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

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Events, offers and releases 30/12/13

Several lego minifigures run away from an explosion in a lego town.
Several lego minifigures run away from an explosion in a lego town.

Image via Forbes.com

Welcome to the New Year (nearly)! 2014 is a big year for film with lots of big releases. The Lego Movie comes out in February. The CGI stop motion style action comedy has been in development since 2008. With an all-star cast including Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks and Will Ferrell, it’s sure to be a hit.

At the end of March, Noah is released. It stars Russell Crowe, Anthony Hopkins and Emma Watson and is based on the story of Noah’s Ark.

April is a big month for comic book films with both the long awaited Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Amazing Spider Man 2 being released. The Winter Soldier is the fifth Marvel film following Thor: The Dark World (October 2011). Set two years after The Avengers we see Steve Rogers adapting to his contemporary surroundings, the action begins when a SHIELD compatriot is attacked. The Amazing Spiderman 2 features Electro and Rhino.

In May, Godzilla, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Maleficent join our screens.  Godzilla promises to be thrilling, retelling the story of Godzilla in modern times. The monster looks bigger than ever, and if the trailer is anything to go by, this is one to look forward too. The seventh film in the X-Men film series, Days of Future Past is a sequel to both The Last Stand (2006) and First Class (2011) and takes place in two time lines. Maleficent is a re-imagined take on Sleeping Beauty. A dark fantasy from two time Academy Award winner Robert Stromberg who worked on the production design of Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013).

In June 22 Jump StreetHow to Train Your Dragon 2. In the sequel to 21 Jump Street, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum go undercover at high school to explore a drug problem. Another sequel featuring Jonah Hill is How to train your dragon 2. This animated action fantasy film begins five years on from the first film. Now with dragons on their side, the Vikings are exploring the Northern Hemisphere.

In the second half of 2014, you can look forward to; Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Jupiter Ascending, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Expendables 3, Jane Got a Gun, Gone Girl, Dumb and Dumber To, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, Horrible Bosses 2, Exodus, and The Hobbit There and Back Again.

What a brilliant year of film to look forward too!