Liza Minnelli Concert Review
For this year’s The Rest Is Noise festival, the Southbank Centre welcomed back living musical legend Liza Minnelli, performing at Royal Festival Hall for the first time since 1973. After thirty years as an Oscar winning global Cabaret superstar and beloved gay icon, was it worth the wait….
The refurbished and revitalised Royal Festival Hall is one of the most plush performance spaces in London. Tonight its comfortable stalls and extravagant balconies are packed with people and audible excitement.
After a brisk and enjoyable opening set from cheery crooner Clare Teal the lights dim and the stage is set. The band emerges in white dinner jackets, black tie and anticipation. It’s time to come hear the music play.
Liza Minnelli rushes onto the stage and is immediately hit by the spotlight. She explodes instantly into a constantly breathless ball of nervous energy. She’s wrapped in a flowing red scarf and enough sequins to sparkle in the dark. The entire crowd immediately bursts to its feet for an unequivocal standing ovation. An act of devoted worship set to be repeated before, during and after every song to come.
For the first few songs the music is practically inconsequential, lost amongst Minnelli’s trademark breathy twitching, relentless quips and frequent audience screams of “We Love You Liza”. Finally the audience and the icon calm down just enough to be musically reminded this really is The Liza Minnelli performing, as she sings Liza with a Z.
At 66 years young, you’d be forgiven by anyone but this crowd for questioning whether or not Liza still has the physical and vocal stamina that’s seen her showered in awards and adoration for so many decades. Once she retreats to the static comfort of a high stool, the true quality of her unforgettable voice finally emerges.
The deep dramatic tones and throaty melody that makes her singing instantly recognisable have actually endured surprisingly well. Any occasional fragility in Minnelli’s voice feels more like a deliberate performance than a flaw. Perpetually startled and gasping for air is just the great diva’s style.
After sighing her way through the crowd pleasing What makes a man a man, Liza briefly takes pause to listen to pianist Billy Solo croon. Armed with an audible second wind, Liza finally delivers precisely what the audience came to see, inspiring full powered renditions of Maybe This Time and Cabaret.
For several magical minutes the Royal Festival Hall in the heart of modern London is transformed into the Kit Kat Klub in the sordid midst of the 1930s Weimer Republic. Minnelli is once again Sally Bowles, enchanting the frenzied audience to clap till their euphoric hands are happily raw.
After that Liza parades her way through a few more songs before triumphantly climaxing with New York New York. Drawn back onto the stage by thunderous applause for an encore, the immortal diva fittingly stands proud for an impressive acapella goodbye.
Turns out it was definitely worth the 30 year wait after all.
Mila Kunis Turns Down Fifty Shades of Grey
Fifty Shades of Grey is the fastest selling paperback of all time and has officially sold 65 million copies worldwide. Rights for the movie adaptation of the erotic romance novel by E.L. James promoted a furious bidding war between studios and even more visceral debate amongst fans about who should play the lead roles.
There’s no shortage of handsome actors being linked to the role of kinky businessman Christian Grey and a long list of leading actresses tipped to play virginal heroine Anastasia Steele. Actress Mila Kunis has long been a firm fan favourite to land the role of Ana. She’d previously demonstrated a willingness to tackle provocative sexual material in Black Swan and yet seemed equally capable of playing an innocent 21year old college student.
However Mila Kunis emphatically put an end to the constant speculation during a recent press conference in London to promote her latest role in Oz The Great And Powerful. Asked about whether or not we’d be seeing her tackle the role of Ana she was firm and very clear in responding that she we certainly won’t be in Fifty Shades Of Grey.
Video clip below for fans who want to be disappointed first hand:
Sam Raimi Confirms Evil Dead 4 Plans
Director Sam Raimi speaking to our very own Irish charmer Neill Virtue while promoting his latest film Oz The Great and Powerful in London has finally put horror fans out of their misery by definitely confirming official plans for a new Evil Dead 4 Sequel starring Bruce Campbell as goofball hero Ash.
Sam plans to start work this summer on a script with his brother and writing collaborator Ted Raimi, picking up where the third installment of the eternally popular franchise Army Of Darkness left off. Director Raimi confirmed that the new film would stand apart from the forthcoming Evil Dead remake and that the existence of the new remake would not interfere with plans for the new sequel because it doesn’t feature the character of Ash at all.
As for what might be in store for Ash this time, Raimi revealed he’s yet to decide which of the two alternate endings of Army of Darkness to follow on from. Infamously the American version of the film had a more happy ending with hero Ash returning to his beloved S-Mart store, whilst he international release of the film saw him stranded in a post apocalyptic future having characteristically screwed up while taking a sleeping potion.
Read what Sam had to say below for yourself:
Are you going to get a chance to do Evil Dead 4?
I’d love to make Evil Dead 4. I hope to.
I’m not hearing a yes there, is that a firm yes?
I’d like to, my brother and I are going to take the time to work on the script this summer. I do plan to make it. Yes!
Can Evil Dead 4 exist alongside the new Evil Dead remake?
We don’t think about anything too much, but thinking about it right now, yes. The new Evil Dead film doesn’t have the Ash character it’s a brand new set of characters in a similar situation. So the Ash character is still either trapped in time in the far flung future in a blasted London, or he’s working in S Mart; based on either the Japanese version or the American version of the film. I’m not quite sure yet. That’s where Evil dead 4 would probably pick up.
Neill and his new best buddy Sam on the Yellow carpet at the European Premiere of Oz The Great and Powerful… Hail to the king.
Empire Awards Nominees List 2013
The Jameson Empire Awards 2013 ceremony takes place on Sunday March 24 in London and is expected to attract a host of star names from the film industry. Each year, the Empire Awards attract some of the biggest names in Hollywood, with last year’s guests including:Gary Oldman, Danny DeVito, Bérénice Marlohe, James McAvoy, Tom Hiddleston and Michael Fassbender.
Check out the full list below of this year’s nominees:
Best male newcomer
Domhnall Gleeson (Anna Karenina)
Rafe Spall (Life Of Pi)
Steve Oram (Sightseers)
Suraj Sharma (Life Of Pi)
Tom Holland (The Impossible)
Best female newcomer
Alice Lowe (Sightseers)
Alicia Vikander (Anna Karenina)
Holliday Grainger (Great Expectations)
Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts Of The Southern Wild)
Samantha Barks (Les Miserables)
Best comedy
21 Jump Street
Moonrise Kingdom
The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists!
Silver Linings Playbook
Ted
Best horror
Dark Shadows
Sightseers
Sinister
The Cabin In The Woods
The Woman In Black
Best thriller
Argo
Jo Nesbo’s Headhunters
Skyfall
The Raid
Zero Dark Thirty
Best sci-fi/fantasy
Dredd 3D
Looper
Marvel Avengers Assemble
Prometheus
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The art of 3D
Dredd 3D
Life Of Pi
Marvel Avengers Assemble
Prometheus
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Best actor
Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
Daniel Craig (Skyfall)
Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Martin Freeman (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)
Robert Downey Jr. (Marvel Avengers Assemble)
Best actress
Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises)
Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games)
Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
Dame Judi Dench (Skyfall)
Naomi Watts (The Impossible)
Best director
Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Rises)
Joss Whedon (Marvel Avengers Assemble)
Peter Jackson (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)
Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)
Sam Mendes (Skyfall)
Best British film
Dredd 3D
Les Misérables
Sightseers
Skyfall
The Woman In Black
Best film
Django Unchained
Marvel Avengers Assemble
Skyfall
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Gallery of Pictures below from last year’s awards:
Mila Kunis Defends Seth MacFarlane Oscars Hosting
Mila Kunis defended the controversial performance by host Seth MacFarlane at this year’s 85th Academy Awards ceremony during a London press conference for her latest film Oz The Great and Powerful.
The Family Guy and Ted creator MacFarlane drew fierce criticisms for his jokes at this year’s Oscars ceremony, in particular his opening song “We Saw Your Boobs”. Backed by the Los Angeles Gay Men’s choir MacFarlane musically celebrated performances in which audiences had seen leading actresses naked. Nominees like Naomi Watts and former winners like Charlize Theron, Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet were among those referenced.
While some fans were quick to celebrate it as a triumphant comedic display, others voiced concerns over sexism and the danger of perpetuating stereotypes of Hollywood’s offensive double standards toward women.
Whilst admitting she hadn’t seen this year’s ceremony in its entirety, MacFarlane’s Family Guy & Ted co-star Mila Kunis was quick to assert that he was ‘born to host the Oscars’ and what she had seen of his performance on the night had been very funny.
Full video clip below which also includes former Oscar host James Franco clearly doing his best to avoid the question.: