I invited Ian over at the weekend to watch Metalocalypse. It’s a cartoon broadcast on Adult Swim I hadn’t seen before, but given the subject matter and my fondness for Adult Swim I was confident I’d like it. I’d received a screener copy from Den of Geek to review and, though it took me a while to work out how to say the name of this show correctly, I really enjoyed it. The review is here. I like how I mention that you don’t need to be drunk to watch it, but that’s precisely what Ian and I aimed for, and at 12:30 on a lazy Sunday afternoon we were quaffing White Russians and filling our faces with takeaway pizza.
We watched the entirety of the first disc’s 10 episodes, pausing only to watch a couple of episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. You know, for some variety.
A writeup for Den of Geek (my first) about a celebrity(!) première screening I went to for the new Ghostbusters Blu-ray. A nice experience with a free bar and olives. I would be not be opposed to doing it again.
Due to the tube strike it ended up being a hideously long walk from Acton to the Soho Hotel, the posho venue for the screening. We weren’t quite sure how to act among so many Z-list celebs, so concentrated on taking full advantage of the bar before realising we hadn’t actually eaten a great deal so stuffing our faces with Haribo Marshmallows from the press pack. Those suckers are big.
The film was good (as I knew it would be) and I was impressed with Blu-ray, though I still can’t quite see the need for it in a regular home environment.
Ed Bye is responsible for directing some of the best TV ever. And the worst. But let’s focus on the best, because today I was being directed by him. Kinda.
I’d happened across Tony Hawks’ website and noticed a call for extras. This was something I’d wanted to do for a long, long time, not because I was particularly interested in being on-screen, but for the purposes of seeing how a real film set worked. Gathering in a nightclub before our scenes, I met my fellow extras. A couple, like myself, had come via the website, but the majority were drama students looking to get their first real experience.
We were filming in the basement floor of Waterstones in King’s Road for a couple of scenes. The first, 202, saw me approaching a sales desk to purchase a book while Tony did a little bit of acting a few feet away from me. Then followed a short break while the crew reversed the lighting and cameras to shoot the same scene but from the other side. There were a fair few takes while the director encouraged the small child playing Tony’s girlfriend’s son to do a proper expression. Then it was our second scene, being in a queue. For a British crowd, not too tasking, but we were warned a couple of times to not look at the camera and, if we couldn’t manage that, to look at the floor. I avoided the problem by focusing my gaze on a monitor out of shot to see where best to stand.
Soon enough our morning’s work was done. I knew it wasn’t particularly great form to approach the star and the director while they were essentially working, but I couldn’t resist; I considered it payment for my excellent fake book buying.
Earlier in the year I’d been fortunate enough to have the chance to be photographed in a Battersea studio with Denise van Outen (and two other girls who’d never even appeared with Johnny Vaughan on Channel 4’s Big Breakfast) for the Walk for Skin 2009 appeal. The Walk, organised by the British Skin Foundation, is designed primarily with families in mind and involves an approximately 3-mile stroll. In London, this is a pleasant meander through Kensington Gardens.
It was quite near the deadline that I decided to actually do the walking part. I realised I needed to get my charity work on par and make up for the complete lack of any charitable actions I’ve carried out to date. I’d chosen to walk 9 miles instead; firstly because I believed 3 miles wasn’t taxing at all, secondly because the further the walk, the more money is donated (a scientific fact), and thirdly because the route I designed would take me right home to my doorstep.
You might think a walk starting in the lovely Kensington Gardens is easy, but what about if it had rained? I may have forgotten an umbrella. I was also running the risk of a blister if I’d chosen to wear uncomfortable shoes. In the event I was quite prepared and it was a beautifully warm day. A lucky escape.
I’d trained in earnest with walking to and from the train station each morning as per usual; I’d committed to not driving anywhere until the day of the walk (or until I got a driving license, or indeed any interest in learning to drive).
Additionally the walk took place on a Sunday. If I was of any religious persuasion, that could well have been time out from my busy worship schedule. The sacrifices I make…
At a comedy night on Feb 18th, 2009 my mother was kind enough to pass on to top comedian Josie Long the fact that it was my birthday. She kindly passed on birthday wishes and then the Knock2Bag crew were then kind enough to forward me the resulting footage. The moral of the story is that on your birthday, people are kind (well, kind enough).
This was meant to be a modern day retelling of the first bit of Genesis, with God as an unreasonable landlord, but I don’t think it really worked all that well. Shot for Sci-Fi-London’s 48 Hour Film Challenge, it was a good first exercise in making a (very) short film, though.
A collaboration from Dave and myself for Ian’s birthday that we had drawn by a proper artist and everything. I was quite proud of this; it was the first script I’d completed all nicely formatted and everything. It asks the question “is he really Magneto, or is Erik Lensherr just obsessed with magnets?”
Wildlife documentary-style video presented by Nathan at Kessingland Wildlife Park, where I was sacked in 2000 for refusing to wear the uniform. I think the background music in this video is perhaps too loud.
This was written after watching the disappointment that was Superman Returns. The main point of reference for the comic is Larry Niven’s Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex. I never got a second one of these drawn up, unfortunately. Not for wont of great ideas, just because the artist got a little busy and I liked the style too much to have another artist
Song I wrote the lyrics to and performed by Nathan. When innocent featured it on their blog, the comments picked up on the fact that Nathan has SCARY FREAKING EYES. Good “acting” dude.
I invited Ian over at the weekend to watch Metalocalypse. It’s a cartoon broadcast on Adult Swim I hadn’t seen before, but given the subject matter and my fondness for Adult Swim I was confident I’d like it. I’d received a screener copy from Den of Geek to review and, though it took me a while to work out how to say the name of this show correctly, I really enjoyed it. The review is here. I like how I mention that you don’t need to be drunk to watch it, but that’s precisely what Ian and I aimed for, and at 12:30 on a lazy Sunday afternoon we were quaffing White Russians and filling our faces with takeaway pizza.
