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“I think I’ve always been my own kind of person, and you know sometimes to my detriment,” says Malcolm McDowell, chatting to Den of Geek via Zoom, 50 years after the release of A Clockwork Orange.

“I’ve never really played the Hollywood card, I’m not really an insider, that’s just not my thing. And I like to be able to say no. And that’s it.That’s not probably a politically correct thing to do. However, too bad. I’m still here 50 years later.”

McDowell is talking to us from LA, his accent a soft mix of Yorkshire, where he grew up, and California where he has resided for much of his professional life. He is funny and charismatic, with a hint of the mischievous, he says people still find him “a little intimidating” – traits which he brought out in spades for his breakout roles, first...

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By Fred Blosser

In Bryan Forbes’ “The Raging Moon” (1971), a sudden, devastating illness leaves 24-year-old Bruce Pritchard (Malcolm McDowell) a paraplegic. A friend asks if he was stricken by polio. “I don’t know what it is,” Bruce answers. “I can’t pronounce it, but it’s not polio.” Whatever the nature of his life-altering blow, he reacts the same way that most of us would probably react, with stony, simmering self-pity and anger. McDowell is at his intense best in those scenes, calling to mind the all-time master, James Cagney, in portraying a volatile character whose temper threatens to explode through his edgy quiet any moment. Now confined to a wheelchair, Bruce becomes a charity case and moves into an assisted-living facility. There, he sullenly brushes off overtures by the staff and the other residents. “How do you think you’ll like being here?...

To mark the release of The Raging Moon on 23rd November, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on DVD. Adapted from Peter Marshall’s 1964 novel by Bryan Forbes (The Stepford Wives, Whistle Down the Wind), the film was considered unusual in its time owing to the sexual nature of the relationship between McDowell

The post Win The Raging Moon on DVD appeared first on HeyUGuys.

The 59Th BFI London Film Festival Announces Full 2015 Programme

You can peruse the programme at your leisure here.

The programme for the 59th BFI London Film Festival in partnership launched today, with Festival Director Clare Stewart presenting this year’s rich and diverse selection of films and events. BFI London Film Festival is Britain’s leading film event and one of the world’s oldest film festivals. It introduces the finest new British and international films to an expanding London and UK-wide audience. The Festival provides an essential platform for films seeking global success; and promotes the careers of British and international filmmakers through its industry and awards programmes. With this year’s industry programme stronger than ever, offering international filmmakers and leaders a programme of insightful events covering every area of the film industry‎ Lff positions London as the world’s leading creative city.

The Festival will screen a...

Whether or not you agree with his recent comments in Playboy, there's no denying Gary Oldman is one of the great actors of our time.

Ever since breaking out in 1986's "Sid and Nancy" as the self-destructing Sex Pistol Sid Vicious, Oldman has transformed himself from one role to the next. A true chameleon, the actor changes his voice for every part and is nearly unrecognizable in films like "True Romance" (1993) and "The Contender" (2000). Despite his enormous influence among fellow actors, Oldman shuns the spotlight and has only once been nominated for an Oscar. Oldman turns in yet another stirring performance (despite limited screen time) in this summer's "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes".

From his famous ex-wife to his rejection from a prestigious drama school, here are 27 things you probably don't know about Gary Oldman.

1. Gary Oldman was born on March 21, 1958 in London, England to Kathleen Cheriton and Leonard Bertram Oldman.

Creative force in the British film industry whose work included The Stepford Wives and Whistle Down the Wind

The director, actor and writer Bryan Forbes, who has died aged 86, was one of the most creative forces in the British film industry of the 1960s, and the Hollywood films he directed included the original version of The Stepford Wives (1974). In later life he turned to the writing of books, both fiction and memoirs.

The turning point for him in cinema was the formation of the independent company Beaver Films with his friend Richard Attenborough in 1958. For the screenplay of their first production, The Angry Silence (1960), Forbes received an Oscar nomination and a Bafta award. Attenborough played a factory worker shunned and persecuted for not joining a strike. His colleagues are shown as being manipulated by skulking professional agitators and to some it seemed more like a political statement than a human...

Film director Bryan Forbes has died at the age of 86.

The filmmaker is best known for shooting the 1975 movie The Stepford Wives.

He passed away after a long illness at his home in Virginia Water in Surrey.

Family friend Matthew D'Ancona told BBC News: "Bryan Forbes was a titan of cinema, known and loved by people around the world in the film and theatre industries and known in other fields including politics.

"He is simply irreplaceable and it is wholly apt that he died surrounded by his family."

Forbes made his directorial debut with Whistle Down the Wind in 1961, and directed the likes of Sir Michael Caine (Deadfall), Malcolm McDowell (The Raging Moon) and Sir Roger Moore (The Naked Face).

He was born in Stratford, London and formed the production company Beaver Films with long-time collaborator Richard Attenborough.

He was married to Irish actress Constance Smith for four years,...

The sCare Foundation has announced that it will honor Malcolm McDowell with a Lifetime Achievement Award at its Halloween Benefit this weekend:

Los Angeles, CA — The sCare Foundation announced today it will honor legendary actor Malcolm McDowell (Rob Zombie’s Halloween, A Clockwork Orange) with the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award at its 2nd Annual Halloween Benefit on October 28, 2012. The evening will be held at the Conga Room at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles, and will include great entertainment, a silent auction and plenty of exciting prizes. The evening will benefit the life-saving programs of the Hollywood Homeless Youth Project (http://hhyp.org/), as well as Safety Harbor Kids (http://www.safetyharborkids.org/).

“Malcolm is an amazing actor and true professional,” said sCare Foundation founder, Malek Akkad. “He’s always been an ardent supporter and we’re excited to be able to honor him in this way. Besides being one of our greatest actors,...

The sCare Foundation announced today it will honor legendary actor Malcolm McDowell (Rob Zombie’s Halloween, A Clockwork Orange) with the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award at its 2nd Annual Halloween Benefit on October 28, 2012.

The evening will be held at the Conga Room at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles, and will include great entertainment, a silent auction and plenty of exciting prizes. The evening will benefit the life-saving programs of the Hollywood Homeless Youth Partnership, as well as Safety Harbor Kids.

“Malcolm is an amazing actor and true professional,” said sCare Foundation founder, Malek Akkad. “He’s always been an ardent supporter and we’re excited to be able to honor him in this way. Besides being one of our greatest actors, he has always shown unwavering support to our cause, and his generosity and compassion truly appreciated.”

Malcolm McDowell is arguably among the most dynamic and inventive of world-class actors,...

Jacques Audiard's moving love story, which surges out of the screen like a flood tide, deserves to be awash with awards

What could have been simply bizarre, sentimental or contrived here becomes an utterly absorbing love story; Rust and Bone is a tale of a miraculous friendship which evolves into an enthralling and moving romance, wonderfully acted by Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts. Jacques Audiard directs, and his screenplay, co-written with Thomas Bidegain, is freely adapted from characters in the short story collection of the same title, by the American author Craig Davidson. This is early days in the festival, but Rust and Bone has to be a real contender for prizes, and, the odds will be shortening to vanishing point for Cotillard getting the best actress award.

She plays Stephanie, a young woman who trains huge orca whales at the Marineland park; in response to theatrical gestures from Stephanie,...

Gary Oldman paid tribute to his friend Malcolm McDowell as the A Clockwork Orange icon accepted his Hollywood Walk of Fame honour on Friday, hailing the veteran star for inspiring him to take up acting.

The English actor was honoured with the 2,465th star, outside Hollywood Boulevard's British pub The Pig n' Whistle, to celebrate his lengthy career, and he posed with his wife Kelley and their eldest son Beckett, eight, as the plaque was unveiled.

Speaking about his honour, McDowell told reporters, "For a lad that grew up in Liverpool (England), Hollywood was this notion of everything that was incredible in the movies, and Hollywood has meant so much to the rest of the world - we take it, because we live in La, sort of for granted."

And McDowell is delighted about the location of his star, adding: "My father ran a pub in Burscough in Lancashire, just outside Liverpool, so I feel that from the Bull and Dog to the Pig and Whistle (sic), it's not that far."

McDowell's pal Oldman was also on hand to pay tribute, revealing that the 68 year old's performance in 1971's The Raging Moon inspired him to become an actor.

The Harry Potter star explains, "It was like the lights went on in my life, in much the same way that John Lennon saw Elvis on screen and said 'That's a good job, I'd like to do that for a living'. I saw Malcolm in this film and I thought, 'This is what I want to do'."...