Idris Elba joins the Bullits onstage

Actors Idris Elba and Lucy Liu are to join The Bullitts onstage at The Big Chill 2011, which takes place at Eastnor Castle in Hertforshire this weekend.

Elba, who plays Detective Chief Inspector John Luther in the BBC series ‘Luther’ will join Jay Z fave, Jay Electronica, for what organisers are calling ambitious genre-pushing mix of sight and sound.

Liu who is best know as henchman, O-Ren Ishii, in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill’ is also set to feature.

The project that is bafflingly neither “a band or a album” is the brain child of producer Jeymes Samuel.

The Bullitts project is the tale of a fictional character called Amelia Sparks. 

Fragments of her life are to be told through guest performances and vocalists at this year's Big Chill festival in Hertfordshire.

Other Big Chill headliners include Kanye West, Rodrigo y Gabriela and The Chemical Brothers.

Click for The Big Chill line up.

If you can't wait until this weekend then check out The Bullitts website that has a distinct film-noir feel to it, complete with Stringer Bell American accent from Elba. Though it has no indication to how it will look on stage.

This mysterious and star-studded project will be unveiled this weekend.

The Big Chill 2011 tickets are available now priced at £165 plus booking fee for the weekend including camping. 

Click to buy The Big Chill tickets.

Spike Lee on for Old Boy???!!!!

Spike Lee has officially been confirmed for the Old Boy remake.

The hyper-violent original film (based on a Japanese manga of the same name) about a man  imprisoned for 15 years without any reason was a deliciously bloody morality tale of revenge, that shocked as much as it inspired.  Oldboy was the second in South Korean director, Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance trilogy. It featured perhaps one of the best choreographed fight scenes ever, with a man with a knife in his back.

Steven Spielberg was originally attached to be director, with Will Smith in the lead role, though there has been no news on who will lead Spike Lee’s vision.

Spike Lee may seem like an unusual choice for the remake, but the bite of his earlier work (Do the Right Thing) may just fit in with a gritty Brooklyn setting. 

Prometheus

What could be the sci-fi event of the decade (well, in my eyes at least) is the return of Ridley Scott to the Alien franchise (reboot/prequel?). Prometheus is still clouded in secrecy. The official plot synopsis from Fox promises us that

“The film takes a team of scientists and explorers on a thrilling journey that will test their physical and mental limits and strand them on a distant world, where they will discover the answers to our most profound questions and to life’s ultimate mystery”.

Hmmm, not giving much away there are they? But leaked pictures online show what may be HR Giger- inspired sets.

Filming is already underway in Iceland, with a strong stellar cast including current actor de-jour, Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class), Noomie Rapace(The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), and Charlize Theron (Monster).

So are we ready for another trip into Xenomorph infested waters, or should we leave the face-huggers well alone or risk another Alien vs Predator: Requiem? Given that it has been a whopping twenty nine years since he made his last sci-fi film, Blade Runner (1982), can Ridley Scott pull it off?

 What could be the sci-fi event of the decade (well, in my eyes at least) is the return of Ridley Scott to the Alien franchise (reboot/prequel?). Prometheus is still clouded in secrecy. The official plot synopsis from Fox promises us that

“The film takes a team of scientists and explorers on a thrilling journey that will test their physical and mental limits and strand them on a distant world, where they will discover the answers to our most profound questions and to life’s ultimate mystery”.

Hmmm, not giving much away there are they? But leaked pictures online show what may be HR Giger- inspired sets.

Filming is already underway in Iceland, with a strong stellar cast including current actor de-jour, Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class), Noomie Rapace(The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), and Charlize Theron (Monster).

So are we ready for another trip into Xenomorph infested waters, or should we leave the face-huggers well alone or risk another Alien vs Predator: Requiem? Given that it has been a whopping twenty nine years since he made his last sci-fi film, Blade Runner (1982), can Ridley Scott pull it off?

Article for Sci-Fi Now:Uncharted finally lands a director

What’s the news on the “Uncharted” movie, I hear you say?

Oh, you don’t. Well the “Uncharted” film has now a director in the form of “Limitless” Neil Burger. With Mark Walhberg now seemingly locked in to play Drake, the film is looking for a 2012 release.

Making a film out of the acclaimed “Uncharted” video games will be a challenge for any director. The game managed to cram in white knuckle gameplay that resulted numb bum-a-thon sessions (good bye life), and an emphasis on gung-ho storylines with likeable and believable characters.

So what are your views on the videogame/movie crossover? Will be it be a “Mortal Combat:Annihilation” or a hum…”House of the Dead”?

Papillons de Nuit highlights 2011

Kaiser Chiefs 

Yes, that is (some) of the John Spencer Blues Explosion in a golf caddy

Klaxons 

Liam Gallagher at his moody best before his Beady Eye gig at the Papillons de Nuit

The Lanskies Live at the Papillons de Nuit