We have been collecting elements for our Brazil show since the start of the year – Jose Padilha (director of ‘Elite Squad’) at Berlin Film Festival, Bruno Berretta (‘Last Stop 174’) in Toronto and in Cannes, Fernando Meirelles (‘City of God’, ‘The Constant Gardener’ and ‘Blindness’) and Walter Salles (‘Central Station’, ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ and ‘Linha de Passe’).
What I love about Walter Salles is that he isn’t a conventional director. He looks at things from a completely different point of view. When I spoke to him, he was amused to find that I wanted to have a more direct ending to his latest film (‘Linha de Passe’ tells the story of four-half-brothers struggling to cope with life in Brazil’s biggest city Sao Paulo). He left so many unanswered questions, which is obviously his intention – he wants his audience to walk away wondering what’s happened to the characters. He doesn’t treat his subject as a movie, he looks at real life, and so you feel that the people that you’ve interacted with, or had the chance to watch, feel really are a part of you when you walk away from the film.
Visually, in my mind I don’t have enough tape to record this visit. It’s one of those things where you think: ‘I can never forget this’. And at the same time it’s so frustrating because you think there’s so much to try and cram in here in such a small amount of time. But it really is food for the soul and food for the eyes. It’s all of those things and more. And to see the swanky hotels juxtaposed with the favellas, and the sea and there’s the statue of Cristo above. It just is a visual feast, you can understand why Brazilians are so proud to make the pilgrimage up to the top to show you Christ. You can totally understand it.
It’s just as well I’m leaving is all I’m going to say, because if I stayed any longer, you’d have to roll me onto a plane! What do you call it? Acai, a puree of uniquely Brazilian purple berries with more calories than a steak! I’ve had them in drink form, in yoghurt form, in breakfast form – everything here is so bad for you it’s good!
The Brazilian people are extremely warm, extremely charismatic, so willing to share their culture with you and for you to never forget their country. And how could you possibly? This city’s like no other I’ve been to. When you meet people it’s like you’ve been friends for years, there’s a real community, even from the team that I’ve worked with all the way to the market that I walked through. Everyone’s very friendly, very enticing and yeah, I’d love to come back.
In case you hadn’t noticed, Bond is back – again! Who doesn’t love Bond? At the time of writing, weeks before the film is released, the marketing campaign has begun and Bond-related promotions are everywhere. It’s always a much-anticipated event. For me it’s a dark kind of Bond and I’m waiting to see how 007 has developed in ‘Quantum of Solace’.
‘The Screening Room’ team has already interviewed Bond composer David Arnold and I’m looking forward to meeting Daniel Craig and the main cast at the world premiere at London Film Festival.
We’re told the famous Bond car will be present at the royal premiere, sharing the carpet with princes William and Harry, who are due to attend. And of course I’ll be there too, reporting for ‘The Screening Room’. Personally I find standing on the red carpet petrifying. You’ve got equal measures of adrenaline and excitement pumping around your body, it’s all so extreme. There are large numbers of photographers and fans there people milling around and the smell of perfume and hairspray is intoxicating! And there’s still a hierarchy: you know that you have to move off the red carpet when someone else moves on, so everything is structured. But it can quickly dissolve into chaos as stars and their publicists encounter the media.
Next time, I’m off to Bollywood acting school – then awards season will be upon us and I’ll be heading for Hollywood. Till next time, ciao!
