The World According to THE FALL (2019)

Every year is a big year for arts and entertainment, there’s no denying it.  By the end of one year we’ve already forgotten the adventures we’ve had so we can start looking forward to the next.  As far as first world problems go, it’s not such a bad one to have.  So, as we look ahead to the riches 2019 will bring us THE FALL picks out a few gems for you that might catch your eye more than the usual.  Enjoy!

Entertainment:

As in any year, there’s far too much good stuff to trawl through and it would be churlish to try and pick out ‘the best’ so we’ll just highlight two things we’ll be particularly looking forward to:

TV: Game of Thrones.  In terms of entertainment the heavyweight match-up will be between Avengers: Endgame and the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones.  Avengers will be the year’s biggest moneyspinner by far, that much is certain.  But GoT is the kind of global phenomenon that’s not been seen since Lost heralded the advent of ‘event television’ 15 years ago.  Most of the world has followed this extraordinary story since it began back in 2011.  We’ve watched characters we love grow up on the show, watched others brutally killed off without warning and marvelled at the scope and incredibly harsh but detailed world built from the mind of author George RR Martin.  Once the enduring mysteries are resolved and the final episode is over we’re predicting a real and palpable sense of loss.  Globally.  That is until the prequel series based on a historical period 10,000 before GoT called The Age of Heroes airs in 2020.  Yes, we don’t know how George does it either.

Maisie Williams. New season of GoT begins end of April, 2019

FILM: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.  Let’s be honest.  Anything directed by Quentin Tarantino is an event to take notice of.  That doesn’t always mean it’s a good thing though – anyone remember Death Proof?  However, following on from the wildly successful Django Unchained and Hateful Eight, the summer will see Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Pacino and Dakota Fanning take on the Sixties Hollywood studio system against the backdrop of the Charles Manson/Sharon Tate murders in Tarantino’s latest flick.  Whew!  There’s so much to like in that description we literally cannot wait to see it.  If nothing else it will easily be the best looking and best dressed movie of the year.

Margot Robbie. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is out July, 2019

Music:

Rihanna: Barbados will probably never have an export as famous or successful as Rihanna ever again.  Ever since she released her first reggae tinged album, Music of the Sun, back in 2005 she has gone on to literally conquer the world.  Only the giants of the entertainment industry like Taylor Swift and Queen Bey could go toe-to-toe with her these days.  She’s also launched successful fragrances and a world renowned beauty and lingerie brand called Fenty (her real surname, don’t you know).

With her talents spread so thin it’s probably not surprising its been three years since her last album and tour.  But, that’s about to change!  Rihanna confirmed on her Instagram in December that a new album will be landing sometime in 2019.  We’re not sure exactly when – 12 months is a wide timeframe – but we’re hoping it’s sooner rather than later.  There should be a new single imminently (fingers crossed).  New music usually also means a new tour and neither one can come too soon for us.  Welcome back, Rihanna.

Fashion & Culture:

Dior: Art lovers are always well served every year but we think 2019 is going to be pretty special.  Firstly, we’ve already previewed the upcoming new exhibition by creative dynamo Tracey Emin at White Cube here.  But the hottest ticket is surely going to be the Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in February.  Spanning the last 70-plus years of the world famous fashion house it explores its relationship with British fashion in particular and its impact on the history of fashion as a whole.  A combination of art, legendary fashion design and history all under one roof?  Billed to be the largest Dior retrospective ever in the UK?  What’s not to love?

Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams from Feb 2nd – July 14, V&A Museum.

Sport:

Football: This summer Paris will stage the eighth Women’s Word Cup.  This will easily be the biggest and most televised WWC tournament yet, with 24 national teams from six confederations vying for the top prize.  Sponsors like Adidas, Visa and Coca-Cola coupled with a vast improvement in women’s leagues all over the world means the women’s games is catching up to the men’s at a frighteningly exponential rate.  Interest in the UK is set to bubble over as the tournament approaches with England, one of the favourites to win it, starting their cup campaign against the ‘auld enemy’ Scotland.

Jill Ellis, the English-born manager of the reigning World Cup holders, USA, confidently predicts, “France is going to be spectacular.”  If England can win it this summer, after finishing third four years ago, in a timezone favourable to UK audiences the media attention will definitely be spectacular and help to ease the talk of 1966 being our only triumph.  Kind of.

Women’s World Cup Winners, USA. 2015.

Tech:

We’re also predicting 2019 will be the year of the female gamer.  Video gaming is one of biggest industries on the face of the planet and a new breed of female gamer is challenging the stereotypes of the spotty maladjusted teen boy in his bedroom with the curtains drawn.  It’s not just the female players either.  Women are starting to make their presence felt more than ever when it comes to developing and coding games too.  They just manage to do it with a lot more style and much less social awkwardness.  We think it’s a good bet that one or two of these new female gamers will start to become names outside of the gamer community and take their message to a wider and much more fashionable audience.  Stay tuned!

Girl Gamers for 2019

HAPPY NEW YEAR!