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5 things you didn't know about Michael Douglas

Some lesser known tidbits about the Behind the Candelabra star

The Behind the Candelabra star recently revealed he contracted throat cancer from cunnilingus. Here are a few other things you might not have known. 1 12 years before he won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, he…

Profile: Richard Linklater - director of Before Midnight

As Before Midnight hits the screens, James Mottram profiles Richard Linklater

Bursting onto screens with 1990’s self-distributed Sundance hit Slacker, Linklater swiftly became as synonymous with the then-blossoming US indie scene as Soderbergh, Tarantino and fellow Austin-ite Robert Rodriguez. Establishing his cult credentials…

Five reason to love... David Shrigley

The 2013 Turner judges praise his ‘macabre intelligence and infinite jest’ - here's why we love him

He’s a homeboy at heart In an interview with The List in 2010, Shrigley spoke of his love of the Dear Green Place: ‘I moved to Glasgow as a teenager, and I’ve lived here more than half my life now. I don’t consider Leicester, where I’m originally from…

Profile: Francois Ozon, director of In the House

The former enfant terrible of French cinema on his dislike of writing and admiration for Hitchcock

Born 15 November, 1967, Paris Background On the basis of his early shorts See the Sea and A Summer’s Dress and his debut feature Sitcom, writer-director Francois Ozon was labelled in the late 1990s as an enfant terrible of French cinema. He has…

Five reasons to see the films of Alexander Mackendrick

The director of Whisky Galore! and Sweet Smell of Success is the subject of a retrospective

It’s the centenary of the birth of the Scottish-American filmmaker who became one of Ealing studios’ greatest directors. Born in Boston, Massachusetts to Scottish immigrant parents, Mackendrick moved back to Glasgow with his grandfather when he was just…

Lisa Immordino Vreeland, director of Diana Vreeland: The Eye Must Travel - profile

The filmmaker is the granddaughter-in-law of the legendary fashionista

Background Despite never meeting her grandmother-in-law, the fashion icon Diana Vreeland, Lisa Immordino Vreeland has dedicated the past few years to documenting the story of this influential editor. Having previously worked in the fashion industry as a…

Interview: Toby Jones on Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio

Hannah McGill speaks to the actor about the genre-defying anti-horror movie

Two stories drew Toby Jones to Berberian Sound Studio, the sophomore feature project by British-born director Peter Strickland. There was the tale to be spun onscreen: that of a mild-mannered British sound engineer coming unstuck whilst working on sound…

Profile: Bart Layton - director of The Imposter

Compelling documentary on French con-artist who impersonated missing boy

Along with producer Dimitri Doganis, Layton runs the London production company RAW, which has made numerous documentary series for UK and US television. Their first feature project, The Imposter, is based on the true story of a French drifter who…

My Edinburgh: Lucy Porter

Festival veteran comes back to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe 2012

First time I came to Edinburgh was... 1992. I’d won a competition in Time Out magazine, which is like a London-based, inferior version of The List, to be on the Perrier Comedy Award Panel. I was a bit of a comedy fangirl anyway, and seeing hundreds of…

Central Station: Rosemary Head

Dundee-based sculptor of clay

Now based at Tin Roof Arts Collective in Dundee, Rosemary Head moved to Scotland from Derbyshire to attend Dundee University, where she studied art, philosophy and contemporary practices. Inspired by the interdisciplinary focus of this course, and…

Profile: Music, fashion and wedding photographer Kat Gollock

The Edinburgh-based photographer on her approach to photography

I can remember the first photo I took that someone commented on. It was of my dad standing in front of some usual holiday vista in France. Both Mum and Dad commented on how good a photo it was, but it was the first time they really meant it.

Profile: Drums of Death

The skull-faced producer has worked with Hot Chip and Peaches in between his solo output

Name: Drums of Death Occupation: Skull-faced, make-up caked master of spooky synths, gritty grime and acid techno. Born in Oban but now residing in London (via Glasgow) Drums of Death, has created a villainous alter ego for his electronic output, a…

Profile: Olivier Assayas, director of Something in the Air

The writer-director specialises in period pieces that don't slide into nostalgia

Born 1955, Paris Background The son of a screenwriter father and a painter mother, Assayas worked as a critic for Cahiers du Cinéma, before making his directorial debut in 1986 with Disorder. A writer-director with an impressive ability to work…

Profile: Jeff Nichols, director of Mud

The writer-director is influenced by Terrence Malick, David Gordon Green and, on Mud, Mark Twain

Born 7 December, 1978, Arkansas Background After studying filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, writer-director Jeff Nichols announced his arrival with his 2007 low-budget debut Shotgun Stories, the story of a feud…

Central Station: Jamie Johnson

The printmaker is the co-founder of Harvest Skate Co

Jamie Johnson is an experienced printmaker, bookmaker and a member of Edinburgh Printmakers. He is art director/co-founder of Harvest Skate Co, a new skateboard and apparel company which creates artist-designed skateboard decks, produces videos…

Profile: Ben Lewin, director of The Sessions

The film is inspired by poet and journalist Mark O'Brien's experiences with a sex surrogate

Born Poland, 1946. Raised in Melbourne, Australia. Background In 1971 Lewin quit his job as a barrister to study filmmaking at the National Film and Television School in England. Lewin’s work to date includes Ally McBeal and the films Georgia and…

5 things you might not know about Chantal Akerman

The director of Almayer's Folly is the subject of a retrospective at the 2012 French Film Festival

1 In 1968, as an 18-year-old film school dropout, she funded her first short film by selling shares on the Antwerp diamond exchange. 2 She then relocated to New York City to immerse herself in the avant-garde scene, gaining particular inspiration…

Profile: Yorgos Lanthimos, director of Alps

The Greek filmmaker is also the man behind comedy drama Dogtooth

Born Athens, Greece, 1973 Background Having studied at film school in Athens, Lanthimos made his debut feature with My Best Friend in 2001. It was his third feature Dogtooth however, a bizarre black comedy about an upper-class Greek couple who try…

Glasgow painter Gordon Picken discusses his artistic influences and practices

What was the first exhibition you went to see? In the 1970s, my mother took me to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow and pointed out Salvador Dali’s ‘Christ of St John of the Cross’. A controversial painting in its day, it was attacked…

Central Station: Kathryn Ho

Kathryn Ho is an artist and designer from Edinburgh who is currently expanding her horizons in London. She graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone in Dundee with a BA (Hons) in Illustration. Her current work focuses on the order and patterns…

5 things you might not know about Joan Rivers

The groundbreaking female comedian is back on tour

1 Born Joan Alexandra Molinsky, she worked as a tour guide, wrote for an ad agency and had a stint as a fashion consultant before entering showbiz. Having changed her name to Rivers (on the advice of agent Tony Rivers), her first break was playing…

Scala Beyond festival

Celebrating alternative film with screenings across the UK

The rise of the sanitized multiplex will never fully erase the down and dirty charm of the cult cinema event. Scala Beyond, a festival celebrating independent cinema exhibition, embarks on a six-week nationwide tour this autumn taking inspiration from…

Artbeat: Jock Mcfadyen

London-based artist at the Edinburgh Art Festival 2012

What was the first exhibition you went to see? My grandfather used to take me to Kelvingrove when I was a boy and I remember red drapes as he showed me the Salvador Dali crucifixion and the blasphemy of the viewer looking down on the head of Christ. He…

My Edinburgh: Henry Rollins

Former Black Flag frontman brings comedy show to Edinburgh Fringe 2012

First time I came to Edinburgh was... As far as I can tell, 1999. I come back because... I come back for shows. It's why...

Paul Brannigan, star of Ken Loach's The Angels' Share - profile

The actor is also set to appear with Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin

Born 1987, Glasgow, Scotland Background After working as a football coach in the Barrowfield community in Glasgow and helping to tackle knife crime as part of a Strathclyde Police initiative, Paul Brannigan was spotted by screenwriter Paul Laverty…