UPDATED May 17

As many of you know, I have a love-hate relationship with Vikings, the History Channel series written by Michael Hirst. Oh, this relationship has nothing to do with the series itself or its writer, both of which are very good. However, I stopped tweeting about the show when a certain character failed to show up on the screen after a certain episode. I just did not have the same level of interest. I have DVRed the unwatched episodes though and I plan to view them soon. I have heard good things about those episodes AND the series has been picked up for Round 2, which is great! The show is produced and filmed in Ireland and every bit of film and television work that can be pointed in Ireland’s direction is a good thing.

Do not let my sour grapes keep you from watching! wink The series is worth your time and now it appears that viewers in Germany and the UK will be able to join Vikings in plundering the West, waging political wars, and generally being beautiful and mighty in all that lush Irish landscape. And the boats! Byrneholics Fans are also reporting that the series is coming to Belgium and France, too. Intrigue, fighting, and gorgeous scenery: a wonderful way to start the summer. Enjoy!

The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Vikings will be invading the UK and Germany! History appears to be repeating itself, as usual! Oh, that was a bad pun. Sorry.

LONDON — MGM Television and Amazon’s LoveFilm have inked a deal to premiere U.S. TV show Vikings exclusively on LoveFilm Instant in the U.K. and Germany.

The streaming service will be the first and only place to catch the hit show in the two territories and marks a first for Amazon’s LoveFIlm in the U.K. bringing a show to air on its streaming service before traditional broadcasting platforms have aired it.

Debuting May 24, LoveFilm Instant subscribers in the U.K. will be able to get all nine episodes of the Norse action-drama at once in full high-definition.

Starring Travis Fimmel (The Beast,), Gabriel Byrne (TV’s In Treatment) and Katheryn Winnick (Love and Other Drugs), the show chronicles the adventures of notorious Norse hero Ragnar Lothbrok (Fimmel), a Viking warrior who yearns to explore – and raid – the distant shores of the ocean.

UPDATED May 13                                               

The Louder Than Bombs film information originally published here has been moved to its own posting.

Note about the Quirke Title Sequence news item: I have been asked to remove the images of the Quirke title sequence as well as the link to Mr. Morrison’s blog posting due to a copyright issue. I expect we will see this again at some point in the future, but not right now. Sorry!

An update about Secret State: TBIVision reports that many international broadcasters have acquired the series. It seems everyone in the world, EXCEPT the United States, will be seeing it soon. Sigh.

UPDATED May 3

A friend has provided three production stills from the film I, Anna and I wanted to share them with you–these are new to me (well, one looks familiar but the angle in the shot is very different from the others in the Gallery) and quite evocative of the film.

The DVD of I, Anna was released two weeks ago and I have now had an opportunity (finally!) to watch the film. I am working on an essay about it now, so stay tuned for that. All I can say at the moment is that I think it is a remarkable movie and I love it. I knew I would, in a way, but I was still surprised by its power and its impact on me. I will explain more once I can get my thoughts on, well, not paper, but you know…

Until then, here are the shots. As part of the birthday celebration, these are quite large and also downloadable. Enjoy!

 

 

April 30

So I thought that, with the premiere of Just A Sigh at the Tribeca Film Festival, Gabriel Byrne news would begin to slow down a bit. After all, most of his projects have been released, with the exception of Quirke, and summer is almost here. We all need a vacation. But no. There is tons of stuff happening, as you will see below, including news about a birthday celebration for our favorite Irishman. Read to the end for a little surprise.

tribeca film festival

Just A Sigh/Le temps de l’aventure landed on several “top movies at Tribeca” lists, including The Village Voice and Salon.

Village Voice  “Tribeca Lives! Ten Films to See at a Fest That’s All Grown Up:”

Just a Sigh: American fans of the French actress Emmanuelle Devos (whose talents have been put to use so gloriously by Arnaud Desplechin in movies like A Christmas Tale and Kings and Queen) rarely get to see her in a leading role. Jérôme Bonnell’s Just a Sigh remedies that: Devos plays a self-absorbed actress who meets, and follows, a mysterious older man played by silver fox Gabriel Byrne. The picture’s dialogue may be clumsy at times, but the actors always tame it into submission. Devos—prickly, vulnerable, maddening and touching—reigns supreme.

Salon.com “Tribeca Film Festival: The 10 hottest movies:”

Just a Sigh: A French actress on a train, played by the spectacular Emmanuelle Devos, meets a suave Englishman (Gabriel Byrne) and spends one afternoon with him in Paris, oh so pregnant with possibility. So we’re talking about two of the better-looking people on the planet, in its most romantic city. Need I continue? This slow-burning romance from up-and-coming French filmmaker Jérôme Bonnell specifically recalls Richard Linklater’s “Before Sunrise” and its sequels, to be sure – but also Abbas Kiarostami’s “Certified Copy” and Agnès Varda’s “Cléo From 5 to 7.”

Reviews in the US have been a bit mixed, with the more “indie” outlets giving it only 2 stars, while others are much more positive–see the two sources above.

Tribeca tweeters have been uniformly happy with the film. Some have been very happy!

No word yet on a US distributor or where the film might be showing next.

The good news: the DVD is set to be released in France on August 10, 2013! Pre-release information is available at Amazon.fr .

 

le capital dvd extras: video and screencaps

Sometimes we get 15 minutes of fame, sometimes only 15 seconds.

Here is 15 seconds of the 13 minute Gabriel Byrne interview from the extras on the Le Capital Blu-Ray which is out now in France!

Le Capital from Anatomy of Movies on Vimeo.

And some screencaps from those 15 seconds:


 

And here are some new pics from the film provided by Det. Logan, to whom we give mighty thanks!

 

title sequence and release date for quirke

Richard Morrison has created the title sequence for the new BBC drama Quirke.

Here is a little about him from his blog:

I am one of the world’s leading designers of film title sequences. In a career spanning three decades, I have created over 150 title sequences – from blockbuster movies to cult classics – for many of the industry’s most respected film directors and producers.

I began my career with Maurice Binder on the Bond series. Over the course of 30 years, I have become the most prolific British films titles’ designer.

My credits span Hollywood blockbusters such as Batman, Enemy at the Gates, A Fish called Wanda and A Passage to India to cult classics like Brazil, Sweeney Todd and Quadrophenia for directors as varied as Sir David Lean, Kenneth Branagh and Stephen Frears to Jean-Jacques Annaud, Ridley Scott and Tim Burton.

Quirke is now scheduled to air in the UK in September 2013.

Images originally associated with the Quirke Title Sequence news item have been removed at the request of copyright-holders.

 

 the end of vikings and emmy gossip

Michael Hirst, creator and writer of Vikings, was interviewed at GoldDerby.com about his work on the series. As you probably already know, Vikings has been picked up for a second season and everyone is headed back to Ireland to begin shooting. Well, not everyone…

Mr. Hirst explains the origin of the series, his thoughts on Vikings vs. Tudors, and his previous life as an academic, which helps us understand why the series seemed so grounded in reality–or as much factual background as he was able to uncover in his research!

 

GoldDerby also had this to say:

The show will be competing for the first time on the 2013 Emmy Awards ballot in the Best Drama Series category as well as for stars Travis Fimmel and two-time nominee Gabriel Byrne. The program’s best chances might well be in several technical categories.

So let’s cross our fingers!

birthday celebration

Mr. Byrne’s birthday is May 12. Celebrations are planned for this website, Facebook, and Twitter. Stay tuned!

 

A final note: in a departure from usual practice, every image in this posting is downloadable. And that is a good thing because almost all of them are BIG. Think of this as an early birthday present and go grab them! And here is something for your desktop, too:

smile

3 Comments

  1. Kim Serrahn

    “Silver Fox” I like that. Thank you Stella for a very enjoyable May Day. :)

  2. Thank you! That was a very entertaining read whilst I have my pre dinner coffee :-))

  3. Thanks for sharing all this Gabriel info with us.
    It is so much to looking forward to see on the screen now, when Gabriel has taken on so many interesting roles.
    I hope he will be offered many great roles in the future too. He is really a talented actor!

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