Maidenstone - A new Horror Comic from Aberdeen's La Baguette Noir Press.

The stunning cover of Maidenstone

from Aberdeen artist, Andrew Kelly

I make no excuses for my behaviour - I'm quite happy to acknowledge that my geekness seemingly knows no end of ever stopping, even in my ever increasing middle-age.....and that is the way things will probably stay. In fact I rather confidently predict that when I lie on my death bed in the (hopefully) many years to come that I will be surrounded by some of my favourite comics, books and other sorts of goodie nerdyness. I also anticipate that I'll be surrounded by a veritable bevy of beautiful women who who be collectively distraught at the mere thought of losing my very presence in the world.....Hey, stop laughing you there at the back, you're only mocking because you know me. A man is allowed to dream.

If I'm being brutally honest for once, there genuinely was a time when I considered actually growing up and discarding my love of scifi, fantasy and horror and changing my interests in life to something more grown up and responsible adult-like...such as lentils or something. However that was just about the worst two minutes of my life and I promised myself never ever to do that again.

Anyhoo, my never ending appetite for comic books was further fed a couple of weeks ago when I was sent the first of a new horror series in the expectation that A) I would want to read it, and B) I would want to review it. Naturally, they were correct on both counts.

However I do want to make it clear before I go any further that thanks to the impending and very exciting inaugural Granite City Comic Con taking place here on the 30th of May, I am familiar with the creator of this particular comic, Chris Robertson. Of course, I am nothing if impartial in my opinion so of course it will be an honest appraisal - Scouts honour and all that. After all, I'm a professional........well alright, I'm not a professional, merely a keen delusional self-obsessed amateur....but it will still be an honest opinion.

Maidenstone is a creation of the quite wonderfully named Aberdeen based company - La Baguette Noir Press. So who the heck are they? Well in time honoured tradition of my blogging, let me save myself some work and let them tell you themselves.....

"Founded late 2011 by writer Chris Robertson and artist Greg Fisher, Baguette Noir initial focus was on our first publication – OLD WORLD ORDER. Since then we’ve produced three issues of that book, contributed work to other local publications and brought together Aberdeen’s local scene of creators. In 2013 we started to bring our madness to masses at a number of events, including MCM Glasgow Comic Con and Hero Conventions.

As an imprint our aim is to bring readers an original thrilling mix of Science Fiction, Adventure, and Horror comics, with a healthy dose of weirdness.  To that end we’re looking to get more people on board. If you have a great idea for a story; or if you’re an artist looking to hook up with a writer – get in touch. 

At the moment our back catalogue is small, but mighty. In 2015 we’re planning to continue the success of Old World Order, with issues #3 and #4 (featuring new artist Ewen Cameron!), a new title called Maidenstone (out now!), and the Silver City Comics Anthology, by local creators; as well as the debut book by writer Alex Giles, AND THEY COME! in July." 

So there you go....but, what about the actual comic?.....Well.....

Maidenstone is the first in a new Scottish horror series of comics set here in god's own country, the North East of Scotland. Now, in my time honoured tradition of not wishing to contain any spoilers, I will try and keep the plot details down to a minimum.......

In principle the story has its roots in local legend and myth as it begins to depict the seeming re-emergence of an ancient and threatening force. It is a force which is once again beginning to cast its shadow upon both the remote landscape and the scattered population who inhabit it. The focus of the story is a young girl, Lucy, a child who traditionally has found it hard to 'fit in' and whose emotional vulnerability has been further damaged by the recent death of her father. Lucy is unable to connect with either her 'drugged up' brother or any of the people outside her family. She soon finds herself drawn to a new arrival in the area, the charismatic Dylan. Just what are his intentions for Lucy and rest of this closeted rural community?

Story & dialogue from Chris Robertson,

artwork by Scott Beveridge

So is Maidenstone actually any good? The answer is a resounding yes. 

The aspect that is immediately apparent from Robertson's crisp dialogue is the gritty realism it imparts throughout. I have lived here in the North East of Scotland for going on 10 years now (and fully intend to stay forever unless I'm barred) and like many areas it contains it's myriad of of local traditions, dialects and philosophical nuances. I know the area where the story is set very well, it's a genuinely beautiful part of the world where tradition and a sense of history are all important in forming the fabric of the local community. It is also a part of the world where the local dialects can often confuse outsiders with the speed and intensity of their delivery and intonation. 

People generally say what they think up here, there is little time for subtlety of emotion, and I like that. The sense of realism of speech and life is wonderfully conveyed throughout this first edition without ever proving a barrier to those who may never have visited this part of the world - the dialogue is continually laced with a mixture of intense and occasionally despairing realism and at other times contains familiar dry engaging humour. Indeed, people may even recognise some of the themes here, they are universal. For rural life, as in Lucy's case here and indeed for many of us that went through a similar experience, is no different throughout the world. Sometimes it is difficult to fit in, especially if one is slightly different form that society's norms. The narrative throughout the story is nicely realistic without ever resorting to tired cliche.

Naturally, no matter how good the story and dialogue may be in a comic book, the result invariably rests upon the quality of it's artwork. Not only is the cover art from Andrew Kelly a thing of real beauty, the story art by Scott Beveridge has a gritty surrealist style all of its own that perfectly conveys a sense of the confusion, isolation and despair of Lucy. I found myself again and again simply soaking in the delightfully (and at times hauntingly) textured layers of surrealist gothic tinged artwork throughout. The imagery on show in Maidenstone is as intense a comic book experience as I've encountered for some time.

This hauntingly evocative horror comic launched on 25th APRIL. It is written by Chris Robertson with art by Scott Beveridge and Andrew Kelly. Give it a go - you won't be disappointed.

As I alluded earlier, I was already a Facebook acquaintance of Maidenstone author, Chis Robertson, through his other 'current pastime, the co-organiser of Granite City Comic con. I can quite honestly say that the GCCC event next week (30th May) is perhaps the most excited I've personally been about any event for many a year. Not only is is going to be a stonkingly good pop culture event featuring special guests, art and writing workshops, children’s activities, cosplay, retailers and independent publishers. But even better, it's a much need local event that we've needed up here in the North East of Scotland for a very long time. So consequently I thought that it would be nice to chat with Chris and get some of his thoughts on the launch of his new comic but also few words on the preparations for GCCC.

Q) Firstly, before we talk about Maidenstone, tell us a little about your Sci-fi/fantasy/horror influences 

A) I grew up on Star Wars and Star Trek, so they're my sacred texts as far as Sci-fi goes; and I loved shows like (old) Doctor Who, Lost in Space and Land of Giants when I was a kid and I used to write and draw my own little Doctor Who comics on folded bits of A4. A bit further on I got into HP Lovecraft in a big way, and his work is a pretty big influence on Maidenstone. His type of existential horror, where the protagonist slowly realises that not only does the world not care, there are forces they don't understand out to hurt them, or control them.  

Comics-wise, Warren Ellis and Grant Morrison are my go-to guys for inspiration, I read The Invisibles for the first time last year and just couldn't believe some of the stuff Morrison pulls off in that book - stuff that I thought you couldn't do in comics. More recently I've been blown away by Rat Queens, by Kurtiss Weibe. It's an amazing book, the characterisation is just stunning - it feels like it's been going forever because it's impossible not to instantly love each character. Chris Claremont's X-Men is what got me into comics, and it had the same thing.

Music is a big influence for me too, Jeff Wayne's original War of the Worlds album scared the living bejesus out of me as a kid, but I kept listening to it again. I write to music when I can, mostly soundtracks if I'm scripting; computer game soundtracks are great, the Mass Effect one is a favourite. If I'm coming up with ideas I like to listen to Amanda Palmer, The Afghan Whigs, The Manic Street Street Preachers, Ice T - stuff with imagery. 

The Real Maidenstone - I've touched it

(the stone, that is) you know.

Q) So what's the origin of the name La Baguette Noir Press?

A) It's pretty convoluted to be honest! It's partly in homage to a french friend of mine and a super hero alter-ego Greg Fisher (Old World Order artist) created for him. The origin of the logo is way more interesting - back in my days as a touring musician myself and our bass player had this idea that if rock n'roll didn't work out, we would open a chain of toastie shops, called 'MixingMeToasties'. The logo for which would be a dead rabbit. Years later, Greg and myself had to come up with a logo for the imprint at the eleventh hour before Old World Order issue 0 and 1 went to the printers. I told him the story of MixingMeToasties, and he drew a dead rabbit - voila! 

Q) What was the inspiration for Maidenstone?

A) The Maidenstone is a real Celtic standing stone just outside Garioch, in the shadow of Bennachie; and my parents used to take to there all the time as a kid. There's a pretty oppressive and lonely feeling in that area, which influenced a lot of the art choices for the book. My Dad is pretty into Scottish history and legends, and the stories and legends of the Maidenstone combined with the feel of the place and my memories of it gave birth to our story.

Q) Was it important to to you to base the story here in the North East of Scotland?

A) As much as Maidenstone is a horror story, I really wanted to convey a sense of what it's like to grow up in rural Scotland, especially if you're a bit different. There's definitely a lot more of autobiographical stuff in this book - just little scenes and phrases from being a teenager in Ellon.

Q) The artwork by Scott Beveridge is amazing. Did his style influence the story development, or visa versa?

Chris Robertson (right), with Scott Beveridge

A) Isn't Scott amazing?! Scott had to put with the densest, most descriptive script I've given an artist, I even sound-tracked that bad-boy! I had pitched this to artists as something they could experiment a bit with, and the book will get more surreal as the story goes on. One of the best things about doing comics is when you get art back and it's better than what you had pictured in your head, and Scott's also from a rural up-bringing too and he really got that aspect of book.

My favourite panels are the ones with the bullies, Scott just nails that intensity and despair. As I said, the script is pretty dense, and Scott has worked a lot of layers in the art, there's a fair bit of seeded imagery in there that's meaning becomes more apparent as the story goes on. I think with re-drafting issues two and three after seeing issue one finished, I'll tweak things a wee bit more to play to Scott's style and strengths. Props also to cover artist Andrew Kelly - his work is so great too.

Q) How much of a market is there for the 'traditional' comic format in this modern technological world?

A) Man, that's a tough one, and one that I can't really form an opinion on to be honest, as I've never bought a digital comic. I have comixology on my phone and never used it. I'm part of a dying breed that still pitch up to the comic shop every week for single issues, and I'll probably do that until single printed issues stop being made. 

Q) When will the next instalment of Maidenstone be available & what (if anything) can you tell us about how the plot may develop?

A) Issue 2 will be out September, we're launching it at ICE Birmingham, but it'll be available in Aberdeen shortly afterwards. I'm toying with the idea of another wee launch event at Brewdog - that last one went great. Issue 2 ramps up the horror a bit as Lucy and Dylan's relationship develops and his motivations become a little clearer - things start to get surreal.

Chis with GCCC co-organiser, Colin Penny

Q) Apart from being a horror comic writer extraordinaire, you're also the co-organiser of Granite City Comic Con - Aberdeen's (probably) first ever Comic Con which is only a week or so away (May 30th) - how are the last minute plans going?!

A) I'm thankful to say we're pretty much there, it's just a case of letting it happen! Baguette Noir will launching the first Silver City Comics Anthology at GCCC. Silver City is a monthly group I run for creators who want to discuss and show of their work - this is where I met Scott. It's been great for meeting like-minded folks and from the wee homework exercises we did emerged this anthology of stories that hang loosely together, mostly horror again! I've written a couple of the stories and worked with Scott again on one.

So we've not only got the Anthology in May and Maidenstone #2 in September, we'll have Old World Order #3 out in the summer, and a debut from writer Alex Giles in July with his book And They Come!. So that combined with organising GCCC 2016 means it's all comics, all the time. It's awesome.

You can buy a copy of Maidenstone directly from the La Baguette Noir Press website at http://baguettenoirpress.bigcartel.com/product/maidenstone-1

The Facebook page for La Baguette Noir Press be found RIGHT HERE

Blood Loss (2015) - A fabulous horror/thriller short from Scotland.

There's a lot going on here in Scotland at the moment, it is a genuinely exciting (and mostly positive) time in terms of political and social change. Independence may not have come for us (yet) who cherished the dream, but the desire for a different future still seems to burn bright......... However, you may be glad to know that piece of incisive and somewhat poetic example of political commentary will be about the limit of my political musings in this blog.

You see, what is even more exciting is the amount of Sci-fi/fantasy & horror work that is currently being produced and highlighted throughout this wonderful country these days - and I'm determined to hang on to the coat-tails of some of these marvellously creative individuals and continue to 'photo-bomb' their success. Don't judge me, there's nothing wrong in shamelessly basking in other people's glory and success.

There seems no end to the amount of seriously good projects going on, in this blog alone I've mentioned just a fabulous few: The brand new fantasy film heading our way soon THE FAIRY FLAG , the big bad and blue new Scottish comic superhero - SALTIRE, and of course the stomach tickingly exciting event at the end of this month taking place in my local city of Aberdeen - GRANITE CITY COMIC-CON. Scotland has long since had a fine tradition in horror and the such like, but all too often that work has originated in the so-called 'big two' of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Now except for the fact that they're not in the North East of Scotland, and so by definition it makes those places distinctly inferior, it does the heart good to help highlight some of the great work that is being produced even closer to my home.

This week I was asked if I would care to watch and review the brand spanking new debut short film 'Blood Loss', a horror/thriller made just down the road from me by an Arbroath-based film company - IronStar Films. Hmmm, I thought to myself, do I really want to? In all honesty  I was feeling a little lazy after something of a stressful (an in-your-face kind of stressful) week and quite frankly was feeling more than a little jaded and tired. In fact my weekend plans of no blogging contained nothing more complex than consuming a few beers.....and, er......well that was about it actually. As it turned out, there were a couple of reasons why I agreed to watch and review the film; One - the request itself came from a friend of mine, two - it's a local film and thirdly - the film itself wasn't going to take too much of my tired concentration as it runs for a nice 25 mins and 31 secs ........ yes I know that's actually three reasons, but as I told you, I'm tired.

The tiredness didn't actually last for long, because I was immediately drawn in to the extraordinary piece of film making that is Blood Loss.

"BLOOD LOSS  is a tale of retribution and redemption among a group of friends who find themselves in too deep.

When three friends are forced by a local criminal to sort out a potential problem, their plans end in a horrific accident destroying their lives forever.

Months later the three men are confronted with the possibility that not everything was as it seems and find themselves caught between a criminal who wants the job done and a victim who wants revenge....no matter what side they choose, there's going to be ...Blood Loss."

One of the perks of my now legendary blogging escapades is getting to see new films that have yet to see the full light of distribution. In fact Blood Loss only had it's official premiere at the end of March at the Webster Memorial Theatre in Arbroath. Sadly though I wasn't there, though 200 guests did attend along with cast and crew to essentially pack out the theatre. However it could be that my invitation was lost in the post or eaten by a roaming deer or something, because I failed to receive the inevitable invite. That's the only logical reason I can think of. Either that or I may not be quite the legend in my own mind that I think I am....... nah, that would be stupid thinking.

The film stars former Rugby player, now model and actor - Craig McGinlay, Alan Cuthbert, Tom Ingram, Chris O'Mara and Demi Pearson. 

Safe to say that things are not going well 
for Messrs McGinlay (right), Ingram & O'Mara.....

Now you may call me a jealous, insecure and self-obsessed individual (well get in line, because you're not the first) but in my opinion that McGinlay chap is far too tall and good-looking for my liking, and for his own good. So alright, he's also in the upcoming fantasy epic, The Fairy Flag alongside fellow Blood Loss actor Alan Cuthbert and he may have been in numerous productions (including a recent commercial with David Bloody Beckham). I haven't even mentioned all that International girly modelling stuff that he gets paid for. The simple fact is that he's just too tall, athletic and displays the most glorious of beards. Not sure if I like him being good at all this stuff....leave some for the rest of us mere mortal men, eh mate?

What I do like though is Craig's performance of a man who is clearly haunted (in more ways than one) by his past actions as he appears alongside the rest of a fine ensemble cast in this remarkable first time effort from IronStar films. It has to be said that the overall quality of acting is very fine indeed. One of the occasional drawbacks of low-budget independent films is how the end result can sometimes by let down by below-par (or worse, over the top) acting. This can result in ensemble casts often being affected by one or two significantly weak performances. This doesn't happen here with a believable and effective range of acting throughout. I'm not sure whether this was actually the case, but what comes across is that the cast genuinely enjoyed getting their teeth into portraying a group of friends whose relationship and view of reality is about to disintegrate. Nicely done, people.

Perhaps the stand out element of Blood Loss is the cinematography - the quality of shooting throughout is confidently assured and at times borders on beautiful.

Yep, still not going well for Cuthbert either......

The filming, and consequent editing, provides a perfectly eerie and deliciously atmospheric quality to proceedings with a style very much of it's own. The lighting, particularly in the interior warehouse scenes provides a the perfect level of chills throughout as the movie reaches it's climax. This serves to make the building itself almost feel like another character in the plot and serves to convey an approach to filming that at times feels like an homage to previous films yet manages to feel fresh and innovative in its own right. This quite exquisitely shot film perfectly compliments the tight script from writer/director Graeme Carr.

If that wasn't enough there are three pieces of music that very nicely add to the overall quality of the experience, again a feature that emerging filmmakers often neglect. The three songs, 'Danger Man' by Courtneys Chain, 'Forgiven' by Lizabett Russo and 'Tonight' - also by the fabulous voice of Lizabett Russo. Lovely stuff.

This high quality of filming is made even more astounding so when you consider that not only was this a first feature from a fledgling production company, with the limited funding previously acquired partly via an IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign, partly by money donated from friends and family. Also, there is no way at all that it looks like the filming itself lasted only two days, which it did. Bloody Hell, more talented people - just where did I go wrong? Well, apart from having little or no filming or acting talent that is......

One of the gifts of any good supernatural horror is to make the audience at times question what we are seeing on screen and to challenge our expectations of the film narrative. Blood Loss more than achieves this by leaving one wondering what did actually happen to the characters onscreen and just who amongst them exactly managed to achieve redemption. In fact I have now watched the film three times and still I'm left with questions about what really and truly takes place. And I like that. I like that a lot.

The production team are currently waiting for the results of submission of Blood Loss to the various film festivals and I would expect that general release will take place after the film has played at them. For more information about the plans for distribution etc then check out the various links below....

The IMDB page for Blood Loss is at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4633356/?ref_=rvi_tt

You can find the Blood Loss Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BloodLossShortFilm?fref=ts

The IronStar Films Facebook page can be found RIGHT HERE

You can also do the Twitter tweeting thing via www.twitter.com/IronstarFilms

A love letter to Star Wars

"Chewie, we're home".......cue a million tears

The Internet nearly broke a couple of weeks ago, it really did. It was completely the fault of the release of the new teaser trailer for a particular movie that takes up a story that took place a long, long time ago. In a particular Galaxy, far, far away. Star Wars : Episode VII. The Force awakens trailer was published online and so it seemed the entire world, including this here blogger, exploded into a mixture of frenzied excitement and tearful nostalgia. But more about that trailer shortly.

I know I'm not alone in my love for the series of films, in fact I'm certain that there are countless individuals who may be far more knowledgeable, informed and obsessed with Star Wars than I am. So I'm certainly not special in that regard. All I know is that in 1978 I was 11 years old and my life was irrevocably changed forever.

I can still remember the very first moment that the words 'Star' and 'Wars' first entered my personal conscious back in the early summer of 1977. It came while I was reading my latest acquisition of the 2000AD comic where mention was being made in the readers letters section about the increasing commotion that a new sci-fi film was making in the States. The film had only been released to limited theatres in May, just a month or so previously, but word was already beginning to get around about the interest it was creating. 

Now kids, you need to remember that this was a world before the advent of the technological wonder that is the Internet and the World Wide Web. In other words, growing up in the 1970's was crap. Don't listen to those who say because life was simpler it was also better, because it wasn't. It was often boring and insipid, particularly here in the UK when there were few radio stations of quality and even less TV channels. In fact I seem to remember that we only had 3 channels - dear god, it was living in the dark ages! There was no Youtube, Internet search engine, online social network, online streaming or even, ahem, a handsome charismatic sci-fi blogger to keep up to the latest developments with ones fingertips. No, we had to rely on snippets of news in magazines or newspapers (often well out of date) or the odd news item on TV. As I said, life then was crap.

Not my queue, but it did have the same iffy fashions

Another problem back then was the fact that films in the US were often released sometimes months before they came over here to the UK. Star Wars was no exception, having been released initially to a handful of cinemas in the States in late May and then becoming the behemoth of a movie beast over there through the subsequent summer and Fall of '77. All we could do here in Europe was twiddle our fingers as we watched on the news the pandemonium that was taking place elsewhere. I suppose though in a way it did help to provide a continuous building up of excitement through the months because by the time it came to the initial release at the end of December on this side of the pond - the anticipation was barely controllable. In January 1978, everything over here just went crazy.

For those of us that experienced the first wave of the force back in 1977/78, we were quite simply blessed to be part of the whole insane adventure. Prior to the arrival of Messrs Skywalker, Solo, Vader et al, the science fiction scene in the 1970's was dire. Star Trek was nothing but a distant memory and the genre was wallowing in memories of well meaning (and some not so well meaning) B-movies. Yes we had Doctor Who on TV (thank god), but every other attempt at producing good science fiction television was either good but short-lived (Planet of The Apes) or just plain rubbish (most everything else). The injection that George Lucas provided to sci-fi was seismic in proportions and arguably the greatest revolution in cinematic history that can still be felt in the genre today.

That stormtrooper in the middle looks a bit on the skinny side...

On a personal level, I know I'm being far from original in my opinion, but nothing for me has ever surpassed the excitement of seeing that first movie for the very first time. I remember the morning quite clearly when I was heading down to get the bus into town on a crisp February afternoon in 1978. I passed my best friend Ian on the way, he had seen it the week before. As I passed him on the street I simply said "I'm going to see it". He simply smiled knowingly back. 

The film had FINALLY been distributed outside London and it had been on at my local cinema for a week or two, but thanks to an annoying bout of illness this had been unable to make it thus far. I was thinking that most of the initial excitement would have died down by now and that I would turn up, go in and take my seat and enjoy. It was nothing nothing of the sort. The legendary queues around the block were still there (some of my friends were now seeing it for the umpteenth time that week) and the start time of it had to be put back until we all could get in. Inside the cinema the noise and excited anticipation was something that I had never encountered before in such an environment, and possibly since. What perhaps had increased our excitement was the appearance of three individuals who were inspecting our seat tickets before letting us find our place - one was Darth Vader, he was accompanied by two stormtroopers and a Tuscan raider. Genius.

Sometimes these much anticipated events turn out to be at best an anti-climax, at worst a distinct disappointment. Seeing this, and indeed the following two movies on their first release, was a truly genuine magical experience. Soon I was to fall in love (and lust) with Princess Leia and all I ever wanted to be was be as cool as Boba Fett.

To those that weren't around in those heady days it is difficult to explain just how exciting and new the Star Wars universe was. It was everywhere; in film, literature, merchandising, music. In fact there wasn't one facet of popular culture that wasn't affected during those mad early years which evolved into living through the release of three truly iconic films. 

****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Harley Cokeliss

This love for the series of films led me eventually to start blogging about it and other obsessions from my favourite genre's of sci-fi, fantasy and horror - so there you go, that's who you have to blame. What I didn't realise when setting out on this blogging lark were the opportunities that were going to present themselves to me, in particular the opportunity to chat with people from within the industry itself. Last year I was very lucky to have the chance to chat with director Harley Cokeliss, who besides having a distinguished directorial career in his own right was also the 2nd Unit director on The Empire Strikes Back - yon imagine that any semblance of professionalism I may of had quickly disappeared at that point!

The link for the full interview can be found HERE, but here's a snippet of what he discussed in relation to his involvement in the movie, and in particular, perhaps the most iconic of all Star Wars scenes.

Q) I simply have to ask you about The Empire Strikes Back if that's ok. You were the 2nd unit director on that, if I'm correct. What is the role of 2nd unit director for those who don't know?

HC:" On big productions with lots of action, stunt work and special effects they often break up the workload between the main unit and the second unit. Sometimes on complicated shoots there are even third and fourth units as well. The main unit with the director shoots all the key scenes with the main actors, while the second unit takes on much of the action, stunt work and special effect work, as these shots are usually very time consuming. I was the Second Unit Director for the work done at Elstree Studios and to get through the difficult schedule there, with a large number of sets to be built and only 7 stages available, we needed to 'shoot out' a set - that is get all the necessary shots needed for all the scenes that happen on that set - as fast as possible so they could strike it and build a new set on that stage.

"Just don't look the Wookiee in the eyes"...

To speed up the process they integrated the units more. For example on the Millennium Falcon scenes Irvin Kershner would stage the scene and set the performances. He'd shoot the master shots and all the front angle close-ups on the principal actors. He did everything he wanted that didn't have a window or a special effects or stunt work. The main unit would then move on to another scene and the second unit came on with the principal actors of that scene still there. Having a window in the background was a problem in those days because windows needed a time consuming blue screen shot, with the view out of the window being done at ILM months later, so all that fell to the second unit."

Q) Which scenes from the film were you involved in?

HC: "I was on the film for over four months and, as I was saying, our unit got involved with shots for any scene that was time consuming and/or dangerous, whether it be blue screen, stunt work, or special effect. Occasionally we would do a whole scene. For example when Darth Vader and Luke have their sword fight in Cloud City the second unit was assigned to shoot that scene because almost every shot had an effect or a stunt: laser swords needed special lighting for the 3M material on the swords and the electrical discharge when a sword hit metal were explosive charges that had to be individually wired and carefully timed with the fight choreography for each take. 

He's Luke's dad, you know....

We had a stunt man in the Darth Vader costume, but Mark Hammell did most of Luke's swordplay, though sometimes we had acrobatic doubles for the jumps and falls. It boiled down to this: if it was difficult or time consuming to shoot we would do it, usually based on the extensive storyboards.

There have been a number of television programmes that have counted down to the best film and several times Empire Strike Back has been named as the best film ever made, or the best science fiction film ever made, or whatever, and each time they announce the results on TV, if it is Empire, the scene they usually show is the sword fight between Luke and Darth Vader which ends with Darth cutting Luke's sword hand off and Luke falling through space and the Cloud City ducting system before ending up hanging upside down on an antenna. The Second Unit shot that."

****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Then at the end of the 1990's the next three films came along..... and not everyone was happy.

The original three movies, and the subsequent build up to the new releases had heightened the expectations of fans to the impossible extent that I firmly believe that no film would have ever been able to meet them. Now, don't get me wrong. I am in no way way saying The Phantom Menace is the best of the lot by any stretch of the imagination or that it's perfect - It certainly has numerous flaws (Yes, I'm talking about you, Jar-Jar Binks).  What I am saying is that this movie such not be treated as the much maligned Star Wars pariah that it has been since the day of it's release.

All right, I'll get this out of the way....….

Darth Cool

I LOVE THE PHANTOM MENACE- I truly do. It and the two that came after it are in no way the disasters that many people suggest that they are. In fact, I adore Phantom and think is is quite simply is something of a sublime movie…..

So, there I said it. Now I could sit back and wait for the avalanche, the Tsunami, the absolute cacophony of outrage that will come from some in my fellow Geek fraternity at the sheer audacity of that comment. For few movies in the history of cinema have been condemned  and criticised as much as this was and in many ways, still is. For example, only yesterday I saw a "Kill Jar Jar Binks - save the series" t-shirt advertised on some online store. The strength of 'anti-Phantom Menace' feelings amongst many is frankly disturbing in its intensity. I would argue it is time for a re-appraisal but that might be just my own obsession.

When you look at it dispassionately, is actually a very good piece of cinema that takes us through the straightforward plot of a planetary trade dispute at an often steady and understated pace. Whereas the previous movies were seemingly a sequence of one cliff-hanger after another, this is a story that needs to take it's time to allow the viewer to immerse himself or herself in the experience by providing the underpinning of the story that has begun - The disintegration of the Republic and eventual emergence of the empire. Yes there are glaring weaknesses in the film, but for me, the various strengths far outweigh the few weaknesses. So open your mind and watch it again and see if you change your mind. If it doesn't change then that is ok. It's still a fine film in my eyes.

And remember, as great as the first 3 Star Wars movies were, one of them contained those bloody Ewoks.........

I must admit that when I heard that the new trailer for the latest edition to the Star wars Universe was about to air, I was naturally excited. However nothing had quite prepared me (and it seems the rest of the population of a certain age) for the subsequent wave of emotion that would engulf me by the end of the short clip. I was actually doing fine up to a point; I was enjoying the Skywalker voice-over, loving the sight of a crashed Imperial cruiser, smiling at seeing more X-Wing fighters plus the Millennium Falcon once again and also loving the clips of character action (whoever the hell they may turn out to be).......

However, I wasn't fully prepared for the moment when a much older looking Han Solo and suspiciously non-aged Chewbacca appeared, at first a huge beaming grin sprang across my face. A split second later I am not afraid to admit that I turned into an emotional wreck as Han uttered "Chewie, we're home".......oh boy. Because in that moment I was transported back to those first moments in 1978, I was 11 again - and judging by the social network meltdown, I wasn't alone.

In December of this year, when Star Wars: Episode VII comes to our local cinema, I think I may well be 11 years old once again.

Discovery: A Col Sec Novel: Volume 3 (Col Sec series)

My previous book-related musing, Pandora's Brain, concerned a rather fine piece of science fiction writing that deals with a variety of interesting and relevant philosophical themes surrounding the key questions of not only whether we can successfully create a genuine self-aware artificial intelligence, but whether or not we actually should continue ( and if indeed we could actually stop) trying to find that illusive breakthrough. A technological leap that would inevitably result in perhaps the greatest social revolution in human history. It's all good stuff (I mean the book, not necessarily the the blog article) which you can catch HERE, if you have nothing better to do that is.

The particular book offering on this occasion is a very different and noticeably less complex beast, though not necessarily the worse for it.

A week or two ago I was contacted by Kris Barnes from Authoramp, a company that work with authors & publishers to help them promote their books. He went on to explain that he is working with Jan Domagala, a sci-fi writer, who has released a series of books called 'Col Sec'. and due to my being a highly regarded sci-fi reviewer he wanted to contact me (No, I'm not making that last bit up, he really did say that). Kris further mentioned that the third book in the series, 'Discovery' is out - and wondered if I'd like to read and review this for them?

Yes you've guessed it, my self-indulgent side (which quite frankly is probably the vast majority of me) was fixated on the 'highly regarded reviewer bit' and I'm fully aware that it may have been said as a way to hook and then reel me in and appeal to my already abundant ego. Well it worked.......again.

"Kurt Stryder, the hero of Ronin not sure which direction his life should go, takes a cruise on the Colonial Queen but even this leads him into further trouble. 

A rich passenger persuades the Captain to take a diversion to the Tartaran Battlefield, once the scene of one of the greatest battles between the Colonial Confederation and the Elysium Alliance. A wasteland of derelict, abandoned husks of once great starships, now home to a colony of outcasts and dregs from every society known simply as, The Outlaws. 

Kurt is thrown into a deadly race to save as many passengers as possible when the Outlaws attack and knowing he won’t save them all he calls for help.
The Wildfire Team, a new elite unit set up by Col Sec to handle the worst case scenario is dispatched to help Kurt but when they arrive all is not as it seemed. 

A secret is discovered on the planet below, one that both the Confederation and Alliance alike had thought buried forever, a secret that could ignite another war between the two Superpowers should it be revealed.
Kurt and the Wildfire Team must fight side by side against insurmountable odds to save the life of Prince Aswan and Natasha Garvey, his bodyguard from Col Sec Diplomatic Corp. While in orbit above the planet, the two Superpowers flex their military might in a game bluff and counter bluff. "

I will admit to not having read either of the first two in the Col Sec series, Ronin or Omega and did wonder whether this would impact on my appreciation and understanding of Discovery. I needn't have worried, for while there my be a number of unavoidable references to some of the preceding episodes it certainly doesn't detract from the overall experience.

As I mentioned earlier, Discovery is a very different type of beast from the previous book on the philosophical issues of the introduction of fully aware Artificial intelligence. I certainly don't mean that comment as any form of criticism or mocking of the subject matter in this story, because the book (and by definition, the author) are not concerned with any convoluted intellectual issues. There are few philosophical ponderings about the human condition in this book. Instead the intention is to provide us with a fast-paced, adrenaline-fuelled futuristic space adventure - and in that is succeeds very nicely.

For some reason people often look down upon stories of this nature, a good old straightforward adventure store whose main intention is quite clearly to entertain it's readership. I'm the first to own up to be something of an obsessive of authors such as Isaac Asimov, Phillip K. Dick, Aldous Huxley and Ray Bradbury who set new standards of science fiction writing with their futuristic contemplations of contemporary social, technological and philosophical issues. However, there is still a place for more entertainment-focused styles such Harry Harrison's The Stainless Steel Rat series that imply that it's perfectly OK to say that good sci-fi doesn't always have to have high pretensions of premise. Now I'm not saying that the Col Sec series is approaching the quality of Harrison's eponymous work, but it's certainly an good substitute.

What we have here is a genuine roller coaster of a sci-fi ride as we follow the formidable Kurt Stryder while he faces another highly charged episode after highly charged episode. He is a likable, if rather familiar hero whose enhanced abilities and seeming indestructibility make him the perfect foil for all manner of bad guys (and gals) who want nothing more to blow his brains out. Though there are some weaknesses to Kurt's character (which I'll refer to shortly) the author Jan Domagala succeeds in making him a wonderfully amiable rogue who often has one or two nice quips to match his propensity for violent adventure.

I will readily admit to simply letting myself be happily carried along as we travelled through the author's nicely written and widely imaginative futuristic universe. There admittedly is little complexity to the plot and concepts within the book, but once again that's not meant in any patronising way. On the contrary, I mean it as a compliment because Discovery is a rollicking, and at times incredibly violent ride into space and onto other worlds. In other words, it's completely enjoyable. 

Though the plot is imaginative and the narrative carries us along often at a pulsating seaside ride speed, this inevitably leads to some negatives. Whilst the protagonist, Kurt, is suitably heroic and resourceful there does come across a feeling that his character is somewhat under-written, leaving him at times bordering on coming across as one-dimensional in his behaviour. I could be doing the author a disservice with not having read the first two in the series where I'm assuming more character background will have been laid down. However the feeling pervades throughout that as exciting the plot may be, Kurt and the other characters would he benefited from more texture and layer.

In addition at times a little (but by no means all) of the dialogue at times becomes somewhat laboured and cliched, the effect leading to a lack of credibility at some points in the interaction between one or two of the characters.

These though are but minor considerations because I found Discovery an immensely entertaining read which ensured that, given the chance, I would have no problem at all in reading the rest of the books in the series. So if you like a nicely put together mixture of space adventure and some in-your-face characters who couldn't give a monkeys uncle about the philosophical nature of life but who would rather blast their way out of a problem - then this may well be for you.

About the author........

Jan Domagala (1955-ongoing);

" I have never considered myself a writer, I would like to think of myself as an entertainer, a teller of stories. I would hope that the stories I write entertain you the reader so that when you finish the book two things happen, firstly that you feel you have had your money's worth and secondly it makes you want to know what happens next. If that happens then I can feel satisfied that I have done my job well.

I recently returned to live in Staffordshire, where I grew up, after a brief sojourn in the Derbyshire Dales. At present I am busy writing the next book in the series."

For more information about Jan Domagala and how to purchase copies of Discovery, and the rest of the Col Sec series, visit his Amazon page RIGHT HERE

Jan Domagala's Facebook page can be located HERE

You can view the Authoramp website, and the work they are doing for authors & publishers here at http://www.authoramp.com/#services

You can check out the Authoramp Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAMP?fref=ts
 

The Necroslinger - Indie filmmaker advances in $1M CineCoup contest

CineCoup Film Accelerator opens second round of public voting, April 19

Audiences have voted in support of filmmaker King-Pin Lei to win $1 million to produce his original Western/horror/fantasy film The Necroslinger.

The first public voting round in the CineCoup Film Accelerator advanced The Necroslinger to the TOP 60, and brings the concept film one step closer to winning $1 million in production financing and national Cineplex release.

The public can get behind The Necroslinger again beginning 9 p.m. EST on Monday, April 20, when voting for the TOP 30 projects begins. Voting for the TOP 30 closes on Friday, April 24 at 8:59 p.m. EST.

CineCoup Film Accelerator is a unique program that gives Canadian indie filmmakers an opportunity to pitch their ideas to the public and make their film a reality.

"I'm thrilled that Canadian – and even international – audiences have put their support behind The Necroslinger, and I'm excited to share more about the film as we advance through the program. Next stop, the TOP 30," says Lei.

The Necroslinger is a gritty post-apocalyptic Western/horror/fantasy hybrid that spins classic ideas in a new direction. It combines what audiences love most about these genres into a concept that is both familiar and new. The public can see a 60-second concept pitch trailer – which was filmed and produced in two weeks – online at http://www.cinecoup.com/necroslinger.

“The Necroslinger is a spellbinding story that mixes genres and explores a post-apocalyptic future where the return of magic and monsters has pushed humanity into a frightening new path,” says Lei. “I see The Necroslinger as a type of Western film noir-meets-supernatural horror fantasy with a dash of steampunk.”

Lei is asking the public to support The Necroslinger by signing up on the CineCoup website (http://www.cinecoup.com/necroslinger) as a fan, and casting votes. Fans can sign up to rate concept trailers and ‘follow’ their favourite projects at anytime, and cast votes during voting periods.

Filmmaking teams in CineCoup Film Accelerator develop and market their film ideas over a 12-week period through weekly missions and with audience feedback. Teams advance in the program through several rounds of public voting. The winner is determined by CineCoup, and receives up to $1 million to make their film, as well as a national film release through Cineplex.

CineCoup Film Accelerator provides an exciting platform for The Necroslinger to build excitement with Canadian audiences. The Necroslinger, says Lei, feeds the public’s hunger for original genre films in a time of big studio remakes and sequels.

“The team behind The Necroslinger will make audiences believe in magic again,” he says.

Lei’s previous work in film has earned him several awards and nominations, including The Night of the Living Film Festival’s Audience Award for Best Sci-Fi Film (2010), Best Screenplay (2010) and Best Debut Director (2010) for his gripping thriller Killing Schrodinger’s Cats.

He also advanced to the Top 20 of the 2013 CineCoup Film Accelerator program with his concept for the sci-fi thriller The Never Man, an eerie and haunting space exploration film.

******************************************************

Here’s how the public can participate:

• Register with CineCoup and sign in to vote for a project;

• Cast your votes during the three voting windows (Top 30 and Top 15); and

• Use social media to spread the word about The Necroslinger (https://www.facebook.com/necroslinger?ref=hl) (https://twitter.com/Necroslinger) – don’t forget to use the social media hashtag #necroslinger for this project.

For further information or to set up an interview, please contact:

Ashley Goodfellow Craig

Media contact – The Necroslinger

ashleygoodfellow@hotmail.com