:00:24. > :00:28.Hello and welcome to Film 2012 with me, Claudia Winkleman. And me,
:00:28. > :00:31.Danny Leigh. We're live and if you want to get
:00:31. > :00:41.in touch, then please tweet or e- mail. The details are on the screen
:00:41. > :00:42.
:00:42. > :00:50.now. On tonight's show: taming the tiger in Ang Lee's Life of Pi. Tom
:00:50. > :00:53.Cruise is Jack Reacher. Do you think I'm a hero? I'm not a hero.
:00:54. > :01:03.There is something magical about Salman Rushdie's Midnight's
:01:03. > :01:06.Children. Saleem has the greatest gift of all. You can fly!
:01:06. > :01:08.Plus Antonia, Catherine and Chris are here to reveal their films of
:01:08. > :01:10.the year. Tonight, all the films we are
:01:10. > :01:13.reviewing are big-screen adaptations of best-selling novels
:01:13. > :01:23.and we start with Ang Lee's adaptation of Yann Martel's Life of
:01:23. > :01:23.
:01:23. > :01:33.Pi. Where to begin. I was born and raised in one of the most beautiful
:01:33. > :01:37.places on Earth. When my family chose to move us half-way around
:01:37. > :01:43.the world, that was when my greatest journey began. It is a
:01:43. > :01:50.story about a 16-year-old Indian boy. A storm hits. He ends up
:01:50. > :01:56.across the Pacific on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard
:01:56. > :02:01.Parker. It is a story of adventure, survival, hope, wonder. There is a
:02:01. > :02:05.spirituality and faith. That is grand material. It gives you hope.
:02:05. > :02:08.There are times in everybody's life when there is nothing you can do,
:02:09. > :02:18.you feel helpless, alone, you feel there is nothing you can do that
:02:19. > :02:19.
:02:19. > :02:26.can get you out of the situation. You have to believe. I would say it
:02:26. > :02:32.was a great challenge. Some part of the book is great literature, but
:02:32. > :02:35.unfriendly to cinema, water and tiger. Working on 3D can be
:02:35. > :02:43.difficult. Everything - not everything - a lot of the things
:02:43. > :02:48.seems to be uphill. I never thought a small piece of shade could bring
:02:48. > :02:54.me so much happiness. We got lucky with the kids. I I love him so much
:02:54. > :03:04.I want to torture him! I guess at some points you did feel like you
:03:04. > :03:05.
:03:05. > :03:12.were in this Ang Lee bootcamp, but not torture. He is inspiro. Is that
:03:12. > :03:22.a word?! We have been left orphaned. Without Richard Parker, I would
:03:22. > :03:23.
:03:23. > :03:29.have died by now. My fear of him keeps me alert. I need to see it
:03:29. > :03:35.again! Life of Pi could have been one big nightmare. It isn't. It's a
:03:35. > :03:44.joy. It works. It works beautifully. I use "puefl" because it is a
:03:44. > :03:53.beautiful fill -- "beautiful" because it is a beautiful film.
:03:53. > :03:59.have had lots of communication and a couple of people are anti it. "It
:03:59. > :04:05.takes too long in getting started." Would you like to reply? People are
:04:05. > :04:09.hard to please(!) It is so visually stunning, the magic is that you
:04:09. > :04:13.forget about the technical wizardry. Maybe it is me. I think this is a
:04:13. > :04:17.film which makes you feel like a kid again. It is hugely original.
:04:17. > :04:25.It is a one-off. Also, there is something deeply old-fashioned
:04:25. > :04:29.about it. This is an old adventure yarn. It reminds me of Robinson
:04:29. > :04:39.Crusoe. People are being mean- spirited. What do you think about
:04:39. > :04:45.
:04:45. > :04:51.the 3D? You are totally immersed? think the 3D is an intrinsic part
:04:51. > :04:56.of why this film works. I don't think Life of Pi would be the film
:04:56. > :05:00.it is without the 3D. It is easy to be cynical. It is so open-hearted.
:05:00. > :05:06.I'm not sure why you would do that. You can pick it apart because it is
:05:06. > :05:10.flawed. Now and again one of the sunsets is a bit too pink, the odd
:05:10. > :05:18.line of dialogue sounds like something from a self-help book.
:05:18. > :05:24.I'm not a man that gets dewy-eyed about things. I think this film is
:05:24. > :05:27.phenomenal. It is the film James Cameron would have made if he had a
:05:27. > :05:30.soul. Oh my God! Next, Tom Cruise stars in the
:05:30. > :05:33.thriller Jack Reacher. The film is adapted from the highly-successful
:05:33. > :05:41.series of novels by Lee Child and is directed by Usual Suspects
:05:41. > :05:47.screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie. Jack Reacher is a ghost, served in
:05:47. > :05:51.the Military Police. A brilliant investigator. Troublemaker, too.
:05:51. > :05:57.Then two years ago he disappears. You don't find this guy unless he
:05:57. > :06:01.wants to be found. Excuse me, Sir? There is a Jack Reacher here to see
:06:01. > :06:05.you. There's been a sniper attack in Pittsburgh and five people have
:06:05. > :06:08.been killed. They quickly arrest a suspect. The evidence against this
:06:09. > :06:16.guy is overwhelming. It is clear that he did it. Reacher takes one
:06:16. > :06:22.look and realises something doesn't add up. He was framed. What does an
:06:22. > :06:28.army cop do mostly? What you do with one minor difference. Every
:06:28. > :06:34.suspect is a trained killer. He is a mythical character in the vain of
:06:34. > :06:39.those western cowboys. Do you think I'm a hero? I'm not a hero.
:06:39. > :06:45.philosophy is simple. Bad guys should be taken care of and
:06:45. > :06:55.goodness should prevail. I will have to contend with one or two
:06:55. > :06:56.
:06:56. > :07:00.enthusiastic wing men. Last two guys... Remember, you wanted this.
:07:00. > :07:03.A lot of people have been talking about the differences between Tom
:07:03. > :07:09.Cruise and Jack Reacher. The more that I watch the whole thing, the
:07:09. > :07:15.more I ended up impressed by the similarities. Really? What appeared
:07:15. > :07:20.to me about Reacher is his mind and the way he approaches the
:07:20. > :07:25.situations. It is akin to who Tom is. I'm deeply grateful they have
:07:25. > :07:30.an opinion. It is a mark of success if they care who plays the guy in
:07:30. > :07:40.the movie. I predict most will come out and say, "What was I worried
:07:40. > :07:40.
:07:40. > :07:44.about? This is the guy." I'm going to say it's never explained why
:07:44. > :07:49.that man gives Tom Cruise the hat. That is a spoiler. What did you
:07:50. > :07:56.think? Some fans of the Jack Reacher books are very angry. They
:07:56. > :08:01.see a ten-inch problem. Jack Reacher is 6ft 5in and Tom Cruise
:08:01. > :08:05.is a respectable 5ft 7in. A child would be better suited to playing
:08:05. > :08:10.this role. I don't have a problem with that. The star of the film is
:08:10. > :08:20.the dialogue, which stays true to the books. The plot is pulpy and
:08:20. > :08:22.
:08:22. > :08:27.snappy. I think this is a sturdy, straightforward B-movie. Some of it
:08:27. > :08:36.is genuinely hilarious. In that clip, there was, "You want me to be
:08:36. > :08:42.a hero?" I swear he goes, "That's right, I'm a drifter." He only has
:08:42. > :08:45.one top. "My top got wet, I washed it!" I will do whatever Tom wants
:08:45. > :08:51.other than believe in lizards. I will follow him anywhere. This time
:08:51. > :08:58.last year, I was saying Mission Impossible 4 was brilliant. I have
:08:58. > :09:03.to read out one tweet. "Jack Reacher occasionally good, often
:09:03. > :09:13.bad. Cruise, dyed hair, shirt off, a showgirl's cult in the making."
:09:13. > :09:16.
:09:16. > :09:19.I'm happy to join that cult? secret weapon for the movie is
:09:19. > :09:23.Werner Herzog. This is effective and efficient. People are being
:09:23. > :09:27.weirdly picky. If the magic of cinema can take us out to sea with
:09:27. > :09:31.a tiger in Life of Pi, it can take a funny actor sucking his cheeks
:09:31. > :09:36.who have a valet to deliver his pants and socks every morning and
:09:36. > :09:40.they can make us believe he is Jack Reacher. Yeah. Anything they say is
:09:40. > :09:45.pointless because they are making the sequel to this film anyway!
:09:45. > :09:50.sure they are. It's already happening! There is nothing you can
:09:50. > :09:53.do about that. Next, Midnight's Children. Salman Rushdie adapts his
:09:53. > :09:58.own book for the big screen. It tells the story of a group of
:09:58. > :10:08.children all born on the cusp of Indian's independence from Britain
:10:08. > :10:10.
:10:10. > :10:13.and who are endowed with magical powers. It is a story about the
:10:13. > :10:18.generation that was born at the time of independence with India and
:10:18. > :10:25.Pakistan. It is about two boys - one rich, one poor. They were
:10:25. > :10:33.swapped at birth. They grew up having each other's lives. And how
:10:33. > :10:43.their lives are shaped by the big events of their time. If you don't
:10:43. > :10:46.
:10:46. > :10:52.have things, you fight! Saleem can bring us altogether. The life of
:10:52. > :10:56.Saleem and India mirrors each other. We can show people a new way of
:10:56. > :11:06.being. These magical children were special. You can fly. It was going
:11:06. > :11:16.
:11:16. > :11:20.to be a world which was mixed in reality but rich in its imagination.
:11:20. > :11:23.These strange children are a threat to the nation. You do have to take
:11:23. > :11:28.a view about the kind of vision of the book that you are going to
:11:28. > :11:32.offer in the film. I think it was very important to make a film that
:11:32. > :11:36.had its own authority and that worked on its own terms. We all
:11:36. > :11:42.have to stay together now. Everything else is breaking apart.
:11:42. > :11:46.Religions, countries. It is about love. It is about tragedy. It's
:11:46. > :11:50.about finding a home. In the end, I think it is just important not that
:11:50. > :11:57.people think it is a good adaptation of the book, or bad, I
:11:57. > :12:04.want people to come out thinking, "That was a good movie."
:12:04. > :12:08.Conventional wisdom says no novelist should get involved with a
:12:08. > :12:15.film doing their own book. Salman Rushdie produced the film, he
:12:15. > :12:19.narrated it. This is a film which is overstuffed. You have every sub-
:12:19. > :12:26.plot from Midnight's Children. By the end of it, it feels like you
:12:26. > :12:32.have a read a 700-page novel. I found it exhausting. I wasn't
:12:32. > :12:36.exhausted. I think the book is so beautiful. The book was one of my
:12:36. > :12:41.favourites. I thought the film was good. I thought it was beautifully
:12:41. > :12:46.directed. I loved the soundtrack. It was too long. Am I allowed to
:12:46. > :12:49.say that? If they had just shaved something off? I didn't need all
:12:49. > :12:53.that information. Midnight's Children is not a great adaptation.
:12:53. > :12:58.I think it is a good book. There is terrific stuff happening in the
:12:58. > :13:04.early part of this film. Yeah. There's vim and energy. It is the
:13:04. > :13:10.further it goes on, the actors seem like they are drowning in the set-
:13:10. > :13:14.dressing and you don't know whether you are watching a fairytale or a
:13:14. > :13:18.deranged soap opera. Salman Rushdie is looming in the background the
:13:18. > :13:25.whole time. The whole thing is overstuffed. It is jammed. Do you
:13:25. > :13:31.think we were at a disadvantage, let me say this to you, if it is
:13:31. > :13:35.not too long-winded, because we have read the book? Is it better -
:13:35. > :13:40.I think arriving at a cinema and seeing this fresh might be a
:13:40. > :13:46.wonderful thing to do? If you come to it without having seen the book,
:13:46. > :13:54.you will wonder what is going on. Right. So by the time you get to
:13:54. > :13:59.the end of the film and you are supposed to be having this rousing
:13:59. > :14:05.crescendo - the pace is just dizzy. What is your film of the week?
:14:05. > :14:09.is Life of Pi. It's the Christmas film this year. OK. For any kid,
:14:09. > :14:11.with a sense of adventure, Life of Pi. All right.
:14:11. > :14:15.Midnight's Children and Jack Reacher will both be released on
:14:15. > :14:25.Boxing Day. Next, a look ahead to some of the films being released in
:14:25. > :14:47.
:14:47. > :14:51.The Impossible chronicles how one family survived the 2004 tsunami.
:14:51. > :14:55.When you watch these movies, you find yourself asking the questions,
:14:55. > :14:59."How would I deal with this?" I am sure I would never be able to keep
:14:59. > :15:05.it together as well as Maria did and that's why I was always like
:15:05. > :15:11.struck by her story and when I was talking to her.
:15:12. > :15:18.You are always clear not to make this family's story, they didn't
:15:18. > :15:25.survive because of their her owism, they survived because they were
:15:25. > :15:31.lucky. Will you be all right? promise.
:15:31. > :15:36.A man aims to lose his virginity in The Sessions.
:15:36. > :15:42.When you are ready, we will start doing some body awareness exercises.
:15:42. > :15:47.What are body awareness exercises? One of the unique things about the
:15:47. > :15:51.movie, often when two come come together in a movie or real life,
:15:51. > :15:56.they are looking out for themselves, whereas in this case, they come
:15:56. > :16:00.together for one of them. They come together for him. You are going to
:16:00. > :16:03.start to listen to signals from your body. That way you will be
:16:03. > :16:09.able to have control. To find the humour was hugely
:16:09. > :16:14.important to me and you know, Helene brings a bit of that, but
:16:14. > :16:22.the scenes are out and out funny. I was in bed with a naked woman.
:16:22. > :16:31.She complimented me on my my shirt and my hair and she complimented on
:16:31. > :16:40.my penis. Am I sharing too much, Father? No, I am used to it.
:16:40. > :16:46.Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others - past and present.
:16:46. > :16:51.The thing that got me about the screenplay when I read it was this
:16:51. > :16:57.idea of we are all connected and it doesn't matter when we are alive or
:16:57. > :17:01.not. If you want to call it reincarnation or something. We are
:17:01. > :17:07.connected by the things we create and the decision that we make.
:17:07. > :17:11.They spent probably about two years thinking about this movie. By the
:17:11. > :17:15.time we got involved, they had it very clear in their minds how this
:17:15. > :17:19.all connected so where we didn't always understand it or we weren't
:17:19. > :17:22.all aware of how we were connecting to one another, they always knew
:17:22. > :17:31.that. There was a natural order to this
:17:31. > :17:39.world and those who try to fe fend it -- offend it do not farewell.
:17:39. > :17:43.-- fair well. 75 -year-old Dustin Hoffman makes
:17:43. > :17:47.his debut with Quartet. It is about people who love their
:17:47. > :17:53.art and love to perform and they have reached a stage in life where
:17:53. > :17:57.their instrument is culpable to ageing, but their spirit has
:17:57. > :18:04.actually enlarged. After doing this for 45 years, I
:18:04. > :18:07.was humbled by the directors who you faced these problems that come
:18:08. > :18:12.every day, that you don't share with the actors. The actor shows up
:18:12. > :18:16.and you say, "Hey, how are you doing?" But you found out that you
:18:16. > :18:20.lost the location and something is costing triple and an actor that
:18:20. > :18:28.you wanted wasn't available. That's what I learned. That's the toughest
:18:28. > :18:35.part. Django Unchained is a tale of
:18:35. > :18:39.bounty hunting. It really is kind of ploughing
:18:39. > :18:43.verging ground -- virgin ground a little bit. The movie will be
:18:44. > :18:46.controversial because of the of the subjects it deals with and it is
:18:46. > :18:56.risking a lot and it is chancy because it is violent and stuff.
:18:56. > :18:57.
:18:57. > :19:07.What's your name? Jango.
:19:07. > :19:10.Anthony Hopkins and Helen mirin play the Hitchcocks. There is a roe
:19:11. > :19:16.ject out there - project out there waiting for you.
:19:16. > :19:23.The story is the untold story about Hitchcock, all of us know the
:19:23. > :19:26.brilliant genius film-maker, but what people don't know his greatest
:19:26. > :19:31.collaborator was a lady he was married to.
:19:31. > :19:36.Everyone said how important she was to him. How she was the only person
:19:37. > :19:45.he would take advice from. Her opinion was the only opinion that
:19:45. > :19:51.counted as far as he was concerned. Just think of the shock value
:19:51. > :19:56.getting rid of your leading lady half-way through.
:19:56. > :20:02.You shouldn't kill her half-way through, kill her after 30 minutes.
:20:02. > :20:10.And Tom Hooper with his on screen adaptation of Les Miserables.
:20:10. > :20:15.loved getting to take a long like I Dreamed A Dream and provoked so
:20:15. > :20:21.much thought and emotion. I have been in many musicals and
:20:21. > :20:26.many movies, one thing you have got got to be prepared to sign up to is
:20:26. > :20:30.make a fool of yourself. It is easy to forget that we are
:20:30. > :20:33.singing at all. I think what is key to this movie
:20:33. > :20:41.that Tom took the bold decision to sing everything live.
:20:41. > :20:47.The other wi which is making an album and making a long music video
:20:47. > :20:51.which you lip sync. I think it added an element of
:20:51. > :21:01.danger. When I saw the movie, I was blown away. I felt so grateful to
:21:01. > :21:05.
:21:05. > :21:14.And there is an interview with Dustin Hoffman on the Film 2012
:21:14. > :21:17.website. Look who is here, the Film... Let's not say the F word.
:21:17. > :21:25.We are going it talk about your films of the year. You and I almost
:21:25. > :21:30.had a tustle, but -- tussle, but we didn't. Yes, handbags at dawn.
:21:30. > :21:34.Can you discuss what you are most looking forward to seeing. I can I
:21:34. > :21:38.can only imagine that it isn't something made in the last 20 years,
:21:38. > :21:44.but what are you look forward to seeing? These films are very old.
:21:44. > :21:48.January at London's BFI Southbank is good and they have 21 comedies
:21:48. > :21:53.from the 1930s and 1940s and some of them really familiar and others
:21:53. > :21:58.that have have never been screened before and they are screening some
:21:58. > :22:03.days that are three or four back- to-back. That's Way to spend New
:22:03. > :22:07.Year's Day. These films are eccentric about love and they turn
:22:07. > :22:12.the world up on its head and they are terrific and to see them on the
:22:12. > :22:20.big screen would be a real treat. No, I'm in. I'm in! You didn't need
:22:20. > :22:26.to say anymore. Three in one day! Let's do it. Let's do it. I will by
:22:26. > :22:31.the popcornpm. What are you looking forward to? Mine has 2013 after its
:22:31. > :22:38.brackets, it is The Impossible. It is a tsunami disaster drama which
:22:38. > :22:43.is devastating and uplifting at the same time and features astonishing
:22:43. > :22:48.performances, Ewan McGregor. They deserve Oscar nomination, it will
:22:48. > :22:57.break your heart Docofthebay they deal with the CJI?
:22:57. > :23:00.It is shot in a water tank. It is not long, long minutes of
:23:00. > :23:09.grey, fake sea. You know how much I love that!
:23:09. > :23:13.Catherine, what are you most looking forward to? Quentin
:23:13. > :23:17.Tarantino. I will be going to see it again because I loved it. It is
:23:17. > :23:22.just, it is his best one for a long time, I think. In Glorious which
:23:22. > :23:26.lots of other people loved and now he is back to being his brilliant
:23:26. > :23:33.self apparently? It has got a lot of the same themes, but it is a lot
:23:33. > :23:38.more controlled and they go on this journey. It It rolls out, it it is
:23:38. > :23:48.like a massive boulder going down a hill.
:23:48. > :23:51.
:23:51. > :23:55.You loved Jango? Yes. I am not going to say too much more, but
:23:55. > :23:59.Catherine Bigelow. I am going to say quickly, Lincoln.
:23:59. > :24:08.That's all I have to say. Films of 2012, again I look to Antonio
:24:08. > :24:14.hoping that maybe this was made in 20 2012, but I assume not? No, but
:24:14. > :24:22.at least it is in colour. What is it? My film of 2012 is the most
:24:22. > :24:28.poetic and literate, beautiful, exciting, action movie ever made
:24:28. > :24:35.and it is the re-release of Laurence of Arabia. This particular
:24:35. > :24:39.cut is David Liens -- Leans 1988 cut which has the intermission
:24:39. > :24:49.music and the theatre of the thing is extraordinary and the most
:24:49. > :25:05.
:25:05. > :25:14.beautiful performance by Peter owe I love it. Only an Antonia, the
:25:14. > :25:23.film of 2012, Laurence of Arabia. Very, very good and yours? Mine is
:25:23. > :25:27.a toss teen The -- between The Raid... And you brought to our
:25:27. > :25:37.attention. I had to go something that connected with the public and
:25:37. > :25:40.
:25:40. > :25:47.me and that's the Avengers. Comics don't always translate to the big
:25:47. > :25:54.screen, but it was directed with style and wit and a fantastic
:25:54. > :26:04.dialogue and fantastic moments with The Hulk. Let's have a look.
:26:04. > :26:18.
:26:18. > :26:23.Enough. I am a God, you dull It is a good choice.
:26:23. > :26:26.Moments like that. Tas good present if you are
:26:26. > :26:32.wondering what to put in stockings, that.
:26:32. > :26:40.Catherine, what is your film of 2012. We gof fought -- we could
:26:40. > :26:50.have fought? It is a small film. It is a black British comedy and it is
:26:50. > :26:57.from a director director called Ben Wheatley and it is a film about a
:26:57. > :27:02.middle couple on a caravanning trip. It will put you off caravanning.
:27:02. > :27:06.If you don't pick up this excrement, I am going to have to inform the
:27:06. > :27:13.the National Trust. I don't think you are sorry.
:27:13. > :27:18.Did he touch you? I don't know. I wasn't concentrating. Have a think.
:27:18. > :27:28.Can you remember everything? Yes, yes, he did touch me.
:27:28. > :27:35.This is preposterous. What else did he do? Details.
:27:36. > :27:43.tried to put the puppy's balls in his mouth.
:27:43. > :27:53.I am going to mention the kid with the bike and and The Master. Half
:27:53. > :27:55.
:27:55. > :28:05.the people who see it hate it and you? I love la love Lamour. We are
:28:05. > :28:06.
:28:06. > :28:10.off for Christmas, but we are back on the 9th January. Playing out is
:28:10. > :28:15.Baz Luhrmann's, The Great Gatsby. I am certainly glad to see you
:28:15. > :28:20.again. # I think about you day and night
:28:20. > :28:24.# It's only right # I am certainly glad to see you as
:28:24. > :28:32.well. # So happy together #