Right now Leicester is the global centre of England. Tomorrow it might be Alan Moore's Northampton, or its netherworld equivalent - Nighthampton.
Earlier this evening I saw three short pieces
(those without an aversion to Marvel might call them 'One Shots')
which will lead into Alan Moore's independent movie project THE SHOW.
Entirely shot, resourced and filmed within England forgotten heartlands, right now this consists of three 15 minute proof of concepts well captured by promo director Mitch Jenkins and a keen cast of local acting talent.
Honestly I thought this was as close to an evening at Kings Cross's long forgotten Scala cinema club as I've has in a long time and there is no bigger recommendation from these fingers.
The short movies are
Act of Faith
Faith Harrington, a young female reporter on a local newspaper who has an exotic private life, prepares for a stimulating evening at home that doesn’t go according to plan.
One woman, one room test shot that foreshadows the Lynchian English regional sleaze to come. Siobhan Hewlett puts in a quietly heartbreaking performance into a role which we are told will recur.
Jimmy’s End
Louche and hard-drinking womaniser James Mitchum finds himself wandering into one strange bar too many.
Most impressive of the three, this really feels like classic Twin Peaks gone Eurotrash. I have often wondered what happens in Working Men's Clubs. I'm not even sure David Lynch could wring this diabolical a vision from something we are so familiar with (from the outside).
Dir Mitch Jenkins is getting great performances and imagery from real locations and selected actors - Khandie Khisses (seen top photo), Darrell D'Silva, Robert Goodman Robert Goodman and Andrew Buckley as the demonic clown forced to work with the inconvenience of Egyptian mythology.
His Heavy Heart
Picks up the narrative of the hapless James Mitchum from a point following his dreadful realisation at the conclusion of Jimmy’s End. In a grotesque parody of Egyptian funerary rites, James is shepherded less than gently into his unenviable afterlife.
If the first was a test, and the next was setup this really sets out the mythology in a fashion which I think Neil Gaiman would be proud of. If there is a feature film to follow this (and all indications are only Alan Moore's pickiness is holding it up) this could dive straight into Neverwhere territory with some nightmarish theological detail. Budget would help but as scale was obviously considered it didn't seem an issue with these short pieces.
Questions afterward
Alan Moore mentioned LOST and its plot holes with evident irritation, and without giving away too much, I think this is an influence on The Show.
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| I was too awestruck even to take a photo of them on stage |
Q -with these are you trying to show how it should be done ?
To which he answered (paraphrased) - "No because I can't because I've not seen the other adaptations of my work. I don't care"
Director and writer said they were resistant to big stars and were careful to pick the actors they wanted - shame Alan will never know this is why the movie of Watchmen works so well!
I had one reservation with the material shown - Some of this seems dated (CD player?) and if it is set in a earlier era this should be made obvious. If I had to date this myself I would say 2006. pre financial crisis, though it is apparently set in 2011.
Personal Note:
Following my failure to interact with personal hero William Gibson because I was shy, tonight I followed a lifetime of non achievement by being too shy to speak to Alan Moore (despite friendly invite from cast on my way out) because I was again - too shy.
"To thine own self be true" said someone once. I hope they didn't take it personally.
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