VOX CONTINENTAL...... How Cool Is That

Brilliant.



Mike Barson of Madness used it.

And years an years ago so did Ray Manzarek of The Doors. Like so.....

Timeless ....

I had one of those going nuts in Axbridge days today.., or as I said to someone a couple of years ago.. "I feel like I'm dying here..".

So I had a little drive into Weston-super-Mare, ,, and took my camera. A week or so ago, I'd seen something and thought.. "Well, they've done a really good job of that...

The new Grand Pier..

And about 100 yards from the Pier entrance.., 

The Regent Cafe. The cafe scene in the film of Kazuo Ishiguro's 'Never Let Me Go'. I did some work in this film, almost at the spot where I've taken this photo. I haven't seen the film.., unfortunately I read the book. Has it got a happy ending? Uh.., not exactly.

Rise Up

It's a new day....

Time For A Big Mac

Well, my ancient laptop finally went clunk for the last time a few weeks back. Of course I have still have my Asus Eee PC netbook, the original netbook, no crappy imitators here.

The Eee is brilliant for when I wake up up at 6.00 am and do a few hours work before I exit from bed.

However, sometimes I need to see the bigger picture.

I considered the options. I'd come to hate Windows and all the security stuff, malware avoidance, and electronic counter-measures necessary to just switch on and do something. And I'd installed Linux on my now deceased laptop, but I'd never tried an AppleMac. So I looked around.

All my internet access is done through a USB broadband stick, so I kept that in mind. I decided that a second-user iBook G4 might be OK. However, I didn't particularly want to spend £250 on computer hardware. Next option, an iBook G3. Cost would be about £150.

However, the USB ports on the iBook G3 are the old USB 1.1 non-high-speed variety which meant that internet performance would hardly improve over my old laptop. Well. I could live with that, for a while.

Then I remembered. I'd read that sales of desktop PC's had plateaued, or slightly declined, while laptops had continued to increase. So... "Laptops, popular., That must be keeping the prices up." I wandered off to... and found a thing called an eMac, deeply unfashionable, designed for the educational market, same performance as an iBook G3.

£30.00 on eBay. A gallon of diesel. £5 for a new internal clock battery. And a quick dunt with a heavy hammer to re-align a loose panel. At last, 4 decades after Elect. Eng. years at one of the best engineering universities in the country.... Fruition.

Very individualistic styling, I love it..., it looks like a space capsule. I can almost imagine climbing in , to re-appear through the other side in another world..., like Ewan MacGregor in Trainspotting, head down the toilet...

There's an End

I watched the Jim Jarmusch film 'Broken Flowers' a few nights ago. Liked the first piece of music on it, and googled on the film later. Came up with the song There is an End by a band called the Greenhornes and with vocals by Holly Golightly. I searched on her and came up with this, her own version of the song.



Beautiful.

Electric bass.., very double-bassy.., woody and electric.

I wondered about the sound. Apparently, it was recorded at the Toe-Rag
studios in London. The owner, some years ago, knew that he wanted to run
a recording studio, but felt that so many people who poured their money into
today's digital equipment.., really just ended up sounding the same as everyone
else, and soon went bust.

So he took a different route. Guitars with flatwound strings , Vox amplifiers,
Revox tape decks, analogue mixing desks acquired from the Abbey Road studios.

Result. 

Kenneth Bager - Fragment 8 - The Sound of Swing

The Renault UK TV Ad

Security Men and Libraries

26/12/08


About 6 am, some months ago. The Film Location for BBC TV series Lark Rise to Candleford. The tiny orange figure is a security man who has just started to run towards me, as I stand on the bonnet of a jeep taking photographs. Funny, the whole security man thing. You always find it in societies constructed for the rich, or on the slide. Seen it in so many countries.

10/01/09
Update to this

Just been in to a local library, the Campus, Weston-super-Mare, sit down, sign in at PC, about 15 seconds later, a burly uniformed security man walks up, glances at what is on my screen, then proceeds down all the other internet PC's.

I immediately got up and walked over to the assistants' desk.... "Excuse me, would you kindly tell your security man to stay away from me. Your computers are already filled up with your ghastly surveillance software, and I'm not having some guy peering over me. "

Feel like a criminal in my own library. Thought a library was somewhere you could relax, study, work, read , develop....

Instead they seem to be turning into places for the thought police. A while back, I typed in 'Heresy' on a screen just to see what happened, and instead of search results, up came huge red letters ACCESS DENIED . I've used libraries in about 6 UK counties, and North Somerset is about the most blatant, although the surveillance system introduced by Somerset County libraries about last April is very much its equal.

I do know that professional librarians, at least in Australia.. itself not exactly a place of liberal attitudes..., are very, very unhappy at the amount of censorship and surveillance that is now taking place in libraries. Here in the UK librarians have just gone along quietly with all the censorious crap. Unfortuneately, far too many qualified librarians have been quietly removed and replaced with people who, in the name of 'community', don't know much more than how to wield a bar-code reader. Oh, and 'business managers'. I wish someone would say to them....

"You're not a business. A business, any business, exists to generate a profit. You're here to give a great service to members. You are not a business."

Library, security man has wandered off. When I'd finished what I was doing, and headed for the exit, there he was .., leaning on the counter , joking with the staff. Whose library is it?



The more security men, the sicker the society, imo. And I particularly don't want them in libraries.

Woolworths Last Day

Woolworths in High Street Weston-super-Mare, yesterday. All the staff are there, in groups of two or three: they look lost. There is nothing left on the shelves, and in about half an hour they're out of a job. A few minutes previously I'd overheard someone speak with an assistant, who replied... "Well, we've got 12 cameras....". They both look up; surveillance cameras, to go.

Interesting article by journalist Miranda Sawyer about her local Woolies .....excerpt..

Woolworths was a democratic brand. Everyone shopped there: young, old, posh, not. There are few other shops that would cater so graciously for what is now called the care-in-the-community sector. Once it disappears from our high streets, those streets will go one of two ways. Either the site will be bought by a glitzy Tesco Metro or upmarket Waitrose.

Or you'll get Netto, or another pound shop, or it will lie empty and rot. And that egalitarian, come-one-come-all feel will have gone. You'll know the investment value of your local area by what happens to your Woolworths site

Click Here For the Full Article

I rather feel, take away the references to other store names, and you're left with a statement of some of the values of Woolworths. I believe there will be a New Woolworths.

The Baghdad Shoe Thrower....

First shoe flies towards Bush. "This is a goodbye kiss, you dog,".

Second Shoe... "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."

First Sales of My New Book

The first sales of my book last night, 2 copies. Real sales that is, not family, or friends. Splashed the proceeds on a bottle of wine to celebrate.
Here

Messing About in the Kitchen

New Photo....

Well, I got tired of that agent's photo, so I had a bit of a think, pulled my camera out, stood up against the door of my flat, set the camera to black and white. Then I took about 100 shots , and chose this one.

I also subscribed to the film database at Imdb. My resume is on here

Photos....

Recently received a text from the Bath agent. They'd organised a photo day in Bristol, so if I wanted mine updated...

So .....

As you can see, there's a certain qualitative difference between these pictures.

If you think I look a bit rough, well all I can say is that this is a fairly standard casting agency bodyshot for a background actor. And I'd had a rush to get there, ages to find a parking space etc.. The other photo is a typical agents /Spotlight picture for an actor.

Actor is Natalia Tena. She worked on one of the 'Afterlife' episodes that I did.


Andrew

"The Other Boleyn Girl " / Cameron Diaz

I received payment this week for a bit of my work on "The Other Boleyn Girl'.
Anyway, having received some of the money that Boleyn Productions Ltd of Pinewood (aka Sony/Columbia Pictures) owe me, I feel able to recount a lighter moment from this film...

On the last day of filming at Chalfield Manor near Bath, the weather was fairly grim. If it wasn't raining, it was getting ready to... The day wore on , running late, constant interrupts to the shoot. Multiple changes of hot-water bottles for the stars, Scarlet Johannsen, Natalie Portman, Eric Bana. For the director/assistant directors, crew.., life increasingly tense. Though not for the extras ....

Most days the background actors had crowded into the cow-shed. However, on this last day there was just 8..., 5 manservants and 3 woman-servants. We rested in the manor tea-room. Warm, cosy, convivial, coffee, biscuits. Snug as bugs in a very large rug. As life got darker and colder outside, and dark, damp, brooding figures carrying film equipment trudged past in the mud, they would gaze in as the jokes and the laughter grew.

With us was the costumier .., Jacqi. Impassive, done this work for 30 years, part of the roving band of location filmspeople.., half of life spent in edge-of-town hotels. Impassive at first, but she gradually opened up, and told a little story.

Once upon a time, there was a big budget Hollywood production somewhere in the U.S. The actors included Cameron Diaz. Jacqui and various other Brits were in the crew.

One evening, at the end of the day's shoot, Diaz returned to her trailer. She opened the door, and right in front of her she saw that someone had laid an absolutely giant turd. Beautifully formed, almost steaming, and with a lovely curly, piggy-tail on top. Needless to say, this caused great consternation and...

Next morning, the American producer gathered the whole crew together. This was serious, the famous American sense of humour had failed. "I think you all know why I am speaking to you today. This is a very serious matter, and I want the person who did this to step forward.."

And as his voice echoed out over the assembly, little speech bubbles formed above the heads .. "I did it..", "No,it was me.." , "No, no it wasn't him,I did it..". And.., well no.

Cameron Diaz took it all quite well, apparently.

'Victoria Cross Heroes' - Channel 5 --- Update

I watched the second episode of 'Victoria Cross Heroes' on Channel 5 last night. I was in it. At least, the bottom two thirds of my wellington boots and half of my arms were.

I had to laugh...; all that dressing up, the layers of clothing, sweating my bollocks off on a hot beach. All that, just for a pair of on-screen wellies.

The takes and retakes, over and over again lifting that body on to a stretcher.... "Phew.., fucking hell, Gino. Next time you play a corpse, you're goin to have to cut back on the pasties a bit.... "

'Victoria Cross' documentary - Channel 5

Last night I watched, on Channel 5 TV, the first episode of the documentary that I worked on in September. At least, I watched the first 5 or 10 minutes ; cheap special effects, just a general feel of cheapness about the whole thing. Urghh, and I told my family about this job, quite looked forward to watching it. Maybe the 1st assistant Director and Locations Director fighting in a pub garden wasn't a good sign.

Anyway, I wasn't in this episode. I'm in the episode about Commander Loftus of the destroyer 'The Shark' at the battle of Jutland in the First World War. I hope it improves.

The local freelance newspaper photographer Steve Guscott was there in September and photographed Andy Brownlie and I. The pic got printed across the South West.




After we had finished on the beach, we all drove a couple of miles down the road to Watchet, where I had lived in 1970, and did some more shots.

Took a quick photo of train pull out of station on the West Somerset Railway. Used to go to school in Taunton from here.

'Persuasion'

I did the Persuasion job last Saturday. I played the candle seller. My stall right next to the cake stall, which was pretty handy, and tasty.

Very different experience on this job, to 'The Other Boleyn Girl'.

1. No repeated threats of dismissal, in case any of the
extras carried mobile phones, and thus cameras.
2. No displays of obsequiousness to expensive, cosseted Hollywood
actors.
3. No casting agents on location trying to stem revolt among the
extras, because the agent has cut a deal with the production
company. So blatant; all you can do is curl your nose, and hope
you don't inhale too much of the smell.
[The lie: "We don't cut deals with production companies." ]
4. Good food. That is, not finding yesterdays Cumberland sausage in
todays steak pie.
5. Not feeling generally like a piece of meat, herded around on
demand.

Yes, an enjoyable day. All dressed up in 19th century gear,
walk the 700 yds through the busy centre of Bath to get to the
location. Good food. And, just about everyone I spoke to, who had
worked on 'Persuasion' earlier in the week while I was at
"..Boleyn Girl", .... said they had enjoyed it.

An onlooker had a mobile/camera....



Andrew

Jane Austen's 'Persuasion'...

Well, surprise..., the Bath agent phoned me mid-afternoon yesterday
to ask if I would do some work on 'Persuasion', Saturday. I drove
across for the costume fitting today.

I play a market trader, and I reckon I looked pretty good in that
gear, complete with 19th century winklepicker shoes. Unlike my role
in 'The Other Boleyn Girl'..., in which I look more like a hard-faced,
rather malevolent character than the servant that I'm really playing.

Anyway, the call-time on 'Boleyn Girl' tomorrow is 6am. So the alarm
will be set for 4.15am.

And I'm off to bed now.

Andrew

'The Other Boleyn Girl' ....

Tuesday 26th September...

This all started about a month ago when the agent phoned
, and she mentioned a minimum of three days work, probably
more, between 2 - 7 October. In a period drama.

I'd had several calls from her in the previous few months,
checking my availability for films, documentaries. So this
time I asked.., "Is this an availability check, or is it
real..?" It was real. And could I grow a beard, and let
my hair grow long.

I didn't hear much after that, but did a couple of other
jobs, where I mentioned to other people about the 2-7 Oct
and it seems that this 'period drama' is the film
of Jane Austen's 'Persuasion'.

Anyway, the third week in September dawned, and the 'offer'
had transformed from 3 days definite, probably more.... into..

a costume fitting, and asked to be available for the last week
in September and the first week in October, at upwards of 13%
less rate of pay than was originally mentioned. And with no
offers about number of days work. This all became clear so late
in the day, that I felt that I had been taken for a ride.
Particularly in making myself unavailable for other work. Oh,
and I forgot to mention , no overtime. And it was a completely
different film.


So anyway... Tuesday the 26th came. The production company
people had told me before I left on Monday night that I wouldn't
be needed the next day. So on the Tuesday morning I mulled a few
things over.

About 2pm I received a text message from the agent, to say that they
needed me for the Wednesday, and could I text them back to confirm.
I didn't reply. About 3 oclock, they tried phoning me on my mobile.
I didn't answer it, and they left a voicemail. I returned home about
5, and found that they had also phoned my landline. I phoned them
then.

An assistant answered. I said.. "I got your message, and yes I'll
do your job for you tomorrow. And I'd like a few words with Kate
(the agent). The agent was on the other phone, so she would call
me back.

She did.. I didn't mess around too much. I said that I didn't much
like the way that something definite had transformed into something
else completely, and completely one-sided. And "I don't quite know
how this fits with your view of things, but when I work on something
big budget, and I'm working about 5 yards away from people being paid
about 10 Million, I like to feel that in some way I'm sharing in the
largesse, even as an extra. If I was working on something with no
budget, but was creative and interesting, then I'd be willing to work
for nothing. This is a big film, and they've just had 15 hours of my
time for less than the minimum wage."

And she apologized. A huge, huge, apology. Some of the others had
been on to her that day. No petrol money. No recompense for taxi
fares for people without cars getting out to somewhere in the back of
beyond in the early hours of the morning. People feeling that they
were being treated as second-class life-forms on set. Long day,
stiffed on the rate.

She said that she wished she hadn't taken on this film, that it was a
100 Million film being made for 30 Million. That the agency was
earning virtually nothing from it. That she had to some extent been
pressurised into it. And that she had lain awake at night 'worrying
about you guys'. Etc..

Quite a performance. If it was a performance, then it was an
Oscar-winning one. It seemed genuine to me. So I accepted it. For now.

Janet Street-Porter ....

Looks like I've got to correct something....

On one of my earlier posts, I suggested that perhaps the reason
for Janet Street-Porter's 6 marriages was her moaning.

Apparently this is not true, at least according to the more recent
article in one of the Sunday's. According to Janet, within quite
a short time of marrying her first husband Tim Street-Porter, she
was off sleeping with various people. She didn't feel anything for
them, it was just good sex, and she didn't give the matter(s) much
of a second thought. And she didn't feel that she was doing
anything objectionable.

However, she wrote, when Tim found out he seemed to get terribly
upset, and promply left her. And she felt that she had ruined a
perfectly good marriage.

...... 3am. Front door opens. Figure enters hallway. Climbs stairs.
[Camera follows]. No knickers. Bitemarks on bum. "I'm home, dear.."