center stage

Center Stage The best in the world of film and music Issue #1

3 The Social Network does David Fincher's latest deliver?

4 Arrietty and Sucker Punch Studio Ghibli's next instalment and the CGI heavy-ass girls.

6 Bloc Party The return of one of Britain's finest bands.

7 Marina & The Diamonds The Welsh beauty ready to take it to the next level.

contents

Center Stage Issue #1

Image from IMDB.com Image from rockitoutblog.com

Image from IMDB.com

In this issue...

Cover story...

1 Center Stage Issue 1

Image from IMDB.com

Movies on our radar

4

The Social Network Zuckerberg goes from spoilt brat to rich spoilt brat.

With David Fincher‟ thought provoking

serial killer thriller Se7en, his „fight for

your life‟ prison drama Fight Club and

after the success of drama/mystery of The

Curious Case of Benjamin Button, many

wandered what Fincher‟ next move would

be. When the announcement of a movie

based on the creation of this generations

most influence youthful social addiction

Facebook came along, many were debat-

ing whether this was in the best interest of

cinema or a way for Mark Zuckerberg to

add to his millions. However once Fincher

was discovered to be at the helms of the

project, it soon become a movie audiences

were waiting for in a degree of excitement.

And they weren‟t disappointed.

In this full portrayal of Mark Zucker-

berg‟ (Jesse Eisenberg) creation of Face-

book and how it went from a college pro-

ject to one of the worlds most visited web-

sites, The Social Network tells the story of

how one kid changed the face of social

networking forever. As a university of

Harvard student serving six-months of

academic probation

Reported to be

R-rated during

production,

but end up

editing down

to PG-13 to

make it acces-

sible for a

wider audi-

ence.

The opening

breakup scene

with Jesse

Eisenberg and

Rooney Mara

ran eight script

pages and took

99 takes.

Justin Timber-

lake lost 15-17

pounds for his

role in this

movie. He felt

that making

himself look

skinnier would

make him look

younger.

Trivia Mania


1 star = AVOID 2 star = Fair 3 Star = Good 4Star = Impressive 5 Star = MUST SEE!!

for hacking into the database of various

residents halls, Zuckerberg and his friend

Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) estab-

lish the idea of social networking and the

up and down rollercoaster ride of the suc-

cesses and complications Facebook forced

their lives through. From court hearings,

being sued to the attraction of life on the

millionaires list, there is a surprisingly

realistic feel to the events that unfold in

The Social Network.

To miss-leading go into this film thinking

it glorifies Zuckerberg as a genius and a

hero to mankind isn‟t uncommon, however

whilst his genius is un-doubtful screen-

writer Aaron Sorkin doesn‟t portray Zuck-

erberg to be a perfect saint. There is some-

thing realistic about Jesse Eisenberg‟ por-

trayal of Zuckerberg, whilst the acting

ability of Eisenberg is undeniably proves

his is Hollywood star on the rise. Through-

out the film the audience shares a love hate

relationship with Zuckerberg, through

every bad action he takes we can‟t help but

feel he will soon redeem his actions. This

is due to the brilliant writing of Sorkin and

the emotional connection

Eisenberg shares with his audience.

With brilliant support from soon-to-be

Spider-man Aaron Garfield and singer-

songwriter turned actor Justin Timberlake,

The Social Network isn‟t just a film about

the rise of a revolutionary modern day

concept. It is a brilliant piece of cinema

and a director who continue to churn out

great film after great film.

Matthew Rathbone

Out NOW on DVD and Blu-Ray

Director: David Fincher Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Rooney Mara, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Bryan Barter Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin Duration: 1hr 55mins Production Company: Columbia Pictures

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=ZHkYEC

Image from IMDB.com

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0251986/





Arrietty Studio Ghibli meets The Borrowers

4 Arrietty, who has been warned not to

let humans see her.

Hayao Miyazaki has built Studio

Ghibli (along with its other co-

creator Isao Takahata) a reputation

where its films not only consist of

breath-taking animation. fantasy

worlds and characters that can only

come from a mind of such a genius.

but stories that have its audiences

question the behaviour of ourselves

in the modern age. The mix of a grip-

ping story and a sweet innocent child

-like character is what makes Arrietty

the perfect watch for someone who is

10-years of age or 50-years-of-age.

Whilst it is a little way off from the

standard of its award winning Spir-

ited Away and How's Moving Castle,

Arrietty still proves how there is no

other animation studio...no

wait...film studio that can connect to

an audience and entertain them as

they do.

Matthew Rathbone Out NOW on DVD and Blu Ray

Before John Lasseter came along

with Pixar, one man in Japan rules

the animation screen. This man was

Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Japa-

nese animation film company, Studio

Ghibli has eighteen feature films

under its belt, arguably the most

world renown project Spirited Away

claiming an Oscar for Best Animated

Feature at the 75th Academy

Awards.

Studio Ghibli's latest release Ar-

rietty is the first Ghibli film that

takes its inspiration from another

existing project, Mary Norton's The

Borrowers. However much like other

Ghibli film, Arrietty contains several

underlining messages and issues that

reflect on human behaviour in mod-

ern day society. Arrietty is a story

about a 14-year-old girl who lives

with her equally tiny parents, living

under the floorboards of a house

occupied by a mother, her son and

their maid. They are completely un-

aware of thier miniature tenants, until

one day the 12-year-old son Sho

discovers


1 star = AVOID 2 star = Fair 3 Star = Good 4Star = Impressive 5 Star = MUST SEE!!

Sucker Punch Don't mess with these girls

When it comes to green screens,

no one has ever invested so much of

their filmmaking into this technique

than Zack Snyder. With the ever

impressive battle-fest 300 and the

less so impressive, but equally digi-

tally reliant Watchmen under his belt

Snyder tackled his next green screen

project, Sucker Punch.

We open with 13-year-old Baby

Doll (Emily Browning) discovering

her mother has passed. Her self-

loathing stepfather (Gerard Plunkett)

threatens Baby Doll and her younger

sister, almost killing them in his at-

tempt to claim the inheritance for

himself. In her attempt to stop him,

Baby Doll reaches for a gun, acci-

dentally killing her sister, which

gives her stepfather the perfect rea-

son to claim Baby Doll insane, com-

mitting her into a mental home.

This beautifully shot opening six-

minute montage, only sets us up to

be disappointed with what‟s to fol-

low. It throws us in a false sense of

anticipation of wanting to see more

of this dark world in which the char-

acters occupy, a slight experimental

style of these worlds that perhaps

Snyder would like to dish-up with an

unlimited potential through his CGI

gadgets. However what we get is a

continuation of the same montage

used throughout the film that soon

becomes expected and a tad bit bor-

ing.

The CGI once again is impressive

from Snyder, but the story falls way

too short of this. The film itself feels

as though it is on repeat, girl thinks

of plan, dances, 10 minute green

screen world, back to reality…now

from the top! The acting doesn‟t

exactly give this film any more credit

either, whilst the beautiful Emily

Browning plays her part well, she

doesn‟t get much support from her

fellow cast.

Matthew Rathbone Out NOW on DVD and Blu Ray

3

Image from IMDB.com

Image from IMDB.com

Image from IMDB.com

Kele Okereke has confirmed that Bloc Party will release a new album later

this year.

Speaking to Zane Lowe on Radio 1 today (January 3), the frontman said that

a follow up to their third album, 2008's 'Intimacy', will be out at some point

in 2012. The band have been working on their fourth album in New York.

Last year Kele courted controversy by claiming that while he was busy with

his solo career, the remaining members of Bloc Party would be auditioning

new singers to allow them to continue playing together. Bloc Party soon

backtracked on the admission, which had been made to NME.

Zane Lowe went on to contact the band's management, who denied the de-

velopments. Lowe then took to Twitter to claim: "Bloc Party thing is non-

sense. Management confirm it. Solid... solid as a rrrrock."

As management officially denied there was anything going on, the band

distanced themselves from the claims. It was then suggested that the four

members had been in cahoots to whip up publicity for the band and 'get one

over' on the media.

(Article Source: http://www.nme.com/news/bloc-party/61217) 6 Center Stage Issue 1

Image from http://outintothegalaxy.blogspot.com/2009/09/top-songs-of-2000s-19-11.html

bloc party are back for 2012!

Image from http://treeswingers.com/2011/04/13/coachella-2011-preview-marina-and-the-diamonds/

”

“

In The Spotlight

If I become

normal in the head, I'm probably over

as an artist

Marina Diamandis dazzled fans with her cooky debut album The Family

Jewels in 2010 and now she is back this time as a new persona known as

Elektra Heart.

Bassey enjoyed great popularity in their hay-day. With

Charlotte Church falling off the radar from the public

eye after her failed marriage to fellow Welsh rugby star

Gavin Henson and her disappearance from the music

industry due to an attempt at her own show (which

seemed to have lasted as short as her marriage), it had

the public wandering who would be the next big thing

out Wales. Enter Marina Lambrini Diamandis.

The welsh have a remarkable track record of producing

young female vocalists who know how to belt out a

classic opera-style piece that would have green house

owners shaking of fear through their vulnerable win-

dows. Their not exactly a soar sight for eyes either (the

image of Katherine Jenkins coming to mind with that

being said) and with that mix of beauty and an undeni-

able talent it is to no surprise why artists such as Char-

lotte Church and Dame Shirley


Image from http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/marina-and-the-diamonds/pages/gallery.shtml


(our survey says)

“I hate it when

people sing better

than me. I’m talk-

ing to you, Marina

and the Dia-

monds”

-Citinlady

“Going to have a

Marina and the

Diamonds music

fest. And pray

that some day a

new single or al-

bum will come to

me”

-JimmyBlow12

“Oh No! Marina

and the Dia-

monds. Good

song”

-mynamesrosalind

Twitter Feed

"I feel numb most of the

time, the lower I get the

higher I'll climb" Numb

Marina Diamandis was born in a town

called Abergavenny, found in the

county of Monmouthshire, southeast

Wales. However if you were thinking

she looks slightly Greek you wouldn‟t

be wrong. Born to a Greek father and a

Welsh mother, Diamandis attended the

Haberdashers‟ Monmouth School for

Girls, one of the UK‟s leading girls

school for musical achievements

where she states, “I sort of found my

talent there” in an interview with the

Daily Mail. Her surname Diamandis is

the Greek word for diamonds, which

she adopts as her stage name releasing

all her material under the name of

Marina and the Diamonds. Her stage

name often leads to misunderstandings

of Marina and the Diamonds being a

band, much like Florence and the Ma-

chine. However although Florence has

her machine of other members to lend

her a hand in writing the music, Ma-

rina‟s diamonds are all of her own

making. Marina and the Diamonds

rose to fame after finishing runner up

to Ellie Goulding on the BBC Sound

of 2010 poll list, after the release of

her first EP The Crown Jewels. Her

debut single Mowgli’s Road received

critical acclaim with comparisons to

the ever original and experimental

Kate Bush, not bad for an artist look-

ing to make a name for her self. The

Crown Jewels was followed by the

release of Diamandis‟ debut album

The Family Jewels, which didn‟t dis-

appoint fans of her previous EP, scor-

ing an impressive nine out of ten from

NME. The extravagant singer/

songwriter demonstrates her ability to

write catchy compositions featuring a

wide range of vocals that make every

track as enjoyable as the next. Argua-

bly one of the best tracks on the album

was her lead single during release

entitled Hollywood, but it isn‟t quite

the celebration of American pop cul-

ture the name might suggest. In their

review of the album NME describe the

song as “an explosion of sonic con-

fetti, it boasts a chorus so killer it

should probably be investigated by the

police” by highlighting the

fact that it has been “twiddled to

perfection by 5ive/kylie/Spice

Girls supremo Biff Stannard”.

This was followed by the re-

lease of I Am Not A Robot and

Oh No! which received just as

positive feedback as Hollywood

earning Diamandis the award for

Best UK and Ireland Act at the

2010 MTV EMA awards. The

musical style of Marina and the

Diamonds has been described as

an up-tempo new wave type of

sound with BBC music claiming

that she “appears to have based

her entire singing style on the

odd rhythms and insane lurches

of Sparks‟ This Town Ain’t Big

Enough for the Both Of Us”. Her

style has often been compared to

the likes of Lily Allen and Kate

Nash, but if you ask Marina

herself she states in an interview

for 4ortherecord.com,

>>>

Image from http://www.frock-and-roll.com/2010/interview-with-marina-the-diamonds/


“artists like Lilly Allen did kind

of spring out of the like mock-

ney scene and its really hard to

shake that kind of thing off”.

She adds, “I would love people

to think my music is timeless or

classic in some sense”. So after

the success of her first album,

what does Marina and the Dia-

monds have in store for the fu-

ture?

In October 2011, Marina and the

Diamonds released Radioactive, her

first single from her new album Elec-

tra Heart due to be released spring

2011. The unpredictability of what to

expect from each track on The Family

Jewels carries on with Diamandis‟ new

single, as it serves up a sound unfamil-

iar from her previous work. The dance

-like beat ridden with euro-synths

gives you a sense that your listening to

a radio friendly type of song, much

like you would expect from an artist

such as Lady Gaga. Who is the pro-

ducer of this song? Well its none other

than Stargate, a collaborator of Ri-

hanna and Katy Perry. Has Marina and

the

"MY HEART IS NUCLEUR,

LOVE IS ALL THAT I FEAR"

RADIOACTIVE

Diamonds „sold out‟? Not quite.

The substance behind the style is a lot

more meaningful than your average

top 20 hit, mostly due to the lyrical

content. The opening lyric “lying on a

fake beach you‟ll never get a tan/baby

I‟m gonna leave you drowning until

you reach for my hand”, feels like a

personal feeling of Diamandis that

could easily be found on her previous

work. After all the title of the new

album, Elektra Heart, is a new persona

of hers where she describes it as “the

antithesis of everything I stand for”.

She created Elektra to be a visual por-

trayal of the American dream and we

will have a greater understanding of

whether Marina and the Diamonds

have adopted a more mainstream

sound once the album is released.

Prior to the release of Radioactive,

the Max Factor model uploaded an-

other song that was later established to

also be on the new album. The enigma

that is Diamandis, once again toys

with our expectations and dishes up

yet

another piece of work that is eviden-

tially different to the previous. The

track was entitled Fear and Loathing,

which consisted her sitting in front of

the mirror singing a power ballad

based around the theme of „change‟

and the realisation of the American

Dream never materialising. The video

yet again features the character Electra

Heart, as the storytelling album begins

to take its shape.

So will Marina and the Diamonds

sophomore album prove to be as suc-

cessful as its predecessor? Only time

will time once the album is released,

but one thing is for sure. Marina

Diamandis continues to keep us

guessing of what is to come next.

Matthew Rathbone

Marina & The Diamonds new album

Electra Heart is expected early 2012.

The Family Jewels is available NOW

CLASSIC

SONG

"Oh No! " http://

www.youtube.com/

watch?v=Cr-

SqRWImmI

Image from http://www.coolhunteritaly.it/wp/tt/the-next-big-thing%E2%80%A6marina-and-the-diamonds/

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/22606/new-knight-rises-spider-man-posters

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