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CHRISTOPHER LEE The legendary star of
hundreds of films is one of the most respected and honoured actors in today's
film industry. With a career spanning half a century, Mr. Lee is currently at
the height of his popularity with important roles in Peter Jackson's The Lord
of the Rings trilogy; George Lucas' new Star Wars trilogy and films for Tim
Burton such as Sleepy Hollow and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Mr. Lee
and his good friend Peter Cushing established cinematic history with their
numerous co-starring roles in the Hammer horror films. Mr. Lee's
interpretation of Dracula remains one of the signature achievements in the
horror film genre. However, his talents far exceed that genre. Mr. Lee has
worked in virtually every type of film and for many legendary directors. He
will be relating the stories behind the making of some of many of his films
in columns he will regularly contribute to Cinema Retro. The entire staff is
honoured to share our masthead with this living legend. For the latest on Mr.
Lee's activities, visit his official web site at - http://www.christopherleeweb.com/ |
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Jeremy Slate One of the most popular character actors to have emerged
during the 1960s. A veteran of the D-Day invasion, Jeremy devoted his
post-military career to the acting and directing professions. The
multi-talented Slate is a familiar face to all TV fans, having made numerous
appearances in such classic series as Gunsmoke, Alfred Hitchock Presents,
Perry Mason, The Man From U.N.C.L.E as well as top-lining in The
Aquanauts series. Under contract with Hal Wallis, he co-starred with
Elvis Presley in G.I Blues and Girls, Girls, Girls! He also starred opposite John Wayne in two
Wallis classics: The Sons of Katie Elder and True Grit. Other
big screen credits include The Devil’s Brigade, I’’ Take Sweden, and
more recently The Lawnmower Man. He is perhaps best known for his
villainous roles in the low-budget biker classics Born Losers and Hell’s
Angels ’69, which he also wrote. He has also written chart-topping songs
for Glen Campbell and Tex Ritter. Look for Jeremy Slate’s columns about his
filmmaking experiences in the near future. |
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RICHARD KIELTo call Richard Kiel a big man in the film industry would
be an unpardonable pun. However, his imposing 7’, 2” physical presence is
more than equalled by his talents. Kiel has been a favourite of movie fans
since the early 1960’s. Since then, he has appeared in a wide range of cult
and classic films and TV shows including ‘The Twilight Zone’, ‘Eegah!’,
‘Silver Streak’, ‘The Longest Yard’, ‘So Fine’, ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’,
‘Happy Gilmore’ and ‘Force Ten From Navarone’. He became a household name
with his appearance as the villain Jaws in the James Bond films ‘The Spy Who
Loved Me’, and Moonraker’. An accomplished writer, Kiel recently published
his autobiography, Making It Big in the Movies and is currently
collaborating with Oscar-winning screen writer Pamela Wallace on an original
screenplay, ‘Kentucky Lion, The Cassius Clay Story’. Richard Kiel’s Hollywood Tall Tales will be a regular column in Cinema Retro. |
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RAYMOND BENSONRaymond Benson is the author of the James Bond novels The
Man With the Red Tattoo, Never Dream of Dying, DoubleShot, High Time To Kill,
The Facts of Death, and Zero Minus Ten, as well as the novelizations of
the films Die Another Day, The World is Not Enough, and Tomorrow
Never Dies. His Bond short stories have been published in Playboy
and TV Guide magazines. He is also the author of the suspense novels, Face
Blind and Evil Hours, and the non-fiction books The Pocket
Essentials Guide to Jethro Tull and The James Bond Bedside Companion
(the latter was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best
Biographical/Critical Work in 1984). Raymond also has extensive experience
directing stage plays, composing music, and designing and writing adventure
computer games. He currently teaches Film Studies at William R. Harper
College in Palantine, Illinois. He is married, has one son, and is based in
the Chicago area. www.raymondbenson.com |
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CAROLINE MUNROCaroline made her first impression on the public by being proclaimed
“Face of the Year” by Britain’s ‘The Evening News’. At the tender age of
sixteen, she embarked on a recording career and has worked with such
legendary musicians as Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Adam Ant. Her
appearance on a calendar for Lamb’s Navy Rum caused a sensation in Britain
and helped ensure the success of her budding film career. Over the years, she
has risen to the top ranks of ‘glamour girls’ of the British cinema with an
active fan club and numerous web sites devoted to her career. Her films
include Dracula 72 A.D., The Golden Voyage of Sinbad’, At The Earth’s
Core’, Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter, The Dr.Phibes films and the 1977
James Bond blockbuster The Spy Who Loved Me. She has co-starred with
such acting giants as Christopher Lee, Richard Widmark, Peter Cushing,
Vincent Price and Roger Moore. Caroline will relive the making of her films –
both the classics and a few she would prefer to forget – in her regular
column for Cinema retro. |
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LEE PFEIFFERLee is the author/co-author of numerous books about the
cinema including The Essential James Bond, The Films of Clint Eastwood,
The Films of Harrison Ford, The John Wayne Scrapbook, The Ultimate Clint
Eastwood Trivia Book, True Grits, The Films of Tom Hanks, The Incredible World
of OO7 and The Official Andy Griffith Scrapbook. He has discussed
the cinema on countless TV and radio programmes, including ‘The Howard Stern
Show’, ‘Geraldo Rivera’ and the popular British show ‘Good Morning’. He also
co-produced the acclaimed documentaries The Making of Goldfinger, The
Making of Thunderball and the Inside Dr. Stranglelove for DVD
release, as well as the audio commentary track with director Sidney Lumet for
The Verdict. He also created and hosts the acclaimed ‘Let’s Bond in
Britain’ tours of James Bond film locations, has been employed as a
consultant for both Christie’s, and the official James Bond conventions in
America. Lee resides in New Jersey where he enthusiastically ignores making
household repairs so he can maximise his time attending film-related events
in New York City. |
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JON HEITLANDJon
Heitland is the author of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Book: The Behind the
Scenes Story of a Television Classic (St Martin’s Press). An Iowa-based attorney
who specializes in worker’s compensation, Jon is also a screenwriter and
documentary producer. He is presently preparing a major documentary about the
history of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
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DAVE WORRALLDave, a lifelong student of the international cinema, has
appeared (and worked on) numerous TV and radio programmes for Home Box
Office, BBC, Fox Television, Carlton TV, The History Channel, ITV and Thames
Television (with Jonathan Ross). He has also been employed by; Corgi Toys,
Eon Productions (the Bond film makers), The National Motor Museum, MGM/UA
Home Video and Vodaphone, for his vast knowledge of the OO7 phenomenon. He is
the publisher and author of The Most Famous Car in the World: the Complete
History of the James Bond Aston Martin DB5, The James Bond Die-casts
of Corgi, and co-author (with Lee Pfeiffer) of The Essential James
Bond (for Macmillan), an official reference guide to the series that has
sold over 250,000 copies to date. Dave is also the publisher of ‘The James
Bond Collector’s Club’ magazine, co-published (and designed) the book James
Bond’s London, and worked as UK Field Producer on the James Bond DVD
documentary films currently on sale around the world. An aficionado of the
films of Clint Eastwood, Sergio Leone and Hammer Horror, Dave resides on the
edge of The New Forest where he takes a fiendish delight in having turned a
childhood obsession for films into a career. Click on ‘history’ at www.bondbooks.biz for further
information. |
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GARETH OWENGareth
Owen graduated from the University of Wales in 1994 with an honours degree in
Applied Physics and Electronics…. And then joined the film industry! Since
’94 he has run his own production company, and now heads Sir Roger Moore’s
office based at the world-famous Pinewood Studios in England. Gareth has also
written five books, and contributes to periodicals such as British Film
& TV Production Magazine, British Cinematographer, Hotdog, and other
film-related publications. Since 2001 he has served as CEO for The Lunch Club
– the media industry networking organisation – is a founder member of the UK
Association of Celebrity Assistants, a Member of BAFTA, and sits on the
fundraising committee of the Cinema And Television Benevolent Fund.
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MATTHEW FIELDMatthew
Field is an author and journalist. He has gained wide experience from
interviewing a variety of stars and film related personnel, including Donald Sutherland,
Mark Whalberg and Sir Michael Caine for his first book The Making of The
Italian Job. Matthew was also the author and director of special features
for the Paramount DVD release of The Italian Job and Zulu and
is currently writing The Man Who Came To Play the authorized biography
of Academy Award Winning film producer, Michael Deeley. His second book, Michael
Caine: You’re A Big Man was published in October 2003. Matthew’s recent
work has also been published in Esquire magazine, Hotdog, DVD Review,
MiniWorld and The Sunday Express. While studying for a BA HONS degree in
‘Screenwriting for Film and Television’, at Bournemouth University, Matthew
keeps busy as a director of Livonia Productions Ltd. based near his home in
Dorset.
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TIM GREAVESTim began his love affair with cinema (and James Bond in
particular) after seeing DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER in 1971. A decade later he was
publishing his own regular 007 journals and went on to write extensively for
the publications of the James Bond International Fan Club & Archive.
Diversifying over the years, his interviews and articles – which bear a keen
slant towards exploitation and horror cinema of the 1960s and 1970s – have
appeared in magazines around the globe, among them “Little Shoppe of Horrors”,
“Bizarre”, “Uncut”, “Draculina”, “Samhain”, “Divinity” and “Femme Fatales”
(on which he served a term as British Correspondent). During the 1990s Tim
self-financed a number of now out of print but eagerly sought-after
publications dedicated to some of his favourite actresses from exploitation
cinema. His most recent self-publication, “The Bond Women: 007 Style” (an
extensive reference work detailing over 250 actresses who worked on the James
Bond film series) appeared in 2002, leading to an invite to assume the role
of Editorial Consultant on John Cork and Maryam d’Abo’s recent 007 volume
“Bond Girls Are Forever”. Other noteworthy publications Tim has contributed
to significantly include “Ten Years of Terror: British Horror Films of the
1970s” and “Flesh and Blood”, and he wrote numerous reviews for “DVD
Delirium” Volumes 1 and 2. His first novel, “Vampyres”, based on – what else?
– a 1970s horror film of the same name, was published in 2001. The novel’s
enthusiastic reception engendered a commission from the film’s producer and
director (Brian Smedley-Aston and José Larraz respectively) to pen the screenplay for a
belated sequel. Recently completed, it’s anticipated that the film will go
into production during 2004. Tim is now looking forward to bringing to the
pages of “Cinema Retro” his passion and expansive knowledge of films (and the
actresses who decorated them) from the 60s through the 70s |
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JAZ WISEMANDesigner, writer and producer. By trade, Jaz Wiseman is a graphic
designer who has worked for a variety of film companies including Columbia,
Sony, and Warner Brothers. Since 1991 he has been designing and editing his
own publication, The Morning After;
a magazine devoted to Lew Grade’s action/adventure series The Persuaders! starring Roger Moore
and Tony Curtis. Renowned for his knowledge of the ITC action/adventure
series he was approached by Carlton in May 2000 to work as a DVD producer.
During his 18-month period at the company, Jaz produced such flagship titles
as Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Stingray, Space:1999
and The Prisoner (all of which were
DVD box sets). He was also responsible for a range of special editions of
such classic Rank films as Brief
Encounter, The Red Shoes, The African Queen, Genevieve, The Importance of Being Earnest, Oliver Twist and The 39
Steps. Early volumes of The
Champions, Danger Man, The Persuaders!, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and The Saint also came under his watchful eye. Jaz acted as a
consultant for French company TF1 for their DVD box set releases of The Champions, Department S, The
Persuaders!, The Prisoner, Space:1999 and UFO. Currently he is moderating and producing commentaries and
special features for Australian DVD company Umbrella Entertainment Ltd,
including Department S, The Saint, The Prisoner, Minder, Man About The House, George and Mildred and Return of The Saint. Jaz has
interviewed and worked with many cast and crew members from 1960s and 70s
productions including Sir Roger Moore, Peter Wyngarde, George Cole, Roy Ward
Baker, Sue Lloyd, Verity Lambert, Robert S. Baker, Brian Murphy, Sally
Thomsett and Peter Bowles. As a director of Popco Jaz has many future
projects planned including the publication of Danger Man, The Definitive Companion, which he is writing in
collaboration with fellow Popco director Robert Fairclough |
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MARK CERULLIAs a writer/producer at HBO,
Cerulli interviewed over 60 stars and filmmakers including Sean Connery,
Angelina Jolie, and Sidney Pollack; and co-created a Cinemax series that
interviewed over 50,000 movie fans across America. He has also worked on the
special features of eight DVDs including Halloween, and was the
producer of the Goldfinger and Thunderball documentaries for TWINE Entertainment with
Lee Pfeiffer.
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ROBERT FAIRCLOUGH
Robert Fairclough is a writer, researcher and graphic
designer with a life-long interest in popular culture of all kinds. As an
interviewer, he has talked to everyone from prolific film and television
composer Barrington Pheloung to The Stranglers’ drummer Jet Black. He was
part of the team behind the independently published 1998 book Fags, Slags,
Blags and Jags: The Sweeney, which due to popular demand was reissued by
Reynolds and Hearn in October 2002 as Sweeney! The Official Companion, co-written
with Mike Kenwood. Staying with the grainy 1970s London of Inspector Regan
and Sergeant Carter, he was a consultant on the soundtrack album Shut It!
The Music of The Sweeney (Sanctuary Records/Cinephile, 2001). He is also
the author of the critically acclaimed and bestselling The Prisoner: The
Official Companion to the Classic TV Series (Carlton Books, April 2002).
He is currently working on that book’s prequel Danger Man: The Official
Companion to the Classic TV Series with Jaz Wiseman. He has been adviser to BBC Radio 4’s
documentary series Britain in a Box and is consultant editor and
writer on the DeAgostini partworks Inspector Morse: The Complete
Collection, The Prisoner: The Official Fact Files and A Touch of
Frost: The Complete Collection. The Inspector Morse title has won
two awards so far in 2004: the ACE award for Launch of the Year 2003 and the
British Video Association award for Innovation in Industry 2003. With Jaz
Wiseman and Mike Kenwood, he is one of the directors of the cooperative Popco
(www.pop-co.com) who specialise in classic film, TV and music and provide a
variety of services to clients, including DVD commentaries, documentary
making and graphic design. |
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MICHAEL SIEGEL
Born in 1967 in Sindelfingen/Germany. Mike has been a
film-buff since he can remember, and co-organized (from 1977-1984) the
program booking and advertising at his local cinema. A keen collector of
movie-memorabilia since 1978, he has one of the largest photo and poster
archives in Europe. Mike’s first introduction to the world of film-making
came through getting jobs on the sets of his former neighbour Roland
Emmerich’s first four Science-Fiction movies. In 1992 Mike moved to Munich,
where he studied film-making and made his first documentaries. In 1997,
Siegel met filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, who encouraged him to make his $10,000
feature film debut ROADRUNNER. Like Rodriguez, Mike does all the
various jobs himself: production, direction, writing, photography and
editing. In 2000 he co-organized a Sam Peckinpah festival in Padua, Italy. It
included the most complete retrospective to date and an exhibition on the
director’s life and films. Guest stars like James Coburn, Ali MacGraw,
R.G.Armstrong and David Warner attended and agreed to participate in a feature length documentary on the
director’s life. PASSION & POETRY - THE JOURNEY OF SAM PECKINPAH (release
date: Winter 2004) started shooting in December 2002 in Mexico, and has since
seen filming in Los Angeles, London & Berlin. Among the participants are
Ernest Borgnine, Kris Kristofferson, L.Q.Jones, Bo Hopkins, Senta Berger and
Peckinpah family-members. In December 2003 Mike’s photo-book on Peckinpah was
published in Germany. Called PASSION & POETRY - SAM PECKINPAH IN
PICTURES, it can be purchased by visiting his web site – www.eldorado-film.de |
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DARREN ALLISONBorn in 1964, and currently
working for the BBC at Television Centre in London, Darren’s knowledge of the
works of John Barry, Jerry Goldsmith and Ennio Morricone is unquestionable,
with his archive of movie soundtrack scores containing over 2000 titles. An
avid collector of Clint Eastwood memorabilia for some twenty-five years,
Darren was credited on (and created the title for) the A&E television
biography of Clint Eastwood’s ‘Gut Instinct’ in 2003. During the same year he
was credited on FSM’s restored CD release of Ron Goodwin’s Where Eagles
Dare (for providing illustrative material) and was granted some well-earned
time with Mr. Eastwood after attending the UK premiere of Mystic River and television interview on the BBC show Parkinson.
Apart from his passion for film music and the career of Clint Eastwood,
Darren is also a keen fan of classic horror films, which has led to several
of his articles being published in fan based magazines world-wide.
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STEVE Y. MORI
From his early childhood, Steve fell in love with the
movies, especially Disney animation and fantasy films like Godzilla
and The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. At the age of 13, and particularly
inspired by the British invasion/innovation of the James Bond series, Richard
Lester’s A Hard Day’s Night, and Tony Richardson’s Tom Jones,
Steve decided that he really wanted to work in the film industry. With this
in mind, he directed and photographed three feature-length super 8 films
(including one in post dubbed sound) by the time he had graduated high
school. During his senior high school journalism class, Steve was assigned to
do an interview, so he set his sights on Steve McQueen, who happened to be
filming Bullitt in nearby San Francisco. He tracked McQueen down, and
to his surprise, found the actor agreeable to his request! Within three
years, Steve became contributing editor to ‘Today’s Film Maker’ magazine,
ending up interviewing Patrick McGoohan, Peter Fonda, Susan George, Lee
Marvin, Terence Young, James Stewart and others. Steve was hired as a
photographer on John Korty’s award-wining NBC TV movie Farewell To
Manzanar, and created all the stills that were used in the film, which is
now taught in schools across America. Steve’s work has appeared in The San
Francisco Chronicle, the Associated Press, Daily Californian, Berkley Barb,
Gallery, New West, The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, The Oakland
Tribune, Bay Guardian, Rona Barrett’s Hollywood and more recently, he worked
for several years as contributing reviewer for The Perfect Vision. Majoring
in film at San Francisco State University, Steve made two well-received short
16mm films: Sunday and Springtime (the latter was selected at
the S.F. State Film Finals), and to learn more about film making in general,
worked as an actor, extra and stand-in from 1971 to 1987. During this period
he appeared in (or was edited out of) some sixty plus movies, TV shows and
commercials, including Time After Time, The Candidate, Hardcore, The
Streets of San Fransisco, Quicksilver, The Towering Inferno, Foul Play,
Freebie And The Bean, Killer Elite, Magnum Force and Play It Again Sam.
Steve was also elected to the Screen Actors Guild Executive Council, and as a
journalist and actor, has had the pleasure of observing masters like Alfred
Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Sam Peckinpah, Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen and
others, work on various projects. Steve stills writes film reviews and
related articles, and manages the eclectic cult store The Video Room, in
Oakland, California. |
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GARY GIBLIN
Gary Giblin is a writer and film historian who specializes
in James Bond and Alfred Hitchcock. His first book was James Bond’s London, an acclaimed reference guide to British
locations associated with the literary and cinematic Bond, as well as author
Ian Fleming. His second book, Alfred
Hitchcock’s London (forthcoming), is a
travel reference guide to the birthplace – and frequent filming locale – of
the great director. Gary is also editor and chief writer for the Secret Intelligence website, and regularly contributes articles and
reviews to The
MacGuffin, the Hitchcock scholar’s
website. He has served as a consultant to MGM on the James Bond legend and
has appeared on the History Channel’s program ‘The Secrets of Spying’. He and
his wife Lisa, a Spanish teacher, live with their two cats in Indiana.
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MARTIN GAINSFORD
Having been writing for almost
twenty years, Martin’s work has been published in an array of magazines
including Impact,
Action TV, Science Fiction And Fantasy Modeller and Toy Shop. During this time Martin has interviewed close
to fifty leading genre personalities, amongst them animation legend Ray
Harryhausen, ‘Thunderbirds’ co-creator Sylvia Anderson, ‘Batman’ star Adam
West, ‘Avengers’ girl Linda Thorson and Oscar-winning special effects
supervisor Brian Johnson. Having lived in London for some forty years, Martin
has written authoritative articles covering such varied topics as the ITC
action programmes, the career of Derek Meddings, the production of the
‘Batman’ television series and the popular hobby of collecting TV/Film memorabilia.
In his capacity as a researcher, Martin has supplied text and imagery for a
number of DVD projects including The Man
From U.N.C.L.E. and The Green Hornet,
along with a plethora of Gerry Anderson titles including Thunderbirds, Stingray, UFO and Space
1999. |
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ROGER NASH
A film collector of forty years and specialising
in the films of John Wayne, Charlton Heston and poster artists Reynold Brown,
Frank McCarthy, Howerd Terpning, Jean Mascii and Casaro, Roger has contributed
material to various publications including Lee Pfeiffer’s John Wayne Scrapbook and an upcoming book on Reynold Brown. Roger’s
vast knowledge and archive of material has also been a source for poster art
and stills for CD cover art and booklets by Film Score Monthly and SAE.
During his career as a teacher, Roger produced a booklet for educational
purposes on using film to teach Nat. Curriculum History in secondary schools.
Many of Roger’s posters are on display at the John Ford Museum at Goulding’s
Lodge in Monument Valley, Utah where the master director filmed some of his
greatest movies.
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LAURENT PERRIOT
Laurent has worked as a freelance video technician in the
Television industry since 1989, bringing him in touch with many famous
actors, actresses and directors during this period. Some of them were part of
the cinema of the 50’s, 60’s and the 70’s and are still working today. In
1999 Laurent created his own company, GraphiDesign, in which he
provides his services for the television industry. A James Bond fan since he
saw his first OO7 movie The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977, he co-created
the French James Bond fan club with friends in 1989. The Club still exists,
and now Laurent is the President after taking over from his long time friend
Jerome Nicod in 1997. Together, they also created James Bond Magazine
(www.jamesbondmagazine.com),
which is one of the most professional looking OO7 magazines published in the
world today. Laurent is also a recognized expert of all things Bond in
France, participating in TV shows, radio and press functions. He also works
from time to time with the company in charge of promoting the James Bond
movies in France. Laurent is married and lives in Paris. The Club James Bond
007 can be found at: www.jamesbond007.net |
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PETER S. HAIGHHaving
a cinema projectionist for a father, its no surprise Peter was seeing films at
a very early age. Leaving school towards the end of World War II, he joined
the advertising department at Bradford’s evening newspaper, where there was
the bonus of free cinema seats through collecting the advertising copy for
the city’s forty-odd cinemas (yes, that many in those days!). Films also
featured in his Army service, for he had the good fortune to be posted to
Radio SEAC, the Forces Broadcasting Service (in what was then Ceylon), where
his duties included writing programmes on film and theatre music among other
scripts. On demob he moved to London and secured a job in the News Division
of BBC Radio. During that time Peter also compiled the crossword for the
monthly magazine ABC Film Review, which led to him being offered a
full-time position on the staff. He remained there for thirty years, the
latter half as its editor. The magazine survives to this day (now know simply
as Film Review) and, although he took early retirement some years ago,
Peter still compiles its film crossword.
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ROBERT SELLERS
Robert
Sellers is a failed actor and doing his level best to fail as a writer, too.
Specialising in cinema, he periodically writes for Empire, Total Film and Hot Dog. And if you’re reasonably
famous and snuff it, he might have a few good things to say about you as
well, seeing he’s one of the obituary writers on the Independent. He is the author too of biographies on Sean
Connery, Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford. This summer sees the paperback edition
of his acclaimed book on George Harrison/Monty Python’s HandMade Films,
entitled Very Naughty Boys. And
unless a very large ransom is paid into a certain Swiss bank account, more
books are threatened, including a tome on the cult TV shows of ITC: Super Spies and Sexy Thighs. He is
also pleased to be writing the authorised biography of stunt man and action
director Vic Armstrong.
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STEPHEN J. SPIGNESIStephen
is the author of more than 30 books, including The Beatles Book of Lists;
She Came In Through the Kitchen Window: Recipes Inspired by The Beatles
and their Music, and, with Michael Lewis, Here, There and Everywhere:
The 100 Best Beatles Songs. He is also the author of The New York Times
best-seller, JFK Jr.; The Essential Stephen King; The
Italian 100; The Weird 100; The Woody Allen Companion;
The Official ‘Gone With The Wind’ Companion; The Robin Williams
Scrapbook; The Hollywood Book of Lists, and the novel, The
Euthanasia Dialogues. He and Michael Lewis also co-authored the screenplay,
Pilgrim’s Landing, a fantasy about John Lennon. He lives in
Connecticut with his wife Pam, and their cat, Carter. His favourite movie is
Woody Allen’s Manhattan, with Goodfellas running a close
second.
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MICHAEL LEWISMichael is the author/co-author of seven books, including The
Films of Harrison Ford; The Films of Tom Hanks; True Grits:
Recipes Inspired by John Wayne and His Movies, and The Cheapskate’s
Guide to Walt Disney World. He works as an editor for a major publishing
company, focusing on popular culture, New Age, health, and contemporary
history titles. He co-authored Here, There and Everywhere and the
screenplay Pilgrim’s Landing with Stephen Spignesi. He lives in New
Jersey with his wife Amy and their two daughters. His favourite movie is Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade, but Jaws, The Natural, and Saving
Private Ryan are right up there. |
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BILL DUELLYBill is a well-known scholar of classic films who
specializes in projection techniques and restoration processes. He has
participated in the making of documentaries about classic films for home
video release, most notably "The Making of Goldfinger", "The
Making of Thunderball" and "Inside Dr. Strangelove". He has
also been a driving force in showing classic films at theatres in the New
York metropolitan area. His love of the cinema has led to an achievement that
most film fans would envy: he has a custom-built, soundproof theatre system
in his home that shows both 35mm and 16mm formats. Bill will be contributing
articles to Cinema Retro that involve the technical aspects of film
restoration and projection. |
JEROME
WYBON
Writer and producer. Jerome Wybon has written articles
about DVD and movies for the French magazines Starfix and DVDVision, and
worked in production on various shows devoted to Television series and movies
for the French TV Channels, Canal Jimmy and Cine-Cinema, before becoming a
producer of DVD documentaries. Jerome has arranged and interviewed (for audio
commentaries) French Directors Alain Corneau, Patrice Leconte, Gerard Oury,
Bertrand Blier, Philippe De Broca, Jacques Deray, Philippe Labro and worked
on ‘The Making of the Fantomas Trilogy’ (made during the 60s) for Gaumont. Jerome was also a consultant for TF1 Video for their DVD
box set releases of The Champions, Department S, Thunderbirds, The
Prisoner, The Saint, The Persuaders!, Space:1999, UFO and the upcoming
release of Danger Man next year. He won a Prize at the 2003 Making of Festival of Toulouse
(France) for his documentary about the Making of Hayao Miyazaki's Princess
Mononoke for Buena Vista France. He is currently working on a documentary
about film composer Jo Hisaishi for the upcoming Special Edition DVD of Spirited
Away, for Buena Vista France and just finished the research for the
upcoming DVD release of The New Avengers in France (through Studio
Canal Video) where he discovered some rare screen-tests of Gareth Hunt and
Joanna Lumley, and behind the scenes footage of the series with Patrick
MacNee. He is also at work on special Editions DVD of Jack
Clayton's The Innocents, Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise,
Samuel Bronston's El Cid, Fall of the Roman Empire, 55 Days of Peking, Circus
World, for the French company, Opening Edition. |
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TONY
EARNSHAW
A broadcaster and award-winning journalist, Tony
Earnshaw is the author of An Actor, and a Rare One - Peter Cushing as
Sherlock Holmes (Scarecrow Press), which won the 'Special Sherlock Award'
from Sherlock magazine in 2002, and Beating the Devil - The Making of Night
of the Demon
(NMPFT/Tomahawk Press), published this summer.
Other projects on the boil include The Wicker Man - The Making and Mutilation
of a British Film Classic, for Tomahawk, The Films of Richard Burton, and a
Peter Cushing biography. A cinema specialist for twenty years he has
contributed to an array of British and Stateside mags including Film Review,
Starburst, Scarlet Street, Star Wars: The Official Magazine, Flicks, Impact
and the late, lamented Hammer Horror. He has been resident film critic with
the Yorkshire Post since 1995. As director of the annual Bradford Film
Festival and Head of Film Programming at the National Museum of Photography,
Film & Television he has interviewed many of the key figures in the
history of British film including Michael Deeley, Ken Annakin, Roy Ward
Baker, Richard Todd, Mike Hodges, Jenny Agutter and Jack Cardiff. He has
produced three documentaries for the NMPFT featuring interviews with Jean
Simmons, Richard Attenborough and Mike Hodges, as well as the short
Leatherface Speaks – An Informal Interview with Gunnar Hansen. For the NMPFT
he wrote monographs on Jack Cardiff and the Indian star Om Puri. Tony has
guested on a string of BBC radio programmes including Back Row and Brief
Lives, and was among the observers who appeared on The 100 Greatest War Films
and The Ultimate Sci-Fi Top Ten: Robots. His many interests include Sam
Peckinpah, Richard Burton, Hammer films and the cinema of George A. Romero,
and images and interviews from his personal archive have appeared in
publications as diverse as The Hammer Story and Hong Kong Action Cinema. Tony
resides in darkest Yorkshire with his beautiful wife, Danni, and a slinky
black cat called Mars Bar.
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MICHAEL DAINARD
Born in England, Michael
Dainard became a naturalized American citizen in 1969. Like many young
people, he toiled at many odd jobs (including short-order cook!), gradually
entering the business world and rising to the position of Director of
Marketing for CBS News. Although very successful in this prestigious
position, he was not happy. He made the bold move to “break away from
corporate bondage” in 1985 and opened his own advertising and marketing
agency in New York- despite having no financial backing or expert knowledge
about running his own business. The gamble succeeded over time and Dainard
approached New York University with a plan to teach a course titled
“Marketing Yourself”. He has been teaching at the prestigious university ever
since in the role of Adjunct Professor of Marketing. He has published several
books including Breaking Free of Corporate Bondage- for which he
sought and received the cooperation of both James Michener and Elmore
Leonard. An ardent lover of classic cinema, Dainard has recently completed
several screenplays. He is a board member of the Players club for the arts in
New York City. Mr. Dainard, who spends a good deal of time during each year
in Austria, will be conducting interviews and covering events in the New York
City area for Cinema Retro. For more about his published works and courses at
NYU, visit www.michaeldainard.com
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DEAN BRIERLY
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Dean
Brierly currently resides in Studio City, California, where he makes his
living as a freelance writer, editor and photographer. His obsessions include
profiling maverick filmmakers, collecting film stills, drinking sake,
photographing urban wastelands, exploring exotic locales and procrastinating.
His reading habits are hard-boiled and his viewing habits are non-CGI.
Brierly’s favourite film decade is 1964-1974 and his favourite films are the
ones nobody’s heard of. He has written about Alfred Hitchcock, Anthony Mann,
Jean-Pierre Melville, Robert Siodmak, Don Siegel, Michael Winner, David
Carradine, Alain Delon, Oliver Reed, Frank Sinatra, Fred Williamson,
Hollywood’s toughest character actors, cult TV, that Bond fellow, and much
more for: Cinema Retro, Filmfax, Outré, Far Out, Drill, Sky and Men’s Fitness.
He has also contributed to: Camera
& Darkroom, PhotoWork, Photovision, Photo Metro, The Nude and
the Contemporary Photographer, S
Affiliated Books, Mosaic Records,
Crosscheck Records and Hustler. He can be contacted at
dbrierly @ ispwest.com. A website devoted to his fine art
photography is at
http://www.deanbrierly.com
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CHRISTIAN H.THOMPSON
Our man in OZ, Christian is a
30-something copywriter and corporate marketing gringo. He’s been a film
reviewer for numerous papers and dot.coms and he’s studied photography,
advertising, and professional screenwriting & editing. New films pretty
much all look the same to him - that’s why he’s here. When he’s not hunting
down the forgotten classics of the 60s and 70s he’s writing screenplays and
hawking them about town – though exactly ‘which’ town is still a mystery to
all, including himself. He’s also in the process of building the definitive
Peckinpah web site, http://www.bloodysam.com
. Look out for his regular column: A Dollar Too Short and a Day Too Late –
Minor Masterpieces Mostly Missed.
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VIC ARMSTRONG A living legend among his peers, Vic Armstrong made his
debut as a stuntman and quickly gained a reputation not only for his stunt
abilities but also for his creative vision as well. The multi-talented
veteran of almost 40 years in show business has become a respected Stunt
Coordinator and Second Unit Director, working with top names such as
Spielberg, Scorsese and Lucas. His credits include the James Bond movies, the
entire Indiana Jones trilogy, Gangs of New York, and most recently War
of the Worlds. Vic is currently working on Mission Impossible: 3
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MADELINE SMITH
Appearing as a femme fatale in
popular films of the 1970s, Maddy has a treasure trove of great stories about
what it was like to be young and naïve in the dangerous waters of the motion
picture industry. Maddy has the enviable reputation of being an actress in
three of the world’s most famous series: James Bond, Carry On and the Hammer
Film Productions movies. That’s why she’s writing for us!
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TOM LISANTITom has been writing
about B-movie cinema for over 10 years for various publications. He is the
author of four books on the subject, including ‘Hollywood Surf and Beach
Movies: The First Wave 1959-1969’. Among the dozens of actors he has
interviewed his favourites include Carol Lynley, Pamela Tiffin, Aron Kincaid,
and In Like Flint amazon, Thordis
Brandt who features in his book ‘Glamour Girls of 60s Hollywood: Pin-Ups to
Beauty Queens’. For further information visit his web site www.sixtiescinema.com
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THOMAS HAUERSLEVThomas Hauerslev is a
jolly Dane with a healthy taste for beer and all things associated with 70mm
films and really wide and curved screens. Has always been fascinated with
film and started to attend cinema on his own with the Copenhagen premiere of The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977 - the
Bond movie he considers to be one of the best (And yes, he has always enjoyed
Roger Moore's James Bond). Thomas was a projectionist for eleven years until
becoming publisher of ‘The 70mm Newsletter’ in 1994. He possesses an
encyclopaedic knowledge of Todd-AO history, which is used extensively on his
web site www.in70mm.com in his capacity
as editor. Thomas is also a 70mm Consultant for Nordisk Film A/S and honorary
NMPFT staff member in Bradford, England (which means he doesn't get paid).
His only movie credit is interviewing Lous de Rochemont III (Windjammer and Cinerama Holiday) on a trip to Norway for the film Cinerama Adventure. Winner of The
Golden 35mm Sprocket Award December 1994 "For outstanding contribution
to improvement of Danish Cinema standard and enroller of outmost serious
professional projectionism" and Award winner of "Grand Order of the
Bradford Film Festival March 2001 for exceptional service to 70mm and
Cinerama", including being Chairman of the Academy of the Widescreen
Weekend. He is happily married to Charlotte, despite having a DP70 Todd-AO
70mm projector on display in the bedroom!
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JOSEPH SIROLAJoe is known as one of
the most prominent voice-over talents in the world and is also an acclaimed
actor of stage, TV and motion pictures. He has appeared on Broadway shows and
his one-man stage production of Shakespeare’s ‘The Ages of Man’ has been internationally
acclaimed. TV credits include ‘The Andy Griffith Show’, ‘Get Smart’ and ‘The
Man from UNCLE’. His feature film credits include Strange Bedfellows, Chuka, Hand ‘Em High, and The Greatest Story Ever Told. He
resides in New York City where he remains active in stage and screen
productions.
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MARK MAWSTONMarks love
of the cinema started at the age of 4 when his parents took him to see Jason and The Argonauts. He was never
the same again after leaving the cinema that day. His love
of the cinema was then encouraged by his grandmother, who worked at a popular
cinema in his hometown of Newcastle, meaning most of his visits were free of
charge! His grandfather later fuelled his cinematic passion with many
screenings of classic films taped from late night TV. Much to his gran’s
chagrin, movies like Blow Up and Kiss Me Deadly were shown to the
wide-eyed teen as ‘Saturday Matinee’s’ and Mark still remembers his
grandfather saying, “Mark I taped something that I think might interest you”.
Which still brings a smile to his face. At the age
of 14 Mark helped in recommending films to run in his local cinema The
Jesmond Picture House and later, as a student, ran very successful all night cult
movie shows which were so well attended that in some small way they helped
keep the “Jesey” the only suburban cinema left running in Newcastle until the
late 80’s. It still stands to this day, a tragically decaying shrine to the
cinema experience, a long vacant film lot awaiting a new lease of life. Mark has worked
in the home entertainment side of the film industry as well as pursuing a career
as a photographer, which was initially helped when his picture of Abbey Road
was chosen to represent ‘The Beatles “Anthology’ in the 100 years of recorded
music exhibition by EMI. Since then he has met and taken pictures of many of
his heroes in music and is currently writing a book about some of his
eventful encounters with such music legends as Brian Wilson, The Rolling Stones,
Shane McGowan, Ennio Morricone, Iggy pop and many others. He has also been
fortunate enough to meet and photograph many of his celluloid heroes (including
most of the actors who’ve played Bond over the years), Clint Eastwood, Dennis
Hopper, Ray Harryhausen and many others. A
selection of Marks work can be found at www.markmawston.com
and states he was a regular reader of, before becoming a humble contributor
to, Cinema Retro. |