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Brian Clemens, OBE
Delighted to hear confirmation of the OBE for Brian Clemens in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. I’m no big royalist but these are national honours and, much as I’d like to imagine Her Maj slipping in an Avengers DVD to keep the grandkids entertained, there’s more at work here than just patronage and whim. Although…
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Oscars, Before and After
I was going to drive down to Hollywood Boulevard last night to take a look at the Oscar preparations, but it was raining fairly steadily (‘a storm’, in local parlance) and I was frankly not that arsed. At the moment, everything’s locked up around there – when I last looked they appeared to be tenting…
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Movies of the Year
It’s awards voting time again and although in previous years I’ve kept a strict silence over my preferences, I’ve noticed that I seem to be the only one doing it. I suppose it’s hubris to imagine that anyone really cares… so in the interests of humility I’ll tell you what I’ve liked this year. I’ve…
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Yo Bafta
So, the Bafta results are out. Read ’em here. But don’t expect to see Sweeney Todd much represented, and don’t take that as an critique of its quality. Despite being (in my humble opinion) one of the top of this year’s crop, a dark masterpiece with a superbly sweet and sad turn from Helena Bonham…
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Independent Filmmaking
This readable, likeable handbook was my bible back in the 70s when its combination of practical sense and friendly encouragement meant that it served both as craft manual and comfort read. Its user’s-view of various Super 8 cameras, wind-up 16mm Bolexes and optical printing techniques may have little-to-no application in this digital age but the…
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Memories of Water
One of the bonuses of BAFTA membership is that you get sent copies of trade publications during the runup to the awards season. Oscar (R) follows BAFTA, which means that the studios can cover both sets of voters with the same ad campaigns. Imagine the upward direction of my eyebrows when I opened The Hollywood…
Hauling Like A Brooligan
Stephen Gallagher
