Stephen Gallagher's Blog, page 4
February 28, 2020
BAFTA omission (2)
That post from earlier this month, the one of me and the crew on the boat...
I found a few screen grabs from the film we were making. It was called Trick Shot. An over-ambitious mini-feature but my first crack at directing, made towards the end of my time working at Granada. It wasn't a Granada production, just a thing of my own involving everyone I could rope in and whatever facilities I could beg, borrow, or quietly make disappear for a while.
If you grew up in the North West, you may know some of these faces. Shot on Eastmancolor negative with processing and neg cutting at Manchester's Humphries Film Lab, now long gone. The film stock was sourced as a favour through the World in Action production office; a professional kindness in itself, and then the bill never came...
They say we learn from our mistakes, and I learned a lot. But it was enormous fun, and a serious step up in my education.
I found a few screen grabs from the film we were making. It was called Trick Shot. An over-ambitious mini-feature but my first crack at directing, made towards the end of my time working at Granada. It wasn't a Granada production, just a thing of my own involving everyone I could rope in and whatever facilities I could beg, borrow, or quietly make disappear for a while.
If you grew up in the North West, you may know some of these faces. Shot on Eastmancolor negative with processing and neg cutting at Manchester's Humphries Film Lab, now long gone. The film stock was sourced as a favour through the World in Action production office; a professional kindness in itself, and then the bill never came...
They say we learn from our mistakes, and I learned a lot. But it was enormous fun, and a serious step up in my education.
February 18, 2020
An Englishman Abroad
...or, Fool, Interrupted. The appearance online of an interview prompts me to a long-overdue blog post about one of the highlights of my 2019. The interview's further down this post and, be warned, I do go on a bit. It was filmed by Magnus Edgarsson on the deck of a floating hotel on the Fyris River, just a short stroll from the centre of Sweden's oldest university town. The interruptions came courtesy of distant dogs, other residents trucking through, and a far-off football match where things seemed to be going well for one side or the other.
I was in Uppsala at the invitation of The English Bookshop along with fellow writers Juliet McKenna, Steven Savile, and R J Barker. Together we played two panels to a packed house on Saturday evening. One was on crime and the other on fantasy, with the audience switching seats around in between.
It's a terrific bookstore, I have to tell you, a proper readers' paradise with a deep selection of new and backlist titles and tremendous support from its customer base. As a panel I felt we made a good lineup with a variety of angles and, dare I say it, what felt like a good team chemistry. On the Friday evening we were welcomed into the home of our hosts Jan and Isabella - old-style Swedish elegance and bookshelves to die for - and on the Saturday before the session we had a guided tour of the town. It has a long history but for me this comparatively recent feature resonated the most:
Saturday afternoon found us back on the boat taking our turns in front of Magnus' camera. The range of interviews can be found on his dedicated channel here, but this is mine:
On the Sunday before flying home, RJ was off signing stuff while Julia and I were given a walking tour of Stockholm by Swedish adoptee Steve Savile, all the main sights plus the bank where a siege gave rise to the term 'Stockholm Syndrome' and the stairs up which Olaf Palme's killer fled. I can't think of a better way to make a first-time visit.
Link: "This is the world's best bookstore and it's in Uppsala, Sweden"
I was in Uppsala at the invitation of The English Bookshop along with fellow writers Juliet McKenna, Steven Savile, and R J Barker. Together we played two panels to a packed house on Saturday evening. One was on crime and the other on fantasy, with the audience switching seats around in between.
It's a terrific bookstore, I have to tell you, a proper readers' paradise with a deep selection of new and backlist titles and tremendous support from its customer base. As a panel I felt we made a good lineup with a variety of angles and, dare I say it, what felt like a good team chemistry. On the Friday evening we were welcomed into the home of our hosts Jan and Isabella - old-style Swedish elegance and bookshelves to die for - and on the Saturday before the session we had a guided tour of the town. It has a long history but for me this comparatively recent feature resonated the most:
Saturday afternoon found us back on the boat taking our turns in front of Magnus' camera. The range of interviews can be found on his dedicated channel here, but this is mine:
On the Sunday before flying home, RJ was off signing stuff while Julia and I were given a walking tour of Stockholm by Swedish adoptee Steve Savile, all the main sights plus the bank where a siege gave rise to the term 'Stockholm Syndrome' and the stairs up which Olaf Palme's killer fled. I can't think of a better way to make a first-time visit.
Link: "This is the world's best bookstore and it's in Uppsala, Sweden"
February 3, 2020
August 30, 2019
August 27, 2019
Coming Events
I'll be at Whooverville XI this Saturday at The Quad in Derby; loads of good guests (and me) doing whatever it is guests do at Whooverville. I've been part of events at The Quad before and it's an excellent venue. Tickets here if you need them.Then September 14th, The English Bookshop in Uppsala, Sweden.
Please note that October's We Are Cult day in Manchester has been cancelled.
Whooverville Tickets
August 8, 2019
Spartans vs Dinosaurs
Seriously. What's not to like?
August 5, 2019
Upcoming Events
August 31st - at the end of this month - you should be able to find me in Derby for Whooverville, the Annual East Midlands get-together organised by Derby's local Doctor Who group.
The event will be held at the QUAD arts venue at Market Place, Cathedral Quarter, Derby. DE1 3AS. The impressive list of fellow guests includes Sarah Sutton and Sophia Myles.
And on September 14th I'll be chatting, reading, panelling, and doing whatever else may be required of me as a guest of The English Bookshop at Svartbäcksgatan 19, Uppsala, Sweden, in an event that will also feature authors R J Barker and Steven Savile, who first set the ball rolling.
The event will be held at the QUAD arts venue at Market Place, Cathedral Quarter, Derby. DE1 3AS. The impressive list of fellow guests includes Sarah Sutton and Sophia Myles.
And on September 14th I'll be chatting, reading, panelling, and doing whatever else may be required of me as a guest of The English Bookshop at Svartbäcksgatan 19, Uppsala, Sweden, in an event that will also feature authors R J Barker and Steven Savile, who first set the ball rolling.
June 21, 2019
William James: the new edition
The full wrap. Cover photograph by Joseph T Needles of Leadville, Colorado.
June 20, 2019
From The Brooligan Press in July
The first UK edition of Stephen Laws' cryptozoological novel Ferocity, and a second paperback edition of The Authentic William James. More information and links to follow.
June 18, 2019
The Collected Script Links
For convenience I've gathered together links for the scripts I've been making available for download over the past few weeks.
Scroll down through those earlier posts for background and context.
Desert Knights: The Birth and Early History of the SAS
BUGS: A Cage for Satan
BUGS: Renegades
Murder Rooms
Life Line
and, hosted elsewhere:
Eleventh Hour: Man Without a Shadow
Scroll down through those earlier posts for background and context.
Desert Knights: The Birth and Early History of the SAS
BUGS: A Cage for Satan
BUGS: Renegades
Murder Rooms
Life Line
and, hosted elsewhere:
Eleventh Hour: Man Without a Shadow
