Junery Buffoonery

Once again, I'm retro-posting this in August but fooling everyone that I did it in June.

Total Film posted a lovely picture of Joe Cornish attending the World War Z premiere (as did Tanya). Adam was refused an invite due to the CK business*.

Theo Bosenquet has written a piece about Luke Treadaway (Brewis from Attack the Block) and the charity event he organised to help Autism charities. It was a really cool evening with some fantastic contributors.

Franz Drameh from Attack the Block was named as one of Screen International's 2013 UK Stars of Tomorrow.


Tim Butcher talked to Adam in a pod, like a pea.



Somebody :rolleyes: has put Adam's section of Celebrity Mastermind on YouTube.



Anthony Rubio has tatooed up his arm ATB-style!

Adam has finally put their Women's Hour radio play on his Soundcloud.




The PayPal Etail Awards invited Adam to present on the gong night.


Ben Steers took a sneaky picture of Adam at Here2013 as he composed a jingle "Wednesday Shag", before his very eyes.  It's Nice That have more pictures here.

You can check back on all the Buxty gigs you missed over at Hobbsy's fansite.

* I made that up.

'Tis the season of chocs and mallow bunny bits

I had a packet of choccie raisins a minute ago but I can't find them now.

Apart from that last post, there's been precious little real information on here since New Year's Eve so my aim is to remedy that. This'll be long and you won't read it all.

Whilst reminding everyone about the imminent 6Music Easter Week Bowie Love-in featuring a couple of hours with Adam Buxton on Easter Sunday, I can finally share a link to the on-stage interview that preceded Adam's Bowie-Based introduction to his Screen Epiphany at the BFI last year. Sadly, they are no longer hosting these films at their dedicated microsite and don't support embedding so there's no sexier way of linking this other than hotting up his page and leaving you to navigate from there.

The edit makes it seem as though the interviewer tried to steal the show but the actual introduction seemed more balanced at the time. It's a pity they don't include any of the other hoopla Adam gave us but if you've been to a BUG recently, you'll have an idea. It wuz laughful with fond dizrespectocitization.

Sky Atlantic have been repeating BUG and Adam has put the first episode on his YT Channel if you're overseas, too lazy or too self-righteous to have watched it by more devious means.
Enjoy!

It would seem those Sky fools do not intend to commission a second series. Listen (and watch) what Adam has to say about that here (recorded at the Norwich Playhouse earlier this month). This is an ideal opportunity for BBC2 to swoop in and take BUG over, you'd think.

Adam is featuring in Kevin Eldon's new Sunday evening show "It's Kevin" at the moment. I say featuring - he's in at least one sketch. Lovely Sally Grosart has made a Paper Person of his character.

Take a little break from reading and watch a Famous Guy clip from Edinburgh there.

After one of Adam's radio shows with Edith, a lot of people were asking about the source of that insanely wonky boooozum inflection piece. It's here.

Robyn Hitchcock had a birthday gig in Shoreditch. Not only was Adam there, he joined the crowd on stage.

There were tweeted pictures from Adam's Union Chapel gig although this one looks like The Horne Section.

I don't want to make this post too lumpy with video links but Adam uploaded a higher res version of his Popepropriation video to coincide with the recent Italian smoking party.

Emma Gutteridge shared some lovely photographs of Adam at the DiscoShed DJing gig.

Tim made this Skyfall/Buxton mash to delight your ears and eyes.

In the last couple of months, Adam chose Soundcloud to put some of his beautiful nuggets that a) don't have YouTubery to go with or b) are so good, they need to be downloadable for mp3 playerage. To single one of them out would be wrong but I was never going to be allowed into the kingdom of right.

You can read about and listen to Adam's Red Nose Day activities here at the new home of my nugget blog. The old nugget blog will be pulled at the end of April. I transferred the words but the sound may take a while longer to link up, although they are all online at Archive.org.

The Grimshaw man also showed Adam's Sushi Song during his late night Red Nose Day show on BBC1.

Adam's diary continues to fill and I've linked my silly list up at the top of this blog. Do check to see if BUG is coming to your town. As well as London's regular shows next week, there are dates for places like Bradford, Sheffield, Brummingshire, Belfast, Leicester and even Lincoln in the mix now. He's taking his Fat Boy Slim show to Brighton and doing a Warp Records Special in London.

You know, the BUG team are always open to venue suggestions. If your town has a cool place with projection facilities, a good sound system and preferably a nice bar, drop them a line.

Adam's Leicester Square Best of BUG was a sensational evening with Buxty prancing around the stage in his sexy new specs to the delight of many BUG virgins. It's lovely watching newbies. They can't quite believe what they're seeing and finally realise how uncomfortable endless laughter can be.

He did a little Popropriation section and by way of explanation & example to BUG virgins, he cited the Gillette jingle and it's use by Mike Shinks whenever his wife Fran doubts his worthiness. It gave me a little nostalgia wobble.

♫ Mike Shinks!  The Best that Fran could Ge-e-et ♫

 

Adam showed one of Peter Serafinowicz's Hot Chip videos despite the blighter not turning up for the japery. That reminds me, Adam and Peter have contributed their voice skills to the new Nintendo Lego game. While I'm talking about Lego, I have to share a shot of silent film boffin, Mr Hope Lies' wonderful Lego Cinema. He'll also be reporting from BUG at Docfest and BIFF with any luck.

Fortunately, Adam's proper guest, Edgar Wright did turn up and his showing of some Ant-Man test footage caused a little Disney Net Ripple while most of us were in bed. Somebody filmed it from the audience and put it on YouTube but it was swiftly removed. I shudder to think how poor the quality would have been. The sad thing is, it was probably uploaded by a huge fan on Edgar's who didn't understand why it was a bad thing to do. It really makes you wonder......but at least it gave the blogs plenty to witter about for a few seconds.

The only really new sniff of Ant-Man recently has been this from January. Marvel's Ant-Man Facebook page is currently still Stark infested from last October. The release date is slated for November 2015 which is six months after the next Avengers film.

Talk of Ant-Man finally takes proceedings to Joe by association.

There's virtually no public news about Snow Crash or Rust. I guess both are still noodling about with scripts. This is understandable. I mean, Snow Crash is too long to make into a film, apparently.

The hard copy of Sci-Fi mag had this page about Rust but I've yet to read it. Lovely Royden was on the Archaia stand at the ECCC chatting about the various volumes of Rust. There was a little mention about the film from Royden at a Livestream event a while ago too.

If I've missed any other news about either of these films, please let me know.

There have been some Attack the Block screenings lately. Being from the future and altogether topsy-turvey, Melbourne had a Rooftop Cinema screening. In Camberwell, it was free and followed by a Q and A with Leeon Jones. In Hornsey it was only a quid but unfortunately they have a gzillion lumins light that shines directly downwards about a foot in front of the projector beam, rendering the picture that eventually arrives on the screen almost invisible.

Tyler Stout includes Attack the Block in his range of artwork which he sells in limited edition.

If I could justify the price of yet another copy of Attack the Block, I'd go for the Japanese version as it has these little darlings stuffed in the packaging.

Somebody made this amusing bit of art and tagged it Attack the Block.

The school that Attack the Block's John Boyega went to are rightly proud of him. Simon 'Biggz' Howard helped to launch Becoming Brixton in January. Jodie Whittaker is currently giving a beautiful performance in ITV's Monday night series 'Broadchurch' and Luke Treadaway has transferred his heartbreaking portrayal of Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time to the West End. Nick Frost has finished pick-ups for Cuban Fury and has now taken the lead in Mr Sloane for Big Talk.

The poor cloud hair lady was made to suffer another outing with Joe's ethereal song in January.

Such is the scarcity of Cornballs news, all I can report is that he had fish and chips in Balham on 11th March, unless of course, it was Nicholas Rowe......or that sport ball man.... Anyhoo, it makes a change from dining at Moro.

On 1st February, 6Music spent the day running through a listener-voted top 100 tunes and it warmed my cockles to discover that giggly Jude (an Adam and Joe producer of yesteryear) was listening all the way over in American Land.

During the last couple of weeks I've heard Mark Radcliffe (or was it Stuart) and Lovely Lettuce Laverne struggle with the pronunciation of Wymondham which gives me a good excuse to link a beloved nugget.

Someone tweeted a Bronholme based hoodie fashion statement.

Adam and Joe's 6Music podcast still gets included in the iTunes 'What's Hot' section but their BBC Blog is sadly in line for mothballing*.

On Valentine's Day Adam gave us the gift of song and a couple of 6Music listeners celebrated their Adam and Joe based union.

People are still telling Adam he looks like Mandy Patinkin, Eric Cantona and other Random Bearded Men. When will this madness end? He's cleverly adopted a 'with glasses' look that should fool them for a while.

You know Stephen! right? Of course you do. Well he's done a book you can get for fewp'nce on your Kindling thingling or fill your hands with treespew. Just Reading! Surely Big Talk will option the film rights for this?

Tom Haigh unearthed and upshot some archive footage from a time when Edgar Wright was legitimately small and huggable. They were duly blogged here and here.

Other random things I feel like telling you is that David Byrne's Roundhouse show is selling fast.  Both Basement Jaxx and Goldfrapp at Somerset House sold out ages ago but astonishingly, you can still grab tickets for Richard Hawley which is a dreamy thing to do of a Summer's evening. You can also see Colin 'Black' Vearne at the Bush Hall for not much cash.

Finally, apropos of nothing at all, I'd like to pimp my two favourite t-shirt stores: DBT and Archane.

*The 'more information' link at the Adam and Joe 6Music blog implies that the blog will be around for a while longer. I think it would cause more harm if they removed it.

When do you delete pages from bbc.co.uk?

In general our policy is only to remove pages where the information provided has become so outdated that it may lead to actual harm or damage.

Unaccustomed as I am to sensationalism: Exclusive Attack the Block Interview with Joe Cornish

Incredible though this may seem, Joe Cornish has answered not some but all of Auntie Nubbins' ridiculous questions about Attack the Block.

Joe Cornish is two halves of directing and writing duo, Joe Cornish. His debut film, Attack the Block is a great big dollop of cinematic awesome and will receive it's UK premiere on Wednesday at the Vue, Leicester Square.

Before we get into the meat and potatoes of this (there's a falafel & pitta option if you're vegetarian), I should make a few things clear.

1) It has been well established over nearly two years of waffle on here, I am not a journalist. A proper journalist would probably edit their questions to make themselves sound better in hindsight but these are of the pure, vanilla form in which I tossed them to Joe.*
2) He was kind enough to do this via the internets. I have not sniffed his vapour. I do not have any connection with the man himself.
3) I sent the sweet genius a ton of stupid questions expecting him to pick a handful but he went and answered all of them. Some are sillier than others.
4) The questions were devised a couple of weeks ago during the moments of euphoria after having just seen the film. I could have put more thought into them but I didn't. (See point 1)
5) I was trying to pose many of them in the pretentious manner heard from one of those ponces you get at film festival Q & A's who are more intent on hearing their own voice and parading their encyclopaedic (albeit often shaky) knowledge of the questionees oeuvre than extracting or absorbing an answer.
6) The temptation to respond to some of his answers was overwhelming but the poor soul gave me enough of his time already.
7) Thank you. Thank you, Joe Cornish. Thornish.

THERE WILL BE SPOILERS

AN: You've spoken publicly about the provenance of using Tom Townend as your DoP and the fact that your lovely producers tried to persuade you to use more heavyweight personnel. I'm only a silly but quite apart from the beautiful look he gives, surely Tom's experience in the anal retentive world of advertising and the kick, bollock & scramble of music video made him a truly pragmatic choice for this project. How much resistance did you actually encounter to securing him for the job and how many days into production was it before they (the producers) began to relax?

JC: It is not true that my lovely producers tried to dissuade me from using Tom Townend as DOP on Attack The Block. On the contrary, they were and are extremely supportive of everything I wanted to do, they merely cautioned me that using a comparatively less experienced (in terms of features) DOP would be a harder sell to the investors. In truth, as soon as everyone met Tom and saw his work, they were immediately as convinced as I was that he was the man for the job. I feel very lucky that Tom agreed to work on ATB. I think he's a genius.

AN: There are actors whom, for my own pleasure and satisfaction, I keep a gentle eye on as they leave drama school and by some wicked coincidence both Jodie and The Treadaways number among them. I now have a new slew of tiny talent tots to bother about. John Boyega seems like a remarkable young man but do you envisage that the other young actors, those garnered more from street casting, will pursue this as a career now?

JC: None of the main young cast members in Attack The Block were 'street' cast. They had all at least shown interest in acting at school, or been involved in some kind of drama or theatre group on a local level. Most of them were around 16 or so when we shot the film and I couldn't be prouder of them. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if any or all of them pursue acting as a career. I wish them all the success in the world.

AN: Forgive me for not paying enough attention to every little precious detail but the track you wrote and performed.....where is that in the film? What was it called, Bing Bong or something? I should say, you rate A+ on my does-the-score-fit-the-end-credits-o-meter and the entire sound design was flippin' amazing to my ears and my eyes.

JC: That'll be 'Baked Beats'. We kind of ran out of money for music towards the end of post production, so I put something together myself one weekend to play in the background of a scene. I'm not going to tell you which scene, for no other reason than to be gratuitously mysterious.

I'm very glad you liked the sound design. We spent an extra couple of bonus weeks working on the creature noises and the overall mix to refine everything. There's a hell of a lot going on in terms of audio, and we had to work hard to make sure all the different elements punched through clearly.

AN: There's a 1980's Habitat mug in Ron's flat that matches the wallpaper in the very first kitchen I owned. Did you chose any props because of specific sentimental values?

JC: That mug would have been chosen by Marcus Rowland and one of his crack team of mug selectors. I didn't put any trinkets on the set myself. I guess the personal sentimental value in the film for me is in the locations where we shot it; streets that I've known since I was a kid.

AN: You've said the creature was partly inspired by the silhouette of your childhood family cat but there's a touch of the Sasquatch in there too, isn't there? I know it's a quadruped but even so.

JC: Yes. Of course. Bigfoot guides my hand in all I do. And also the illustration on the side of the Space Invaders arcade cabinet. And the American Werewolf in London werewolf.

AN: Hitting the ground running with all those weeks of night shoots, did you manage to maintain a balanced diet at all times and have a ready supply of clean underkecks?

JC: I had one can of Coke a day. And quite a lot of Froggos**. We had a craft services van that made very tasty hot panninis with pesto and salami and cheese. 'Youwannapannini?' was an on-set catchphrase. And yes, my underkecks are always clean. Genuine Calvin Klein. Fresh today.

AN: I notice I'm not being quite as obsequious as a proper journalist's agenda would dictate. You know that's just because any fawning I did would have little currency coming from me, wouldn't it? Did you have any press junket coaching and quote brainstorming? (Please don't use the term 'needle drop' in your answer here, thank you x).

JC: No, no junket coaching or quote brainstorming. But I've been the interviewer in junket situations once or twice when presenting Radio 4's film show Back Row. And as I've discovered, making a film necessitates the discussion of every element in great depth many times with many different people so, by the time the thing's finished, one's opinions are already fairly well formed.

AN: You've cited some 137 films that have influenced your creation of Attack the Block. Did you dream this list up in hindsight as you gradually began to understand where all this stuff had come from or did you sit in a laboratory and study every film ever made before you even put pen to paper?

JC: I knew before I started writing what kind of a film I wanted to make, so I watched movies that I loved that I thought had a similar tone or style, both before and while I wrote. Those are the movies I mention as having influenced it.

AN: Brian Dowling was your construction coordinator. How important was to you to include a reality show winner? Were you hoping some of his post Big Brother success might rub off on you?

JC: We really wanted handyman Craig Philips, winner of season one. But obviously he's in huge demand shecuring (not a typo) shelves internationally, so we couldn't get him. Brian is less good at DIY, but as you say, it's important to have some kind of Big Brother winner around at all times.

AN: There are only a few films that can genuinely sustain the excesses of two hours or more running time but Attack the Block is a gratifyingly compacted into the ideal viewing length or 'lavvy to cola consumption ratio', if you will. Were you always working to that or did some minor character studies get nuked in the Amos-olator suite? Were there any constructive editorial interventions from the grown-ups?

JC: I always wanted to make a 90 minute film. It was in my director's statement which came with the script when we were raising the finance. That we came a few minutes under is merely the result of twisting the tap a couple of turns tighter in the edit just to keep things as lean and mean as possible, which was always the idea.

AN: Are you happy to talk about the additional shooting you did towards the end of last year? Was this footage you'd hoped to achieve during principal photography but could only be funded once the purse had seen the spectacular bang you were putting together.......or did you get that awful sinking feeling in the cutting room when you realised the narrative was compromised by the lack of a scene or two. Or did Boggins do a little wee on the neg?


JC: All feature films shoot pick-ups if they possibly can. It's a standard part of the process. Small, essential elements that you didn't have the time or resources to get during the main shoot. Some pretty memorable shots in the history of cinema are pick-ups. The severed head popping out of the wreck in 'Jaws' was shot months after principal photography in the producer's pool. The shot of the Terminator's eye being crushed at the end of 'The Terminator' was shot months later in someone's garage. We did one or two bits and bobs, but nothing that interesting. And Boggins was kept WELL AWAY.

AN: I set myself the unenviable but ultimately rewarding task of avoiding all the clips and trailers until I'd seen the film for the first time. The teasing started very early in relation to the release date in the UK and I know you appreciate the joy of coming to a film completely cold. Do you have mixed feelings about the amount of advance media out there?

JC: Not really - though I admire your ambition. There's a lot more to the film than the trailer suggests, and we've been careful to pick clips from early in the story. It's a competitive market and we've got to try and make a bit of noise. Optimum are doing a brilliant job I think.


AN: How did you feel when you realised the art department had cocked up with the spelling of Wymondham Tower?

JC: Much less confused than I do by that question.

AN: You did a stunning photo session with Pal Hansen. Did you discuss the concept for it at any length or was that entirely Pal's idea which you played along with like a silly dolly?

JC: Pal was a very persuasive and charming man. It was all from his brainium. He brought along that mysterious melty substance. So, the silly dolly answer.

AN: Would I be right in thinking there's not an aliens chance in South London of the OST hitting the shops anytime soon?

JC: Happily you're wrong. The score will be available both physically and digitally, pretty soon I hope.

AN: Have your Mummy and Daddy seen it? Have you levelled with them about being like Brewis?

JC: Yes my parents have seen the film. Plus they've seen all four series of The Adam and Joe Show and listened to the vast majority of my radio output and they raised me. I have few secrets from them, if any.

AN: Will you get some 'proper' shoes for the premiere?

JC: Probably not.

AN: Will I be numbing my arse on the cobbles of Somerset House this Summer to see it again?

JC: I can but dream of such a thing.

Edited to add, Joe's dream has come true!

AN: Can I have a crew jacket/hoodie thang....or a poster.....or a tickle.......or a punch?

JC: I don't have a poster myself yet. We've run out of ATB hoodies. And the tickle and punch are only available in a twin pack...

AN: I think you've said that Edgar Wright had a brilliant idea for a sequel but you're savvy enough to realise that probably shouldn't be your next directorial outing. Do you have any particular aspirations for your second stab in terms of genre and would you shoot someone else's script if it was good enough? Will you go out of your way to make sure most of the action takes place in daylight this time?

JC: Yes, yes and not telling.

AN: Ant-man blah, blah, blah?

JC: mumble mumble avoid question cough

AN: Do you have a ready supply of Caramac? My cash & carry sells them in bulk.

JC: Am off Caramacs at the moment. Am enjoying an 'Oh Henry' or two these days.

AN: ....just in case you've been l o n g i n g for someone to ask this:

AN: Who are you?
JC: Jedward
AN: What do you do?
JC: Jedward
AN: Who do you do?
JC: Jedward
AN: Faves?
JC: Jedward
AN: Worsties?
JC: Jedward
AN: Jedward?
JC: Yes, Jedward.

AN: .....and finally, if you could change one thing about Auntie Nubbins, what would it be? Be as wude as you like, she isn't real. (Clue: The correct answer is "who is Auntie Nubbins?")

JC: Who is Auntie Nubbins?


So there it is. I'm happy to say he answered all the questions absolutely correctly so he is completely entitled to his soon to be dispatched bucket of WIN!

Thanks again to Joe. He has made a viscerally thrilling and endearing job of his first feature. I hope it affords him the opportunities he has so patiently and diligently pursued.

If your appetite has not been sated by this waffle, you can read the answers to some questions from proper journalists at the links found here.

Attack the Block is in cinemas across the UK on 11th May, 2011

and the original soundtrack is released on 16th May, 2011.

*At the eleventh hour, I decided to omit one question pertaining to the creatures because I was concerned it might be a bit too spoilery, even for this.

** Think he meant Freddos.

Bit too tootie to pad this out.....

I'll just dump some bits on you tonight because my fingers aren't choreographing quite as Busby Berkeley would have preferred right now.

The Leicester Comedy Festival has been all aTwitter with Buckles love and Simon Button is now proudly sporting this joyous picture on his home page.


An innocent tweet earlier in the week provoked several lovely geeky sites into editorial meltdown with the news that the hithero dozily dreaming Ant-Man project was clearly just taking a lot of bunched-up power-naps. It's thrown back it's bleary head, downed a triple Espresso, stretched all three pairs of legs and scuttled along the formica worktop to the steamy kitchen of production. (I need to stop right now, don't I?)

Keeping with the Wright/Cornish news, there have been further updates on the IMDB page for Attack the Block, the most significant of which was some concrete casting news. Luke Treadaway will play "Brewis". I could bore you all with my Treadaway waffle for ages of pages but suffice it to say he's been a Philip Ridley poppet on stage and also appearing in the long awaited (by me) Heartless due for release in May by which time we can only hope that ATB principal photography will be in the can and he can dance around the junket circuit with candid waffle to delight us all. He was last seen by my eyes with all manner of gloopy stuff dribbling over his poorly clad body with his twinster at the Royal Court - a Mark Ravenhill play. This boy has made some enviably cool choices in his career so far and that doesn't look like it will stop anytime soon. We won't mention The Innocence Project (much). I wouldn't say it's 'The Persuasionists' of his cv but it was one of those 'good performances, clunky writing' pieces. Other additions to the IMDB imply that the Art Department are getting locked into position too.

I'm rather frustrated that the gaffer has been listed but we don't yet know who the Director of Photography will be. Julian White worked on Enda Walsh's "Chatroom" (the cast of which included the 11th Doctor when I saw it on stage) which I believe was part of the deal in the Film4 package that included Attack the Block and has been rolling out over the last 18 months. The DoP would have chosen his gaffer rather than had one imposed upon him so someone's got the job and has probably been prepping with Joe for weeks now. We just don't know who that is. I know I'm sounding stupidly geeky here but there is so much serious kudos attached to this film. I have a funny feeling that the industry types must be creaming themselves to get on board. If Mr Haughty weren't consumed with trembling, girly apprehension, he'd have a moment to burst with pride.

Studio Canal are doing their duties to the film at the EFM part of the Berlinale . I'm amused to see Joe's name in a sentence with Rowan Joffe and Percy Adlon.

Flippin' heck, I've bored myself senseless.

Remember that lovely little short Adam appeared in a couple of years ago? It's being subjected to a public vote in the British Animation Festival and can be seen around the country this month. Check here for details near you. You need to look for Prog Three but frankly, they'll all be wickles. There are stills to whet your appetite and here is a that tiny clip from YouTube.


BUG 18 tickets went on sale to the public on Tuesday and sold out a couple of days later. At the risk of sounding like a broken mp3 player, in my experience there are always tickets on the day if you don't have to make too many hard and fast plans and can take a risk on it. Smite me for saying it but the 'director's cut' is never usually as good value as the first show but it's better than no show at all.

There was a bit of grammar brickbatting over on the 6Music Blog with a suggestion for a t-shirt to wear whilst listening to podcasts in public areas. James also took us down memory lane with a bit of Stephen streetware at the blog.

Edgar Wright is hosting a late night of Death Wish III next week and there's a Spaced finger gunfight flashmob planned in a few weeks' time. Scott Pilgrim news also trickles through Edgar's Blog.

Finally and with deep respect to Andrew Collins and Richard Herring, I'm going to post my daily AdamAndJoeByte earlier or later than usual tomorrow because I was chastised for appearing to poke them during their broadcast last week. I don't have enough twollowers for that to really make one jot of difference to anybody but if it peeved Andrew, that's one peeved person too many and I am bemused but sorry.