REEL NEWS:You can't put on your jacket these days without elbowing Domhnall Gleeson in the face. The handsome young actor – son of the mighty Brendan – appears in two films that open today: Anna Karenina and (not screened for the press) Dredd 3D. Two weeks ago, he popped up in the fine Shadow Dancer. It seems only right, therefore, that Variety magazine has chosen to include Domhnall in their list of "10 actors to watch: breakthrough performers of 2012".
Having been nominated for a Tony six years ago and appeared in two Harry Potter films, Gleeson is, perhaps, already the most successful of the 10 selected actors. Among the other performers listed we find Imogen Poots, recently seen in Jane Eyre and Fright Night, Alicia Vikander, who also makes an appearance in Anna Karenina, and Scoot McNairy, impressive in the upcoming Killing Them Softly. Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence and Jeremy Renner are among those to have been so honoured by Variety over the past 15 years. This year’s nominees get to assemble at the Hamptons Film Festival in Gatsbyesque Long Island next month. ’Tis far from the Hamptons you were raised, young Domhnall.
In other Gleeson news, it has emerged that he will join Michael Fassbender – the only Irish actor busier than Domhnall – in Lenny Abrahamson’s follow-up to the forthcoming What Richard Did. Written by the smashing Jon Ronson, Frank concerns the relationship between a young musician and an older, eccentric star.
Irish baker’s dozen for London film fest
A full 13 Irish productions or co-productions are to screen at the BFI London Film Festival next month. Gerard Barrett’s moving Pilgrim Hill and Pat Collins’s hypnotic Silence, both of which have already won fans at home, will be unspooled at the event. Lenny Abrahamson’s hugely impressive What Richard Did will make its way from Toronto to the BFI’s flagship bash. Other international highlights include outings for Ben Affleck’s intriguing Argo, Ben Wheatley’s superbly funny Sightseers and Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or-winning Amour. The festival is to close with the European premiere of Mike Newell’s take on Great Expectations. Ralph Fiennes plays Magwitch and – shudder – Helena Bonham Carter brings extra gothic energy to Miss Havisham.
I’ve heard worse ideas.
Big Mike walks his last mile
Decent folk were saddened to learn of the death of the great (in every sense of the word) character actor Michael Clarke Duncan earlier in the week. Michael, who was just 54, had an interesting life. Born in Chicago, he was forced to drop out of university when his mother died, and supported his family by digging ditches.
Six feet five inches tall, weighing about 20 stone, he eventually secured small roles in the movies. Legend has it that he decided to devote himself to acting when Notorious BIG was murdered on the very day that Michael was assigned as his bodyguard. Michael Bay found a part for him in Armageddon and, in 1999, Duncan secured an Oscar nomination for his touching turn in The Green Mile.
Duncan had a heart attack last July and died from complications on Monday. Bruce Willis commented: “Michael Duncan was a great actor, a great human being, and he was my very dear friend. I will miss Big Mike in a big way.”
Monroe estate loses face
An interesting legal technicality may end up depriving Marilyn Monroe’s estate of many millions of dollars. A US court has ruled that Monroe’s representatives do not have the right to extract money from organisations that use her image without permission on T-shirts and similar memorabilia. Fifty years ago, following Monroe’s death, the estate’s lawyers elected to register her domicile in New York, as that state – unlike California, where she actually died – did not charge death duties. Alas, New York is not quite so accommodating to descendents hoping to cash in on their late relatives’ image. Referring to the attempt to apply Californian law, Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw commented: “Marilyn Monroe is often quoted as saying, ‘If you’re going to be two-faced, at least make one of them pretty.’” Ouch!
