New on Kamera: Taboo Breakers

Our regular contributor Calum Waddell has just released a book about films that have broken taboos. Taboo Breaker is out now on Telos Publishing and we have a review right here. A signing do took place in Los Angeles on Saturday 15 and was attended by grindhouse names such as Don Edmonds, Matt Cimber and Jack Hill. Congratulations Calum!

RIP Roy Scheider - one of the greats

From a person point of view Roy Scheider meant a lot to me. I was the generation that was brought up with JAWS and STAR WARS. I saw them both on VHS tape when I was a wee boy and they became my twin obsessions. But JAWS was the one that convinced me to start my first scrapbook (at five years old - dedicated to its star Roy Scheider) and which made me ask my mum to buy me every book on sharks available. I always wanted to be a zoologist after seeing JAWS but never got A's in science class.

But Scheider was so much more than Chief Brody from JAWS and JAWS 2. He also headlined THE FRENCH CONNECTION in 1971 (which, along with the same year's KLUTE, helped him break out), reuniting with its director - William Friedkin - on SORCERER in 1977. A remake of WAGES OF FEAR, SORCERER is Scheider at his best: a fantastic character role that is sadly underseen.

Then there was the John Schlesinger/ William Goldman team up MARATHON MAN. A top rate thriller from the golden age of American cinema (the 70s obviously), which Scheider was fortunate enough to be a part of. After 1978's inevitable JAWS 2 the actor continued to carve out a quirky niche for himself - taking on roles in the cult classic BLUE THUNDER (1983), the surprisingly impressive sequel 2010 (1984) and such tightly crafted thrillers as 52 PICK UP (1986) and COHEN AND TATE (1989). Although he never reached the fame of JAWS again, Scheider's 90s input still includes such interesting diversions as Cronenberg's NAKED LUNCH (1991), Peter Medak's ROMEO IS BLEEDING (1993) and the SEAQUEST DSV television series.

One thing is for certain, even when his screen time was minimal, Scheider also made a movie worth watching.

We will miss you Brody.

Calum Waddell

The Films of Jack Hill

So I finished my book on JACK HILL. More information on that soon. In the meantime, Jack is planning something of a comeback remaking his the four pictures of his that starred a frail Boris Karloff back in the late '60s. The movies were, of course, taken out of his hands and finished by somebody else but that does not mean that Jack ever lost control of the scripts.

You can find out more here:

http://www.jackhillpresents.com/

You can find out more about this great director here:

http://www.myspace.com/thefilmsofjackhill

Cheers
Calum Waddell

RIP Vampira

I just got this sad news in my inbox courtesy of the editor of RUE MORGUE magazine Jen Vuckovic:

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Maila Nurmi, who died in her sleep several days ago. She was 86. Her dear friend Dana Gould contacted me a few minutes ago to give me the unfortunate news. He tells me she passed away peacefully, of natural causes. Dave Alexander conducted an interview with Nurmi (very likely her last) just prior to her passing and, as such, we will be publishing a memorial along with the interview in the March issue of Rue Morgue.

Born on December 21st, 1921, Nurmi (a.k.a Vampira) was the original glamour ghoul, late night host of 1950s television and, of course, star of Ed Wood’s famous cinematic turkey Plan 9 From Outer Space. She will be dearly missed.
Maila Nurmi 1921 - 2008

This will be sad news to any fan of the Ed Wood cult classic PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. Vampira was still an in-demand attendee at cult film functions and, of course, was portrayed by Lisa Marie in Tim Burton's 1994 classic ED WOOD (still Johnny Depp's best film).

RIP Vampira and thanks for playing a part in a B-movie history.

Calum Waddell

Merry Xmas all

Merry Xmas and Happy holidays to all Kamera readers... and if you can support one film this Festive Season check out "American Gangster", which is excellent

Best wishes
Calum Waddell

My Top 10 Films of 2007

Here's the top 10 movies I saw in 2007. All personal opinion of course!

Babel
Brad Pitt gives a career best performance in a drama that genuinelly grips from start to finish.

What Would Jesus Buy?
Produced by Supersize Me's Morgan Spurlock, this documentary focuses on the Reverend Billy - a man on a mission to stop the mass shopping epidemic that takes over the world during the festive season. Don't write him off - ethical commentary on sweatshops, globalisation and multinationalism make this an essential, and smart, watch.

Zodiac
David Fincher's best movie to date - a thrilling investigation into San Francisco's Zodiac Killer and utterly unmissable.

Stuck
Stuart Gordon cements his evolution as a thoroughly mature director following his impressive due of King of the Ants and Edmond. This is edge of your seat stuff and another five star offering.

Teeth
A film festival favourite and for good reason - girl meets boy, things go a bit too far, boy realises that girl has some seriously scary gnashers in a very personal place. Both hilarious and stomach churning.

Blood Diamond
DiCaprio continues to impress with his roles and this is probably his best turn since The Aviator. And to think he was once that wee fella in Titanic...

A Mighty Heart
The true story of Daniel Pearl, Michael Winterbottom follows up his vital Road to Guantanamo with this moving little tear jerker that is sure to nab Angelina Jolie an Oscar nomination.

American Gangster
Another based-on-a-true-story offering, Ridley Scott's epic starts off a little slow but soon manages to accomplish what any great movie does - it glues you to the screen and makes you forget that time is even passing...

Control
Obviously if you are a fan of Joy Division this film carries an extra wallop but even if you are not the story of Ian Curtis is tragic enough to pull on anyone's heartstrings.

Sicko
Michael Moore strikes with the movie of the year - an impassioned call for the US to follow the leads of so many other countries and introduce socialised healthcare. If you watch this as a Brit you WILL breath a sigh of relief for the good old NHS...

Tony Tenser RIP

Just heard this sad news from Gil Lane at the Manchester Fest of Fantastic Films. My thoughts go out to his family:

[I]Sadly I am advised that Tony Tenser died on the 5th Dec - we'll be putting something on the website in a day or so.[/I]

Keep an eye on the Manchester Festival of Fantastic Films web site at:

http://fantastic-films.com/festival/

In a long and illustrious career Tenser produced the classic Witchfinder General in 1968 as well as Roman Polanski's masterpiece Repulsion (1965) and later Cul-de-sac (1966).

I, personally, will cherish the memory of sharing the back seat of a car with Tenser as we drove him back to his nursing home in August 2005, shortly after his appearance at that year's festival in Manchester (where he amusingly referred to the then 66 year old Ruggero Deodato as a "young man"). A very frail, but nonetheless enthusiastic and warm, gentleman - Tenser entertained the car with his stories of Brigitte Bardot, Vincent Price and Polanski. There was a real sadness when he said that his 2005 honour would probably be the last one that he would experience.

RIP

Calum Waddell

THE EYE is 2008's first remake

So here we are with 2008 looming and one of the first star-powered vehicles of the year will be Jessica Alba's rehash of THE EYE, arguably the scariest - and most intriguing - of the Asian fantasy ghost stories that hit cinemas and DVDs following the explosion of RINGU back in the late 90s. After THE EYE bows out at cinemas will be a rehash of another Thailand-produced hit - this time SHUTTER, a mediocre ghost-on-the-loose offering.

Some fans have been decrying the idea of a new, English language version of THE EYE - wondering what Alba and producer Tom Cruise can possibly bring to the genre. With the directors of THEM behind the helm, the answer is - "possibly quite a lot."

A lot of people bemoan remakes which is hard to understand. After all, many films are nothing more than attempts to adapt what has come before to a new environment - witness John Carpenter's excellent Assault on Precinct 13, which took the John Wayne classic Rio Bravo and spun it into modern New York. Likewise, Days of Thunder was Top Gun with racing cars, Dirty Harry got remade into four sequels and Gladiator attempted to outdo Spartacus. So when a remake of a film that is well loved comes along perhaps there's something to be said about giving it a chance.

As a result, when THE EYE does roll up this writer will be there in the queue to see it. Seeing a new twist of familiar material certainly feels more appealing - after a 2007 that saw TRANSFORMERS and SPIDER MAN 3 hit big at the box office - than most of what the local mutiplex is serving up.

Calum Waddell