Events, offers and releases 21/04/14

Johnny Depp holding a microphone in a still from the film, 'Transcendence'.

Releases

This weeks new film releases are a bit thin on the ground, but there are two films that might give you a fun night out after a long week at work.

Leslie Mann, Nicki Minaj, Cameron Diaz and Kate Upton in a still from the file 'The Other Woman'

Image via filmblerg.com

The Other Woman – This rom-com stars Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, and Kate Upton a group of woman who realise that they are all being played by the same guy. They then decide to team up to get revenge on the three-timing husband/lover, Phil, played by Taylor Kinney.

Expect a light-hearted, female empowerment comedy with plenty of laughs. Perfect for night out with the girls.

Johnny Depp holding a microphone in a still from the film, 'Transcendence'.

Image via movpins.com

Transcendence – Imagine if you could relocate your consciousness into a computer so that you could live forever as a machine, creepy right? Well that’s what you’ll see Johnny Depp go through in this science-fiction drama starring Rebecca Hall and Morgan Freeman. Produced by Christopher Nolan, this film is sure to have all the cinematic spectacle you love from the Dark Knight Trilogy.

Offers

We all know going to the cinema can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be, if you know where to go and when to go, you can have a great night out for only £10.

OdeonOrange Wednesdays, if you’re on the EE network, simply text FILM to 241 for your buy one get one free voucher code each and every Wednesday.

CineworldTake 2 offer, if you have missed out on some of the years biggest releases at the cinema, Cineworld, every month, re-release film at a discounted rate of £10 for two tickets plus popcorn.

This week in history: 20th – 26th January

A whole six years ago on January 22nd 2008 Heath Ledger died from an accidental overdose of prescription pills. When he passed away, the 28 year-old actor was in the prime of his career. He was in the middle of filming The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus. After some clever re-writing, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell were cast to complete Ledger’s role as a man who changed his appearance as he travelled between imaginary worlds. Depp, Law and Farrell all gave their earnings from the film to Ledger’s daughter Matilda.

The last film that Heath Ledger completed was Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight in which Ledger played Batman’s nemesis The Joker. His incredibly performance won him over thirty posthumous awards including an Oscar for best supporting actor.

On this day in 1961, Disney’s 101 Dalmatians was released. The film was a bit of a risk for the studio, their previous animated feature, Sleeping Beauty, failed to make even half of the $6 million production costs.

In light of this loss the animation team was reduced fivefold and xerography, a new, cheaper form of animation was introduced. 101 Dalmatians was the first feature film to use this technique. Xerography was a new photocopying technology which resulted in hard black outlines on the animations, a contrast to Disney’s previous soft feel. However, Disney needn’t have worried; 101 Dalmatians became the highest grossing film of 1961.

The original novel was written by Dodie Smith. Bill Peet, the writer, kept in close contact with her while screenwriting and he made a fair few changes. The Dalmatian protagonists were originally Pongo and Missus Pongo, Perdita was a stray, taken in to help wet nurse the puppies. The owners, Mr and Mrs Dearly, were originally named Roger and Anita Radcliffe. Although in the 1996 Disney live action version they are again named Roger and Anita. The changes were welcomed by Smith who felt that the Disney studios were improving on her story.

29 years on in 1990, Ava Gardner died aged 67. The pin-up actress’ biggest films included The Killers (1946) a crime drama where Gardner played Kitty Collins and On the Beach (1959) a Sci-Fi drama also starring Gregory Peck. Gardner once met J.R.R Tolkien at Oxford University in 1964, but neither knew that the other was famous.

Image via imovies-guide.com

Image via imovies-guide.com

Do you have any interesting facts or trivia that you want to share with us? If so, tweet us @Inside_Film!