Today at BAFTA Headquarters, the 2009 winner Noel Clarke announced the hotly anticipated nominee list for the Orange Rising Star Award 2010.

Orange’s accolade for up and coming talent is the only award at the Orange British Academy Film Awards to be voted for by the public. Voting takes place both atorange.co.uk/bafta and via text*. The winner will be announced at the Orange British Academy Film Awards on Sunday 21 February 2010.

To vote by text:

Now in its fifth year, the award has set a standard for identifying talent destined for super-stardom. Previous winners include James McAvoy in 2006, Eva Green in 2007, Shia LaBeouf in 2008 and Noel Clarke in 2009. Potential Rising Stars were proposed by BAFTA members and film industry insiders to create an initial long list of names. The jury, consisting of actors, casting directors, producers, media representatives and BAFTA Film Committee members, then selected the final five nominees via a secret ballot.

Noel Clarke, winner of 2009’s Orange Rising Star Award commented: “Winning the Orange Rising Star Award in 2009 was the highlight of my year. The fact that the award is the only one voted for by the public made it even more special. Since winning I have gone on to direct a brand new feature which is due to be released in the summer and I hope this year’s winner finds the accolade as beneficial to their career as I have.”

Hattie Magee, Head of Partnerships at Orange, “This year we are celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Orange Rising Star Award. Over the last four years we have presented the award to an impressive list of recipients who have gone on to achieve great things. We wish all of this year’s nominees the best of luck for the big night.Orange is proud to be involved in an award that enables communities of film fans to come together and get closer to the Orange British Academy Film Awards.”

David Parfitt, Chairman of BAFTA, said: “We are excited to be working with Orange again. The Orange Rising Star Award nominee list is as strong as ever and is sure to be one of the most anticipated awards of the night.”

This year’s Orange Rising Star Award jury is made up of: Noel Clarke (actor & director), Pippa Harris (producer), Jason Isaacs (actor), Fiona Weir (casting director), Charles Gant (film journalist), Simon Morris (LoveFilm), Kate Lee (Freud Communications), Melvin Odoom (KISS 100), Nev Pierce (Empire), Hannah Marriott (Grazia), Larushka Ivan Zadeh (Metro) and Jason Solomons (The Observer). The jury was chaired by David Parfitt (producer, Chairman of BAFTA).

Nominations were open to up and coming performers who have appeared in several feature films, with at least one of those films released in the current awards year, 1 January to 31 December 2009, with an extension period from 1 January to 19 February 2010.

The Orange Rising Star Award was created in honour of Mary Selway, the highly respected BAFTA-winning casting director whose career spanned three decades and over ninety films before she died in 2004. She worked with notable directors such as Steven Spielberg, Roman Polanski, Clint Eastwood and Ridley Scott, contributing to the creation of some of the silver screen’s most memorable characters.

THE A-TEAM follows the exciting and daring exploits of Hannibal Smith and his colorful team of former Special Forces soldiers who were set up for a crime they did not commit. Going “rogue,” they utilize their unique talents – and eccentricities – to try and clear their names and find the true culprit.

.

The flying tank arrives in July.

It’s a British film with an American star, and by heck is it good. For the first time Guy Ritchie has put together a film that does not have the made on a drunk set with wise cracks every two minutes, but a motion picture stolen from Hollywood.

What I liked was the explanation of what was going to happen and then the clinical delivery for the simple minute to minute action, but there is an underlying stream of what the hell is going on about it. Dark, like the ripper film From Hell, this is an explosive journey from one of the worlds best detectives.

Not since Snatch and, if I’m true to myself first seeing Lock Stock, has Guy Ritchie made a movie of this quality.  It’s like he doesn’t have a distraction in his life at the moment.

Reborn in his avatar form, Jake can walk again.  He is given a mission to infiltrate the Na’vi, who have become a major obstacle to mining the precious ore.  But a beautiful Na’vi female, Neytiri, saves Jake’s life, and this changes everything.  Jake is taken in by their clan and learns to become one of them.  As Jake’s relationship with his reluctant teacher Neytiri deepens, he learns to respect the Na’vi way and finally takes his place among them.  Soon he will face the ultimate test as he leads them in an epic battle that will decide nothing less than the fate of an entire world.

Wow, what can I say about this film to do it justice?  Well to begin with I better say thanks to Sky Movies HD for giving us a ticket to the premiere, usually we have to skulk around in dark screening rooms when reviewing movies but this time we got to walk the blue carpet, mingle with the stars (well just stand next to them and stare) and watch James Cameron passionately introduce a film which has clearly been a labour of love for a long time now.  I did try and take some pics from the event for you but failed dismally (we review we don’t photograph), if you want to see some from the event you’re best off heading over to HERE.

Anyway, back to the film.  I have to say I was a bit skeptical, the last movie I saw which was hyped as much as this was Transformers 2 and what a disappointment that was.  I also thought that, like others, the trailer looks a bit too much like a trailer for a game rather than a film so I really didn’t expect to see anything like the event that was being promised.  Well I have to tell you I was wrong, within 5 minutes of putting on my 3D glasses those big blue goofy fellas stop looking like CGI characters and the whole world comes to life.  Not only are the effects amazing, they become unnoticeable and stop looking like “good CGI” and rather you start to accept them for being real.  I’m not sure if this is thanks to the 3D or if its just because Cameron has crafted a superb story too with believable characters.

Before the movie began he was talking about an emotionality to the story which to be honest I thought was bullshit.  I thought we were just going to see something that was all style and no substance like most CGI heavy films, but he was right and you really start to care for the characters and feel their pain when things start to go wrong.

The use of 3D is really interesting.  Usually in 3D movies you have the characters pointing out of the screen a lot and waving things in the viewers face to show them it’s in 3D but in Avatar I can’t remember one bit where I felt I had to duck because something was flying out at me.  Rather than make the film all pointy, Cameron has just simply used 3D to immerse the audience in the world of Pandora and for me it really worked.  It would be interesting to go back and see this again now in 2D to see if it works just as well, I think it wont but it still will be a movie with a great plot which is what every movie needs at it heart.

I was truly blown away by this film and can’t recommend it enough, lets hope we don’t have to wait another 11 years before James Cameron makes another movie.  And once again a big thanks to SKY Movies HD for allowing me to attend a truly entertaining event.

Last year’s winner Noel Clarke is joined by film luminaries on the jury for

On the 1st December, Noel Clarke, winner of the Orange Rising Star Award in 2009, joined fellow jurors to cast their final votes for the 2010 Orange Rising Star Award nominee list. Orange’s accolade for up and coming talent is the only award at the Orange British Academy Film Awards to be voted for by the public. Voting opens when nominees are announced on 12 January 2010 via www.orange.co.uk/bafta

Now in its fifth year, the award has set a standard for identifying talent destined for super stardom. Previous winners include James McAvoy in 2006, Eva Green in 2007, Shia LaBeouf in 2008 and Noel Clarke in 2009. Potential Rising Stars were proposed by BAFTA members and film industry insiders to create an initial long list of names. The jury, consisting of actors, casting directors, producers, media representatives and BAFTA Film Committee members, then selects the final five nominees via a secret ballot.

This year’s Orange Rising Star Award jury is made up of: Noel Clarke (actor & director), Pippa Harris (producer), Jason Isaacs (actor), Fiona Weir (casting director), Charles Gant (film journalist), Simon Morris (LoveFilm), Kate Lee (Freud Communications), Melvin Odoom (KISS 100), Nev Pierce (Empire), Hannah Marriott (Grazia), Larushka Ivan Zadeh (Metro) and Jason Solomons (The Observer). The jury was chaired by David Parfitt (producer, Chairman of BAFTA).

The Orange Rising Star Award honours a young actor or actress whose talent has inspired popular acclaim from the British public. BAFTA members and the film industry were invited to recommend up and coming performers who have appeared in several feature films, with at least one of those films released in the current awards year, 1 January to 31 December 2009, with an extension period from 1 January to 19 February 2010.

The Orange Rising Star Award was created in honour of Mary Selway, the highly respected BAFTA-winning casting director whose career spanned three decades and over ninety films before she died in 2004. She worked with notable directors such as Steven Spielberg, Roman Polanski, Clint Eastwood and Ridley Scott, contributing to the creation of some of the silver screen’s most memorable characters.

Can’t believe it’s time to ramp up for the BAFTAs already.  It only seems like a short while since we were there.  Here’s a pic of Noel we managed to take on the red carpet of the last BAFTAs.

As we look back the year has been fantastic, the films have been some of the best we have seen mixed with some which have wasted our time. The events we have attended and reported back on have been a mix bag from the good ones (free booze) to the poor ones (no booze). We attended our first film festival, gave away our first DVDs and even managed to be in a couple of films too.

Coming Up:

-More reviews and news from the London Film Festival.

Having spent our time running around London cramming in as many titles and events as possible we will be completing the reviews and experience blog, running through the challenges in documentary film making and getting on set gossip from Julianne Moore.

-Awards Season.

Well its getting nearer to the time we look back at the years films and give gongs to the best of the best of the best, that’s acting. From Oscars to the BAFTA we will keep you posted on what to watch, and who won what.

The Jameson’s Empire Film Awards are even giving you the chance to attend the 2010 awards and rub shoulders with the stars, get full details and upload your entries on to www.empireonline.com/awards2010. The closing date for entries is 29 January 2010

-Films

The whole idea of this site is to give you our opinions on the biggest and best films, but also the old ones which are classics and some obscure ones which we didn’t expect to enjoy.

There’s two big films coming out soon and we will endeavor to let you know what we think of them as soon as we can.  Which are you more excited about; Sherlock Holmes or Avatar?

-WIN A TENNER

Yep, win hard cold cash, readies, spondolar, Wonga, wedge. From this article we are running a competition to get your feedback and letting us know what you think. To win, its simples, what has been the highlight of 2009 on Filmchair.com and what can we do to improve?  Answer both of those to be in with a chance to win.  Answers will be put into different categories (abusive, rude, funny, pointless and constructive) and the winning ones will be chosen at random from the constructive category.  Please email competitions@filmchair.com by December 11th 2009.

Thanks for reading

Alex

This film sounds really cool. The concept of the world blowing up and just kicking back at all the crap we throw at it. Unfortunately it is not cool, it is long, drawn out and very uninteresting to watch. I have to warn you that its well over 120 minutes long and you will think, “Why am I sat here? It must end soon” but it just won’t.

3D would have made this movie brilliant with explosions and volcano eruptions, but as one of the only non 3D releases of 2009 it has surely missed the point. It tries to please everyone, but films like this just can not work like that. It seams that every cast member just turned up for a fat pay cheque and for something to do to kill the time. My highlight of this film was when someone leant into my ear during the Presidents (Danny Glover) rousing speech and informed me he was two days from retirement.

The plot does have substance but unlike Independence Day before it you don’t feel connected and you don’t feel roused by any of the speeches. Once one world wide recognised symbol of a country collapses you get the drift, you almost think they will show something from every country on the planet.

Luck, every disaster movie needs a little luck for the heroes to succeed in escape and survival. With 2012 luck is almost a character, from driving down a road collapsing behind the back wheels (this can have car replaced with small plane and large plane), a dog tightrope walking back to its owner and numerous other ways that will ultimately ruin the film if you ever do decide to watch it.

For best results I would suggest reading the plot summary on IMDB as for some reason some Muppet has but in detail everything that happens to ruin it for people who have not spent money to see it as yet.

Jeremy Piven tries to capitalise on his Entourage character Ari Gold in this B Movie escapade which makes for light watching. With cameos from Hollywood worst investment actor Will Farrell and the lead singer of the band ‘The Good Old Boys’ from The Blues Brothers I did enjoy this film.

What makes it great is watching for other actors who are making it big and coming forth from hits like The Hangover, and Couple Retreat. There are more people out there that can be included it seems in the Frat Pack.

The film itself is a simple story, with funny scenes sown in to make it more then an apprentice style challenge with one of them getting fired at the end of the show. One of the highlights for me was the Animal House style where are they now end title sequence.

Don’t rush out to buy this as it will be disappointing, but look out for it on the movie channels and settle in with a few beers and the boys. But there are moments that tears may just roll down your face with the carnage that can be involved in selling some cars.

Edgar Wright, commented: “I’m delighted to be judging the Jameson Empire Awards’ Done In 60 Seconds competition, which is such a great concept for any film lover.

“As a teenager I’d make amateur films, trying to recreate shots from my favourite directors like Sam Raimi and Martin Scorcese, with makeshift props. This competition has that at its heart, only we’re asking for a complete remake in 60 seconds, a good challenge for any budding filmmaker trying to hone their skills. I’m very intrigued to see the films other countries will choose.”

The top 20 entries will come to London for a semi-final event on 26 March, where the jury will select the final five nominees. These five will have the chance to rub shoulders with A-List stars at the Jameson Empire Awards on 28 March, where the winner will be announced.

Film fans can get full details and upload their entries on to www.empireonline.com/awards2010. The closing date for entries is 29 January 2010.

The Jameson Empire Awards celebrate the film industry’s success stories of the year with Empire Magazine readers voting for the winners. The awards ceremony are held in London and deemed by many in the industry as the most fun awards in the British movie calendar, making it the perfect match for Jameson.

Three years ago Sacha Baron Cohen introduced the world to Borat, an offensive and extremely funny character, now he’s back with a new character who’s even more offensive but I’m afraid to say not quite as funny.

Bruno makes for a slightly uncomfortable viewing.  It’s hard to describe and categorise this film as it really made me laugh but it also made me really squirm in my seat and cringe.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it but I won’t be putting myself through another viewing too soon.  It’s an odd sensation to be feeling really awkward about what you’re watching but still laughing out loud too.

Cohen did the same with Borat but with that movie he managed to make it offensive enough to be hilarious but not so offensive it makes you want to turn off, unfortunately with Bruno he had me wishing it would hurry up and finish.

DVD Extras

-Alternative Scenes
-Deleted Scenes
-Extended Scenes
-An Interview with Lloyd Robinson
-Enhanced Commentary - Go behind the cameras and hear the true stories of how Sacha Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles pulled off their unscripted stunts with celebrities, politicians and other unsuspecting people