Attack the Block update!

If it's in Empire, then it must be true.
I thought production was farther down the line than this but I'm not complaining. I happen to be free in February if they need me!

It’s been circling for a while, but today it was finally confirmed that Attack The Block, the sci-fi comedy that will mark the directorial debut of the taller half of Adam & Joe, Joe Cornish, will start filming in February.
Edited to add that Joe also confirms this during his Arts Attack interview at The Roundhouse which was recorded a week earlier.

The story of a gang of Sarf London teenagers who are forced to defend their tower block from alien invasion, Attack The Block will see the culmination of Cornish’s increased involvement in the movie world.

Lately, for example, he’s co-written, with Edgar Wright, the screenplay for Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Black Unicorn, and is still working on the script for Wright and Marvel’s Ant-Man. Attack The Block, though, is a solo screenplay from the man who once narrated Empire’s short-lived TV show, Orange & Empire At The Movies.

Word on Cornish’s screenplay has been stellar for a while now, and we’re already looking forward to this one. The film will be a co-production between Big Talk and Optimum Releasing, with Nira Park and James Wilson producing. Edgar Wright is one of the film’s executive producers, along with Matthew Justice, Tessa Ross, Will Clarke and Jenny Borgars.

“Attack The Block is one of the most inventive and entertaining scripts we have ever read and a great project to kick off the relationship [with Big Talk],” said Will Clarke, CEO of Optimum Releasing. “We look forward to seeing the film come alive and thrilling audiences around the world."

Love the way they are using Joe's gorgeous bed-head picture.

Optimum Releasing is good news. They've gone from strength to strength over the last few years. I bloody love some of their choices. They've got a nice little trailers channel on YouTube and that.
Will it be too much to hope that we might get some Paul/Scott Pilgrim stylie production treats thrown at our stupid, eager, net-gazing faces?

The main thrust of the news is about the Optimum/Big Talk handshake.
This from Screen International.

The first film out of the deal will be Joe Cornish’s directorial debut Attack The Block, which will be launched at the next week’s American Film Market. Developed by Big Talk, and backed by Film 4 and UK Film Council, Attack the Block is about a gang of South London teenagers defending their tower block against an alien attack.

......and Variety.

The first project to come out of the Big Talk-Optimum deal will be Joe Cornish's "Attack the Block," about a gang of South London teenagers defending their tower block against an alien attack. Cornish's screenplay was the subject of keen interest in the U.K. film industry earlier this summer with studio interest in acquiring the project before Optimum topper Will Clarke prevailed.

THR has it covered too but it's all the same press statement waffle really.

Joe Cornish's directorial debut "Attack The Block," which will debut to buyers at next week's American Film Market via Studio Canal's sales arm, will be first out of the new look pact between the three.

What a delicious luxury for a British film with a debut feature director going in front of the cameras with distribution deals potentially in place.

Big ol' hearts going out to Cornballs.

This blogger has brought together all the little nibbles we've been sampling over the months. At first glance, the only omission is the lovely Robin Cooper AudioBoo and the little podcast reference to when Joe was storyboarding in August.

An attractive young woman walks home through dark, dangerous streets in south London. She falls into an ambush. Five ghoulish, hooded youths surround her— they take her mobile, her purse, her engagement ring, but they want more. Just then, a fireball explodes out of the sky and destroys a nearby parked car.

From the wreckage emerges a vicious little alien that the youths hunt down, kill and triumphantly parade back to their block. But their adventure is not over. The night is still young and the attack on the block has only just begun…

Surely, it can't be long before the IMDB entry edges out of "In Development" status so that the fan-buzz can begin.

Cam shots that made me smile......

On today's BBC 6Music show.


Looking at the Black Squadron command photos for "In Pants, In Street".



Joe laughing at Adam's beautiful Spanish guitar freeplay.



A kneeling faun. Just made me smile to see a long-legged, grown man kneeling on his chair like a kid. Furthermore, I'm fed up with worrying about Joe's posture and pursuant bad back.



The end of the show, hurrah!
The other webcam revealed that this is in fact the Commander showing the strains of being on night duty in his tireless efforts to service the needy women of the nation.



and they're off.........

Electric Proms - BBC6 Music has the visual evidence

The dictates of my heady social life have made this update a little tardy. I'm fairly pleased I didn't go into some lengthy waffle yesterday because I believe this little film says it all, or at least, quite a lot.

A bulging thank you to Adam, Joe, James and all the other people involved in bringing this wonderful hour of fun to us (or just under 13 minutes if you weren't there).


I know the BBC media isn't always available worldwide so you can find this split into three parts on YouTube.

I'm in a mood for some pointless drivel so I'll start by saying how warm and stupidly relieved I felt to see Adam togged up in his cycle gear. His L-bone must have fully recovered and his sudden chin alopecia seems to have abated as well. Buckles order has been restored.
Update: Really sad to say that either the MRI link on Saturday's show was a total sham, or the Lbone is not so painful as to prevent him at least wearing his cycling gear. So just when he starts to feel a bit better, someone steals his bike. This is rough justice of an extraordinary kind......just because of one indiscretion with an umbrella.

Was that Danny Wallace's voice doing the intro?

I was surprised that Joe didn't know why Adam's Quicktime/VLC comment caused a giggle or two. VLC is the final refuge of the stubborn media file but it's so bloomin' unstable. You don't want to go there unless you really can't 'Ctl, Clk. OpenWith' your way out of trouble using another media app. That said, at one point, Adam started to launch FinalCutPro and we'd still be sitting there waiting for it to load, if he hadn't swiftly aborted. I guess Joe must have a runner to open his media files for him nowadays, hence his confusion.

As with BUG, the show was driven from Adam's Mac and he had a nice bunch of silly files on his desktop. I'd seen some before but there were new ones too. Joe mused that the only genuine file was the one marked "Pictures of my genitals".

The compilation of some karoake entries was very satisfying, especially as several contributors were in the audience. It's a pity the video doesn't feature the Emmett family a bit more. You can see them sitting near the front of the audience but Joe talked to them quite a bit (and very sweetly, at some length after the recording). He should cast them in his film. Where else would you find an entire family so closely attuned and ready to perform?

Take a moment to see what a miracle young Ben Mercer worked with Joe's already wonderful song, bleeding fingers and all. All that talent and yet he looked so sweetly nervous sometimes.

Didds & Trish entertained everyone waiting in the entry line by emerging for a quick coffee swathed in scarves to hide their chin make-up. Their performance on the day was even better than their winning YouTube entry. If they were nervous, it didn't show and they really looked like they enjoyed themselves.

It's a shame Joe only sang over the fully mixed version of Dr Sexy but that concern pales in comparison to Adam's attempt to undermine the entire performance by pretending he'd never heard the song before with his weirdly detached portrayal of Nurse Totties. He was even trying to steal the limelight with a silly dance at the beginning. (Had to say that to balance the bit about Joe not knowing why VLC is a problem).
If you're wondering why Joe chose to serenade Ben, it was because he was the only person in the room with tight enough jeans. That's not entirely true because my jeans were very, very tight but I'd had a big breakfast and there's no cure for the particular strain of sexy disease that I have. Joe would have been all night trying to sort me out. Anyway, as you can see, Ben felt dirty after all that and from where I was sitting, it looked like he employed the international symbol for "I'm not yet comfortable enough with my sexuality to have a man almost twice my age run his mike up and down my body" but what do I know?

In reply to Joe's rendition of Dr Sexy, Adam did his Sushi song which he told us he put together some time ago in order to save the rhino (mission accomplished, I believe). Time didn't allow it to be included in this video, apparently but I enjoyed it. Joe doesn't like sushi. How does that work?

Adam told us of a pitch idea he blamed on Joe, to make a show called Silly Question Time and proceeded to pick random silly questions previously written down by the audience. When the author of the enquiry had been located, they were accosted with inappropriate touching and forced to read it out. The replies were the usual freeform we have grown to love.

Joe wanted to give us a teaser for some of this weekend's made-up jokes and delighted in the contemporary nature of an HD based item. Adam would have preferred a Blue Ray gag so put your thinking caps on.

Boggins the dog made a brief visit to the stage area but Adam managed to wrangle him into a box. Sadly, said box was a little bit too small for him which made it impossible for him to move his jaw. Joe wanted to take the temperature of the humane culling climate in the room and I think he seemed fairly pleased at the general enthusiasm to keep the sweet, stinky, old thing alive.

Edited to add that I completely forgot they showed their 1998 pop promo for Sweet Johnny couched in a brief anecdote about Dom Joly (had any new ideas lately?) and The Chart Show. Happily, this particular nugget is on the Tube for You.

It all went by too quickly but was gratifyingly rounded off with the much talked about silly home movie featuring the impossibly young Joe, Louis and Adam jerking around to Dee-Lite's "Groove is in the Heart". This was shown at the Greenwich BUG and one of the BUG 15s and I was quite miffed that I had previously missed it. It was demented. Thank you.

Here's the main Adam And Joe, Electric Proms page in case you missed it. It has about a dozen (that's twelve, Joe) photos.

I snagged one myself (see above) and in the video you might have noticed the extraordinary backdrop with a bearded Joe. Goodness knows why I find that strangely erotic. (shut up, Goodness. Keep it to yourself)

Finally, you may like to check out the day through the eyes of another blogger, here.

Nice little plug for Adam in the Independent

Viscount* Buckules hits the newstands again with a nice little plug for his gig next week.

Hmm......I really wonder if I can make this.......and then be too shy to look him in the eye.


* credit to WIckWox, for the updated nic, I think.

Electric Proms - BBC Website has pictures!

As the life of this blog rests in the balance due to slowly seeping embarrassment, I couldn't let the day pass without making some kind of post. I wasn't sure what to waffle on about but then the very efficient Electric Proms platoon of the Castle's cyberstaff put some snaps up at lightening speed.

So fill your boots with this little bunch.

I might come back with something silly to say about lunchtime with Adam and Joe but right now, all you need to know is that Ben was amazing, despite his sore throat and sick joke.

This was when Joe serenaded Ben Mercer. Just noticed the BBC are encouraging hotlinks.

Apparently, we'll have some video evidence sometime tomorrow (4pm has been mentioned elsewhere), according to Jane. I'm fairly confident I was hiding in plain sight.

Adam Buxton updates his blog

.......would it seem too needy to add 'at last' to that subject heading?

Details of BUG 16 and a Neil Young nugget from the Papal of Pop Video here.

If you're not sure what a BUG is like you can have a little taster lookie here. Not one soul I have recommended to see it has been disappointed, in fact it soon becomes a highlight of their social calendar.

And the winners are!

Well, I got one of them right and in any language, that's half, isn't it?

Very well done to all the entrants and most of all, to the lucky winners.

I hope you have the most delirious fun you can without taking your clothes off.

Nutty Room winners were Clemmers or Didds & Trish



...and as predicted.......Sontum of Quolace was won by Ben Mercer or @RightClickMusic or Tristram ....whatever.

I still can't believe how wonderful this entry is. I want a signed copy of your 'best of' CD, Ben.




Ctrl Click Save Linked File (as we say in Mac land)

Electric Proms Karaoke - You decide!

Here are as many entries as I could find for the Adam And Joe Karaoke Song Wars Electric Proms competition.The entry would be much too lumpy if I embedded all the little blighters.

Be warned that most of them are deliciously disturbing so don't watch them too late at night. There are some innovative props and plops. Some are best viewed with your sound card removed but with one possible exception, they are a work of true dedication that I can only salute and stand in awe of.

While I scrape myself of the awe-floor, I see that the sweetest man on the planet has diligently posted a comment on each of the Nutty Room entries. If that doesn't make them all proud, I don't know what will. We can't really expect the same from the Haughty Commander but we live in hopes.

I've tried to put them in order of submission date because I think that's worth consideration.

These are all the Nutty Room entries I could find.
The Wickles Sisters (Introducing CyberRuby) - 27th Sept
Dave Bignell - 28th Sept
Superman in his nutty loo - 30th Sept
Clemmers (Dids & Trish) - 1st Oct
Idiotholefull - 1st Oct (mostly audio)
Peter, Chloe and Ann - 1st Oct
Theo & Tom - 2nd Oct
adecentusername - 4th Oct
sgillisson - 8th Oct (no sound on this one?)
Our Lord Eric - 10th Oct
verynicejoe 11th Oct
iolanthe24 - 11th Oct
Holly & Jakes - 13th Oct
davinabowie - 13th Oct
Rob & Steve - 13th Oct
Ben Farrow - 13th Oct
kellyhobbins - 13th Oct
MrBenjaminThom - 14th Oct

E&OE

======================================

and here are the Sontum of Quolace

ofqualass 26th Sept
prettyboy Daniel Chester - 29th Sept
LactoseAlex "Quantum of Cheddar" - 1st Oct
hairballproductions1 - 3rd Oct
ofqualass - 3rd Oct (sadly disqualified due to double entry)
adecentusername - 4th Oct
Chris and Joci. - 6th Oct
The Emmett Family - 8th October
CoultersCandy - 8th Oct
Patrick Edwards, Rob Morton, James Spence, Josh Hatley, Stacey Ryder and Maddy St. John - 10th Oct
Nic Bowden - 11th Oct
Nic Bowden - 12th Oct (with amusing text additions to the first 'qualifying) entry)
Barnickal - 13th Oct
theelectrichead -13th Oct
Andrea & Richard - 13th Oct
CrispyNoodleCupGirl (Becky?) - 14th Oct
hermanthemunster (AKA the A Capello version) - 14th Oct

E&OE

======================================

......for what it's worth......these are the ones I can't stop playing



But will he be disqualified because he's too good (and possibly better than Joe?)



The original two-part harmony and the best.

Tim Groyn talks about passion for snooker

......for some reason, this very serious matter has plopped up in the BBC Comedy Blog.

Tardy Notification of BUG 16

This might be a BUG I have to miss but at the very least, it will be a last minute limbo under the wire. They're on the 12th and 20th November. One early, one later.

Silly season for films right now so I have to keep my options open for that one-in-a-million Q & A session with a demi-god.

Snooker - Buxton Stylie

Stop in now, Adam. Chuckle muscles need a rest, thank you, good.

A quick look at today's webcam.


1) Joe, what would Mummy say if she saw you with your feet on the furniture?



2) Best shot I could find of the Buckles Bandaging. Feel better, Adam. Ben is back! Joe is being too tall for the frame again.




3) There's Joe neatly folding himself into frame and the Beardless Buxton. Does that mean he's going to be on the telly? What are they doing for Fiona Bruce, and when? Perhaps he's just been to the bank manager for a loan.

Black Squadron Badges & T-Shirts

I really hope I'm not making a netiquette faux pas but I wanted to draw attention to the great work of Swede who has finally supplied us with much needed livery.

Please be sure that you are entitled to print & wear one of these. Only the elite listening squad may, in all good conscience, call themselves Black Squadron members. If you're not sure, click here.

Imagine the untold joy you'll have when you've deployed your card, scissors and glue to good effect.

You can even share photos of your handiwork here.

I couldn't resist this little display.


==========================================================

In the interest of fairness, this seems like a good time to link the amazing t-shirts by AdamK which I hope are still available here.

It helps when your mentor is a Shynola boy.

but that is not to take anything away from this wonderful winning entry for Ctrl.Alt.Shift's competition, featuring the ever more versatile voice of Adam Buxton.



Have a poke around the site for some other delicious treats and see my earlier post about festival activity.

Mumble to the Nation

........text the nation, retroText the nation, future text the nation, mediaeval text the nation, sci-fi text the nation, Japanese text the nation. You choose.

Twitter news:

@NotAPretender managed to secure a promise from @weeclaire that the full show would be listened to this week and NAP felt that this caused for a test, probe or 'Twizzle', if you will. I will admit to throwing these together a bit. I was not able to listen so attentively myself until later tonight........but here were my suggestions. I await @weeclaire's response

Question 1:- Which book about a dog and an autistic boy is Chavez demanding his subjects read?

Question 2: What's the name of the new single from Wild Beasts according to Adam?

Question 3: According to Joe Cornish, what would Alastair Stewart really like to call the Once Proud Queen of Europe?

Bonus easy question: Which section is the Adam & Joe show filed in?

Bit tardy but I'll put the answers in a comment, should anyone even remember this....or care.

Updated the pack with help from skiptotheend at the AdamAndJoe.com forum (supplied dog graphic)

Networthy Nuggets

How easily we become blasé. Edgar posted a third picture of Joe (in as many weeks) and I didn't even bother to link it. It made it's onto the Guardian Monkeyblog, but I couldn't be arsed.

Of course, that is not, in any way a truism. I was fumbling with other areas of my life and felt the need to rest this little blog for a few days.

Other Adam and Joe items to pop into the brainial cranial this week have been a couple of new blog entries giving a selection of their FAVOURITE Black Squadron photos from both the Pan Hat command and Poltergeist invasion. The blog entries also give links to the full galleries because their pledge to safeguard the listeners' trust means they have to pretend that there are no favourites.

There's a sniff of a rumour about something Count Buckules might be doing and lots of buzz about his dear, thomosexual friend. Once again, Adam will be presenting the MVAs at the Odeon Leicester Square for anyone lucky enough to get tix. Adam continues to narrate the BBC2 Philippe Starck doco Design For Life, he's doing a DJ slot tomorrow evening and a stand up slot in the 100 Club at the end of the month.

Joe is doing absolutely nothing at all. Not even playing with himself.*

So we come to the Electric Proms. The sweet, innocent jocks actually believed they weren't going to get any entries. It really never entered their fragile, self-deprecating minds that people were taking time to make amazing audition tapes.

Obviously, nobody would want to suffer the fate of Toddy Pipkins, the poor little lame boy whose sad disabilities might mean his entry won't reach them until a nano second after 4pm on 14th October, 2009 but people love Adam and Joe so very much.....
1) They want to impress them more than anything else they hold dear in life.
2) They want to see what other people do before they commit to their masterpiece.
3) They want to stand a better chance than the next person of actually worshiping in the comfort of Boggins' basket.
4) They know that idiotholes like me will find their entries, blog their entries, probably even tweet their entries and generally expose them to the ridicule of recognition.

I could go on but I was boring myself again. Do a search on YouTube and you might see some of the recent offerings. My search skills don't seem to be brill enough to come up with any MySpace results as yet. Don't forget to try for some tickets to watch the event.

In other news this week, I seem to have adopted a habit of changing my Twitter name to whatever catches my ear in The Show of the Week and on this occasion, it happily coincided with James' choice of podcast title. This feature may well be a one-off and cannot, in any way, be guaranteed as reliable.

Seen Ricky's film, seen a lady-man in a dress tell me about her life for a couple of hours, watched a week in the life of Orson Welles, saw David Hare's new play but the one thing I may not be in a position to do tomorrow is.........fully immerse myself into BBC 6Music listening.
I'm pretty sure I'll find a way to make Black Squadron but it may not have my undivided attention and if you're hoping for some more demented Twidiothole action, you'll be languishing in the joy deficit department.
I do what I can. What I can't do, will do no harm.

Sunday afternoon at iPlayer. Be proud.







* Joe is working, of course, like a ninny on his hoody film, chewing the end of his pens with Edgar and the Ant, playing with himself and anyone else he imagines into his little world.