A NOISY tussle between the British Board of Film Classification and director Emir Kusturica came to an intriguing conclusion last week. The BBFC, adhering strictly to the edicts of the 1937 Animals Act, took exception to a scene in Kusturica's new film, Life Is a Miracle, in which a cat pounces upon and kills an unfortunate pigeon (it's symbolic).
The BBFC demanded that the distributors either cut the scene or provide evidence that the bird - which, right before its dispatch, flaps its wings suspiciously vivaciously - was, as Kusturica claimed, dead long before encountering the hungry cat. After a tense standoff, the the Bosnian-born director, grumpily we understand, came up with some story about invisible wires and such. The BBFC chose to believe him and passed the film.
Pigeon fanciers will be able to protest Life Is a Miracle when it arrives at the Irish Film Institute later this year.
Hollywood calls on George
Following his success with Hotel Rwanda, Irish director Terry George has been approached by Universal Pictures to rescue the troubled thriller, American Gangster. The film, which was originally to be directed by Antoine Fuqua (King Arthur), was cancelled last year amid rumours that the budget was spiralling out of control. Universal, having already forked out over $20 million in so-called pay-or-play deals to the likes of Denzel Washington and Benicio Del Toro, hopes that Terry can employ the same Northern Irish frugality he exhibited on the set of Rwanda and bring the project in for under $50 million.
Quentin makes us wait
Over the last year Quentin Tarantino has suggested that his next film might be a James Bond thriller, a martial-arts epic in Mandarin, an anime derived from Kill Bill, or his much-heralded war movie Inglorious Bastards. He has now, like a spoilt child picking up a new toy seconds after discarding four others, indicated that he may be interested in directing the 175th episode of the Friday the 13th horror franchise.
Tarantino's agent confirmed that a meeting has taken place with New Line Pictures, but felt the need to point out that his client often takes years between projects. Will Quentin ever get round to making another grown-up film?
Ritchie firing blanks?
Schadenfreude enthusiasts are enjoying the grim stories gathering around Revolver, the new bung-the-shooters-in-the-back-of-the-motor thriller from Madonna's curiously posh wide-boy husband, Guy Ritchie. Having managed to dissuade Madge, star of his 2002 catastrophe Swept Away, from headlining the flick and then being forced to remove numerous references to the (snort) Kabbalah, the director now allegedly finds himself unable to secure a distributor. This, as Jason Statham, Revolver's pathologically wide star, would surely agree, is bang out of order
Bulgarian rhapsody
Lennie Abrahamson's terrific Adam and Paul was the deserved winner of the Best Film Prize and the International Film Critics Federation Prize at the Sofia International Film Festival last Sunday. This is the first time in the festival's nine-year history that one film has won both awards. One presumes that it's running gag about Bulgaria helped in Sofia. More good news for Irish film came with the announcement that Omagh has received a BAFTA nomination in the best single TV drama category.
More room for shorts
In the same week that Ian Powers's The Wonderful Story of Kelvin Kind goes on release with Constantine, news reaches us that TV3 will be screening a number of Irish shorts, among them Stephen Bradley's No No No and David Gleeson's Hunted, in a new slot, scheduled to begin next month, named Wonderscreen.
