Short cuts

Last month’s Federico Fellini retrospective at the NFT London, proved to be one of the most successful programmes in their 50-year history.

Oct 20 2004

Last month’s Federico Fellini retrospective at the NFT, London proved to be one of the most successful programmes in their 50-year history, attracting more than 25,000 people. In response to this overwhelming public demand, the bfi, working in conjunction with Momentum Pictures, has ensured that a new print of the classic La dolce vita will get a nationwide release from 17 December. Winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1960, La dolce vita is Fellini's extraordinarily prophetic vision of a generation's spiritual and moral decay.

The ‘Alfie’ premiere saw the red carpet filled with stars, including the film’s composers Sir Mick Jagger and Dave Stewart. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing the film,’ explained the preposterously attired Stewart, ‘because Mick and I just took the money and ran off the set in America and haven’t seen it.’

Egg expert and bedfellow of greying Conservatives Edwina Currie celebrated her birthday by popping along to see ‘Rashevski’s Tango’ at the Jewish Film Festival’s opening gala. She was joined by the Israeli ambassador, other Jewish luminaries and guest of honour Anthony Minghella. Having spent an enlightening time in Israel at the Jerusalem Film Festival, Minghella told us with a laugh: ‘By adoption I guess I am Jewish now. I’d like to be.’ We didn’t check to see quite how far his desire for a conversion went… Still, he’s got the cultural crossover down pat – he confided that when he decided to leave teaching to become a writer, his father pointed out it was possible to have two careers: ‘That politician Roy Hattersley’s written a book.’ Minghella proved his worth to his family. Eventually…

Pierce Brosnan’s days as James Bond are over. Brosnan recently told Swedish paper Aftonbladet: ‘I had a contract for four Bond films… I did them and told them that I’d like to continue. But they said they weren't interested any more. I was shocked. I loved Bond.’ And the succession? How about Matt Lucas in a pink spandex tuxedo?