Riverside Studios is a unique arts and media centre on the banks of the Thames in Hammersmith, comprising two main performance studios, a cinema, TV studio and production galleries, numerous offices and a large contemporary Restaurant and Bar, Film Café and River Terrace.
DCM Close Up spoke to the Riverside’s Cinema Director Shira MacLeod on her career in the arts and what’s coming up at one of London’s most eclectic venues. Read more
Olympus Has Fallen has risen to the top of the Box Office with a decent £2.2m opening (including £651k from previews). The first of the year’s White House set action films has set a solid benchmark which September’s White House Down will be looking to beat. It was the best opening for a live-action Gerard Butler film since 300 in 2007 (£4.7m).
Oblivion dropped to second spot with a further £1.7m, a total which would have been enough to hold on to the top spot had it not been for Olympus Has Fallen’s previews. The stylish Sci-Fi epic has now grossed £8.1m and should have no trouble overhauling the final total of Tom Cruise’s last star vehicle, Jack Reacher (£9.5m). Evil Dead possessed third spot with £1.4m (including £288k from previews). In terms of recent horror remakes, that’s above Texas Chainsaw 3D (£1.2m), The Thing (£486k) and Fright Night (£682k). Read more
Digital Cinema Media (DCM) joined more than 5,000 movie industry professionals from around the world in Las Vegas last week for the annual CinemaCon event. It was inspiring, energising and slightly scary to spend a week in the company of the biggest stars, producers, directors, studio executives and cinema owners, with all of us coming together to preview upcoming films and debate all facets of the motion picture and cinema industry – from exhibition, concessions, technology and distribution, to marketing, advertising and social media.
The tone was set on Day One when Paramount kicked off the event with writer and producer Damon Lindelof introducing the new Star Trek Into Darkness 3D film and its star cast members including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, John Cho and Alice Eve. The famous Caesar’s Colosseum was kitted out with the latest Dolby Atmos sound system which combined with 18 minutes of exclusive 3D footage from the upcoming film really showed off the latest cinema technology. Read more
Robert Redford’s Sundance film festival is back in London for the second year this week, as a four-day stint at The O2 between 25 and 28 April. As well as the UK premières of American independent films fresh from the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, there will be panel discussions and filmmaker Q&A’s. The line-up also features a series of music gigs, making the event a real intersection between the arts.
The Feature Film programme includes 2013 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Documentary Prize winner Blood Brother and In a World…, Lake Bell’s hilarious directional feature debut and winner of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award; as well as Muscle Shoals with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Gregg Allman, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Bono and others bearing witness to the greatest untold American music story about the legendary Alabama recording studio. Read more
Last Friday morning, DCM’s resident film specialist, Tom Linay, took a trip to Havas Media UK to participate in Ideas Week, with Ed Edwards, Creative Director, Writer and Director at Havas Worldwide.
Their Q&A session covered diverse topics, including how the story-telling power of the big screen compares to other media platforms, the sanctity that cinema provides in a content saturated, multi-device age and whether the fear of failure inspires or hinders creativity. Read more
Tom Cruise is back on top as Oblivion flew to an impressive £5m five day opening, with £1.6m coming from Wednesday and Thursday previews. This is further confirmation that audiences still love to see Tom Cruise headlining major films.
The Croods had yet another strong hold, falling just a measly 15% to £2m and a spectacular cume of £22.7m. By this time next week it should have overtaken Wreck-It Ralph to become the highest grossing animated film of the year so far. In third spot, is the fifth installment in the Scary Movie franchise. An opening of £1.1m is the lowest in the series and a long way off from Scary Movie 3’s series best £3.5m debut. Read more
The next three months have some absolutely barn storming Sci-Fi releases to satisfy every fan of the genre, from the casual to the hard-core.
First up on 9 May is JJ Abrams’ hugely anticipated Star Trek sequel, Star Trek into Darkness 3D. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, battling against the unstoppable evil of Benedict Cumberbatch. Read more
William Pryor, Director and Booker at the Lynton Cinema in Devon talks to DCM on his love of the Big Screen and how he started out in the industry.
How did you end up working in cinema and what do you love about it? Read more
Yes, we have a spectacular selection of summer blockbusters on the horizon but this summer is also a dream for comedy fans. Fans of 2005 hit The Wedding Crashers will be particularly interested in The Internship (4 July). Reuniting Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn as two salesmen who take an internship (hence the title) at Google. It also features a cracking support cast including Rose Byrne and John Goodman, so expect box office to rival Vaughn and Wilson’s previous outing.
A buddy comedy with a more female slant hits right at the end of July as Bridesmaids director Paul Feig re-teams with comedy star of the moment, Melissa McCarthy for The Heat. McCarthy plays an uncouth detective who has to team up with FBI agent Sandra Bullock. The two couldn’t be more different and many laughs ensue, you know the drill. However, with that line-up and a big screen return for Tom Wilson aka Biff Tannen, it can’t fail to be funny. Read more
Alternative cinema is a growing genre that is now worth around £12.5m in the UK alone, encompassing ballet, opera, sport and theatre events.
Recently, DCM partnered with Sony Digital Cinema and The Comedy Store to bring The Comedy Store Raw and Uncut to the big screen, with performances from Paul Tonkinson, Imran Yusuf and Hal Cruttenden. Read more
For the third weekend in succession, animated hit The Croods proved to be cinema’s biggest draw. A further £2.4m takes its cume to £17.7m and it now sits behind Les Misérables and Wreck-It Ralph 3D as the third highest grossing film released so far this year. With another week of the Easter holidays left, £20m-plus is a certainty.
GI Joe: Retaliation 3D held on to the second spot with £1.1m and has a cume of £5.6m. It’s now less than £1m behind the first G.I. Joe’s final total of £6.5m, which it should have overtaken by this time next week. Read more
The Queen has been described as the ‘most memorable Bond girl yet’ for her role opposite Daniel Craig in the Olympics opening ceremony after receiving an honorary BAFTA award.
Actor and director, Sir Kenneth Branagh, presented her the award at a Windsor Castle reception last week in recognition of a lifetime’s support of British film and television. Read more
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