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Jason Isaacs hails success of The Salt Path amid film industry ‘terror' over AI

Jason Isaacs hails success of The Salt Path amid film industry ‘terror' over AI

BreakingNews.ie2 days ago

White Lotus actor Jason Isaacs has said the film industry is 'full of terror' at the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) but the success of The Salt Path shows there is still a huge audience appetite for more traditional storytelling.
The British actor stars alongside Gillian Anderson in the film, which tells the real-life story of a couple who trek along the 630-mile South West Coast Path after becoming homeless.
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Appearing on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Isaacs said: 'This film has been killing it at the box office week after week.
'It's a beautiful story about two positive people of a certain age, and the mysteries and miracles of nature and love.
'What's great is the number of people in Britain who want to tell grown-up stories, nuanced stories, on a limited budget.
'They put their passion into it.
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'And with AI coming for everybody, the industry is full of terror.
'But actually right now, grown-ups want to go and see grown-up stories.'
The actor, who is also known for playing Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, praised White Lotus director Mike White, and said he was initially worried about portraying the character of Timothy Ratliff in the hit series.
Isaacs said: 'I was scared that I'd be the most boring person that had ever been in White Lotus.
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'Because there were no words, and I was chugging all these pills that would, essentially, make me feel asleep.
'But the way Mike tells the story – he's a brilliant director as well as a writer.
'You knew what was going on – I hope you knew what was going on – in my head.'

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No camping required! It's the ultimate Glastonbury TV watch-along guide
No camping required! It's the ultimate Glastonbury TV watch-along guide

The Guardian

time44 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

No camping required! It's the ultimate Glastonbury TV watch-along guide

Prepare to put the summer into Somerset. Yes, Britain's biggest alfresco bash is about to kick off again. Glastonbury 2025 is set to be an extra-special one. There will be no 2026 event as the festival takes a fallow year. This year's Glasto-goers could go large to compensate. As always, the BBC will provide wall-to-wall coverage of all the action. So fear not if you failed to secure a ticket, which sold out in a mere 35 minutes. Watching along at home will be almost as much fun and a lot less sweaty. From lineup highlights to secret sets, controversies to crowd-spotting, here's your ultimate viewing guide. It's a year of first timers …It's a right old ragbag at the summit of the bill. Most rumoured names (Oasis! Springsteen! Rihanna! Stevie Wonder!) failed to materialise. Instead, two of the Pyramid stage's three top spots go to first-time headliners. Friday is the biggest night of their careers for the 1975, fronted by Matty 'son of Denise Welch' Healy. No pressure, lads. On Sunday, it's the turn of US pop-punk princess Olivia Rodrigo who, as far as we know, isn't related to any Loose Women. … but there are still plenty of golden oldiesSandwiched in between on Saturday is grizzled guitar goblin Neil Young and his band the Chrome Hearts. The coveted Sunday teatime 'legends slot' will be occupied by Rod Stewart, joined by former Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood. Sir Rod the Mod might be 80 with health worries but insists he's 'more than able to pleasure and titillate'. Do ya think he's sexy? Actually, don't answer that. On the Other stage, the headliners are homegrown hip-hopper Loyle Carner, pop polymath Charli xcx (dress code: lime green) and dance veterans the Prodigy – their first Glastonbury appearance since the death of frontman Keith Flint, shortly before the 2019 festival. Expect emotional tributes to the twisted firestarter. The festival's worst clash?Fresh from winning best rap album at this year's Grammys, Florida firecracker Doechii headlines the West Holts stage on Saturday night and will be much talked-about. Her set clashes with Charli xcx, providing a fiendish scheduling dilemma for pop fans. Luckily, TV viewers can flip between both. The hot tipsConnoisseurs are abuzz about Baltimore hardcore heroes Turnstile on Sunday. Also eagerly awaited are sets from Mercury prize winners English Teacher, Isle of Wight darlings Wet Leg, Irish crooner CMAT and the force of nature that is Self Esteem (all Friday). Taylor Swift-approved singer Beabadoobee and the Glasto debut of Little Mix alumnus Jade follow on Saturday, before the resurgent Wolf Alice and rap poet Kae Tempest on Sunday. The West Holts headliners, electro duo Maribou State, are set for a breakout Friday night set. 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Muddy hell (1997) There have been many soggy Glastos, so imagine how biblical it must have been to go down in history as 'the year of the mud'. Relentless rain saw bands cancelled as arenas became waterlogged. Tour buses were immobilised. Marquees became a swamp. By Sunday, the Other stage started to sink into the slurry. Five easy ways to feel as if you're in a Somerset field Put the central heating on max and close all the windows for that 'sleeping in a sweaty tent' authenticity. Decant all drinks into plastic bottles or wobbly paper cups. Serve lukewarm. Persuade a neighbour to play ear-splitting drum'n'bass between 3am and 9am, eliminating the slim possibility of sleep. Don't turn on the lights after dark. Navigate around your house with a weedy torch instead and keep bumping into things. Stand in front of the TV behind someone taller, so you have to crane around them to glimpse the screen. If you must sit down, do it in a camping chair with restricted view. 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28 Years Later review: Another relentless apocalyptic horror from Danny Boyle
28 Years Later review: Another relentless apocalyptic horror from Danny Boyle

BreakingNews.ie

timean hour ago

  • BreakingNews.ie

28 Years Later review: Another relentless apocalyptic horror from Danny Boyle

Danny Boyle and Alex Garland have produced another horror masterpiece with 28 Years Later , the third instalment in the '28 Days' universe. The director and writer were not heavily involved in the followup, '28 Weeks Later', but they make a triumphant return in the new film. It is partly shot on iPhones, something introduced by Boyle with 28 Days later, and this contributes to the frantic and anxiety-inducing pace of the film as our new protagonisted go up against the infected. Advertisement This includes new additions to the creatures that were produced about the rage virus, including the terrifying 'alphas' who are able to effortlessly rip people's heads off. While the film is full of the action we saw in its two predecessors, Boyle and Garland manage to include a commentary on British society. With the rest of the world operating as normal as the 21st century rages on, Britain is quarantined to keep the infected from reaching the rest of the world, with navies patrolling its waters. In a remote island, survivors life a primitive but peaceful and safe existence, accessible to the foreboding 'mainland' only by a causeway only accessible when the tide recedes. Advertisement With Britain stuck in the past, it's hard to avoid the intended Brexit parable. This is only accentuated by Boyle's use of black and white World War footage, and a haunting score which includes 1903 poem " Boots " by Rudyard Kipling , recited by American actor Taylor Holmes. Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) brings his 12-year-old son Spike (Alfie Williams) to the mainland to get his first kills in an almost ritualistic expedition, against the advice of the communiy's elders who warn that Spike is far too young. Ralph Fiennes in 28 Years Later. The horrors they encounter leave a mark on father and son, but Spike is determined to return to seek a cure for his seriously ill mother Islan ( Jodie Comer ). This is where we once again enconter Dr Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes). A key character in the first film, Dr Kelson steals the show once again. His descent into madness, looking like Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse now, isn't quite what it seems, despite the temple of skulls he has amassed. The ending sets things up nicely for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which is due for release in January 2026.

Brad Pitt in the paddock: how F1 the Movie went deep to keep fans coming
Brad Pitt in the paddock: how F1 the Movie went deep to keep fans coming

The Guardian

time2 hours ago

  • The Guardian

Brad Pitt in the paddock: how F1 the Movie went deep to keep fans coming

After the British Grand Prix last year the drivers took their places in the media zone to conduct interviews, with Formula One world champions Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso among them. Yet it was all but impossible not to cast a glance sideways as Brad Pitt nonchalantly strolled out to face the microphones and cameras of his own, entirely staged, media scrum. None of us in the media pack openly goggled at the fact that Hollywood's A-list had joined the sweaty throng, because Pitt was there filming what would become F1 the Movie. And we, as with everyone else, were under strict instructions to behave normally. Indeed, as farcical as it might sound, by this point we had become almost inured to the presence of the stars and their crew after several years of being part and parcel of the F1 circus. Almost but not quite. I mean, it was Brad Pitt … The resulting film, released next Wednesday by Apple Studios, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Top Gun: Maverick's Joseph Kosinski, stars Pitt as the veteran driver Sonny Hayes, who makes a comeback to the sport after a 30-year absence to rescue the ailing and also fictional APX team. The film, which has had largely positive reviews so far – including from the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw – came about through an unusually proactive collaboration between the filmmakers and the sport. F1 bent over backwards to ensure it went well. The production filmed at circuits on real race weekends for over two years. The APX team enjoyed their own pit garage, their own hospitality and their own uniforms. With Pitt being filmed alongside real drivers and indeed the media around the grid and the 'paddock' (the working area of an F1 team), the filmmakers were effectively embedded within the sport as its 11th team – perhaps as deeply as it is possible for an entity to go without actually being a real team. They have also used real cars, albeit less-powerful Formula 2 models modified to look as close as possible to F1 cars by the Mercedes F1 team. Pitt and his co-star Damson Idris have filmed in cars, with Pitt doing all his own driving. He's been praised by Hamilton for picking up the skills quickly. Hamilton is both one of the producers and a special adviser to ensure the picture is as authentic as possible. For the producers, the collaboration is relatively straightforward. They wanted to make as authoritative, exciting and immersive a film as possible. And for the sport the movie is a key part of its global strategy. For many years F1 enjoyed a strong but undoubtedly niche-based support, largely centred on Europe and with a notably ageing, white-male demographic. But since Liberty Media took over the sport in 2017 from its former chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, who had been in charge for nearly 40 years, it has undergone a rapid and dramatic transformation. Liberty has expanded its reach, notably using social media and promotion to actively target a younger, more diverse audience. The enormously successful Netflix series Drive to Survive followed, its dramatic and sharply edited retelling of each season proving a huge hit with a market previously indifferent to F1. Drive to Survive is now in its seventh season since 2019. Suddenly the sport had an entirely new, enthusiastic fanbase; younger, excited and building momentum across the world – notably in the market every non US-based sport craves, North America. F1 has moved from one moderately well-attended race in Texas to three sellouts a year, now also including Miami and a night-race promoted by F1 itself on the streets of Las Vegas. Tyler Epp, the Miami GP president, noted that their audience is 'growing most aggressively in the 20- and 30-year-old buyer. Our data does not tell us that this is an audience of 30- to 60-year-old white men'. Instead, Epp says, there is a 60-40 male-female split – an 'eclectic, diverse group'. Recently, both golf and tennis have tried, with a lesser degree of success, to emulate the enormous surge of interest F1 has enjoyed. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion F1's willingness to accommodate Hollywood is shaped by this prism, the film a chance to sell the sport to a potentially huge audience who just might be converted. Sylvester Stallone tried to make an F1 film in the late 1990s but, given a lack of cooperation from Ecclestone, ultimately switched the story to the US-based CART series and the commercial and critical flop Driven was the result. Stefano Domenicali, a former team principal at Ferrari and president of the Italian car manufacturer Lamborghini, is the chief executive of F1, an accomplished operator with an easy-going persona. He is relaxed with F1 teams and Hollywood moguls and has been at the heart of the resurgence. 'I think that if Netflix was big, that the movie will be massive,' he said this year. 'We're going to hit a target that is not yet present.' Purists will sniff at some of the picture's deviations from certain aspects of F1's realities, and its concessions to dramatic and narrative convention to propel it as entertainment. But it was meant to be a blockbuster not a documentary and that's what matters to F1 and the producers. After the film's screenings in the US, Apple's senior vice-president, Eddy Cue, said that 'very few' of those attending had previously seen an F1 race but their reactions were instructive. 'When we finish and we ask how many of you would like to go see a race now, literally every single hand goes up,' he said. 'We think there's a huge, huge opportunity to grow the sport all over the world with this movie and I think it will do that.'

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