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Articles by John Forde
Waiting for God: Jafar Panahi on his meticulous psychological tragicomedy It Was Just an Accident • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine
For Jafar Panahi, there are no flukes. “I have a plan for every shot,” the filmmaker tells me. Controlled and methodical, Panahi’s meticulous approach has allowed him to shoot, edit and even smuggle his films past an authoritarian Iranian government that’s worked to impede his creative voice via imprisonment, banishment and censorship.
Sweater Weather: twenty fantastic winter fashion moments on film • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine
The most wonderful time of the year is almost upon us: not Christmas, not Thanksgiving, but pure winter. It’s the season for giving, for reflecting, but also, most importantly, for cozying the heck up. Pretending to be friends with the weather is over, deciding on your chosen theater based on their level of AC is in the past, finding peace with your own TV setup is the name of the game.
Beautiful Humanity: twenty empathetic and heartbreaking films from Akira Kurosawa • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine
Once you start trying to pigeonhole Akira Kurosawa, you immediately start to lose him again. If you think he’s a director of just samurai movies, you miss his outstanding noirs and contemporary works. If you think he’s simply about tenderhearted, melancholy tales, you miss the fatalistic edge of his later works. The sole major consistency across his entire filmography is that meaning can only be created by what we do for others, even if it costs us dearly in the process.
Eight years from Grenfell, what’s changed in the legislation?
Dr Rebecca Rees and John Forde review the changes in building safety laws since the Grenfell Tower fire of 14 June 2017. The Grenfell Tower fire was a horrific and entirely preventable tragedy, resulting in the deaths of 72 people and hundreds more being made homeless. The fire and its aftermath prompted this country’s most significant overhaul of building safety laws since the Health & Safety at Work Act in 1974. Eight years since the fire, the legislative landscape looks very different.
Managing delays in the building safety Gateways process
John Forde reviews the first year of the Gateways regime for higher-risk buildings and shares tips for dealing with approval setbacks. It’s been nine months since the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) became the building control authority for all higher-risk buildings (HRBs) in England, overseeing the new Building Control approval (known as ‘Gateways’) regime for the construction and refurbishment of those buildings.
How to manage delays in the building safety Gateways process
John Forde reviews the first year of the Gateways regime for higher-risk buildings and shares tips for dealing with approval setbacks. It’s been nine months since the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) became the building control authority for all higher-risk buildings (HRBs) in England, overseeing the new Building Control approval (known as ‘Gateways’) regime for the construction and refurbishment of those buildings.
How to manage delays in the Gateways process
John Forde reviews the first year of the Gateways regime for higher-risk buildings and shares tips for dealing with approval setbacks. It’s been nine months since the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) became the building control authority for all higher-risk buildings (HRBs) in England, overseeing the new Building Control approval (known as ‘Gateways’) regime for the construction and refurbishment of those buildings.
Secret Cinema: Ehsan Khoshbakht unearths hidden treasure with his new documentary Celluloid Underground • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine
Imagine a world in which cinemas are banned and where owning or even watching a film could land you in prison. Such was life in Iran following the 1979 Revolution, where the Islamist regime closed cinemas, destroyed celluloid prints and made it illegal to own or rent films. Iranian filmmaker Ehsan Khoshbakht grew up in this repressive environment, developing a love of cinema from his father, who told him the plots of banned movies as bedtime stories.
Peeping Tom: a look at Tom Ripley’s seductive lure across six adaptations • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine
Imagine the elevator pitch: an eight-hour psychological thriller set in 1960s Italy, filmed in black-and-white and starring Fleabag’s Hot Priest as an amoral killer whose crimes are witnessed by a cat? From this unlikely premise, writer-director Steven Zaillian (The Night Of) has fashioned Ripley, an entertaining and meticulous drama starring Andrew Scott as the grifter’s grifter: Tom Ripley. Now streaming on Netflix, it’s every bit the cinematic spectacle, despite its small-screen home.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi on How Douglas Sirk Influenced ‘Evil Does Not Exist’: ‘You Love and Hate the Characters at the Same Time’
After years of making films in his native Japan, writer-director Ryusuke Hamaguchi found unexpected global success in 2021 with “Drive My Car.” Adapted and expanded from short stories by Haruki Murakami, it’s an exquisite drama about a grieving theater director staging a multilingual “Uncle Vanya,” and his relationship with the pensive young woman employed to drive his cherry-red Saab.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi on How Douglas Sirk Influenced ‘Evil Does Not Exist’: ‘You Love and Hate the Characters at the Same Time’
After years of making films in his native Japan, writer-director Ryusuke Hamaguchi found unexpected global success in 2021 with “Drive My Car.” Adapted and expanded from short stories by Haruki Murakami, it’s an exquisite drama about a grieving theater director staging a multilingual “Uncle Vanya,” and his relationship with the pensive young woman employed to drive his cherry-red Saab.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi on How Douglas Sirk Influenced ‘Evil Does Not Exist’: ‘You Love and Hate the Characters at the Same Time’
After years of making films in his native Japan, writer-director Ryusuke Hamaguchi found unexpected global success in 2021 with “Drive My Car.” Adapted and expanded from short stories by Haruki Murakami, it’s an exquisite drama about a grieving theater director staging a multilingual “Uncle Vanya,” and his relationship with the pensive young woman employed to drive his cherry-red Saab.
Found Family: Goran Stolevski on mothering his Queer Lion-winning dramedy Housekeeping for Beginners • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine
In the space of just three years, Housekeeping for Beginners’sGoran Stolevski has become one of the most exciting writer-directors in independent film. Born in Macedonia and raised in suburban Australia, Stolevski creates work that crosses geographical and cultural borders, with the restless, inquisitive energy of a permanent exile.
Crushed at the Movies: ten of our worst dates at the pictures • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine
There are, if you’ll indulge us, three certainties in this life: death, taxes, and the romance of dinner and a movie. The date formula is tried and tested, except for the times during which it definitely is not—those times that a movie theater, for a whole host of reasons, can become home to some of the worst experiences in your romantic life.
The Lonely Club: All of Us Strangers director Andrew Haigh on tender sex, euphoric dancing and awkward parental chats • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine
When Adam (Andrew Scott) first sees Harry (Paul Mescal) in Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers, he’s a literal beacon of light: a lone figure staring out from the darkness of the near-empty apartment building in which they both live. Adam, a screenwriter, lives a solitary life of writing, eating takeout and watching home renovation shows, but when Harry appears at his door with a bottle of whiskey, a cautious romance begins between these two lonely souls, adrift in the sprawl of London.
Come On, Eileen: the creative stars behind William Oldroyd’s newest film on martinis, manipulation and bad-girl inspiration • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine
Femmes fatales—the glamorous, mysterious women of film noir who lure hapless men (and the occasional woman) to their doom—were once a staple of classic Hollywood. Simultaneously, they embodied misogynistic fears about “untamed” female sexuality while providing actresses with some of their most impressive roles.
Scissor Sisters: Medusa Deluxe director Thomas Hardiman unlocks his salon-set, one-take murder mystery • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine
Thomas Hardiman swivels around in his seat and looks out the window of his publicist’s office. It’s a perfect Los Angeles morning: blue-skied and sun-drenched, with a view of the Hollywood Hills that wouldn’t look out of place in Barbie. “I can’t believe I’m here,” he enthuses. “Life is surreal at the moment.” Hardiman is right to be dazzled.
Months of calm, moments of terror as a UN peacekeeper in Lebanon
The International Day of UN Peacekeepers honours the more than one million women and men who have served the cause of peace on the frontlines of conflict; it also commemorates the more than 4,000 who have lost their lives in the line of that duty.
The Godfather of Queer: Catching up with Bruce LaBruce • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine
It takes a while to track down Bruce LaBruce. The 59-year-old Canadian filmmaker is in London, directing a hardcore porn remake of a Pier Paolo Pasolini film (more on that soon). When not filming, his social life, chronicled wittily on his Instagram feed, is a dizzying array of gallery openings, club nights and selfies with hip young fans—some of whom ask him to autograph their backsides.
What Lies Beneath: Stephen Frears on finding The Lost King and responsibly rewriting history • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine
I hear Stephen Frears before I see him—a gruff whiskey-and-vinegar baritone with a twinge of mischief in the upper notes—as he fumbles to turn on his camera, an important first step in order to begin our interview about his latest film, The Lost King. Then suddenly he’s on screen, hair askew, as if just woken from a post-Sunday lunch nap. “Where are you?” he asks, with lawyerly directness.
Holden the Man: The melancholy romance of Goran Stolevski’s Of An Age • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine
Lensed gorgeously by Stolevski’s regular cinematographer Matthew Cheung, we’re alerted to Kol’s every lingering glance as he sizes Adam up, their dialogue a long dance of evasion as they slowly come out to each other. Their scenes pulse with an energy and tactility so intense you can almost taste the sweat on their skin. “My makeup team were incredible, but we said no powdering, and to build on the sweat that’s already there.
Messy Play: Halina Reijn Skewers Our Second Reality • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine
“The moment the Wi-Fi cuts out, it’s like the oxygen cuts out,” Reijn says. She labels the characters’ online absorptions as a distracting “second reality”, explaining, “if our characters in Bodies Bodies Bodies would for one moment, stop and just look around and see what was going on, the film will stop, right?” Instead, a fascinating tension develops between their self-consciousness and complete lack of self-awareness.
The New Building Safety Regime Take Shape
UK: The New Building Safety Regime Take Shape 21 December 2021 Trowers & Hamlins To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com. The Building Safety Bill, which introduces a new regulatory regime for buildings in England, was presented in Parliament in June and published in July this year. The Bill passed its First and Second Readings in Parliament before being referred to the Public Bills Committee.
The new dutyholders regime: what to expect
In the latest in our series looking at the implications of the Building Safety Bill, John Forde discusses the roles of dutyholders, and proposed competency requirements for building and design works.
New Gateways regime: why it will add six months to construction schedules
Image: Building Site © Michael Piepgras/Dreamstime.com Extending construction time and adding thousands to the cost are major implications to the new Gateways regime. In this second article in its series on the Building Safety Bill, John Forde outlines what the Gateways mean for the delivery of higher-risk buildings.
Ping! Orcas threatened by sonar plan, Inslee and enviros tell Navy
The U.S. and Canadian navies have long done sonar testing in orca waters. Now, environmental groups and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee are fighting a U.S. Navy proposal that could harm up to 51 endangered orcas a year with piercing sounds of underwater sonar. The U.S. Navy’s plan for testing and training on the West Coast would send loud underwater pings into orca habitat, as close as 100 yards to the endangered whales, for another seven years. Navy sonar can be hard to listen to.
Photographic evidence of climate change in the Northwest
Climate change is not a scary thing that might happen in the future. It is here. The photos below show how striking a role climate change has already played in the Pacific Northwest — helping to push houses into the ocean and forcing eels to "pant" for air. Here are some ways that climate change is already altering the region. King tides are increasing These extreme tides used to happen once or twice a year, when the moon comes closest to the earth.
Photographic evidence of climate change in the Northwest
Climate change is not a scary thing that might happen in the future. It is here. The photos below show how striking a role climate change has already played in the Pacific Northwest — helping to push houses into the ocean and wildfires to spread. Here are some ways that climate change is already altering the region. King tides are increasing These extreme tides used to happen once or twice a year, when the moon comes closest to the earth.
Endangered orcas have been missing for 8 weeks. This is unprecedented, researchers say
It all comes back to salmon. It’s been nearly three weeks since anyone has caught sight of a southern resident killer whale and nearly 8 weeks since the endangered orcas were spotted in their core habitat: around the San Juan Islands and southern Vancouver Island. Despite their name, the southern residents often roam widely — as far as California’s Monterey Bay and southeast Alaska.
Endangered orcas have been missing for 8 weeks. This is unprecedented, researchers say
It all comes back to salmon. It’s been nearly three weeks since anyone has caught sight of a southern resident killer whale and nearly 8 weeks since the endangered orcas were spotted in their core habitat: around the San Juan Islands and southern Vancouver Island. Despite their name, the southern residents often roam widely — as far as California’s Monterey Bay and southeast Alaska.
What are that new baby orca’s chances of surviving?
Scientists and whale lovers celebrated when a baby orca was spotted off the west coast of Vancouver Island in May. The calf, still ruddy and wrinkled from its time in the womb, brings the endangered population of southern resident killer whales up to 76. That’s a slight bump up from last year’s 30-year low of 74 whales: a population so small that the death or survival of a single animal is important to its continued existence.
Second j pod calf of 2019 spotted in Canadian waters
Environment Whale watchers spotted a new orca calf in the J pod of the endangered southern resident killer whale population Thursday. If confirmed, it would be the second orca calf born since January in a population that many scientists fear is at risk of extinction. The new orca calf raises the population to 76 whales. The calf was spotted by John Forde and Jennifer Steven of the Tofino Whale Centre, a whale watching company in Canada.
Second j pod calf of 2019 spotted in Canadian waters
Whale watchers spotted a new orca calf in the J pod of the endangered southern resident killer whale population Thursday. If confirmed, it would be the second orca calf born since January in a population that many scientists fear is at risk of extinction. The new orca calf raises the population to 76 whales. The calf was spotted by John Forde and Jennifer Steven of the Tofino Whale Centre, a whale watching company in Canada.
What lies in store for the future of developments, post-Faraday?
A recent Court of Appeal judgement provides a useful steer for public bodies and developers to consider the overall purpose and intention of a development agreement The question of whether development agreements fall within the public procurement rules was given a fresh airing in the recent Court of Appeal judgment in Faraday Development v West Berkshire Council & Anr [2018] EWCA Civ 2532.
Spirits High As Conor Fogerty Leads Ostar Fleet Out of Plymouth
Following the OSTAR skipper's Briefing on Saturday 27th, thoughts turned to weather routing and decisions on which of the main routes to take writes John Forde who is supporting solo Irish entry Conor Fogerty in the Jeanneau Sunfast 3600. It was interesting to see the dynamic at play between the competitors, some being extremely guarded and others more happy to discuss plans and share information for this gruelling sea marathon.
Conor Fogerty Prepares For Monday's OSTAR Race Across the Atlantic
Solo sailor Conor Fogerty of Howth Yacht Club attended this morning's OSTAR skippers race briefing. John Forde, in Plymouth with Ireland's Team BAM!, updates on preparations for Monday's Transatlantic race start. Bam arrived safely in Plymouth to take her place amongst the fleet of solo and two handed sailors in this year's OSTAR.
PRSA And UAB Seek Marketing, Promotion For APR
As 2015 Chair of the Universal Accreditation Board, I’m very excited to announce an opportunity for a consultant or firm to work with the Universal Accreditation Board (UAB) and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) on marketing the Accredited in Public Relations (APR) credential. Virtually everyone I’ve ever met in over 25 years who holds the APR is thankful to have earned the credential and understands the value of the PR Accredited for their career as a trusted communication advisor.
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