The “Stanley Kubrick: Taming Light” website was launched last week. The exhibition runs until October 31st in the Lighthouse cinema. I was asked to design and develop the site, in keeping with Kubrick’s taste and style. (more…)

I attended the Irish premiere of Public Enemies yesterday evening. The new film, directed by Michael Mann, is based on the life of 1930’s American gangster John Dillinger, played by Johnny Depp. The film hadn’t even made the final cut (as the end credits had yet to be added) but I was one of the lucky few who got to see it in advance of its worldwide release (thanks to movies.ie for the tickets).

Set during the Great Depression, the film is an adaptation of Bryan Burrough’s non-fiction book Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI. The story focuses on the true story of criminal John Dillinger and FBI agent Melvin Purvis’s efforts to stop him (Purvin is played effectively by Christian Bale). Concentrating on the gangster’s last years (1933 – 1934), Dillinger is portrayed as a Robin Hood type character, whom was somewhat idolized at the time by a public that was bored, broke and struggling during a depression. His manipulation of the press and his tendency to rob banks while letting the customers keep their own money added to his appeal at the time.

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