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Fling Scotsman meets flying pickets
Protests planned for Film Festival opening. .v 1‘ Allan Radcliffe
he lzdinhurgh International l-ihn liextixal doesn't kiek oll~ until I—l .\ugu\t. hut the opening gala \ereening is ahead} attraeting t‘tiltll‘tn el'\_\.
l’rotesters are planning to pieket the \\orld pretnier oi Dullgith \leix'innon‘s lite IV/iine Storm/tin. starring .lonn) l.ee-.\li||er tinter\ ie\\ ed h} In ine \\'el\h on page .\.\ l. l’rodueers .\lel l'ihn limited reeenth \xent into administration. allegedl} ouing tnone} to more than (it) nietnherx ol' the east and eren.
'l‘he protest has the haeking ol~ Bli("l‘l'. the independent industr} union. \\hieh has \ll'ttllg‘i} erilieixed the liihn l'esti\a| and eontrmerxial \ereen agene_\ Seottish Sereen.
'Seottixh Sereen has retuxed to hand o\ er ahnoxt L'lelllllll) in promised t'unding. \\hieh \\ou|d ha\ e al|o\\ ed the ere\\ to he paid. The linaneierx ol‘ the tihn are touting t'or distrihution. \xhile ignoring ereu ealls tor paynent.’ the) said. i
Blit'l‘l‘ is urging the lidinhurgh International l-ihn l-'e\ti\a|. and di\ll‘i|\ulot‘\. not to take on the tihn. unless \xritten guarantees are gi\en that an} ineoine goe\ to pa_\ erexx \xagex. llo\\e\et'. the t'esti\al\ managing director. (iinnie Atkinson has named that the protest eould jeopardise the tihu‘x ehaneex ol‘ tinding a distrihutor.
‘()n|} h_\ the tihn aehie\ ing distrihution do the unpaid stand a ehanee of being paid.' \he said. ‘l)i\trihutor\ like to see hon audieneex and eritiex reaet to a tihn and that's what lidinhurgh \\ ill pt'm ide.‘
I Short of a festival bob or two? Mirth control and WMD Awareness have gathered together some weel-kent types for a Fringe jamboree. Get Up Stand Up! takes place at The Three Tuns nightly until 28 Aug, 5—7pm, at the very reasonable price of £3 (£2). Mark Thomas, Lucy Porter and Ed Byrne are among the mirthmeisters
4 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE '
performing, while featured bands include Saint Jude‘s Infirmary. There’s even political chat from Tony Benn. www.comeclean.org.uk
I Comedians across the Fringe community are rubbing their hands with glee at news that the prize formerly known as the Perrier has doubled in value. The if.comeddies awards, also known as the ‘eddies', sponsored by Intelligent Finance, will also now include a £4000 panel prize as well as the £8000 main comedy award and £4000 best newcomer award.
I In order to promote his show, Pentecostal Wisconsin, Ryan Paulson has taken to wearing his ‘cheesehead' (an orange foam hat) around Edinburgh. In the US, the cheesehead is associated with the Green Bay Packers football team, so, when touring the US, people will shout 'cheesehead' or ‘Go Packers!‘ at the performer. In Scotland however, the big piece of cheese is associated with, well, cheese, meaning that Paulson has been greeted with blank looks and cheesy insults. Well, they do say all publicity is good publicity. ..
Festiva d
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Our intrepid columnist gets in a guddle avording the capital's tartan cliches
I knew I’d hit Scotland when the taxi driver offered to carry my luggage. In London the cabbie literally laughed in my face. They call London taxis ‘black rats‘, but that’s unfair; black rats carry bubonic plague, London cabbies would make you carry it yourself.
This is the first festival I’ve performed at, and I‘m trying to avoid the clichés, especially as I usually live in LA where my American friends get their image of Scotland from Braveheart and Trainspotting. I tell them it‘s nothing like that, but sure enough on Day One, I find myself living in a stunning terrace opposite a kilt place that can find your ancestral tartan if your name is Yoko Nagasaki and a street loony who looks like he could find your ancestral heroin. These places don‘t fool me. I am an insider, and went straight to the Royal Mile where Laird Frappuccino of Starbuck still has his auld watering hole.
Day Two is publicity. A newspaper is sending a photographer because they've heard the show is a true story - I’m telling myself they’re more interested in the daring adventure in Africa than the revelations about which male Hollywood celebrities might prefer willies. That‘s nothing; I could reveal which star made his plastic surgeon retrieve a mystery object from his business end, but I didn’t, because the plastic surgeon promised me cheap liposuction (quote: ‘I’ve always wanted to do a Brit, they’re a real challenge’).
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