In 2005, we were on a world trip. We took advantage of what used to be 'ten stops on three continents' airline tickets. These days it's only five stops for three continents. https://youtu.be/xWbXopyh7j8 Our seventh stop was New York. When we arrived, our global roaming didn't kick in as the US was still using an …
Authors in Cinema – Kerouac
The character Joey Potter from Dawson's Creek is not a fan of Jack Kerouac. In season 6, episode 4, she is reading On The Road and says it sucks. She complains there is no story and it's all macho posturing. I read it a long time ago and I didn't get into it either. I …
Authors in Cinema – Capote
"His voice is like what you'd imagine a brocolli to sound like, if a brocolli could talk." There's truth to that in the way Toby Jones plays Truman Capote in the film, Infamous. This quote is said by an actor portraying Gore Vidal, and yes, the voice has its own...um...appeal. I was never a fan …
Authors in cinema – Tolkien
I avoided this movie. Two film reviewers I respect weren't fans of this film. Then I caught it on a long flight while on holidays. I was charmed straight away. Okay, anyone who knows me understands I'm a sucker for a good period drama, and this is one of the better ones, yet many don't …
If filmmakers made our book trailers.
I love relaxing with the staff picks on Vimeo. My first love was cinema so having the best short films curated saves you from searching for these gems. Thought-provoking documentaries, whimsical animations and off-beat drama is usually what's chosen for you, and enjoying a short film festival at home through the television and hifi is …
Redefining Gay Storytelling
Recently we subscribed to Dekkoo, an online gay streaming service. While it doesn't have the big name movies or television shows, what it does offer is an insight to the up and coming filmmakers with the web at their disposal. Most of the content is already free online elsewhere, but finding it curated in one …
The joys of collaboration (Guest Post)
Meet The Carter Seagrove Project, four authors who have come together to collaborate and find a larger audience. I met them through Twitter and at first was taken aback by how many followers they had. Then I looked at their webpage and found that they also dip their collective toe in film projects. To me, …
Younger Men
My partner and I were talking the other day about how some people our vintage notice younger men. Of course it seems creepy when someone fifty is salivating over a twenty or thirty something (I know some will disagree), but it got me thinking about the context in which we notice them. I know that when I admire a …
Other People’s Versions
They say that when we watch a movie version of a novel we have read and loved, we’re never truly satisfied with the result. It’s because our own little film version has played out in our head as we read the book. Nothing else seems to compare with our original concepts. One night, two friends …
Musings on ‘Man of Steel’
Last night we caught a late preview of the first 3D screening in this country of the new Superman flick. At least I was told it was the first screening but don't quote me. Surprisingly the cinema wasn't packed (see image below), but there was drama in politics unfolding so perhaps the return of Kevin …