The Sands Worldwide Movie Competition opened on Friday night, marking a brand new milestone for the Scottish occasion: its fifth yr of operation.
“What nobody tells you in the beginning of recent issues is how fragile the beginnings could be,” pageant director Ania Trzebiatowska mentioned in her opening speech on Friday.
“Half of recent companies do not make it to 5 years. I will not fake it is at all times been simple. However one thing extraordinary would occur yearly at this pageant, whether or not it is a scholar curator having their first second on stage, presenting a movie, or the actually magical afternoon we had with Alan Silvestri a number of years in the past.”
Trzebiatowska continued: “One thing would occur that may add worth to all of this and imply that this metropolis actually needed this pageant and we must always proceed to do it. So right here we’re.”
John Carney’s newest function movie, Energy ballad, was the opening night time movie this yr at Sands. Starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas, the musical got here to Sands following its debut at SXSW and a return screening on the Dublin Movie Competition.
The movie follows Rick (Paul Rudd), a failed marriage ceremony singer, and Danny (Jonas), a star of a fading boy band, who bond over music throughout a miraculous late-night jam session. When Danny turns one among Rick’s songs into a success, Rick units out to reclaim the popularity he feels he deserves.
Additionally starring within the movie are Marcella Plunkett, Havana Rose Liu and Jack Reynor. The producers are Anthony Bregman, John Carney, Peter Cron, Rebecca O’Flanagan and Robert Walpole. Scottish musician Gary Clark composed the music for the movie, working once more with Carney following their collaborations on Flora and son And Singing the road. Clark was readily available at St Andrews on Friday night for a post-screening Q&A with Trzebiatowska.
“John’s movies have a whole lot of music relatively than simply within the background, so the whole lot needs to be accomplished so you’ll be able to see it on display earlier than we begin capturing, so it is fairly intense,” Clark defined, including that the movie’s central tune, the anthem that drives the drama between Rudd and Jonas’ characters, was solely written on the final second throughout pre-production.
“We actually solely wrote it three days earlier than Paul Rudd got here in,” Clark mentioned.
The veteran musician was additionally stuffed with reward for Rudd’s musical talents. All through the movie, the actor performs a number of musical numbers and holds his personal alongside Jonas.
“The humorous factor is, I had labored with Nick Jonas earlier than, so I knew Nick was nice, and when John instructed me Nick was on board, I mentioned, that is unbelievable, that is a present to me within the studio,” he mentioned.
“However when Paul got here alongside, actually, I used to be Googling some tunes, after which I discovered this clip of him doing Wichita Lineman. He did it rather well, and I assumed it may be OK. However within the studio, he was sensible. I did not know he was such singer.”
Energy Ballad is at present out in the US. Lionsgate will launch the movie subsequent month within the UK.
This yr, Sands runs till April 19. Highlights of this yr’s program embody an on-stage Q&A and musical occasion with veteran BAFTA and Grammy Award-winning composer Craig Armstrong (Radius, The Nice Gatsby). Title An Afternoon with Craig Armstrongthe occasion will see Armstrong in dialog with Edith Bowman about her profession and inventive course of. The occasion may even function dwell music carried out on stage by St Andrews music specialists.
The pageant will as soon as once more present its signature “That is all I do know…” sequence, the place main trade professionals talk about their present follow and the up to date market. This yr’s friends embody John Sloss, founder and CEO of Cinetic; Angela Russo-Otstot, artistic director of AGBO; and manufacturing designer James Worth. Prize credit embody The poor issues, incomes him each an Oscar and a BAFTA for Finest Manufacturing Design, in addition to titles akin to Bugonia, The Iron Claw, Converse no evil, And The Ippress folder.
Elsewhere, veteran screenwriter and filmmaker Charlie Kaufman will journey to St Andrews to participate in a stage session titled Shifting pictures: the poetry of cinema and vice versa alongside the poet Eva HD on the connection between cinema, poetry and the artistic unconscious.
Deadline’s Mike Fleming may even sit down with AGBO’s Joe Russo and Angela Russo-Otstot for an on-stage Q&A. They are going to be joined by a sequence of nameless particular friends.
The title of the closing night time of the pageant is that of Rohan Kanawade Cactus pears.