Neville Heath was an ex-RAF pilot who murdered a part-time actress in a London hotel room then went on the run, sparking the biggest manhunt in British history. A charming and extremely plausible psychopath who talked his way into all levels of British society, Heath left an indelible impression on the public psyche. After booking in to the Tollard Royal Hotel…
Tag: movies
I’ve often wondered where my fascination with the darker side of life comes from. My writing tends to reflect this taste and leads me into areas other writers might choose to leave alone. Although I’ve drawn on autobiographical material in the past, the old advice to write about what you know has never really appealed to me. As a writer,…
Starting a new screenplay can be a daunting prospect. You’ve had the idea in your head long enough, now’s the time to transfer it to paper. But what about the groundwork – the fleshing out of the bare bones before you begin? I used to think that writing an outline was a waste of energy. Why sit and write a…
Every successful business venture starts with an idea. That idea then grows into a vision – a projected forecast of how the future will look when success is realised. That’s the blueprint. That’s what all the top business leaders and entrepreneurs do before they get out of the armchair they’ve been dreaming in. Success depends upon two things: the drive to make…
Things can move pretty quickly when you’re setting up a film company. Especially when you’re looking to secure investment before the end of the tax year in April! That gives me about two weeks to get the paperwork in for the company to be formed in time. Simple, really. Getting a film made is no mean trick. There are thousands…
Shekhar Kapur’s film Elizabeth, starring the hugely talented Cate Blanchett, opens with the burning of three heretics at the stake. As the woodpile is lit beneath them, a religious dignitary expresses his token wish that they burn in hell forever, a sentiment shared by many in the gloating crowd. Scenes such as this were commonplace in 16th century England and much of Europe, as…
In 1969, the movie-going public were introduced to a new and controversial genre that featured hard-bitten, laconic characters in perpetual moral crisis and slow motion death sequences that looked mesmerising on the Big Screen. The Wild Bunch was an alternative view of the Old West, by the maverick Director Sam Peckinpah. Its central themes of masculinity, nihilism and exploitation are still relevant today, questioning the individual’s role…