Film By The Sea 2011: Paul Verhoeven

At this years Film By The Sea festival in Vlissingen, internationally acclaimed director Paul Verhoeven, was a jury member. I waited fo him in the lobby of his, presumed, hotel. When I saw him I asked for a picture which he didn't mind at all. When I asked him to sign some items he said he was in a bit of a hurry, but he was willing to sign for me the following items; the posters of "Basic Instinct", "Robocop" and "Total Recall", my deluxe boxset of "Zwartboek" en the boxsets "Robocop trilogy" and a special edition of "Basic Instinct". Besides these items he also signed my DVD-covers of "Total Recall", "Basic Instinct", "Hollow Man", "Showgirls", "Starship Troopers", "Flesh & Blood", "Soldaat Van Oranje", "Spetters", "De Vierde Man" and "Turks Fruit". So that means he signed 16 items in total for me... unbelievable!

68th Venice Filmfestival: Al Pacino

This year a special award, Glory To The Filmmaker, was handed out to Academy Award winning actor Al Pacino (Scarface, Heat, The Godfather). Actually he was the main reason I was willing to check out the Venice Filmfestival. So you can imagine I was very glad to meet the legendary actor in person. He signed my filmcells of "Scarface" and "Ocean's 13" and thanks to Samantha the poster of "Heat". And I was even more happy when he posed for a picture with me! Although looking back I have to admit that it's not easy collecting in Venice but I'm happy that I went anyway!

68th Venice Filmfestival: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

For me one of the most important days was the day "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" was going to have a premiere in Venice. It was that important because Gary Oldman ("Leon", "The Fith Element", "The Dark Knight" was the lead actor and because of that he would probably show up for it... And luckily for me, he did!

Gary Oldman signed my posters of "The Dark Knight", "The Dark Knight Rises", "Harry Potter 7" and "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy". He also signed my DVD-covers of "Leon", "The Fifth Element" and "Air Force One". After signing all these items he was willing to pose for a picture. Great guy this Gary Oldman!!!
Benedict Cumberbatch (War Horse, The Hobbit) signed my poster of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and posed for a picture.
John Hurt signed my posters of "Immortals", "Outlander", "Harry Potter 7", "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and my previously posed picture with him. He also posed for a new picture with me inside the Excelsior hotel.
Colin Firth (The King's Speech, A Single Man) signed my poster of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and my posterphoto of "The King's Speech". Photo below was at the Bafta Afterparty (London 2011).
Mark Strong signed my posters of "Robin Hood", "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", "Kick Ass", "Rock 'N Rolla" and "The Green Lantern". Photo is below is at the Inception world premiere (London 2010).

68th Venice Filmfestival: The Ides Of March

The opening movie of this year's Venice Filmfestival was "The Ides Of March", the new movie directed by George Clooney and also starring George Clooney. Besides Clooney, Marisa Tomei, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti and Evan Rachel Wood came to Venice to promote the movie.

George Clooney (Batman & Robin, The Perfect Storm, Syriana) signed my DVD-covers of "The Perfect Storm", "Three Kings", my filmcell of "Ocean's 13" and the poster of "The Ides Of March". He was willing to pose for a picture with me...
And again...

Evan Rachel Wood ("Thirteen", "True Blood") signed my posters of "The Ides Of March" and "True Blood" and posed for a picture.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman ("Mission: Impossible 3", "Happiness") signed my poster of "Capote", but was, as usual, not willing to pose for a picture.
Paul Giamatti ("Lady In The Water", "Sideways") signed my poster of "Shoot 'm Up" but was also not friendly enoug to pose for a picture.
Former supermodel Cindy Crawford (also known for her leading role in the action movie "Fair Game") posed for a picture.

68th Venice Filmfestival: The Scorcerer And The White Snake

One of the most surprising guests to attend the filmfestival was actor Jet Li (The Expendables, Lethal Weapon 4, Kiss Of The Dragon). He attended the filmfestival for his upcoming movie "The Scorcerer And The White Snake". When he arrived for the press conference he signed my poster of "The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor" and my posterphoto of "The Expendables". Thanks to Samantha he also signed the DVD-cover of Lethal Weapon 4. He was also willing to pose for a picture!

68th Venice Filmfestival: Carnage

The new movie of Academy Award winning director Roman Polanski, "Carnage", also premiered in Venice. Although the director didn't show up in Venice, Kate Winslet (Titanic), John C. Reilly (Step Brothers), Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds) and composer Alexandre Desplat (The Queen) luckily did show up in Venice.

Academy Award winning actress Kate Winslet (Titanic, The Reader, Contagion) signed my poster of Contagion and posed for a picture.
Academy Award nominated composer Alexandre Desplat (The Queen) posed for a picture.
Academy Award winning actor Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds, The Three Musketeers) signed my posters of "Inglorious Basterds" and "The Three Musketeers" but was not willing to pose for a picture. Luckily I've got one earlier in London (Soho Hotel London 2010).

68th Venice Filmfestival: Sal

Academy Award nominated actor James Franco was in town to promote his directorial debut "Sal". James Franco is known for his supporting role in Spiderman 1,2 & 3 and his leading roles in "127 Hours" and "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes". When he arrived for the press conference he signed my posters of "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" and "127 Hours" and thanks to Samantha the poster of "Pineapple Express" en the posterphoto of "127 Hours". After a long sigh he was willing to pose for a picture with me...

68th Venice Filmfestival: A Dangerous Method

A certain highlight of the filmfestival was without doubt the movie "A Dangerous Method", directed by David Cronenberg (The Fly, Eastern Promises). The movie stars Keira Knightley (Pirates Of The Carribean), Viggo Mortensen (Lord Of The Rings), Michael Fassbender (X Men-First Class) and Vincent Cassel (Black Swan). Unfortunately for me it wasn't a highlight... Keira Knightley was as always not very friendly for her fans and I wasn't able to get a single picture with one of them...

Michael Fassbender signed my posters of "Haywire ", "Inglorious Basterds", "X Men- First Class" and thanks to Samantha the Blu-Ray cover of "Centurion". Photo below is at the press conference of Shame (Venice 2011).
Viggo Mortensen signed my poster of "A Perfect Murder" Photo below is from Bafta afterparty (London 2008).
Vincent Cassel signed my poster of "Black Swan" (Photo below is from Venice 2011)

68th Venice Filmfestival: Dark Horse

Selma Blair (Hellboy, Hellboy 2, Cruel Intentions) came over to Venice to promote her upcoming movie "Dark Horse". When I met her inside the Excelsior hotel I was able to get a picture with her and she also signed my filmcell of Hellboy!

68th Venice Filmfestival Wuthering Heights

English newcomer Kaya Scodelario (Skins, Shank) was in Venice to promote her upcoming movie "Wuthering Heights", directed by acclaimed director Andrea Arnold (Fishtank, Red Road)

Kaya Scodelario signed my DVD-boxsets of Skins Season 1 and Skins Season 3. She also signed a photo of Skins and posed for a picture inside the Excelsior hotel.

Below is a trailer for the televion series Skins and also a tribute to Effy.