Stuart Craig obituary

Oscar-winning production designer who helped recreate the fantastical world of Harry Potter in intricate detail on screen The production designer Stuart Craig, who has died aged 83 after suffering from Parkinson’s disease, played a major role in bringing the fantastical, magical world of Harry Potter to the screen. Craig’s set design skills had won him three Oscars, for Gandhi , Dangerous Liaisons and The English Patient , but creating the look of the film versions of JK Rowling’s stories about the schoolboy wizard was the crowning glory of his career. He worked on all eight films in the series, from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 2001 to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 2011, leading a large team of concept artists, art directors, set decorators, construction workers, painters and decorators, prop makers, plasterers and model makers. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/UG5nTaB via IFTTT

The G review – Dale Dickey is gamechanging gangster granny out for vengeance

Dickey is a revelation as a harder-than-nails woman exploited by the US’s legal guardian system in an otherwise overcooked thriller

The “G” in this low budget revenge thriller is 72-year-old Ann Hunter. That’s “G” as in “Granny”, a nickname given to her by her granddaughter. The joke is that Ann does not fit anyone’s stereotype of a granny. To call her hard-as-nails would be an understatement: nails can bend, but the G is harder, cold, mean and sarcastic. When she reaches for a bottle, dirty washing stacked up around the sink, no clean glass to hand, she pours her vodka neat into an empty yoghurt pot.

The G is played by character actor Dale Dickey, whose TV credits include Breaking Bad and My Name Is Earl. On film, she’s best known for a supporting part in Winter’s Bone, but I have to confess I didn’t recognise her. Having seen her in action here, I’m a convert. The G is heartless and unlikable, her battered face set in a permanent scowl – and yet Dickey conveys a woman shaped by her experience; there’s a backstory eventually about her childhood in Texas explaining the rage and anger. Her performance is a much-needed plus in a film that would otherwise lack a bit of substance.

Continue reading...

from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/39I5LsC
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

BREAKING: Interstellar back in cinemas due to public demand; Dune: Part Two to also re-release on March 14 in IMAX

EXCLUSIVE: Mona Singh gears up for an intense role in an upcoming web series; Deets inside!

Kangana Ranaut and Arun Govil to fight on BJP tickets in the Lok Sabha elections 2024