Audio Review: Slapstick 2010 on BBC Radio Scotland’s Movie Café

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend Slapstick 2010, the UK’s only (as far as I’m aware) festival dedicated to screenings of silent films alongside guest talks and special events.

Over four days I recorded some of my thoughts of the event for BBC Radio Scotland’s excellent Movie Café programme, and the episode is now up for seven days on the BBC iPlayer.

While I’d recommend listening to the full programme, my segment begins around 25.47 minutes in and features an interview with actor Paul McGann and Aardman Animation’s Peter Lord.

You can also read a review by fellow Slapstick 2010 attendee Walter Dunlop over on my other blog, Adventures in Primetime.

Event Review: Bruce Campbell in Person, 5 February, Cameo Cinema, Edinburgh

It’s not every day that a Hollywood legend arrives on your town to introduce their latest film. And that didn’t happen tonight at Edinburgh’s Cameo cinema. What did happen is that Bruce Campbell, star of B movies, horror films and various cult TV series made his way to the front of Screen 1 and took time to speak to his fans over a 30 minute period. And I got to ask a question.

Preceded by My Name Is Bruce, Campbell’s self-directed homage to his own career that acted as a trailer to his appearance, Campbell took to the makeshift stage in front of the 300 or so fans gathered in the auditorium with the words “you’ll have that song in your head for months!” in reference to the films theme song.

A round of applause from the crowd and it was straight into the questions. Though slightly reserved at the start, they ranged from what it was like to play Elvis in Bubba H0-Tep (“I got training from an Elvis impersonator and he gave up after 20 minutes”) to what films he shouldn’t have made (he agreed Congo was bad but “it looked good on paper!”) to which of his leading ladies he’d like to sleep with (“I’ve slept with a lot of them”).

Event Review: Taste of Edinburgh, 31 May, The Meadows, Edinburgh

It’s a scorching day here in Edinburgh and I’m just back from an afternoon at Taste of Edinburgh 2008.

Taking place in an impressively large area of the Meadows, the place was filled with a few hundred visitors all sitting, queuing and getting slightly singed by the glorious sun.

With so many restaurants present, trying to work out where to start wasn’t easy. After buying my crowns – you don’t use actual money at the stands but tokens instead – I took a wander around to get a feel for what was going on.

Stands offered up samples of coffee, soups, whisky, beers, olive oil (yes, olive oil) and, of course, lots of lovely food. With a fair amount of Scottish fare, a healthy dose of French and Italian samples alongside the odd vegetarian offering, choosing where to spend those crowns was a bit tricky.