Ken goes Beyond

So, farewell then, Ken Russell.

An Oscar and BAFTA nominee but never a winner, Britain's most outrageous filmmaker has died aged 84 leaving behind a legacy of films that ran the gamut of beautiful and trail-blazing to outright repulsive and occasionally inept.

But none of his cinema films - from Women in Love, The Devils, The Music Lovers and Altered States to The Boyfriend, Valentino, Tommy and The Lair of the White Worm - were ever blah.

Purists may argue that it was his TV films - about composers like Elgar, Delius and Vaughn Williams - which displayed the eccentric Russell at his best.

The best biography of this larger-than-life filmmaker ,who actively courted controversy, was titled "An Appalling Talent".

We prefer to remember him as someone who had an appealing talent with the power to appall.

The Cat's Meow

Spanish heartthrob Antonio Banderas had special instructions during the promotional tour of his latest film in the United Arab Emirates.  For his Shrek prequel Puss In Boots fell foul of censors sensitive to the dubious connotations of the P-word and requested that Banderas - no stranger to raunchy subjects in his films for director Pedro Almodovar -  opt for the safer alternative Cat In Boots, according to reports in The Guardian.  There are, currently, no reports of the fate of the touring panto production of Dick Whittington.

Black is black

Sight & Sound, the venerable magazine of the BFI, is not a publication famously known for its sense of humour.

So we should be eternally grateful to Magnus Charles of Oxford for his Reader's Letter in the latest edition of S&S which provides a rare laugh in between the usual earnestness.

He writes: "Could it be that Andrea Arnold's unprecedented decision to cast a black actor as Heathcliff in her adaptation of Wuthering Heights was down to a basic misunderstanding of the meaning of the term 'the Yorkshire Moors'?

Funny one, Magnus.

Simply the fest

The nearest ski slope - dry, of course - is probably at Brentwood in Essex, but that's not going to stop them from trying to recreate Robert Redford's famous Sundance Film Festival in Greenwich next year.

The star/filmmaker launched his Utah festival back in 1978 and, held annually in January, it has since grown in the US's biggest independent cinema event. Movies in town and skiing on the spectacular nearby pistes blend seamlessly for Sundance's enthusiastic regulars.

Redford's new UK spin-off will be based at the 02 for four days in April, 2012. Whether the snow will follow remains to be seen.

Don't Stop Him Now

He's best known for extravagant comic creations Ali G, Borat and Bruno, but Sacha Baron Cohen is about to tackle his most challenging character yet.

The British comedy performer is to star as legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in a forthcoming biopic which should test his dramatic acting credentials while giving full rein to his taste for eye catching costumes.

Although the script is currently still in development an important decision is whether Baron Cohen will also perform some of the songs made famous by Mercury's extraordinary vocals, a key choice that could make or break its chances of box office success.

The Undead Reign

Just when you hoped the magic spell had finally been broken, the Twihards have done it again.

Latest instalment in the Twilight saga - Breaking Dawn Part 1, fourth and - pray it is so -  penultimate film in the franchise, has just recorded the biggest ever opening of an American film in the UK, grossing £13.9m

It also set the biggest non 3D Friday figure here outscoring the first part of Hazza and The Deathly Hallows.

Fans will, however, now have to wait a whole year for the the fifth and final breathless helping of their humans-and-vampires 'fix'.

Persian jewel

'Film Not in the English Langauage' remains one of the most prestigious annual awards either side of the Atlantic.

So the presentation to Iran's A Separation of the BBC's World Cinema Award 2011 should be a useful pointer to the upcoming Oscars and BAFTAs early next year. Pictured below are awards host Jonathan Ross, A Separation executive producer Negar Eskandafar, Isabelle Huppert, John Hurt and Sir David Hare.

Asghar Farhadi's domestic drama, which won no fewer than five awards, including The Golden Bear, at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, wasn't the only recipient at BBC's annual celebration of World Cinema.

To the great French actress, Isabelle Huppert, whose films include The Lacemaker, The Piano Teacher and Heaven's Gate, went the Lifetime Achievement Award presented to her by sometime co-star John Hurt.

Who loves ya', baby?

Good to hear that the BBC's back on the case trying to maximise the big screen potential of its Doctor Who franchise.

According to Brit director David Yates, who helmed the last four Harry Potter movies, the spirit is willing though the timescale might tax the more fervent Whofile: it could be still a few years before the good Doctor emerges in your friendly neighbourhood multiplex.

Buffs will, of course, tell you we've been here before - more than 45 years ago, in fact.

Hands up who still remembers Peter Cushing (below) as the Timelord in back to back cinema adventures, Doctor and The Daleks (1965) and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 (1966)?

Our money's on Robert Pattinson or, for the more discerning older audience, James McAvoy to assume the popular mantle.

Streep 'proud to play Thatcher'

Meryl Streep says she is proud of her portrayal of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in her new movie The Iron Lady, and alled the role a "privilege" to play.

Streep even attended sessions at the House of Commons earlier this year to help prepare for the shoot.

Streep told the Daily Mail that the role was gruelling, but said the effort was worth it. "It took a lot out of me, but it was a privilege to play her, it really was," she said.

"It was one of those rare, rare films where I was grateful to be an actor and grateful for the privilege of being able to look at a life deeply with empathy. There’s no greater joy."

Absolutely fabulous! It's Edina and Patsy the Movie

Edina and Patsy look set for a big-screen outing after Jennifer Saunders confirmed she is writing an Absolutely Fabulous movie.

Saunders plans to begin work the script next year. There are also three BBC TV specials in production, which will once again star Saunders as PR agent Edina Monsoon and Joanna Lumley as her chain-smoking best friend Patsy Stone.

"I want to write Ab Fab: The Movie. We'd have so much fun, and I've thought of a really nice idea," Saunders told The Times. "We thought it would be hilarious if [Edina and Patsy] went to a party on an oligarch's yacht, got drunk, fell asleep and woke up in the middle of the ocean … Everyone else has left, and the ship has been moved on."

Christine Langan, head of BBC Films, appeared to confirm the film deal after telling Deadline: "I think [Jennifer's] a genius. I can't imagine anything more exciting than working with her."

The BBC press release for the specials reads: "Eddy PR'd things. She was into every new fad and fashion imaginable and was often to be found at the bottom of a champagne glass, actually more likely a bottle. Not much has changed. Her best friend Patsy worked in magazines and lived the high life. She still does."

Lemon popsicle

If it was good enough for Ali G, then why shouldn't one of TV's most recent, deeply annoying - and to disccerning audiences, deeply unfunny -  spoof celebrities also make the thrilling transition from small to big screen?

So, give a big, imminent, multiplex welcome to Keith Lemon - aka writer/performer Leigh Francis, also creator of alleged comic icons Bo Selecta and Avid Merrion - star of Keith Lemon: The Film.

This promises to be "a comedy about Keith following his dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur just like his hero Richard Branson. He comes to London from Leeds, becomes as overnight billionaire then an over day failure before finding the road to redemption" (it says here).

Can you bear to wait?

The secret of Michelle's hair

Actress Michelle Williams has revealed the secret of her trademark short hair style.

Michelle, who is Elle magazine's December cover star and the subject of rare interview to promote the forthcoming Marilyn Monroe biopic My Week With Marilyn, is normally a very private person but her personal life was thrust into the headlines following the sudden death of her ex-partner, and father of her six-year-old daughter Matilda, Heath Ledger in 2008.

She tells the magazine: “What Matilda would love is for her mum to grow out the cropped hair, though that's unlikely to happen any time soon. I've really grown into it - I feel like myself with short hair. And it's been a really long time since I had long hair, five years.

“Of course, the only people who like it are gay men and my girlfriends. Straight men across the board are not into this hair! I cut it for the one straight man who has ever liked short hair and I wear it in memorial of somebody who really loved it.”

Bond is Back

So James Bond will return in Skyfall, as Daniel Craig reprises the role of 007 to defend the honour of M and face a fearsome foe played by Javier Bardem.  The launch of the latest James Bond film in London many of its secrets revealed - though in an ironic twist on the espionage theme - many of these had been leaked, let slip and worked out already.

Sam Mendes directs what could well prove to be a more richly textured outing for British cinema's favourite spy,  the 23rd screen adventure in 50 years for Ian Fleming's creation. The cast also features Bérénice Marlohe, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes and Albert Finney, with locations including London, Scotland, Turkey and Shanghai.