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Post by rosafermu on Sept 22, 2022 9:12:44 GMT -5
Thank you so much. Magnificent images.
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Post by fkma6996 on Oct 31, 2023 9:55:38 GMT -5
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Post by eaz35173 on Oct 31, 2023 18:06:15 GMT -5
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Post by eaz35173 on Nov 8, 2023 1:11:35 GMT -5
On the road with Pierce Brosnan, The Last Rifleman
Gail Bell 08 November, 2023 01:00
AS Pierce Brosnan surveyed the graves of war veterans in Normandy, barely recognisable under his nonagenarian make-up (as 92 'and three quarters' year-old 'Artie Crawford') film director Terry Loane had a quick intake of breath and recognised this as a mise-en-scène like no other.
Here was a rare, shuddering moment when reality collided with the fictional tale they were telling in The Last Rifleman – showing tomorrow as part of Belfast Film Festival – and Loane could not help but shed a silent tear.
Reflecting on the emotional piece of filming for the new 'road' movie – also starring Harry Potter actress Clémence Poésy, Derry Girls' Claire Rafferty and Normal People's Desmond Eastwood – the Belfast-based director says the segment at the war veterans' cemetery hit him hard.
"We filmed a lot in Northern Ireland, but we could not authentically recreate the war cemetery in France, so we got permission from the War Graves Commission and filmed at the cemetery, just outside a small town called Cambes-en-Plaine where the soldiers from the Ulster Rifles are buried," says Loane, who was first sent the script in 2017 by Belfast-based producer, Katy Jackson.
"When I saw Pierce standing there as his 92-year-old character, it was one of the most emotional things... I am getting emotional talking about it now... It was the same for Pierce who very much felt it an honour to play a character representing one of those who came back, but also commemorating all those young fellas from Northern Ireland who didn't."
The Last Rifleman tells the story of elderly war veteran Artie Crawford who 'escapes' from his Northern Ireland nursing home, intent on travelling back to France for the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings – the first time he will have returned to France in the same number of years.
"It's a road movie," says Loane, "but it's also a hugely emotional journey for the central character – and that's the kind of stories I like to tell. They are very personal, they're very intimate, but set against an expansive backdrop. It's a very local story with, hopefully, a universal message.
"The D-Day commemorations in 2019 marked the 75th anniversary and they were a huge international event, but we weren't trying to tell the story of that; we were telling one man's journey and one man's personal quest for inner peace, I suppose.
"There's lots of amazing spectacle now in modern cinema, but I really want something that... something that when you leave at the end or when you turn off your telly, an emotional memory remains."
Luckily for the Mickybo and Me writer and director, Pierce Brosnan felt exactly the same way. Twice before, the two had planned to make films together, but both times the projects had fallen victim to the vagaries of the industry. Now it appeared to be third time lucky.
"Pierce read the script and, like me, immediately fell in love with Artie," enthuses Loane from his home in north Belfast.
"I think I sent it to him on a Friday and thought he might get back to me in a couple of weeks' time, but it was the Sunday evening he called from Malibu – Sunday morning in his time – so he had read it that day, read it again, phoned me and said, 'Terry, this is great; I'm in.'
"I think the great thing for him was he had never done anything like this before – we have seen him as a movie star, we have seen him be sexy in a cool suit as James Bond, but there were other things I have seen in him which made me realise he has a range that he doesn't always get to play.
"He knew it was going to be a challenge: the accent, the make-up – which involved two-and-a-half hours of work every morning before we started filming and an hour at the end of the day – but, my goodness, he was amazing.
"On set he really did become the cardigan-wearing, cane-wielding pensioner, to the extent that when, about three weeks into filming, I met him one day as Pierce, it really was quite a shock."
Inspired in part by the real-life story of D-day veteran Bernard Jordan who 'escaped' his Sussex care home in 2014 for a similar-type adventure, and in part by a 2004 BBC1 Northern Ireland documentary, We Fought on D-Day (which struck an immediate chord with The Last Rifleman scriptwriter, Kevin Fitzpatrick), local filming mainly centred around Antrim and Lorne House in Holywood.
The town centre of Antrim was reimagined to look like a Normandy village on D-Day, while the Girl Guiding HQ in Holywood became Artie's care home – a building, notes Loane, that was "beautifully cinematic" and lent itself perfectly to their story.
A bit of a latecomer location which also proved a hit was the home of the Ulster Aviation Society at the former Maze/Long Kesh site outside Lisburn where volunteers were eager to assist, "moving planes about" and even taking a helicopter outdoors to facilitate one particular scene.
"We filmed in the hangars with Spitfires, jump-jets, all this wonderful stuff they have there," says Loane who had first intended to train the cameras on an actual airport.
"But, when we found this location, it was just inspirational," he adds, cheerily, "and we altered the script just a little bit to make sure we could use it to its full potential."
Painstaking research also led the creative team to the doors of the Royal Ulster Rifles Museum in Belfast where they again met with an enthusiastic troop of helpers.
"Research is very important because we don't want people seeing stuff on screen that's just silly," expands Loane who studied photography at university before moving into theatre set design and later film, setting up production company, Prodigal Films in 2010 with actress, Geraldine Hughes.
"So, everything, from the exact medals Artie wears, to the uniforms, needs to be authentic. The story is too important not to be."
Hollywood A-listers aside (Liam Neeson is starring in his upcoming movie, The Land of Saints and Sinners), the 'story' has always been the most important factor for Loane, a self-confessed "control freak" with perfectionist tendencies.
"It's always a leap of faith for anyone who wants to direct," he concludes thoughtfully, "but it is an addictive thing and if you're lucky enough to get a script like The Last Rifleman that will make you laugh or make you cry or make you feel something, then you're at the beginning of an incredible journey."
:: The Last Rifleman starring Pierce Brosnan, Clémence Poésy, Claire Rafferty, Desmond Eastwood with Tara Lynne O'Neill and Ian McElhinney, has a gala showing tomorrow (November 9) at Cineworld, SSE Arena. It goes on release via Sky Cinema in the UK and Ireland this month with release dates still to be confirmed for Europe and the US.
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Post by mkelly on Nov 8, 2023 9:10:46 GMT -5
‘The Last Rifleman’ True Story, Explained: How Did Bernard Jordan Die? PUBLISHED dmtalkies.com/the-last-rifleman-true-story-explained-2023-film-pierce-brosnan/NOVEMBER 8, 2023 BY SUSHRUT GOPESH The Last Rifleman True Story Explained Bernard Jordan Pierce Brosnan Credits: WestEnd Films Directed by Terry Loane, The Last Rifleman stars the enigmatic Pierce Brosnan, who decides to make a great escape from his nursing home and go to Normandy to join the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, meet his fellow veterans, and pay his respects to all the soldiers who had sacrificed their lives for their nation. As fictitious as it might sound, the astonishing fact is that The Last Rifleman is based on the real-life story of a World War II veteran named Bernard Jordan. Writer Kevin Fitzpatrick and director Terry Loane have taken creative liberties to dramatize the narrative and to make things a bit more intriguing, but they have kept the essence of the real-life story alive. The Allied forces needed a victory on the western front, and to liberate France, Operation Neptune, aka D-Day, was launched on June 6, 1944, and it is believed to be the biggest seaborne attack in the history of mankind. Bernard Jordan was a part of the operation, and he served as a Royal Navy officer. Years later, when he realized that the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings was near, he decided to leave for Normandy on this mission without informing a soul about it. He wanted to honor the memories of his friends, colleagues, and fellow countrymen who had sacrificed their lives, as he knew that he might not get the chance in the future. It is true that Bernard escaped from The Pines Care home, situated in East Sussex, and the administration did not have a clue where he had gone, so they ended up filing a missing person’s report. Bernard had some problems reaching Normandy, but he was determined, and he made sure that no matter what the circumstances, he achieved what he had set out for. We didn’t understand why two films (The Great Escaper and The Last Rifleman) based on the same topic were released almost together, though we won’t complain here as it was a joy to watch our favorite 007 once again create magic on screen. Brosnan’s character is named Artie Crawford, and he belonged to the Second Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles, as he states it very proudly every time he gets a chance to introduce himself. Apart from some subtle differences, Kevin Fitzpatrick and Terry Loane have introduced certain subplots that didn’t happen in real life. In The Last Rifleman, it is shown that Artie’s wife, Maggie, dies after being married to him for 68 years, after which he decides to go to Normandy. In reality, Irene Jordan was pretty much alive when Bernard took on the mission and crossed borders to relive his memories. In the film, Artie has a friend named Charlie, who lost his life on the battlefield, and he is the prime reason why Artie decided to visit the D-Day celebrations and honor his sacrifice. Maggie loved Charlie, but when he didn’t come back from the battle, she decided to get married to Artie. Artie held himself responsible for the death of his friend, and he believed that Maggie was always meant to be with Charlie, and she made a compromise by making the decision to be with him. Artie never had a problem with being the second most important person in his wife’s life, but the fact that ate him from within was that somewhere, it was his fault that Charlie was not able to survive the war. Artie believed that if he hadn’t been so scared on that fateful day, his friend wouldn’t have stopped for him on the battlefield, and he would not have lost his life. This film touches on some very interesting points that might not have happened in real life, but it made us ponder how we take things for granted and how, at times, our preconceived notions get the better of us and coerce us to not consider any other viewpoints that do not align with ours. Artie meets an SS officer on a bus, which he is forced to take as there are no other vehicles available that could take him to his destination. He doesn’t want to get on that bus, as he still considers them the tyrants who took the lives of innocent people. Friedrich Mueller, the SS officer, saw the hatred in Artie’s eyes and articulated very beautifully that it was hard to be on the losing side, but what was harder was to realize that you had been on the wrong side. Those words did something to Artie, and for a moment, all that hatred dissipated from his core. The Last Rifleman is as much about the journey undertaken by Artie Crawford as it is about understanding life. When you are young, you feel like you can conquer the world, but as time passes, you realize that nothing in life is in your control. Yes, you can try to act a certain way in a given moment, but you never know what fate has in store for you. Often, we witness around us how fate intervenes and all our planning goes in vain, and it’s then that we realize why people always stress the importance of seizing the moment. Life is unpredictable, and you never know what might happen the very next moment, so it is always better to never take your time here for granted. Just like Bernard Jordan, our Last Rifleman also reached Normandy, though the news that he was the last surviving member of his unit came as a shock to him. He almost lost his consciousness, and Tony McCann, the journalist, had to admit him to the hospital. After reading the letters Artie used to write for Charlie, Tony felt that it was his responsibility to take him to the cemetery where Charlie was buried. The real Bernard Jordan died on December 30, 2014, and his wife, Irene Jordan, also passed away seven days later. The veteran had a fulfilling life, and more than anything, he was grateful for the fact that he was able to go against the odds, escape his nursing care, be a part of the commemoration, and complete a full circle of life. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any streaming offers for The Last Rifleman.
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Post by mkelly on Nov 10, 2023 14:03:09 GMT -5
A review from the Belfast Film Fest and as per usual a bit of a critique on PB's muddled accent - he can't get a break. Remember the Belfast Telegraph also said, "Brosnan wowed onlookers with his uncanny resemblance to former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams in"The Foreigner, but his northern accent was wasn't quite so authentic, sounding like a mix of Scottish and Navan." Alan In Belfast Blog
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Post by mkelly on Mar 14, 2024 5:05:19 GMT -5
PB nominated for lead actor in 2024 IFTA Awards for Last Rifleman. "Ceremony taking place on Saturday, April 20th at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre. The Awards will be hosted for the first time by Emmy-winning broadcaster Baz Ashmaw." IFTA Awards 2024
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