The Remake of Hitchcock's 'The Birds' Is Doomed to Fail

Our friends at Grolsch Film Works have a website where you can find out what they’ve been up to and read/watch interesting stuff about films. Every week we'll be plucking the highlights. This is that.

BEN MENDELSOHN TALKS STARRED UP AND FEARLESS ACTING

Inspired by writer Jonathan Asser's own experiences as a prison therapist rehabilitating violent men at HMS Wandsworth in south London, David Mackenzie’s Starred Up features yet another fierce, unforgettable and frankly terrifying turn from Ben Mendelsohn, the 44-year-old Aussie star of Animal Kingdom, Killing Me Softly and The Place Beyond the Pines.

Mendelsohn’s career-defining performance as Neville in Starred Up, a jaw-droppingly explosive British prison drama following a young offender who’s been transferred to an adult prison, underlines his fearlessness as an actor and cements his place alongside Michael Fassbender and Joaquin Phoenix as one of the finest thesps working today.

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IN SEARCH OF THE REAL STEVEN SODERBERGH

When Steven Soderbergh first announced he was retiring from filmmaking to take up painting (among other things), I envisioned him idling away in front of a portrait of himself, slowly turning insane, like Kim Novak’s art gallery exploits in Vertigo. However, the prolific director (responsible for 27 films) possesses too much creativity to sit still. We haven’t seen any brushwork since his retirement kicked in last year, but the 51-year-old has painted the picture of a restless filmmaker dividing his skills into an array of eccentric projects – each affording him more creative control and fewer budget meetings.

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SO NOW THERE ARE TWO JIMI HENDRIX BIOPICS

ICM Partners has just signed the Jimi Hendrix estate as a client, with plans to produce the first ever authorised film about the foxy guitarist’s life story. Crucially, this as-yet-untitled version will have rights to Hendrix hits such as "Voodoo Child", "Crosstown Traffic" and "Purple Haze", unlike the John Ridley-directed All Is by My Side. Both films will effectively go head-to-head, making All Is by My Side look a bit weird for instead using Muddy Waters, The Beatles and other songwriters from the era (so no "Hey Ya" or "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik"). But despite its marked lack of Hendrix numbers, All Is by My Side does have the upper hand of Benjamin as Hendrix – he's totally got the voice down.

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THE REMAKE OF HITCHCOCK'S 'THE BIRDS' IS DOOMED TO FAIL

I know what you’re thinking. Another article about a pointless remake, written by a rant-inclined dude who detests all remakes as much as he detests all philistines who refuse to watch subtitled movies. But let’s get this straight. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film The Birds is not a flawless and thus pointless movie to remake. In fact, as one of the more overrated films in the Hitchcock cannon it may be one of the better ones to go under the Hollywood knife.

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FILM LOCATIONS: GLASGOW

Jonathan Glazer deserves a city population-strong high-five for setting his twisted new sci-fi flick Under the Skin in Glasgow. I mean, I hate to say it, but there’s a pretty distinctive image of Glasgow in the hive mind of the cinematic masses: discarded needles and screaming mothers, packed up in dilapidated council estates. An endless drudge of “gritty” kitchen sink realism. Which, it goes without saying, is far from a complete representation of Glasgow’s vibrant culture and beautiful cityscapes. And no, I’m not being endorsed by the Glasgow Tourist Board but, FYI, if anyone does want to spot me a lifetime membership to the National Trust, I will humbly accept.

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Keep your peepers peeled for more Grolsch Film Works updates next week. Go to grolschfilmworks.com to see what’s happening right now.