Comment posted £7 million public money for Brave film – and a map that takes Argyll and the Isles out of Scotland by Simon.
Actually, given that the ancestors of the present Duke, the Campbells of Inveraray/Argyll, not only fought on the side of the English (and freely massacred any ‘ rebellious Scots’) they also regarded themselves as part of England – and thus in historical (and PIXAR) terms the map is probably pretty accurate.
Do they still ban Campbells and tinkers from yon pub in Glencoe?
Simon also commented
- Crazy – I googled it – it’s the The Clachaig Inn.
Recent comments by Simon
- New SNP group leader unable to keep the sheep in the pen
Jnr Tick “So this is where your at Simon” ah the voice of the oppressed…Ignoring your grammar where I am at is in a perfectly justifiable easily defensible position FFS! (as you so eloquently put it…)
The SNP took control of Argyll and Bute a year ago.
They have had three ‘leaders’ in that time.
They have had two resignations (one sneaked back in I hear)
They have fragmented internally, personalised issues beyond belief and behaved like a bunch of spoilt brats rather than a mature political party.
They continue to attack each other publicly
They would apparently rather attack their own than their opposition
They ‘leak’ and ‘spin’ to the media to support their faction and vilify their ‘colleagues’
They are incapable of collegiate performance to the extent that the party national has had to step in.
They have been an unmitigated DISASTER for Argyll and Bute.
And, therefore it is fair to surmise that if we elected these numpties into real national power they would be a disaster there as well.
Now, which part of the above would you take issue with? Where have I lied? Tell me please what a success the SNP have made of their time in Argyll and Bute??
I’m waiting (yawn, yawn….)
Have a nice evening.
- New SNP group leader unable to keep the sheep in the pen
H20 – Oh I don’t have any inside knowledge. Just an observer from afar who can see that the factionalism within the SNP (as exemplified by your own sweet contribution) will run and run.I remember Dave-three-names coming on here thundering on about how he ‘joined the SNP to make things better – not to make them worse’.
Impressive sloganizing from a master. But the question is this – has the election of the SNP as the largest ‘Group’(and I use that word in its widest sense) beena good thing for Argyll and Bute?
Have the SNP captivated the people with their unified vision of the future?
Have the SNP begun to resolve the long-standing and endemic challenges of the area?
Have the SNP shown, by example, that they are no longer a party of protest but a party that is unified and capable of governing Argyll and well as they would govern Scotland?
Or have they been an amateurish embarrassment of egotists unable to deal with their problems internally preferring instead – like their ancestors in the Clans – the futile, suicidal headlong charge into oblivion?
As I said elsewhere – imagine if you had voted for them – what an embarrassment.
- Minutes of today’s meeting of ‘Concerned Councillors’ Group
Neil, whilst you might not care what the SNP do or don’t do the fact remains that right now it’s the SNP that are the problem. They are the largest group and whilst they have indeed been found wanting they remain the problem and that is a problem that requires to be dealt with.The SNP cannot agree amongst themselves, they attack each other in public with increasingly vitriolic language and are quite simply bereft of ideas. To judge just how bereft they are consider there last three leaders – MCCusih, good man honest and upfront and wouldn’t bow to Breslin’s resignation threat; Robb not in the same mould as Roddy , cold, calculating not afraid to be abrasive but smart nevertheless; Sandy Taylor….well Sandy Taylor, the ‘who?’ man of SNP politics in Argyll.
Now to be fair the SNP are attempting to bury the hatchets – but unfortunately still in their ‘colleagues’ heads.
So, the opposition best get their act together and stich up once and for all this pile of puffed-up parodies of politicians that is the SNP in Argyll and Bute.
Gawd’s truth – imagine if ye had voted fir them!!! How embarrassed would ye be now?
- New SNP group leader unable to keep the sheep in the pen
H20 – are you the same H20 that on Cowal Courier is calling for Cllrs McCuish, Robb and Semple to be removed from the SNP for ‘bringing it into disrepute’???So, the SNP’s Civil war and personalised attacks on fellow SNP ‘colleagues’ is still going well then???
Mmmm?
- New SNP group leader unable to keep the sheep in the pen
Well if this is all idle gossip what’s the real story then?Peace has broken out and the SNP are all unified once again?
You have a(nother) Leader you can all unite around?
There will be no more factionalism?
You will work for the benefit of the people rather than yourselves?
you will no longer sneak-off to the media leaking stories against your particular SNP colleagues/bogeyman or bogeywomen or describe in the press your fellow SNP Cllrs as “traitors” and “duplicitous” ?
Any of that true??
Or are you like Anne are you just claiming to be in the loop ??
Mmmm?
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I bet there are no wind turbines in it either!
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Newsroom: You have definitely been on the grouchy pills of late: perhaps it is the heat?
You may have a point about the map but as most Americans have little idea of the geography of their own country can we expect much from them with regard to ours?
I have seen the trailers for the film and I liked it. It will be a great, feel-good, animated film for all the family that will do well at the box office (which is what it is designed to be rather than a piece of great art destined immediately to be seen only at high art venues and straight to DVD – We have Peter Mullan to do that sort of thing for us)
I think Visit Scotland have taken an imaginative punt here and it will be interesting to see how it pans out. If nothing else, it will give us lots of amusement trying to spot which bits of Scotland are represented in the film.
For Lowry: In the clips I have seen there are indeed no wind turbines and I don’t know if they based any of the scenery on areas where there are turbines visible but I think I saw a stylistic Kilchurn Castle with no pylons in the picture either.
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I hope you’re right and that the box office tells a success story. Nothing is more subjective than responses to art and entertainment. Another part of the fun is hearing other people’s reasons for their own responses.
Regardless of any other category a creative piece can be placed in, the big trip is whether it is so good you forget about everything except enjoying or being held by whatever it is.
In Brave, I found Merida – the feisty redheaded princess voiced by Kelly MacDonald, genuinely compelling. The other characters and the plot were so inconsistent I kept losing contact with the thread I responded to.
While the creative arts is a major area of expertise of mine – and expertise can get in the way – I can be as playful as anyone, if the work transports me.
Whether it’s comedy, music theatre, dance, visual arts, installation art or panto – success is about the ability to transport.
With the Brave trailers, I stayed where I was, eyes wide open.
But maybe the full film will be different. I’ll certainly see it. And if its impact is different, I’ll say so up front and right away – with pleasure.
Lynda
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Concerning the map: it’s not even an easy straight-ish line across. King James (VI and I) will be turning in his grave; at least he didn’t try to move the boundary between his “North Britain” and “South Britain”.
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For goodness sake – this is the world according to Disney we are talking about here. Fairy flippin princesses and talking animals that spontaneously burst into song and dance numbers.
Americans know nothing about geography anyway, unless its a country they plan to
invadeunleash democracy on, so yer all getting yer knickers twisted over nothing.£7 million invested? Well at least we know where they’ve spent it instead of a wee bit here and there which ultimately leads to nothing.
If it does bring more tourists, then great. I don’t give a hoot how accurate their map is.
What concerns me more is the current trend of slamming movies that have had something to do with Disney. If this movie is nothing less than spectacular, it will sink without trace at the mercy of critics desperate for their headlines and go the way of John Carter. I sincerely hope for all concerned this proves not to be the case, but having seen the trailers, I am not confident.
Incidentally, I liked John Carter
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It never got past the SNP censors with script such as “are you prepared to pay the price your freedom will cost”. Was it a gaffe with the map? It’s a fairy story so I’d not be surprised if the border fitted the plot.
I think your point is well made. What is wrong with Scotland as she is rather than this fantasy (as a means of selling Scotland)?
For the Scottish Government’s Tourism experts to pour scorn over Trump’s knowledge of tourism and then splash £7m on this, which isn’t quite what one would have in mind to attract visitors to Scotland, is odd.
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What film has ever portrayed Scotland accurately and what exactly were you expecting from Disney?
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It’s a PIXAR film! Is it right or wrong to use public (and is VisitScotland’s money public?) to promote it, I don’t know.
But you can expect excellent animation, a real story, and a sudden uptick in interest in Scotland, just as Finding Nemo almost did for the clownfish.
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Actually, given that the ancestors of the present Duke, the Campbells of Inveraray/Argyll, not only fought on the side of the English (and freely massacred any ‘ rebellious Scots’) they also regarded themselves as part of England – and thus in historical (and PIXAR) terms the map is probably pretty accurate.
Do they still ban Campbells and tinkers from yon pub in Glencoe?
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I understand the tinkers are allowed in
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If we are getting pernickety here, Disney owns Pixar, its their animation branch and one wee look at the movie’s website and its clear which name comes first:
http://www.disney.co.uk/brave/
And again, this is Hollywood’s version of Scotland. They still think that Gene Kelly is wandering the hills here singing “Roamin in the Gloamin”.
Campbells are barred from pubs all over Scotland, you need to be more specific!!!
Guess what I am? lol
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Has Salmond got the replacement for the British Board of Film Classification sorted out? We should be told.
Is this film a touchy-feely Braveheart?
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Greetings from Adelaide, South Australia!
Just to let you know that we are having a Champagne Premiere of Brave here on 21 June and we are all looking forward to seeing it.
Here’s tae Scotland –
Rosemary
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Crazy – I googled it – it’s the The Clachaig Inn.
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Had a wee look at their website. Looks like a nice wee cosy place. Perhaps I shall wear a disguise if I visit
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The Clachaig Inn had a great sign outside afew weeks ago during the panic over the oil tanker drivers possibly going on strike. It read: “Beer shortage predicted. Please panic buy”.
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A great pub and lots of fun when I was last there. I once spent the evening in it with the Kurgan from Highlander. Nice, soft spoken, gentle bloke actually and almost twice my height;-) The film was historically bizarre as it was placed in a very vague century and place, but used authentic weapons and dress.
The same was true of Braveheart which was mostly filmed in Ireland, opened with shots of mountains Ayrshire doesn’t have, and created a romantic interest with a princess who was just ten when Wallace was murdered. The original script was rescued somewhat by the input of the Scottish actors who refused to tolerate a dialogue that could only have been rooted in an American diner. The original version was further subverted by a bunch of guys from Glasgow who had a passion for face paint and baring their bums.
I do think the least visit scotland could have done is phoned to point out the error and wonder how the artist managed to get the shape right without copying the million accurate maps that abound on the internet. I don’t however think it’s useful to waste time correcting the film industry. There will no doubt be a reason why “poor little Scotland” was a good starting point and no amount of money would swerve them from their “creative” aims.
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I once (a long time ago) spent a winter’s evening in the Clachaig Inn with a young lady who asked for ice in her whisky – long silence, serious faux pas.
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Oh deary me, if this is the best you can do newsroom then it’s a sad day for journalisits across the world. Having a pop at VisitScotland for a map which is produced by Disney for a Disney tour of Scotland is laughable, why would someone in VisitScotland sign off a disney project? Another scoop for you to run with Mel Gibson isn’t from Stirling at all he’s….wait for it.. an Australian,
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I think that any opportunity to promote Scotland to identified target audiences is a great idea, although Visit Scotland has missed the boat yet again. The film, whilst family viewing, is largely aimed at children. Perhaps with foresight Visit Scotland would enter into a clear contract that offers real benefits, but the spendng of £7 million isnt the key factor, the problem is that there has been no support schedule, no additional value to this package.
Machrihanish Air Force base and numerous other areas are ‘desperate’ for investment and opportunity, this would have been the ideal opportunity to capitalise on Disneys investment in the Scottish family film but creating a visitor centre / theme park. Even reducing investment releasing £3million to create a rural visitor attraction would have had a substantial impact on creating new opportunity and something long lasting, we have to remember now that films, music and digital media and the consumer relationships with these last a lifetime, once again i cant help but think that Scotland has been removed of opportunity once again in what i imagine would have been a poor ROI, we could have probably made two films to better market Scotland for the same money.
Lastly, OMG @ Eurovision, with Susan Boyle one of the most loved artists at present, why, oh why, oh why didnt the UK use her and a decent song?? Shes not my cup of tea, but certainly has a huge following throughout the world.
We only get one chance to make appropriate and successful decisions, i cant help think that more and more decisions are made without due care, due passion or due consideration, can someone please write something positive that we can all agree on!
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re: Eurovision
Do we REALLY want to win? That means we need to host the blimin thing the following year and it costs a fortune to put it on. Thats why Ireland keep sending Jedward.
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Id’ never thought of it like that, im going to put forward the Chuckle Brothers for us next year then, I sadly quite enjoyed Eurovision this year, Graham Nortons cutting remarks makes it bearable.
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