John Ninnis

Root Films Announces Svengali | Svengali

2012-03-16T14:49:00.001Z

Two weeks ago I was on the set of this feature length drama Svengali, which was originally an on-line drama starring Jonathan Owen the star of the Welsh box office hit A Bit of Tom Jones. In next few days I be doing a write up of the set and stills of the behind the scenes.

In the meantime check out the website.

Root Films Announces Svengali | Svengali

Stalker (2010) directed by Martin Kemp

2012-03-08T18:57:00.000Z

Stalker is dark atmospheric horror thriller debut by writer/director Martin Kemp. Kemp is known for being 80's band Spantau Ballet and starring in Eastenders and The Krays. Stalker is inspired by the cult 1975 video nasty Expose which starred Linda Hayden, Udo Kier, Fiona Richmond. The only difference between the two films is that Stalker is less sleazy than Expose as Stalker isn't.

Here's an interview from Martin Kemp

Stalker is an atmospheric thriller about an award winning writer Paula Martin, (Anna Brecon) after having a nervous breakdown stays at this isolated countryhouse to finishs off writing her second novel with help with her PA (Jane March)who is hired by Paula Editor to help takes the pressures off.

But as the story develops, all is not as it seems. Is Linda a serial killer who's been stalking Paula for years? With slimy journalist Robert Gainer (Billy Murray) seemingly on a mission to ruin Paula with a story of her breakdown, it's left to her analyst Leo Fox (Colin Salmon) to race to her rescue... but will he arrive in time?

This is directoral debut from actor and Spantau Ballet star Martin Kemp as a film it very atmosperic and great performance from Anna Brecon and the underrated Jane March (The Lover). Also you will find veteran actress Linda Hayden who was in the original film ExposeAlso you will find veteran actress Linda Hayden who was in the original film Expose playing the house-keeper.

The violence in the film very well put together for the budget of £100,000 and made in one location without it being boring.

I would highly recommend this film to anyone who like their thrillers and violence.

Check out the scene from the original film Expose starring Linda Hayden.

Here is the trailer of Stalker (2010)

The Big Picture : Not Okay

2012-03-07T08:01:00.000Z

The Big Picture : Not Okay

Hello and welcome to Steffan Lewis's Blog

2012-02-16T20:36:00.000Z

Hello and welcome to Steffan Lewis's Blog

The Director's Cut by Lucy Walker

2012-01-29T23:52:00.002Z

Last week I watched this great documentary by Lucy Walker on controversial Academy Award winning filmmaker Michael Cimino. The documentary deals with what's happened to this award winning filmmaker who started on the high after making The Deer Hunter (1978) and then hit an all time low with making the over budget western Heaven's Gate (1980), which bankrupted the film company United Artists. Walker researches this enigmatic filmmaker whom most don't even know if he was born either in 1930's or 40's and even the town folk where Cimino was born pronounces his surname differently.

The documentary goes through when Cimino directed TV commercials to writing script like Silent Running (1971) & Dirty Harry sequel Magnum Force (1973) to Clint Eastwood giving him his big break.

Interviews include actor Jeff Bridges and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond talks about their experiences working with Cimino.

This documentary is well made and very honest. I always thought that Cimino was used as a scapegoat for United Artists going bankrupt. I always believed that the executive of United Artists wasn't ballsy enough to tell him he was going overbudget.

Check it out.

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2012-01-19T22:11:00.000Z

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New Releases

Pre-certification's website

2012-01-15T21:31:00.000Z

Two years whilst researching for mine and David Beynon feature documentary Industry My Arse a great friend of mine Marc Morris had recommended me to join this website:

www.pre-cert.co.uk/index.php

This website is the ultimate source for information on UK pre-cert videos and rare video releases from around the world. Also there's a forum about video nasties to original video labels.
I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes video to film studies.
Check out the website.

Salam

2011-12-27T16:57:00.001Z

Two years ago whilst showing my short film Mummy Fell Asleep (2008) and also supporting two short films that I co-produced Ryan Hooper's Hidden Animals (2008) and Lee Burgess' Rotter (2008) at the infamous film festival Swansea Film Festival 2009 I watched this great simple powerful short war film by a talented filmmaker Kuwait-based Ahmad Alkhalaf called Salam (2008).

This short went on to win 3 film awards. So watch and see.

Marc Williams composer.

2011-12-10T21:57:00.000Z

I met Marc in 1997 at CCTA College in Pibrwlydd, Carmarthen we studied HND Communication Media which Marc was the regular music composer of all short films. While most student and lecturers were bitching about whether Macs or PC's was better, used to make me laugh at the time as a computer is a computer. I respected Marc for being different and he used a Commodore Amiga to compose his soundtracks. At the time I never used original music on my earlier college film just "borrowing" music from other films. I didn't to use library music in college as I found it very cheesy.

So I asked Marc if he could compose music for my short advert I was making for one of my assignment. From watching Marc work it was quite exciting and throwing ideas or Marc throwing them back, it was quite exciting. The advert was called All Tied Up and it was part of a a campaign about the beginning of digital filmmaking. Soon I will load up the documentary so you can hear Marc's work talent.

Around six years later I was making a short called Virgil Vigilante which again I asked Marc to compose to music I suggested to Marc to make the soundtrack a mixure of Roy Budd and Herbie Hancock. Marc composed a great soundtrack and like to finish this blog with people to have a look at Marc's website. www.marcwilliams.co.uk

Also check out the short film.

Name Your Link

The Last Post (2001) Directed by Dominic Satanta

2011-12-09T22:24:00.000Z

On Sunday 30th October 2000 me and my fellow film students mates Stu Crane and Arron McVitty travelled up to Trefil, Tredegar as film extras on this short powerful film The Last Post.

At the time Stuart called me to see if I be available to go on a film shoot as one extra couldn't make it. So I jumped at the chance and we all went in Stu's car.

At the time it was hammering down nothing new really but I remember telling Stu as we got on The Heads of Valleys Road (A465) to stay on the left side as the road is dodgy.

We arrived at this pub The Mountain Inn which was the production base. We were got dressed as British soldiers then sat down and got talking to the production chaperone "can't remember his name" but he was telling that he used to drive Richard and Judy to the This Morning studios. Also we met another extra who came all the way from North Wales. I remember that he was an inspiring actor.

The interesting thing about extra work is how sometimes you can remember the other extra, their stories, the production you work on, but by God I can never remember names.

Then the walkie talkie came, came on to say that the filmmakers are ready for the extras. So the chaperone had taken us to Trefil quarry which was a setting as the Falklands battlefield.

We met this military adviser named Rhydian who was this no nonsense adviser but he was fair. He quickly taught us the machine gun and safety etc. Once sorted we got into battle and all four of us me, Stu, Arron and the other extra crept through the big rock in the pouring rain shooting blanks.

I remember in one of the takes as the director said action the other extra accidently slipped and the barrell point of machine gun hit my ankle. All I can remember was I can hear a bang of machine guns shooting everywhere the first thing I thought was whether or not he shot my ankle as we all taken the safety off at the start off the take.

Then "cut" put safety back on and then check if I got a foot left.....? It was fine. Once the filmmakers had finished film we went back to The Mountain Inn and had a couple of drinks.

We all had a chat with the filmmakers writer and producer Lee Santana and his brother the director Dominic Santana. We talked about our film degrees and Lee and Dominic talked about their film schools being great but told us that after leaving Film school that it felt great that you can make a film without worrying about Eisenstein's, which I found inspiring.

They also told us about the short which was based on a true story about how the British soldiers had treated the Argentinian soldiers and sent photos to the dead soldiers loved ones.

Then we left to go back to Newport.

Two months later me and Stuart were invited to the Premiere at Leicester Square, we went in and watched the film. Great Film even though me and Stuart didn't see ourselves on the big screen which I can remember the director apologised for. Not big deal it was still a laugh.

I was only a few years later that I realised that Gael García Bernal international star of film like Bad Education, Babel, and Your Mother Too was in this film as the Argentinian soldier.

Overall I got great experience on working this short.

Richard Lester! Documentary by Stacy Cochran

2011-12-04T21:20:00.005Z

Last night I watched this great documentary on the great filmmaker Richard Lester the director of the classic Beatles movies A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help (1965) and more well known for directing the two Superman movies II & III. Also to mention he other films like The Knack (1965), Juggernaut (1974) and Robin and Marian (1976).

I always admired Lester's films especially The Beatles films by it's quickly paced editing, it surrealistic style and 60's hipness. I even like the Superman films which I know most people moan that he wrecked the Superman franchies after Richard Donner refuse to finished off Superman II due to creative conflicts with the producers. Ok it had comicals elements, so did Superman: The Movie.

What I like about this documentary, is how the filmmakers have stayed faithful and reference the style of Lester's film like at the start when Lester is meeting the crew and it looks like a big crew until as Lester's is shaking hands to the crew to reveal the crew at the back crept behind and pretend they another crew. I remember this joke from a scene from Help (1965).

I would highly recommend to watch this documentary.

Check it out now!

*Also check out this video from Youtube of Lester giving advice to filmmakers about not telling the audience giving their secrets about how they make their films

* Updated on 6th December 2007.

Ken Russell 1927-2011*

2011-11-29T21:19:00.002Z

A sad loss for British cinema Ken Russell was and is misunderstood as a visionary filmmaker. He directed great cinema like The Devils, Women In Love, Tommy and Altered States. Many people forget that without Tommy we would never seen Dolby Stereo at the end credits which most people believed it was Star Wars... Well Ken got there first.

Even his oddities like The Lair of The White Worm and Gothic has it got it moments and is better than any recent bad movie.

Trailer of Lair of The White Worm starring a young Hugh Grant.

I even liked Ken's final short film Kitten for Hitler and I had the pleasure of shaking Mr Russell's hand and had a brief chat about film making down at Newport three years ago. He was an inspiration to anyone who wants to be filmmaker. He asked me if I make films which I told him yes. He told me to keep at it even if you can't get funding from other sources, there is other ways.

I still remember when he told the audience that he tried to get funding for Kitten for Hitler from the film industry and that Melvyn Bragg told him that he never get the funding due to it's subject matter. In the end, he shot it in his back garden and it got made.

Here's a trailer of Ken's Hollywood film Altered States (1980)

I like to give my condolences to Mr Russell's family and friends, and we should celebrate the greatest British filmmaker. Looking forward in seeing the uncut of The Devils in February 2012 released by BFI. Check out the trailer.

Also check out Mark Kermode blog on Ken Russell.

www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/markkermode/2011/11/our_ken.html

*Updated on 5th December 2011.

Mark Williams - I've been everywhere

2011-11-27T20:09:00.001Z

Britain of Today

2011-11-19T22:44:00.005Z

Last saturday writer Tuesday Burgess asked me to film her and her children as part of Film scheme ran by Ridley scott's production company Scott Free which is called Britain of today.

The subject of had to set on the 12th November and to film anything from 00:00 to 23:59. So Tuesday wanted to filming on her and her children feeding the duck in Cwmbran.

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By John Charles: 31 DAYS OF HORROR: VIDEO NASTIES: THE DEFINITIVE G...

2011-10-31T21:08:00.003Z

Check out John Charles write up on Video Nasties.

By John Charles: 31 DAYS OF HORROR: VIDEO NASTIES: THE DEFINITIVE G...: October 31 VIDEO NASTIES: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE 2010, Nucleus, £24.99, PAL DVD-0 By John Charles Originally published i...

Hobo With A Shotgun

2011-10-31T20:56:00.001Z

Last night I bought a copy of Hobo With A Shotgun. I always been a big fan of Rutger Hauer right from the first film I ever watched him in Ladyhawke on cable TV then I watched classic films The Hitcher and the iconic Blade Runner. I always loved how charismatic he is, even his weaker films he made I always liked them because of Rutger.

Hobo With A Shotgun is an 80's grindhouse style movie about an ageing hobo (Rutger Hauer) who takes the law in his own hands. He goes round shooting from robbers, paedophilic Santa's to sadistic gangsters.

As always Rutger is excellent, the film is so off the wall with John Carpenter's overtones. As for grindhouse film it's better than Tarantino grindhouse epic Death Proof which I found overlong and not grindhouse enough.

Check out the website

www.cult-labs.com/hobo/

I Seen That Bridge Before: on set of The Murdoch Mysteries

2011-10-30T15:23:00.004Z

On the 31st August 1999*, I was on the set of the cult TV series Murdoch Mysteries which was set shot at Bristol.

Driving down from Trelewis to Bristol wasn't a problem, it was when the Sat-nav got confused and I drove a couple of block until I found it. It was a pain in the arse as I was ten minutes late, luckily enough the crew were cool.

At the time I wasn't familiar with this much loved Canadian TV series which when I got on set I noticed the avid fans came all the way from Newcastle to Bristol to watch the filming.

The one thing I can say is how nice the Canadian crew are. I call you their "friend", which when they needed me to walk past Yannick Bisson's Murdoch and Lisa Faulkner. The first assistant said "My friend, what's your name?

I replied John.

He then "John, all I want you to do is when Murdoch says, 'I seen that bridge before'. You walk past him".

And then says "Ok".

All I thinking was I never seen an first assistant so cool and easygoing. Usually the majority of 1st Assistant Director are usually short fused bastards with a Jekyll and Hyde complex.

As Normal the first assistant director shouts out "First in position", then he shouts says "Sound"

Soundman shouts out, "Sound rolling"

1st then shouts "Camera"

Cameraman shouts "Camera speed"

Mark It says 1st.

Just in case anyone wants to know what slate this scene this was? Well to be honest with you I don't know.

Well on the first take waiting for my cue for Murdoch talking to Lisa Faulkner's character, then... "I seen that bridge before". Then I walk past our eponymous hero he gets startled, as I keep walking... CUT!

Yannick asked if he can do the take again as I walked too soon. Yannick calls me "My friend, can you stamp your feet after he says "I seen that bridge before". I said yes ok.

So Take two and action. "I seen that bridge before". STAMP right foot and past Murdoch and his lady and kept walking until... CUT!

Yannick was happy and the director decided to have a a third take for safety. Take three. Action. I Seen that Bridge before, Stamp my feet walk past Murdoch keep walking until.... CUT. Piece of cake.

OK change from a posh Victorian gentleman into a working class worker with sideburns and a mustache as you can see

We filmed at some old Victorian street in Bristol which had to push a trolley past as Murdoch and some baddies pass.

Here is a since from the start where you should see me pushing a trailer while Murdoch is being chased by some bad people.

Later on us extras went on the bus to the city centre of Bristol and filmed by these step that's called "The Christmas Steps" which another chased scene which Murdoch is on a bicycle with Lisa Faulkner's stunt double cycling down on the step almost hitting us crowd. After that then it was home time.

Overall from what I remember about this day was it was great shoot to be in.

*I just realised after the last few weeks I written this blog, thank to a great friend Paul Higson, I typed an error at the start of the paragraph. I put the wrong year 1999 instead 2009. So my apologise.

Savage Islands aka Nate and Hayes (1983)

2011-10-10T21:48:00.003+01:00

I remember watching this unknown swashbuckling adventure, Nate and Hayes aka Savage Islands when I was eight years old when it was on Cable TV. I watched it recently how Pirates of the Caribbean has got the similar plot.

Ten years before he picked up his Oscar for The Fugitive (1993) Tommy Lee Jones who plays lead pirate Bully Hayes, Oscar nominated actor Michael O' Keefe (The Great Santini), plays the reverend's son Nathaniel Williamson, to fight the ultra-villainous, slave-trading pirate crew headed by bounty hunter, Ben Pease Max Phipps.

Hayes makes a living illegally selling weaponry to native islanders, but that's nothing compared to the misdeeds his ex-friend Pease has lately undertaken. After Pease's shipmates pillage and kill everyone related to Nate and his fiancé, Sophie (Jenny Seagrove), Bully Hayes springs to action, motivated by his own romantic interest in Sophie, which develops as the plot thickens. Nate and Hayes looks and feels like Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom, (even though Savage Islands was made a year earlier), with Disneyland-like island sets.

Watch this TV spot.

In my personal opinion Savage Island is very underrated as an a great action adventure film, Ok to some people it's not a classic, but too me it's bit of an underdog like it's hero Bully Hayes. It's fast paced, very well shot by underrated director of photography Tony Imi (Enemy Mine, Buster) and memorable music by Trevor Jones (Cliffhanger) not forgetting the script written by pre-Breakfast Club writer John Hughes. Tommy Lee Jones is very chrismatic as normal but the scene stealer is Max Philps who plays the evil Ben Pease.

I would highly recommend Savage Islands to anyone.

Industry My Arse: Steve Powell

2011-10-03T22:47:00.002+01:00

Industry My Arse: Steve Powell: Steve at his Martial Arts Academy, Manchester 2009. Photo Dave Beynon As a friend and colleague of the late Cliff Twemlow, Steve Pow...

SWEET REVENGE - an award winning short film

2011-09-14T22:35:00.001+01:00

Six years ago I shot this short film Down at Cardiff for this up and coming film company Panik Attak. this was Paul James aka Paul Jay first short as director and his brother Anthony James after making a couple of music video wrote and produced this short Sweet Revenge which was a one day shoot with two camera set-up.

Synopsis:

Directed by Paul James, 'Sweet Revenge' tells of an encounter between Sweet, a successful drug dealer, and Matt, the courier Sweet suspects is guilty of ripping him off.

Amanda Rackstraw

2011-09-11T12:24:00.001+01:00

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Industry My Arse: Trailer and synopsis

2011-09-03T21:57:00.001+01:00

As you all probably know I been writing bits of blogs on my adventures of interviewing filmmakers like Norman J Warren, Pete Walker and Cliff Twemlow.

For two years me and my good friend David Beynon have been developing this documentary for two years. Rather than just talking about making a documentary and not doing it. We decided to go for it and make a documentary about British indie filmmaking during the eighties era.

Industry My Arse: Trailer and synopsis: Industry My Arse teaser trailer from Dave Beynon on Vimeo . Contact us for password if needed, otherwise the trailer will be public Aug...

David Garland Jones

2011-08-31T14:05:00.001+01:00

Last year I shot this video with the great David Garland Jones who known for making the cult music video "It Seen Ruthin Yet". So check out the video of the great man mimicing Under Milk Wood..

Lou Noble

2011-08-24T22:12:00.001+01:00

Last year I shot this video at the Green Rooms, Treforest.
Check her website at http://www.lounoble.co.uk/

Jack Pascoe- Poet

2011-08-24T20:51:00.001+01:00

Here's is more footage that I filmed on August 2011 at The Green Rooms, near Pontypridd. This one features poet Jack Pascoe.