Rag Tale (2005)

Director:

Mary McGuckian

Writer:

Mary McGuckian (writer)

Release Date:

7 October 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

Get a handle on the scandal.

Plot:

A romance that plays out in the splashy, sensational world of British tabloids. |

Plot Keywords:

Satire | Nude Model | Female Nudity

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Rupert Graves	...	Eddy Taylor
Malcolm McDowell	...	Richard Morton
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Mary Josephine 'MJ' Morton
Bill Paterson	...	Lucky Lloyd
Ian Hart	...	Morph
Lucy Davis	...	Debbs
Sara Stockbridge	...	Sally May
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Simon Callow	...	Fat Boy
Kerry Fox	...	Peach James Taylor
David Hayman	...	P3
Tom Leick	...	Peach's Personal Assistant
Cal Macaninch	...	Mac
Julian Nest	...	Court Advisor
Steve Preston	...	Court Advisor
Thomas Sanne	...	Royal Advisor
John Sessions	...	Felix Sty

Directed by
Mary McGuckian

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Mary McGuckian		writer

Produced by
Jeff Abberley	....	producer
Julia Blackman	....	executive producer
Douglas Hansen	....	co-producer
Robert How	....	line producer
Garrett McGuckian	....	executive producer
Mary McGuckian	....	producer
Tom Reeve	....	producer
Romain Schroeder	....	executive producer
James D. Stern	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Nicky Shaw		(as Nicky 'Misschief' Shaw)

Cinematography by
Mark Wolf

Film Editing by
Kant Pan
Danny Tull

Casting by
Sharon Howard-Field

Production Design by
Max Gottlieb

Art Direction by
David Hindle

Costume Design by
Uli Simon

Makeup Department
Claudine Moureaud	....	makeup artist
Kay Philips	....	key hair stylist
Katja Reinert-Alexis	....	makeup designer

Production Management
Laurent Dumas	....	unit production manager
Christopher P. Kibbey	....	executive in charge of production
Chris Nixon	....	post-production supervisor
Meinir Stoutt	....	production supervisor
Daniel Toland	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dominic Fysh	....	first assistant director
Stefan Magnusson	....	third assistant director
Alex Oakley	....	second assistant director
Matthew Sharp	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Sulamith Ater	....	scene artist
Hannah Capron	....	assistant art director
Roy Chapman	....	property master
Aaron Chetwynd	....	stand-by art director
Jill Robertson	....	assistant props buyer
Bruno Zenatello	....	construction coordinator

Sound Department
Howard Bargroff	....	sound re-recording mixer
Owen Bleasdale	....	foley editor
Mark DeSimone	....	adr mixer: New York
Simon Gershon	....	supervising sound editor
Alain Goniva	....	boom operator
Dan Green	....	adr supervisor
Marc Hayes	....	adr recordist: New York
Miha Jaramaz	....	assistant sound re-recording mixer
Dan Johnson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Khama Matiti	....	adr mixer
Ben Meechan	....	sound effects editor
Peter Melemendjian	....	dialogue editor
Michael Miller	....	adr mixer
Emma Pegram	....	foley artist
James Perry	....	adr recordist
David Turner	....	sound technical coordinator
Hilary Wyatt	....	supervising dialogue editor

Visual Effects by
Sally Clayton	....	digital film producer
Alan Maiden	....	online editor

Stunts
Rick Wiessenhaan	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Etienne Braun	....	unit still photographer
Mick Durlacher	....	gaffer
Julian Morson	....	camera operator
Jean-François Roqueplo	....	key grip
Gordon Segrove	....	first assistant camera
Théodore Theodorides	....	clapper loader
Carlo Thiel	....	camera operator
Gregoor van de Kamp	....	best boy
Nick Wall	....	still photographer
Wolfgang Wesemann	....	first assistant camera

Casting Department
Katja Wolf	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Peggy Wurth	....	costume design assistant

Editorial Department
Steve Harrow	....	post-production consultant
Thomas Walters	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Nicky Shaw	....	music arranger (as Nicky 'Misschief' Shaw)
Nicky Shaw	....	music producer (as Nicky 'Misschief' Shaw)
Nicky Shaw	....	musician (as Nicky 'Misschief' Shaw)

Transportation Department
Igor Pecirep	....	driver: director
Kevan Willis	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Monika Agorelius	....	electronic press kit
Patrick Blocman	....	location scout
Alexandre Brown	....	assistant location manager
Kerensa Burton	....	assistant script supervisor
Catherine Gaul	....	production secretary
Michael J. Harker	....	completion bond company representative
Julia Jones	....	unit publicist
Joe Kotroczo	....	assistant location manager
Zoe Margolis	....	set runner: UK
Philip James Morgan	....	location manager
Anji Oliver	....	assistant coordinator
Sylvia Parker	....	script supervisor
Richard Rowntree	....	assistant: Steve Harrow
David Alexander Trunk	....	production assistant
Faye Villalba	....	production coordinator

Production Companies

• Carousel Picture Company, The
• Endgame Entertainment
• Pembridge Pictures
• Scion Films

Distributors

• Becker Films (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan (MTA) (2005) (France) (theatrical)

Special Effects

• Cine Image Film Opticals (digital main and end titles)

Other Companies

• ARRI Media  camera and grip equipment supplied by
• Bollux  grip rental company
• Compuhire  computer and video playback
• Dennis Davidson & Associates Public Releations (DDA)  international publicity
• Videosonics Cinema Sound  sound post-production
• Videosonics Cinema Sound  sound re-recording

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

Luxembourg | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:18 | Australia:MA | UK:15

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Carousel Picture Company, The

Someone get me a bucket

If this is meant to be a fly on the wall appreciation of a newsroom it is hard to imagine that flies can stick to walls, rather than fall to the floor suffering from some severe form of motion sickness. I could barely watch 24 minutes of this picture, as my head was spinning out of control. If I had watched it any further I may have ended with my face in the toilet bowl.

Yes this movie is quite unconventional in it's use of short shots, and rapid edits. But its lack of convention adds to its almost complete lack of veiwability (I may have invented that word). I do not know why someone would revert to a nauseating MTV style of editing with such a subject. Some reviewers here have said it adds to the fly on the wall experience. But flies on a wall have one perspective, because they are sitting still on a wall.

A sense of pace can be portrayed by other means. Such as using shots that last for more than two seconds depicting people moving frenetically, and exploiting these actors' abilities to show stress, see Broadcast News. I can't imagine this would be too much of a stretch for the cast in this pic.

It is a pity that many of the audience would not be able to watch this movie given the stellar cast and subject matter. JJL is one of my all time faves, and I was quite disappointed that I could not see more than 23 minutes and 55 seconds of this pic. I watched this movie on DVD, and I've never asked for money back; but on this occasion I shall.

If you want to have a good time that results in you being very sick at the end of the night, I recommend a night at the pub. This movie does not provide you with a good time.

0.5/10 Unfortunately IMDb doesn't allow for a 0.5 rating.