The likes of King Barrett and Neville are impressing in the WWE right now but the history of British wrestling goes back much further than the occasional breakthroughs in Connecticut.
Audiences of 18 million people watched World of Sport at its peak and enjoyed some of the most fascinating characters in the history of the sport.
Perhaps the most remarkable was Les Kellett. "He was never the top man, but he was always the one people talked about and the one people wanted to see," screenwriter and director Harvey Auzorst tells us, explaining how his film Kellett came to be in development.
Impressed by the script for Auzorst's Blackpool-based Rat Pack Sands, wrestling legend and current Nxt general manager William Regal vouched for Auzorst among the famously close-knit British wrestling community.
The former Blue Blood put him in touch with his one-time tag partner Dave Taylor, which opened the door to...
Audiences of 18 million people watched World of Sport at its peak and enjoyed some of the most fascinating characters in the history of the sport.
Perhaps the most remarkable was Les Kellett. "He was never the top man, but he was always the one people talked about and the one people wanted to see," screenwriter and director Harvey Auzorst tells us, explaining how his film Kellett came to be in development.
Impressed by the script for Auzorst's Blackpool-based Rat Pack Sands, wrestling legend and current Nxt general manager William Regal vouched for Auzorst among the famously close-knit British wrestling community.
The former Blue Blood put him in touch with his one-time tag partner Dave Taylor, which opened the door to...
- 5/29/2015
- Digital Spy
Ever switched over to ITV on a Friday or Saturday night and bemoaned the fact there’s never anything good on? Perhaps the time is right to bring back our homegrown wrestling! Those of a certain generation will most likely remember ‘World Of Sport’ with a sense of misty-eyed fondness.
Yes, at times it was ridiculous – frequently so in fact- but it was popular as a glance at any retrospective on the subject will tell you. Even BBC Four was compelled to offer an hour-long look back at it as part of its ‘Timeshift’ series, and if the supposed bastion of the country’s art and culture broadcasting output says it’s alright then we’re not going to argue.
‘When Wrestling Was Golden: Grapples, Grunts And Grannies’ really did make a compelling case for bringing back homegrown headlocks and truly British bulldogs. If you haven’t had the pleasure...
Yes, at times it was ridiculous – frequently so in fact- but it was popular as a glance at any retrospective on the subject will tell you. Even BBC Four was compelled to offer an hour-long look back at it as part of its ‘Timeshift’ series, and if the supposed bastion of the country’s art and culture broadcasting output says it’s alright then we’re not going to argue.
‘When Wrestling Was Golden: Grapples, Grunts And Grannies’ really did make a compelling case for bringing back homegrown headlocks and truly British bulldogs. If you haven’t had the pleasure...
- 12/11/2013
- by Chris Morley
- Obsessed with Film
Throw a stick in the air and you’ll probably hit someone who can name a famous wrestler.
Here in the UK, everyone of my parents’ generation will instinctively utter one (or all) of the following names; Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks or Kendo Nagasaki. Conversely, anyone of my age will likely say The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin or The Undertaker.
Throw two sticks in the air and you’ll probably hit at least one long time fan who can reel off the names of literally hundreds of wrestlers. Throw three sticks in the air and, well, you’ll probably be escorted off the premises for throwing sticks in the air (it’s best not to push your luck).
Pro wrestling has given us more colourful characters, more dramatic storylines and, in my opinion, more exciting action, pound for pound, than almost any so-called “legitimate” sport. In the same way...
Here in the UK, everyone of my parents’ generation will instinctively utter one (or all) of the following names; Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks or Kendo Nagasaki. Conversely, anyone of my age will likely say The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin or The Undertaker.
Throw two sticks in the air and you’ll probably hit at least one long time fan who can reel off the names of literally hundreds of wrestlers. Throw three sticks in the air and, well, you’ll probably be escorted off the premises for throwing sticks in the air (it’s best not to push your luck).
Pro wrestling has given us more colourful characters, more dramatic storylines and, in my opinion, more exciting action, pound for pound, than almost any so-called “legitimate” sport. In the same way...
- 9/27/2013
- by Chris Quicksilver
- Obsessed with Film
With The Newsroom chugging along, critics have pointed out a pattern of sexism in Sorkin's work. Do you think that's fair?
The second episode of Aaron Sorkin's latest endeavor, HBO's The Newsroom, unleashed a new wave of criticism on the much-berated television show: sexism.
Critics say Sorkin has a habit of creating one-dimensional female characters in male-dominated settings. Remember the backlash to The Social Network?
What's more is that Sorkin's already been called out this year for his condescending treatment of Globe and Mail reporter Sarah Prickett, who he famously referred to as "internet girl" at a press conference. His later attempt to school her into "properly" high-fiving – "let me manhandle you" he told her – didn't help.
So what's the deal? Is Newsroom really sexist? Are the female characters one dimensional? Does it matter? Or, as John Lopez suggests, is Sorkin just presenting us with an unwelcome reflection on our times?...
The second episode of Aaron Sorkin's latest endeavor, HBO's The Newsroom, unleashed a new wave of criticism on the much-berated television show: sexism.
Critics say Sorkin has a habit of creating one-dimensional female characters in male-dominated settings. Remember the backlash to The Social Network?
What's more is that Sorkin's already been called out this year for his condescending treatment of Globe and Mail reporter Sarah Prickett, who he famously referred to as "internet girl" at a press conference. His later attempt to school her into "properly" high-fiving – "let me manhandle you" he told her – didn't help.
So what's the deal? Is Newsroom really sexist? Are the female characters one dimensional? Does it matter? Or, as John Lopez suggests, is Sorkin just presenting us with an unwelcome reflection on our times?...
- 7/3/2012
- by Ruth Spencer
- The Guardian - Film News
The best of your comments on the latest films and music
"We as a society are far too hard on teenage girls." said Fridaycat last week. "Unlike boys, girls are to be controlled, opinionated on, observed, judged. They mustn't be too slutty or prudish, smart or stupid, honest or manipulative, funny or boring for starters. Teenage boys can do whatever they please, almost without exception, because 'boys will be boys', and they are given considerable leeway to find their own voice while making any number of embarrassing mistakes along the way."
Fridaycat was responding approvingly to Anne Billson's column about the Twilight movies, in which she suggested that perhaps they got a harder time at the hands of critics than movies aimed squarely at teenage boys – and noted that they were pretty much the only mainstream movies that considered girls' sexuality from the perspective of an actual girl.
"You want...
"We as a society are far too hard on teenage girls." said Fridaycat last week. "Unlike boys, girls are to be controlled, opinionated on, observed, judged. They mustn't be too slutty or prudish, smart or stupid, honest or manipulative, funny or boring for starters. Teenage boys can do whatever they please, almost without exception, because 'boys will be boys', and they are given considerable leeway to find their own voice while making any number of embarrassing mistakes along the way."
Fridaycat was responding approvingly to Anne Billson's column about the Twilight movies, in which she suggested that perhaps they got a harder time at the hands of critics than movies aimed squarely at teenage boys – and noted that they were pretty much the only mainstream movies that considered girls' sexuality from the perspective of an actual girl.
"You want...
- 12/2/2011
- by Michael Hann
- The Guardian - Film News
Luke Haines premiered his new wrestling concept album at a London show last night. The ex-Auteurs frontman played Nine and a Half Psychedelic Meditations on British Wrestling of the 1970s and Early '80s in its entirety at the solo acoustic gig at The Old Queen's Head in Islington. During the set, a man dressed as 1970s wrestler Kendo Nagasaki, complete with cape and mask, sat stage-right watching wrestling clips on TV. Before playing album track 'Saturday Afternoon', a plate of liver sausage sandwiches were passed to the audience members. "Sandwiches, made by my own fair hands," Haines announced. "They're not suitable for vegetarians. They're not suitable for people who eat food. Liver sausage sandwiches for all. It's the feeding of the 100!" The singer-songwriter closed the set with three older tracks, starting with (more)...
- 11/9/2011
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
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