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Science and Sensation
I love this. Under the headline, Experts Warn Over Humanising Apes, the Associated Press has put out a lengthy science piece which has been picked up by, among others, The Independent – in fact it’s being reprinted everywhere, from Pravda to The York Advertiser. It begins Action is needed now to prevent nightmarish “Planet Of…
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Scooter, Skeeter, Spud.
In one of the few non-Murdoch pieces in today’s Guardian, critic Peter Bradshaw asks, “Why are closing credits full of nicknames?” Grips, wranglers, animators, all kinds of below-the-line employees opt for their contractual credit to include the nickname by which they’re known within the industry. Why? Mainly it’s the internet. Crew members choose to be…
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Ray Harryhausen
One of the proudest moments in my career came when I was remembered and recognised by Ray Harryhausen in a Convention bar. Happy 91st birthday, Ray.
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John Barry
Woke up this morning to the news that musician and film composer John Barry has died at the age of 77; I shouldn’t be taking it personally, but it’s hard not to. He had a rare gift for infusing high drama with a melancholy that made it soar.
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What he said, yeah
After a bit of a hiatus Good Dog is blogging at length again, with an entertaining and entirely personal commentary on the movie year that was 2010. I swear to you that I’d already seized upon this sentiment to excerpt before I followed the link at the end of the piece: Everyone probably has some…
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Misheard in the Movies
Line heard in Don’t Wait, Django, Shoot! a badly-dubbed spaghetti western on the low-rent movies4men channel last night: a character looks out of a window to see a man emerging from the building across the street. The line was meant to be, “Here’s a mouse coming out of its hole.” What we heard, thickly-accented, was,…
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On Method
For anyone fascinated by process, and I know I’m not alone, here’s an example from Derren Brown’s blog in which he records, with staged photographs, the evolution of a painted portrait. It has a relevance to writing that I’ll explain in a moment. For those from outside these shores who may not be familiar with…
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In Sickness and in Stealth
Back in 1984 I travelled through Finland and Russia to research the book that would eventually become The Boat House. I say eventually because it was a far from easy road. Not the travelling, that was an adventure that I wouldn’t have missed for anything. Helsinki, Joensuu, Savonlinna, the towns of Western Karelia… then onto…
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Remaindered
Last night I got to see Lee Goldberg’s stinging and accomplished short film Remaindered, and I’m going to recommend it to you without reservation. Yes, I know Lee, and no, friendship has nothing to do with it. The tale’s as well-turned as you’d expect from a pro, and it takes imaginative flight from a reality…
Hauling Like A Brooligan
Stephen Gallagher
