Confessions of a film scribe and author

Well the start of 2011 has been very blog lite! 

Basically after one illness after another (boo, hoo get that man a hanky). I've done very little. That isn't to say I haven't done anything. 

So where are we? Sean P. Parson's Terminus is doing modestly well in the USA video on demand market.  Alternative pet project The Breathing  Show gains momentum. Independent films Terminus, Bear Scary and Revamped have been entered into several 2011 film festivals, their screening fate yet to be decided.

That said, it's less about making money and moving onto the bigger projects, it's about art, creativity, myself, my collected collaborators and the viewers experience.

 A person once said to me, "I'll speak to you when your famous." My answer was direct, "I don't think so, I can't measure fame, only success." It's a fickle and superficial world, I feel almost unspoiled living a corner of the world that is farthest from, but also out of the buzz, and pulse of where it's all happening it has it's pros and cons.

Anyone that knows me, will tell you I'm a self confessed film addict, music lover and horror fan. My first website was dubbed the 'quirky to turkey' film reviews. I regularly write reviews on IMDB. Not to practice writing, (although some may say need it) but because a hour and a half or so of my life has past me by as the credits roll and I'd like to have something good or bad to show for it. 

I simply adore motion pictures, and the work and effort that goes into them. A short stay in Elstree studios solidified this for me.   From B-films to blockbusters, I love them. The more atmospheric the better but it cant be any old pap. It has to have flare, a je ne sais quoi. 

In broad terms everthing is about the money, dollar, pound,it's a big business indie or not. As much as I like some remakes, I can help but feel it's creatively lazy, that said remakes have been around for a long-time, nearly a long as film itself, one and not the first was as early as 1904, The Great Train Robbery. But for me the best remakes are the ones that go back to the origin, the conception and/or original source material, if its based on a book etc. or take the essence of the original and turn it into something new, yet it does not necessarily have to be something better, just something as special.For example, Invasion of the Body Snatchers; The Ten Commandments; Dawn of the Dead; Fistful of Dollars, Little Shop of Horrors;The Crazies to name a few.

 

I wont comment on the flurry and mixed production values of Japanese horror remakes, I'll leave alone the films that are remade in less than two years of release because most don't want to read subtitles.  I won't mention the bad ones, ultimately everyone has their own opinions and taste. But the soulless ones can be sniffed out and found in a bargain bucket somewhere. And I feel the same about sequels, no one wants a rehash of the first, but it pains me when a sequel disregards the ideas of the predecessor or changes the concept into an uber version, just for the sake of showing us something new. We vested time in the characters we want to see them continuing in 'that' world, or develop further. I don't wanna see them become something they are not.

Don't stick a jetpack on Darth Vader or put Lawrence of Arabia in a BMW. The extreme I know but you understand  what I mean right? 

I digress, while I have been poorly it's given me a chance to reflect on my work, I find it hard to juggle my writing with my film work. And like my love of films the same can be said for writing, James Herbert did for my writing what Elstree did for my film calling.  They go hand in hand but are very different beasts. I've recently have been commissioned to write a book based on a true crime, I can't say too much but it's a horrific, brutal and violent contemporary story. I also have Dead Pulse coming out later this year, a zombie tale. If truth be told I'm nervous and reluctant for it's release, don't get me wrong I have confidence in the story but the market has been saturated, and sometimes ideas seem to be in the air and comparisons can easily be drawn. Nevertheless, Dead Pulse is what it is, a zombie story many years in the making and I hope it will be enjoyed by it's intended hardcore audience. 

Blood Hunger is out there available to the public and critics, it seems to have been well received. I was asked in a radio interview how do you feel about critics, if truth be known no one likes negative criticism, especially when it's clear they haven't even read or seen your film. That aside I laugh at these bull shitters who say it doesnt bother them, I agree though, some constructive criticism is healthy, it helps you improve but if you're a newbie filmmaker and or a writer and  you'd like some advice on the subject don't put yourself out there if you can't take the flak. And certainly don't rush something out if it's not ready.

Well that was rumour control, those were the facts, this is A. M. signing off until the next time...