only much later on that her husband reviews what was caught on camera that fateful night with the psychic and the ceremony.

By this time Zach’s really struggling to keep abreast of his wife’s actions and plumps for the help of his family to get him and his wife through their ominous ordeal. He finds it that there’s some sort of coven in his neighbourhood, and that they’re connected to what happened on their honeymoon.

This film, to its credit, manages to serve up some comical moments despite its mediocrity. Watch out for clip of the supermarket surveillance which features a ravenous Samantha eating for two.

That is her and her baby – eating raw meat! The sharp turn that her fellow shopper takes is a subtle show of not taking oneself too seriously.

All in all, not the best horror film you’ll see. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t have its jumpy minutes. I suppose in that respect the film delivered the goods.

The Hobbit: Andrew Watson Reviews

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Dec 192013

Peter Jackson’s sequel to An Unexpected Journey premiered last Friday, just about a year after the opening gambit of The Hobbit saga. Aberdeen Voice’s Andrew Watson shares his thoughts on The Desolation of Smaug.

Vue on Shiprow was tightly packed considering it was early weekday afternoon, albeit a Friday.

Though for the most part enthralling, it didn’t quite reach the same heights of its predecessor. Perhaps the novelty of the audience meeting the Dwarf, Elf and Troll communities for the first time on An Unexpected Journey cannot be matched against the burgeoning storylines of characters that they’re already accustomed to.

The Desolation of Smaug, however, initially cuts to the chase a lot quicker than the previous, wandering film.

The scene is set immediately with Gandalf (Ian McKellen) recruiting Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) to reclaim LonelyMountain for the dwarves from Smaug, the dragon.

Bilbo Baggins, played by Martin Freeman, struggles with the intoxicating power of The Ring much like his adopted heir, Frodo, in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He reprises his role to join the dwarves in their quest to reclaim their home.

There are some exciting visuals throughout, some probably lending themselves better to 3D effects; particularly when Bilbo scans the treetops of Mirkwood. The giant spiders serve as a salivating precursor to seeing Smaug the dragon flap his wings within the enclosed gold pit of LonelyMountain.

The ending is somewhat of a cliffhanger, perhaps more so than Jackson’s previous outing. It certainly serves its purpose and makes you want to see the finale of the trilogy, however unresolved the film is left.

As I say, I genuinely look forward to part three in the series. I suppose it helps that I haven’t read the book, because I genuinely don’t know what to expect next!

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The B Project Reviewed

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Nov 052013

Andrew Watson continues to spend his time in the dark with an unfeasibly-voluminous bucket of popcorn to bring us his thoughts on local film The B Project premiered at the Belmont Picturehouse.

As with most events of this sort, the cinema wasn’t short of people who seemed to have contributed to the film in some way. The audience lapped it up from start to finish.

Among us were Alison Telfer and Dan Greavey, who opened and closed proceedings by thanking cinema-goers and those who participated in making The B Project.

They are co-directors of this Right Here Productions film, shot on the streets of Inverurie, with Greavey explaining:

‘It’s a black and white, 50s B-movie musical, with references to 1980s films and songs throughout.

‘The reason for the 80s references is that the soundtrack consists of covers of songs by my favourite childhood group, Five Star.

‘We were lucky to enlist the services of some of the top musicians in the NE to create and record the soundtrack, and our cast of talented actors and singers were incredible from day one.’

Indeed it’s a heady mix of musical and comedy, as if Sunshine On Leith had been spliced with plenty of uproarious Spinal Tap moments. It’s all delivered in faultless American accents to boot.

Anyway, the story goes that a down-on-his-luck scientist is fighting his peers to secure funding for his latest invention. One day, the power of confidence dawns on him, after being willed by his girlfriend to think positively in advance of his upcoming review.

He then goes on to make an electric chair-esque contraption to transform him from lovable loser to unbearable upstart, losing his friends in the process.

Overall, this is a feel good film with an edgy bite. One can only hope that the mammoth effort put in by the actors leads one day to their personal big time.

Captain Phillips – Andrew Watson Reviews

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Oct 282013

Vue on Shiprow was an apt setting for viewing Tom Hank’s seafaring thriller Captain Phillips, writes Andrew Watson.

Although this is a tad more intelligent than recent fellow claustrocore film Escape Plan, it didn’t entertain to the extent that the combined brawn of Stallone and Schwarzenegger did.

Captain Phillips is based on a true story, or at least on the written account of a man taken hostage by Somalian pirates.

What should be borne in mind with such accounts is that embellishments to known facts don’t illuminate actual events.

It’s more shocking, for example, to know for a fact that three people really died in an incident than that six perish in a fictionalised account.

I daresay that Mel Gibson’s Braveheart would have benefitted hugely from a massive dose of truth given the factual historical inaccuracies in that film.

Anyway, Richard Phillips (Hanks) is the merchant sea captain of MV Maersk Alabama which runs into difficulty when being pursued by opportunistic ransom seekers during a routine exercise that turns into a real life threat.

On the other side of the story, it’s interesting to see that the Somalian pirates originate from a community bullied by warlords to whom they owe money, a somewhat sympathetic perspective offering a rationale for their seeking ransom money from merchant vessels.

The efforts of the pirates eventually see them board the Maersk Alabama, via a mobile ladder clasped to the side of a ship that dwarfs their own vessel.

What follows is a glorified cat and mouse chase, as Hanks’s character sends his crew down to the engine room in a bid to avoid capture. They eventually overcome the boarders who are forced into retreat, taking just the captain with them on the emergency lifeboat.

Basically, the film is divided between the single setting on the Maersk and on the lifeboat, the compactness of the latter, of course, defining claustrocore filming.

Towards the end, a protracted stand-off between the pirates and the US Navy SEALs, climaxes when the SEALs eventually outmanoeuvre and outwit the boarders who number fewer than half a dozen.

To sum up, Captain Phillips is at times frustratingly dull, yet at others engaging.

Escape Plan – Andrew Watson Reviews

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Oct 242013

Vue on Shiprow was almost vacant as I sat down this afternoon to watch Stallone and Schwarzenegger’s Escape Plan. Andrew Watson reviews.

I was a bit dubious about this example of situation genre, popularly dubbed ‘claustrocore’, where most or all of the film is shot in the one setting. Think Phone Booth.

There was enough variety in this action thriller, however, to assuage negative assumption.

Ray Breslin (Stallone) is the movie’s protagonist and co-owner of a firm testing the infallibility of maximum security prisons. Rapper 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson), makes a glorified cameo appearance as Ray’s business partner Hush.

Breslin successfully escapes one of many prisons he’s testing without a hitch. A more lucrative offer comes in, and although the stakes are far higher than usual, both sides deal in.

Once on the inside, Ray meets fellow inmate, Emil Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger). Favours between the two are drawn as Stallone’s character scopes out the nooks and crannies of his toughest challenge yet.

Their contrasting roles, with stonefaced and serious Sly and amiable Arnie, ensure that the onscreen chemistry bubbles. They bounce off each other quite well, and the film is almost totally devoid of any big-time ego clashes.

The pair are pitted against jail warden Willard Hobbs (Jim Caviezel), and his second-in-command played by ex-football hard man, Vinnie Jones.

Standing, or rather hiding, between good and bad is Dr Emil Kyrie (Sam Neill). Paid to oversee the wellbeing of the prisoners, with his employers bent on doing the opposite, he cuts a perplexing insight into the psyche of a beleaguered conscience. It’s a pity the role is so minimal for such a fine actor.

Among the highlights is a punch -up between the two megastars, before they’re rounded up and thrown into isolation.

Stallone, the smaller of the two, takes a while to overcome Arnie, who initially laughs off the the assualt.

Schwarzenegger’s feigning Christian babble is hilarious, as the subtitles translate his almost-incoherent German cries. All part of the ruse, whilst Stallone plots an escape route.

The nailbiting conclusion has you wondering if both will survive, but no spoilers from me.

On the whole, not the most earth-shattering piece of cinema you’re likely to see this year, especially, in terms of script complexity, as its overall simplicity is definitely the most prominent feature.

Peacock Events: Stands Scotland Where She Did?

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Oct 152013

Following on from Timothy Neat’s Edinburgh Festival appearance at Summerhall, profiling his collaborations with John Berger, Peacock Visual Arts are proud to be hosting a major Retrospective of Neat’s life’s work, STANDS SCOTLAND WHERE SHE DID? from 27 September – 9 November 2013.

Martha Mackenzie, Scots Traveller, Fortinghall, November 1976 © Timothy Neat sq

A stunning collection of photographs capturing experiences and relationships over a long life will be on show. Neat is a champion of the marginalized – Scottish Travelling People, Gaelic bards, salmon-netters, crofters, bee-keepers, horse breeders, Andalucian villagers, poets and artists.

Neat has worked closely with many leading Scottish figures – MacDiarmid, Sorley MacLean, Hamish Henderson, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Margaret Gardiner (Pier Arts Centre, Orkney) and the Fife singer Jean Redpath.

Also, Robert Burns and Charles Rennie Mackintosh!

Six of Neat’s films will be screened at The Belmont Picturehouse including:

‘Play me Something‘ (1988), winner of the Europa Prize, Barcelona 1989. This 35mm feature film shot on the Isle of Barra and Venice, features John Berger, Tilda Swinton, Hamish Henderson and Liz Lochhead;

‘Journey to a Kingdom – Hamish Henderson returns to the North East of Scotland’ (1992).

(Hamish Henderson [1919-2002] was with the 51st Highland Division in North Africa and Italy and became a legendary figure amongst the Gordon Highlanders. This film originally made for Grampian Television documents Henderson’s work as a folklorist in the North East. Neat’s highly prasied two-volume biography of Henderson will be available after the film screening).

STAND SCOTLAND WHERE SHE DID? will be a major exhibition, featuring a new suite of screen-prints by Neat, published by Peacock Visual Arts, and original works by many of the major artists with whom he has collaborated over 50 years; years during which Scottish culture and politics have changed dramatically.

Guests attending the opening and closing events will have the opportunity to enjoy performances by some of Scotland’s best traditional musicians.

Alison McMorland and Geordie McIntyre will sing Hamish Henderson ballads and political songs at the opening on 27 September. On 9 November Elizabeth Stewart will sing some of the great ballads of the north east and Alastair Roberts, rising star of the modern folk scene in Scotland, will sing some of Neat’s own songs.

Peacock Visual Arts is proud to be able to present this Retrospective in Aberdeen, before various parts of the exhibition embark on an international tour, which may prove seminal during the year of the Scottish National Referendum.

To coincide with this Retrospective, Polygon (Edinburgh) has published a major book, ‘These Faces; photographs and drawings by Timothy Neat’, with an important introduction by John Berger.

FULL LIST OF EVENTS

Exhibition:

28 September – 9 November 2013

Exhibition Opening:

Friday 27 September, 6 – 8pm
With performances by Alison McMorland and Geordie McIntyre.

Film Screenings:

Sunday 29 September, from 6pm:

‘Journey to a Kingdom’ (52mins)
‘The Tree of Liberty’ (73mins)

Sunday 13 October, from 6pm:

‘Time is a Country’ (52mins)
‘Hallaig’ (64mins)

Sunday 27 October, from 6pm:

‘Rathad nan Ceard’ (30mins)
‘Play me Something’ (72mins)

Exhibition Closing Gig:

Friday 8 November, 7pm
Performances by Elizabeth Stewart and Alastair Roberts.

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Betty At The Picters

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Jun 282013

By Bob Smith.

Noo Betty likit the picters
She geed there ivvery wikk
Ti musicals like The King and I
Or great epics like Moby Dick
.
Jist ony film it wid dee
War films wi yon Alan Ladd
She swooned aboot romantic eens
Aiven some aat made her sad
.
She hid her favourite film stars
Like Cary Grant or Clark Gable
She drimt she micht be a duncer
Swak as Cyd Charisse or Betty Grable
.
Swashbucklin movies wi lots o fechtin
Wi Burt Lancaster or Errol Flynn
Or films aat featured animals
Sic as Lassie or Rin Tin Tin
.
She wisna aat fond o gangster eens
Starrin Cagney, Bogart or Herbert Lom
Yet the titles o aa iss kin o picter
She reeled aff wi some aplomb

She laached at cartoons by Walt Disney
Mickey Moose or yon Donald Duck
Enjoyed films aat wir a bit historical
Aboot Robin Hood an Friar Tuck
.
Horror eens made her affa feart
O Boris Karloff an Vincent Price
Picters like The Mummy’s Hand
She thocht nae verra nice
.
Cowboys and Indians she lappit up
Wi Gary Cooper an Big John Wayne
She even likit western musicals
Far Doris Day wis Calamity Jane
.
Best o aa she adored the classics
Oliver Twist an o coorse Jane Eyre
An eens in a wee bit lichter mood
Like Pickwick Papers an Vanity Fair
.
Noo Betty she’s fair growein aul
Some picter hooses they’re nae mair
Bit Betty myns fine o the nichts
Fin gyaan ti the picters wis jist rare

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I Am Breathing – The Hard-hitting Story Of Neil Platt

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Jun 282013

June is global Motor Neurone Disease awareness month. Aware that we are fast ‘running out of June’ Duncan Harley is moved to write and spread this awareness into July and hopefully beyond.

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a fatal, rapidly progressive disease that can affect any adult at any time. The disease attacks the nerves that control movement; people can still think and feel but their muscles refuse to work, leaving them unable to move, walk, talk and ultimately breathe.

Five people die every day in the UK from MND and around half of those diagnosed die within 14 months. There is no diagnostic test, no effective treatment and no cure.

To increase awareness of this disease, the Motor Neurone Disease Association hope that as many people as possible will watch the film “I Am Breathing” during June 2013.

Winner of many awards in 2012 and 2013, the film is the hard-hitting true story of Neil Platt, a 33 year old British architect who developed motor neurone disease shortly after the birth of his son. Paralysed from the neck down and with only months to live, he tells his story to help raise awareness of this devastating disease and dedicates the film to his one year old son, Oscar.

Collaborating with filmmakers Emma Davie and Bafta Award winning Morag McKinnon, Neil used his remaining months to communicate about his illness. He also wrote a blog, ‘The Plattitude’, and committed himself to playing a part in making MND history by inspiring a community of people to spread information and awareness this fatal illness.

Part of this initiative to increase awareness of MND is the option to host an “I am breathing” showing in your own community, home or workplace.

I am breathing film trailer

Neil’s Blog “The Plattitude”: http://plattitude.co.uk/

You can find out more about the worldwide and local screenings of I am Breathing plus how to host a screen showing for your friends and neighbours at: http://www.mndassociation.org/news-and-events/Awareness+Month+2013/I+am+breathing.htm

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