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The Potshots Always Find You
In the current issue of Ansible, David Langford notes: The Times Literary Supplement review of Dinah Birch’s new edition of The Oxford Companion to English Literature mutters that ‘There is palpable overcompensation for the previous neglect of science fiction.’ Though Neil Gaiman’s short entry is admired, there is sniffiness about the inclusion of ‘Stephen Gallagher,…
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Kong at Christie’s
The 22-inch metal armature from one of the animation figures created for the original 1933 King Kong has been sold at auction for £120,000. Because of the perishable nature of the materials used in their construction, little usually survives of stop-motion models once a few years have passed. As with the rest of us, only…
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Best Clearance Note Ever
From the memo detailing the legal clearances on names, brand names and any other identifiable object involved in my current script:
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Richard Williams
You could do worse than hop over to Blowing my Thought Wad for this piece inspired by a recent Foyles event featuring ‘veteran animator’, Canadian-born Richard Williams. Williams is an animator of eclectic achievements, the most well-known of which I imagine to be Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I suppose Williams is to drawn animation what…
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The Avengers Guy
I had to miss last month’s UK Fantasycon, but I’d already been asked to write an appreciation of Guest of Honour Brian Clemens for the Convention’s programme book. Here’s what I said. It was one o’clock in the morning and I had stuff on my mind. I turned on the TV for distraction. In a…
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Old Sitcoms Never Die…
These days, they surface on Hulu. Gail Renard made the comment, “Speaking of star cars, I wonder what ever became of the one from the Smothers Brothers’ TV epic, “My Mother The Car.” A title and a pitch all in one.” Someone else in the UK remembers My Mother the Car! Were the Smothers involved?…
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What I did on my Birthday
The night before my birthday, I had an idea for a way to mark it. I’m spending a lot of time on my own here in Los Angeles, but it was no big deal being alone on my birthday. It’s not like I’m twelve or anything. But… one of the routes from my place to…
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William S Hart
William S Hart was one of the biggest stars of the silent era. He made Westerns with the onscreen persona of a strong and silent hero, usually with a criminal past for which he’d earn redemption by displaying moral conscience in extreme adversity. In his day, his drawing-power and earnings made him the equal of…
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Stephen Volk
Screenwriter, Noirmeister and all-round Good Guy Stephen Volk has a newly-launched web presence and you can find the new site here. Stephen Volk is the creator of Afterlife and writer of the notorious Ghostwatch, the Halloween ‘live’ investigation of a haunting that scared the crap out of a nation and set the template for an…
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The Autry
I got to the Autry National Center of the American West in Griffith Park yesterday – looked as if there might not be much to it at first but it was good fun. Like a pocket version of the Cody museum in Wyoming. Even has a Buffalo Bill section, and a series of rooms dedicated…
Hauling Like A Brooligan
Stephen Gallagher
