2010 Interviews

I was lucky enough to meet and speak with a lot of really fabulous people this year; actors, directors, musicians and industry types.  Quite why they agreed is still beyond me but I'm very grateful that they did! Here, in all their glory, are the interviews conducted on MyFilms this year.

In April the head of programming for Filmhouse in Edinburgh, Rod White spoke with us about all sorts of things including the "ghettoisation" of film at awards ceremonies and which films he would use to punish wrong-doers!

Kim Newman author and film journalist also dropped by in April to speak with MyFilms and despite our disagreement over The Smiths being the greatest English band of all time he was everything you would expect him to be...interesting, articulate and informed.

The BMX Bandits are one of the best groups ever to come out of Scotland which makes Duglas T. Stewart one of the greatest Scots!  Having been an inspiration to all manner of bands from Nirvana to Franz Ferdinand his thoughts on film were equally interesting.

One of the most exciting bands to have emerged from Scotland in recent years are "Sons and Daughters" and their lead singer Adele Bethel showed that her degree in Film and Television/English Lit made her a good choice of interviewee.  With a new album set for 2011 it's well worth finding the time to listen to the rest of her back catalogue...you won't be disappointed!

During the FAB Fest I managed to spend a bit of time with director Darren Ward and two of the stars of his film "A Day of Violence"; Nick Rendell and cult star Giovanni Lombardo Radice.  All three gave a great insight into what is involved in making a film with almost no budget but with a huge amount of desire.

DJ, journalist, comedian and television personality Alex Zane answered some questions in June and proved himself to be utterly charming and incredibly funny with his answers.  His anecdote about Burt Reynolds is reason enough to read this.

Ben Miller is comedy royalty here in the UK and with a directorial debut ("Huge") looming I conducted a rather soggy interview with him during the EIFF this year.

A very quick-fire Q&A with Boz Boorer gave us an insight into the cinematic tastes of the longest serving musician in the career of the Pope of Mope, Morrissey.

As director of the EIFF Hannah McGill has presided over four years of great films and bold decisions (most notably seperating the EIFF from the other festivals in Edinburgh to ensure a seperate identity and audience).  Her willingness to speak with a small film blog like MyFilms speaks volumes about her love of film and desire to promote it.

With a role in the most exciting new drama on television this year and a whole heap of new projects looming it was a real treat to get to chat with Jo Hartley who was as accommodating and interesting a human being as you could wish for.  Sadly our plans for a wedding never got much beyond the fantasy stage!

Vicky McClure gave one of the most astonishing performances of the year in "This is England '86" and with several films with Shane Meadows I was delighted when she agreed to speak with MyFilms.  If you don't know her name yet...you will.

Another star of "This is England '86", Johnny Harris, managed to squeeze us in for a chat and was as delightful as his two female co-stars.  A real gent.

A very good friend and a supremely talented chap, Alain Whyte, answered some of my probing questions this year and was, as ever, great value.

The last interview of the year was a corker!  A genuine musical icon, a personal hero and one of the most gifted singer/songwriters of her generation...Kristen Hersh proved herself to be everything I had ever hoped she would be!

Many, many thanks to all of these very talented individuals for agreeing to speak with MyFilms...the pleasure, the privilege was all mine.