Eventually. It started with BBC Drama autumn/winter showreel coming somewhat later than usual - in the end of September this year. The showreel did offer the first glimpses of Willy Houlihan from the opening episode of 'Accused'.
October saw Christopher Eccleston supporting joint Amnesty International and Enigma Images ('Even Though I'm Free, I Am Not') campaign urging Burma to release its political prisoners and further human rights. Read Eccleston's statement, see images, find more information and how you can help in the post here.
Later same month 'The Happiness Salesman' had an unexpected and very low-profile TV première on BBC Two Wales (screencaps available at the link).
On November 15th 'Accused' began with 'Willy's Story', starring Chris Eccleston - announced, lensed and released within half a year. The new series from Jimmy McGovern was highly anticipated - and while some reviewers questioned certain plot developments, most of the viewer reactions were positive, especially regarding Eccleston's presentation of the character.
Some quotes:
On TV Tonight: "Eccleston is a marvellous, strong, agonised presence at the centre of it all, whether bottling up gentler emotions or letting rip with one of McGovern's trademark rants. He gives the film an emotional core of iron that holds things together [...]"You can still catch the episode on the iPlayer (UK). Also, in connection with this new role several press, radio and TV interviews were published - find all these materials and much more through the main 'Accused' post (plus BBC Radio Manchester interview). All3Media is still sorting out the international distribution of the series; DVD release is set for October next year.
Jonathan Wright, The Guardian: "Playing unfaithful Willy with a barely repressed anger, Christopher Eccleston is mesmerising throughout [...]"
Howard Male, The Arts Desk: "But it was possible to suspend a couple of moments of disbelief just to enjoy Eccleston's pitch-perfect portrayal of a man enduring a spectacularly destructive midlife crisis."
Jacob Martin, The Yorker: "This was very much Eccleston's programme. To say that he was merely excellent in the role would be an injustice, as he managed to display a strikingly diverse range of emotions in just one hour [...]"
Damien Love, Herald Scotland: "Willy Houlihan [...] is played by Christopher Eccleston in an electrifying performance that gets like watching a knot of tension pulled so tight it starts to fray. [...] The way Eccleston - brilliantly - plays it, Willy is neither good nor bad; he's wound up, fairly unlikable a lot of the time, slightly heroic at others, confused, sometimes weird and always believable."
A week later, on November 21st, 'Lennon Naked' had its American première. Shown in tandem with the documentary 'LENNONYC' on PBS it attracted plenty of attention, and garnered mixed reviews. See main 'Lennon Naked' post for more information. PBS has made the film available online, and the DVD has also been already released.
Coming next is this year's December q&a - 'Hillsborough' will be screened this coming Monday by Clapperboard UK at FACT, Liverpool (see this post for info and interesting articles). Tickets are still available - not only is this a great docudrama on a very important topic, the funds raised will go to Clapperboard's Youth Project (supporting young film-makers in the North West).
2010-12-01
