Martin Freeman News

[Convict13]

I have just seen Martin's NATIVITY film and enjoyed it very much.  Got a cheap copy (around $5 with shipping) off of Ebay.  Enjoy your hunt for it!

 

Oh that is such a lovely movie,  very sweet.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I really like it too.  And did y'all know that a good bit of it was improvised by the actors?  As I understand it, there was no script as such, more of an outline, so the director would say OK, this next scene needs to get us from Point A to Point B, being certain to include these things along the way -- aaaaand Action!

 

[Arcadia]

This I gotta see, Martin's brilliant at stuff like that.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

I really like it too. And did y'all know that a good bit of it was improvised by the actors? As I understand it, there was no script as such, more of an outline, so the director would say OK, this next scene needs to get us from Point A to Point B, being certain to include these things along the way -- aaaaand Action!

I didn't realize it was heavily improvised. Would not have known by watching it.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Me neither.  I read about that later, and was amazed.

 

Here's an interview with Freeman, talking about the movie, and about working for the second time with director Debbie Isitt.

 

“In Confetti, in the course of a scene, if the characters decided to take it north or east, that’s where the scene and story went,” Martin says.

 

“For Nativity!, Debbie’s general modus operandi would be, ‘We need to get from this point to this point by the end of the scene, away you go’! How you get there is down to you, but you have to hit certain landmarks along the way. I think Debbie likes the uncertainty of what can happen in a moment.”

 

[sfmpco]

Martin has just been cast in a new movie...

 

https://twitter.com/MollieMarriott/status/582630603377512448

[Carol the Dabbler]

I'm totally out of my element here, but it seems that Mr. Freeman will be playing Steve Marriott in a crowdfunded short film about a turning point in the life of the English rock musician, singer, and songwriter.  The director of Midnight of My Life is Phil Davis, who played Jeff the cabbie in "Study in Pink."

 

[sfmpco]

I really appreciate it that actors of Martin's stature will still do smaller film projects.  It speaks loads about a generosity and giving back to the industry and to filmmakers flexing their wings.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I think it's also about getting to do something different.  But yes, I agree.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Martin Freeman will be participating in a Q&A session following a charity showing of "The Eichmann Show" in London -- this coming Sunday!  Tickets are available here.

 

 

 

[Arcadia]

I live in the wrong country. :(

[Carol the Dabbler]

At times like this, wouldn't it be great to just hop on the train to London?  :D

 

[Arcadia]

YES!

[Carol the Dabbler]

According to this article, filming of Fun House (or Taliban Shuffle or whatever they're calling it this week) wrapped sometime in the first half of April -- at least in New Mexico.  I believe they were also filming some scenes in New York, but I have no idea whether those are already done or not.  (IMDb still says the movie is "filming," though that may simply need updating.)

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

For news of Martin Freeman's participation in the new Captain America movie, see this thread.

[sfmpco]

This one is a couple years old but still worth reading:

 

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/dec/06/martin-freeman-sherlock-the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug

[sittything]

What.... is this?

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

That's from Bruiser, a year-2000 comedy sketch program where Martin Freeman played a number of different characters -- in many cases, very different!

 

A real sweetheart known as dradra13 has posted all of Freeman's skits (which I think are generally the funniest anyhow) from all six episodes on YouTube.  Enjoy!

 

[J.P.]

What.... is this?

 

 

Martin rehearsing for "I'm not gay!"

[sittything]

Well, so far I've seen "I'm not gay!"  and "I'm not a pervert!"  lol

[Arcadia]

Same here. :D

 

I ended up skipping the "touchy" ones, too mean for my taste but he's good at it.... the Mars/Venus couple is hysterical, tho!

[Carol the Dabbler]

Yup, I just love Gary & Samantha (that's Olivia Colman, by the way).

 

The "touchy" skits aren't my favorites, either, but I figure there's some sort of backstory that could explain (if not justify) the behavior.

 

[Arcadia]

I'm afraid I don't know who Olivia Colman is, should I? Just looked her up and no mention of any show I've ever heard of, at least.... not that I've heard of that many, apparently. I'm always being surprised by fans of shows I've never heard of!

[Carol the Dabbler]

Ms. Colman has been in several things with Martin Freeman -- Bruiser, obviously, and also Confetti, Hot Fuzz, and one episode each of The Office (where she interviews David Brent for Inside Paper) and The Robinsons.  She's apparently been in only British productions, so you may not have seen much of her, and she tends to blend in, so even if you have seen her in a few different things, you might not realize it was the same woman (which is why I mentioned her name above).

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

A reviewer has listed his top 15 sketches from the Saturday Night Light season that just ended.  There were 21 regular episodes, so you'd figure no more than one favorite per episode, right?  Wrong -- there are three entries from the December 13th episode guest-hosted by Martin Freeman (which the reviewer calls "the single best episode the show has produced in a half-decade").