Interview with Kurt Brokaw By David Kempf

Professor Kurt Brokaw has taught advertising courses at The New School for 32 consecutive years. He's senior film critic of The Independent and has taught film and literature courses at the 92nd Street Y for the past 14 years. He was an original "Mad Man" starting in 1961, and has been a copywriter and creative supervisor at three top-ten New York ad agencies as well as creative director at RCA Records. Kurt holds M.S.and B.S. degrees from The University of Wisconsin, and authored the trade bestseller, "A Night In Transylvania: The Dracula Scrapbook," a cross-cultural history of Dracula.



Interview with Kurt Brokaw By David Kempf

Tell us how you became interested in the Dracula legend.

Horror movies were a genre passion since writing for my Indianapolis high school newspaper 1952-56, and becoming the film reviewer for the U of Wisconsin student newspaper 56-61. My undergrad/grad majors were in advertising, and I migrated to Madison Avenue as a “Mad Man” for 30 years. One high spot was developing a television commercial for Vanish (bathroom cleaner) with master magician Harry Blackstone, Jr.
In ’75 I was on assignment for The Monster Times, a well-remembered fanzine in Manhattan, researching a long Transylvania travelog and Vlad Dracul history, and photographing all the key sites.

 Later that year, I was curating and hosting a film series in Scarsdale (north of Manhattan) called Preacher Features, with local ministers, priests and rabbis giving their take on art films. On impulse I decided to try a slide show with music plus a screening of “Horror of Dracula.” And instead of inviting a local clergy person, I invited Radu Florescu, the mainstream Dracula scholar along with Raymond McNally, to come down from Boston. To my astonishment he accepted, the local paper gave it a big play, and we sold out a huge community hall.

An editor from Grosset & Dunlap publishers was there, and tasked me to expand The Monster times travelog into a book-length exploration of the historical figure, plus Bram Stoker’s fictional legend and all nine yards of popular culture. That became “A Night in Transylvania: The Dracula Scrapbook,” launched in ’76 on the 500th anniversary of Vlad’s death, with an intro by Florescu and McNally. Their support plus friendships with Jeanne Youngson who ran The Count Dracula Society and The Vampire Empire in New York City, and Elizabeth Wilson, an eminent Dracula scholar based at the University of Newfoundland, helped the book enjoy healthy runs in hardcover and trade paper.


How much research on Dracula did you do before going to Transylvania?

The key texts were Florescu and McNally’s “In Search of Dracula” and their “Dracula: A Biography of Vlad the Impaler 1531-76.” A favorite film book was and is Lotte Eisner’s “The Haunted Screen” on early German cinema. And because I partly worked my way through college and early parenthood as a magician at children’s birthday parties, I studied The Vampire Block routines, a classic magic illusion that can entertain all ages. I’ve also watched automatons perform in the Robert Houdin museum in Paris as well as in Ricky Jay’s superb stage performances, and while these mechanical moving dolls aren’t vampires, they’re a kind of special Undead.


What is your favorite Dracula movie?

Hammer’s “Horror of Dracula” is the one I’ll revisit most often. “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” with Lugosi reprising Dracula turns up when my three grown daughters and son are visiting. (Even my wife will watch that one.) Werner Herzog’s “Nosferatu” with the inimitable Klaus Kinski still stays with me. My #1 contemporary vampire film remains Kathryn Bigelow’s “Near Dark” which my son initially recommended.


Name some of your other favorite horror films.

I reviewed “The Babadook” as senior film critic for The Independent (Independent-magazine.org) quite highly. Ti West’s “House of the Devil” has a teenage-girl-trapped-in-haunted-house sensibility that’s timeless. My Hammer favorites next to “Horror of Dracula” and “Brides of Dracula” are “Hound of the Baskervilles” with Cushing/Lee, and especially “Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde,” with Martine Beswick’s scream queen performance matching young Ralph Bates, who might have grown into another Cushing. “The Mad Magician” with Vincent Price in 3-D was a favorite magic horror. And Julie Adams’ 3-D lake swim in “Creature from the Black Lagoon” still gets my pulse racing.

Why do you think horror films remain popular?

Having unsuccessfully pushing around proposals for similar travel “Nights” books on Frankenstein and The Mummy, I’ve come to believe Dracula films combining sexuality with eternal life will always reign. Frankenstein is a bucket of bolts, and The Mummy is this entombed dusty geezer. But when Frank Langella played Dracula on Broadway against Edward Gorey’s super-stylized black-and-white set, and then mounted this poor trembling gal, opening his shirt and ripping a trail from his neck on down with a sharp fingernail, releasing little rivulets of bright red blood down his handsome bare chest, the audience actually gasped. It was as close to the Grand Guignol as Broadway’s ever gotten.

Also, Anthony Hopkins told me late one winter night after I’d watched him shoot an outdoor scene locally in bitter cold, and then invited me into his trailer for tea, that he could play Hannibal Lector more than once without endangering his career. This wasn’t always the case with actors, as Tony Perkins discovered doing the “Psycho” cycle. The late Don Westlake told my “Pulp Fiction” college class that his 1987 screenplay of “The Stepfather,” a serial killer outing, had big trouble casting the psychopathic lead (finally played by a fine Terry O’Quinn).

But audiences today are more flexible and enlightened, and thus big names can freely take on dicey roles that once would have been too risky. In 2010 Casey Affleck could play the sadistic, lunatic killer Lou Ford in Jim Thompson’s “The Killer Inside Me,” and six years later be up for an Oscar as the mopey loner in “Manchester by the Sea.”


What are your latest projects?

As I’m closing in on 80, I’ve found careers (teaching at The New School and 92nd Street Y, reviewing for The Independent, and collecting/selling 40s paperbacks and 30s/40s pulp magazines through much of my life) that jell. In these pursuits, age has never worked against me, and as I go from “old” to “ancient,” people assume there’s maturity, mystery and wisdom at work. It’s all misdirection and smoke-and-mirrors, but it’s helping keep me young even when everything but my head aches in the morning.


Please in your own words write a paragraph about yourself and your work.

I’ll turn it around a bit: Your interview with my nephew magician and inventor-builder of magic illusions Michael Baker is touching and satisfying. It was my pleasure to introduce young Michael to magic, "most of my beautifully airbrushed equipment was acquired in the early 1950s" and he made magic first his passion and then his lifelong career. I sit at his feet now and consider myself his student, so we’ve come full circle.

Links
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9823486-a-night-in-transylvania
http://www.newschool.edu/public-engagement/faculty-list/?id=4e6a-5935-4e67-3d3d
http://independent-magazine.org/authors/kurt-brokaw/

Competition: Win Fear The Walking Dead: The Complete Second Season

Fear The Walking Dead: The Complete Second Season is available on Blu-ray and DVD from 5th December, courtesy of Entertainment One - And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 2 copies on Bluray to give away.

Synopsis:
After witnessing the burning of Los Angeles, Madison, Travis, Daniel and their grieving families board the ‘Abigail’, still unaware of the true breadth and depth of the apocalypse that surrounds them.

But as Operation Cobalt goes into full effect and the military bombs the Southland to cleanse it of the Infected, the Dead are driven toward the sea. As the group head for ports unknown, they will discover that the water may be no safer than land.

Win This:
Fear the Walking Dead - Season 2 [Blu-ray]

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...


Competition Closed

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 12-12-16
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Interview with Michael Baker by David Kempf

Michael Baker is a talented magician who has combined two great things that go together - Magic and Halloween. Michael has brought back a classic magic trick The Vampire Block Escape. As an amateur magician, I really appreciate owning a great trick the way it was always meant to look. Now you can see for yourself why magicians in England and America are praising this talented artist.

When did you first become interested in magic?

I was about seven years old. I received a magic set for Christmas. After playing with it a bit, it found its way to my closet. My uncle saw it and decided to show me the cool magic that could be done with “my” stuff. I was hooked at that point.


How did you get involved in fantasy/horror themed tricks?

This probably started very early on, and very likely with a book called “Spooky Magic”. From a very young age, I loved Halloween, and all things monsters. Combining the two was a natural occurrence, and although I would include magic that leaned toward horror on occasion, I did not totally theme my shows in this way for quite a number of years.

How did you go about finding venues to perform?

This really began by getting known first as a magician. Aside from the inclusion of a horror or geek routine or two, the opportunity to work a full horror illusion show came much later when I was asked to become part of the entertainment at a large Halloween haunt in Birmingham, AL.

I worked this month-long venue for ten years. Once I had established myself, I then wrote a majority of the shows, created the illusions used, and built them and the stage sets. I had the opportunity to work with some other great acts, from fire dancers to sideshow freaks. Even though we built these shows on a shoestring budget (we wanted the majority of the paycheck going into our pockets!), it was a great opportunity to be very creative. In that regard, we were basically given carte blanc.


Tell us about your version of The Vampire Block Escape. 

The Vampire Block Escape is a classic trick. A wooden block is placed into a tube-like box, and locked in place by a spike that runs through the sides of both the box and the block. As I was increasing the list of items that I could build, I naturally wanted to include as many spooky Halloween effects as I could. But as with all the props that I make, I wanted to give the Vampire Block Escape my own spin.

Typically, these were a bit cartoony in appearance, either stenciled ghosts, bats, against a full moon. Every version I saw seemed more appropriate for kid shows. I wanted something a bit darker, and well, “cooler”. Giving the thing a more “Victorian goth” look was more in line with how most adults would envision a vampire, so I had to first give them a scarier vampire. A block with a bat just wasn’t going to cut it. I came up with the face, somewhat based on Nosferatu, and a bit of the vampire from “Salem’s Lot”. That’s a scary vampire!

The box (tube) needed to be more than a box with random spooky stuff painted on it. Even though it had to still be a square tube in order for the trick to work, I painted the front to resemble a toe-pincher coffin and gave the top a more gothic appearance. I had to opt for a slightly different method in order to pull off the look, and I think it all came together nicely. I have made these for several years, in three different sizes, and they continue to be popular sellers.


Is Halloween your busiest time of the year?

Regarding shows, when I was a full-time performer, it was definitely one of them. Working the haunt was actually easier than say, booking a month of shows at different venues, such as happened at Christmastime. Halloween was still quite busy, because I worked the haunt almost every night through the month, but I was still booking other shows during the day and early evenings.

These days, I do not try to book shows, as I am more of a magic builder now. But, I do still manage to get involved with a handful of Halloween events each year. As a builder, I have a busy time leading up to the holiday, as my line of Spooky/Halloween items sell well as other magicians add new magic to their own Halloween shows.


What are your favorite horror books?

I’ve never been much of a novel reader, but I am a huge fan of technical books. Books on special effects make-up, illusions that lean toward the horror themes, behind the scenes stuff on films, running haunted houses, and obviously, anything on the Spookshow masters like Bill Neff, and the Baker brothers (no relation).


What are some of your favorite horror movies?

First love is definitely the classic Universal Monsters. I also love the Hammer Films Dracula series with Christopher Lee. I saw most of those at our local Saturday Horror matinee. But, I will always have a place in my heart for the older B horror movies. Our local TV had a Saturday midnight monster show called, “Acri Creature Feature”. As young teens, my brother and I were even on that show as “Creeps of the Week”. To us kids of that era, this was akin to winning the World Series of horror.


What do you consider your greatest accomplishment as a magic/ illusion designer?

I think just being able to make a 30+ year career doing what I love is accomplishment enough. All the milestones along the way are just part of that bigger picture.
             

Do you have any advice for new magicians?

Read books. Read books about magic. Read about the tricks, and read about the history. The current trend is to find info online and learn “visually” via video. While there is some good info to be found that way, I feel that books give the magic student a higher level of learning. (Forgive the following gender-specific statements. Both male and female are assumed inclusive.)

The reason is simple. When a magician reads a book to learn a trick, he has no choice but to envision himself in the role of the protagonist. He automatically imparts some of his own character into that role. From that point on, the magic comes from within, and is part of his soul.

When a magician learns a trick by watching a video, he adopts a role of mimicking the person he sees on the video. He becomes an imitation of that other magician, and risks never bringing forth the magic from within himself.
     

What impact has the internet had on revealing the secrets to magic tricks?

The arguments are relative. Years ago, magicians were all up in arms over books that exposed magic tricks. Decades later it was the video that became the demon. Now, it is the internet. Of course, with the internet, information travels further and faster. But, the amount of information increases proportionately. The information regarding magic is out there for anyone to find it, but by and large, the only people finding it are those interested in magic, and perhaps a few bored people who haven’t yet settled in on better ways to occupy their time. There may be a few of those out there who want to bust the magicians, but most normal people won’t waste their time, and still prefer to be entertained by magic.

The one true problem with magic on the internet is that anyone can post anything, without any governing on quality. There is going to be a lot of crap, but it’s really a bell curve, I think. The bad is balanced by the really good stuff, but most is going to fall somewhere in between.

The way I see it is, most people feel more comfortable in any conversation if they know something about the topic at hand. When the lay public encounters magic on the internet, it gives them more of a reason to engage me in conversation. I see it as opening doors that may not open by themselves.

What are your current projects?

Right now, it’s a balance between working on standing requests and exploring new items to make. My business is the epitome of a cottage industry. Because I work from my home, in a very small workshop, I am limited by how much I can produce at any given time. If I make an item that proves popular, it typically sells out and then I get requests to make more.

But, I don’t want to simply crank out the same stuff day after day. I could get a job in a factory and do that. In order to satisfy the artist in me, I have to be creative. I have to work on new projects that I find interesting. Fortunately, I have been able to do a lot of that. One of my customers, who is also now a very good friend, has over 200 different items that I have made. I don’t think too many other builders can say that… at least they aren’t that crazy! Ha!


Please in your own words write a paragraph about yourself & your work. 

If I was to describe myself, it would be to say that I am an artist at heart. I have reinvented myself a few times in my life and explored different vehicles by which to express my art. My early career aspirations were to 1) be a chef with my own restaurant. I then became 2) a performing magician. Now, I am 3) a builder of high quality magical apparatus (fancy term for trick boxes). In all cases, I think I have been successful, even if only as a big fish in several small ponds.

Links:

http://themagiccompany.com

Competition: Win All Through The House on DVD

All Through The House is released on DVD November 21st And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on DVD to give away.

Synopsis:
Fifteen years ago, a peaceful Christmas neighborhood was engulfed by fear when five-year-old Jamie Garrett was mysteriously taken from her bedroom never to be seen again. Now on Christmas break, Rachel Kimmel comes home from college to find her neighborhood struck again by a reign of terror.

A violent killer is hiding behind a grisly Santa mask, leaving a bloody trail of slaughtered women and castrated men to the steps of the Garrett house. Rachel finds herself in a horrifying nightmare as she discovers the twisted secret behind the mask.

Win This:
All Through The House [DVD]

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...


Competition Closed

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 02-12-16
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Film News (UK): Horror Channel to broadcast eleven film premieres for November

Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138 / Freeview 70

Horror Channel will be screening eleven weekend film premieres this month, including the UK TV premieres of Brandon Cronenberg’s darkly disturbing skin crawler ANTIVIRAL, Tommy Wirkola’s crowd-pleasing, carnage-driven DEAD SNOW 2: RED  VS DEAD, Jon Knautz’s demonic gem THE SHRINE, Tyler Shields’s stylish mash-up of Scream and La Femme Nikita, FINAL GIRL, and Ben Kital’s underground possession thriller BENEATH.

There are also network premieres for Matthias Hoene’s ultra-splatter comedy horror COCKNEYS VS ZOMBIES starring Michelle Ryan, Wes Craven’s demented classic THE HILLS HAVE EYES, Leigh Janiak’s acclaimed HONEYMOON starring Harry Treadaway and Rose Leslie, John Grissmer’s gloriously gruesome slice of ‘80s slasher, BLOOD RAGE, Steve Miner’s hilarious cult favourite HOUSE, and Eugenio Martin’s Spanish/British train-terror, HORROR EXPRESS, which stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Telly Savalas.


Full details of premieres in transmission order:

Fri 4 Nov @ 21:00 – COCKNEYS VS ZOMBIES (2012) * Network Premiere
 
There’s Geezer Gore galore in what director Matthias Hoene calls Evil Dead 2 meets Withnail & I. Workers on a Docklands building site uncover a burial ground sealed up in 1666. However some of the corpses aren’t Brown Bread at all, and before you know it London’s East End is infested with hungry zombies. Can bank robber brothers Terry and Andy Macguire get to the Bow Bells Care Home, run by their granddad, in time to rescue everyone? The Raspberry Ripples are under siege with only their Zimmer frames and wheelchairs to kick some zombie Khyber Pass. Would you Adam and Eve it? Richard Briars and Honor Blackman are amongst a sparkling Brit cast.


Sat 5 Nov @ 22:50 – HORROR EXPRESS (1972) *Network Premiere

Alexander Saxton (Christopher Lee), a British anthropologist researching in the Russian Far East, boards the Trans-Siberian Express with his latest discovery, a frozen specimen he hopes to prove is the missing link. But passengers begin to turn up dead, and terror engulfs the train as Saxton and his partner, Dr. Wells (Peter Cushing), struggle to contain a mysterious -- and increasingly murderous -- force with the power to control minds.


Sun 6 Nov @ 21:00 – ANTIVIRAL (2012) *UK TV Premiere

In a dystopian near-future, Caleb Landry Jones stars as Syd, a haunted young man employed by a corporation which markets celebrity viruses. His employer has an exclusive licensing arrangement with the world's biggest female star, Hannah Geist (Sarah Gadon). One day Syd is given the important job of picking up a sample of a new disease she has. Obsessive and addictive, Syd injects himself with it and finds that the sickness he shares with Hannah is more serious than he thought. Also stars Malcolm McDowell.


Fri 11 Nov @ 22:55 – THE SHRINE (2010) *UK TV Premiere

Three reporters sneak off to an isolated Polish village, eager to investigate the disappearance of a backpacker. They arrive on European soil to find hostile villagers and a strange fog hovering over the neighbouring forest. A foray into the woods leads to the discovery of a horrific artefact and the unfolding of equally horrific events. This is demonic forces, served up European style.


Sat 12 Nov @ 22:45 – THE HILLS HAVE EYES (1977) *Network Premiere

Wes Craven followed his compelling cult classic The Last House on the Left with this violent morality tale about a bloody war of attrition between two families. The Carters travel across the Californian desert in search of an inherited silver mine. Stranded in the middle of a former nuclear testing site, their attempts to find help lead them into the territory of a savage family of cave-dwelling cannibals. No one is spared from the ensuing nightmare as the family's "values" are clearly drawn and anything goes in a race to survive.


Sun 13 Nov @ 21:00 – FINAL GIRL (2015) *UK TV Premiere

Ever since she was a young girl, Veronica has been groomed by her mentor to become a lethal assassin, with her sights set on devil-may-care murderers who think they are above the law. Her latest targets are a pack of wild child American Psychos who love nothing more than hunting distressed female prey in the woods. But when the wolf pack is manipulated into picking Veronica as their latest victim, they learn pretty fast they chose the wrong girl. Famed photographer Tyler Shields makes an impressive feature debut.


Fri 18 Nov @ 21:00 – BENEATH (2013) *UK TV Premiere

When environmental lawyer Samantha (Kelly Noonan) returns to her childhood home to celebrate her coal mining father George's (Jeff Fahey) retirement, she is persuaded into volunteering to work with him in the mine on his last day. When drilling triggers a cave-in, panic starts to set in. As they frantically search for a way out, something unknown seems to take over their bodies one by one, causing them to strike out against one another violently. Is there something truly evil down below, or is it all in their minds?


Sat 19 Nov @ 23:00 – HOUSE (1986) *Network Premiere

A cult horror comedy that went on to spawn three sequels, Roger Cobb (William Katt) is a best-selling novelist trying to get over the end of his marriage and the mysterious disappearance of his son. When Cobb’s aunt commits suicide, the author moves into her home. Initially, he enjoys the solitude, however he soon begins to realise that the house is haunted. Eventually the evil zombies in the house force Roger to endure a harrowing journey into his past…


Sun 20 Nov @ 21:00 – HONEYMOON (2014) *Network Premiere

Young newlyweds Paul and Bea travel to a remote, romantic lake in the country for their honeymoon. Shortly after arriving, Paul finds Bea wandering in the forest for no apparent reason. As her behaviour gets increasingly peculiar, he begins to suspect something more sinister than sleepwalking took place deep in the woods. Harry Treadaway (Control) and Rose Leslie (Games of Thrones) give captivating performances as a couple taking new love to disturbing depths.


Fri 25 Nov @ 22:45 – DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS DEAD (2014) *UK TV Premiere

Director Tommy Wirkola improves on his Nazi zombie original in clever ways that don’t betray the core conceit of witty and heartfelt non-stop action. Sole survivor Martin crashes his getaway car in the mountains after fighting SS officer Herzog for control of the vehicle. Waking up in hospital Martin discovers he's blamed by police for all his friends' murders, and he's had Herzog's severed arm attached to his shoulder by mistake, meaning he now has the zombie creating power; something which will come in use when Herzog's dead army advances towards the small town of Tarvik.


Sat 26 Nov @ 23:00 – BLOOD RAGE (1987) *Network Premiere

Twins Todd and Terry seem like sweet boys - until one of them takes an axe to the face of a fellow patron at the local drive-in. Todd is blamed for the bloody crime and institutionalised, whilst twin brother Terry goes free. It’s now ten years later, and as the family gathers around the table for a Thanksgiving meal, the news comes in that Todd has escaped. But has the real killer in fact been in their midst all along? One thing’s for sure; there will be blood and rage! Shot in 1983 but not released until 1987, the cult classic was re-cut and shown in theatres as Nightmare at Shadow Woods.

TV: Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138 | Freeview 70
www.horrorchannel.co.uk | twitter.com/horror_channel | facebook.com/horrorchannel

Interview with James Moran

James Moran (born 5 March 1972) is a British screenwriter for television and film, who wrote the horror-comedy Severance.

He works in the horror, comedy, science-fiction, historical fiction and spy thriller genres.

“Who the hell wouldn’t want to see Alan Ford smashing Zombies to bits?”

Ahead of the Horror Channel’s network premiere of COCKNEYS VS ZOMBIES on Friday 4 November, 9pm, writer and self-confessed genre junkie James Moran  reflects on the making of the film, writing a new Zombie script and why the original Dawn of the Dead is his favourite Zombie film.


Q: What movie did you see growing that inspired you to become a writer?

JAMES: It all started with Doctor Who, which I've been watching since before I can remember - I used to sit and watch the entire end credits to see what all the names and jobs were, and made up my own stories to fit into the show. Later, I watched a lot of "making of" shows, that explained how the effects were done, the stunts, showed the directors on set - that made me want to get into the movies because it seemed like so much fun. The first movie that made me aware of the writing was A Nightmare on Elm Street (I was WAY too young to watch it, but did anyway), because it was the first horror movie I'd seen which allowed the victim to fight back, and fight back really well. It opened my mind and made me realise, I can tell stories in any way I want.


Q: Where did the idea of Cockneys Vs Zombies come from?

JAMES: Matthias Hoene, the director, had a title and a pitch, and really wanted to make a funny zombie movie with no-nonsense Cockneys dealing with the supernatural shenanigans in typically down to Earth ways. He and the producers asked me to write the script, but I was too busy in TV at the time. A year later, they had a script but wanted to go in a new direction, so asked me to start again from scratch. I went back to his initial pitch, approached them with some ideas I felt strongly about, they liked what I'd thought of, and I went from there.


Q: Did it change much from first draft to the final version?

JAMES: Not very much - there were a few more characters that got trimmed to save time, and for a film that's already got tons of characters, it initially had several more! One of the pensioners got combined with another one, and two more hostages got deleted because they didn't affect the plot (an excellent reason to cut anything). But mostly it stayed pretty much the same, just got tighter.


Q: Were you restricted by budget?

JAMES: Not in my head! I just went full on one thousand percent, assuming that for every five ideas I threw in, one or two would survive. I didn't think for a minute that everything would be achievable, there are always things cut out for budget reasons, so I made sure to overstuff it with mayhem so that there'd be plenty left. But they managed to do everything within the budget, I was amazed. The only thing we couldn't do was a bus crash, but it ended up being a funnier joke anyway, so I'm happy.

Q: The cast is amazing; did you write with anyone in mind?

JAMES: Alan Ford. Right from my very first meeting with Matthias, James and Mark (the producers) I said they absolutely had to get Alan Ford, because who the hell wouldn't want to see him smashing zombies to bits?! Also the storyline I'd come up with required a cool granddad character, and I wrote it for him from the very first line. I didn't know who else would play the other parts, and I was massively surprised every time there was a new casting decision, I kept asking if the actors had read the script or if the producers had tricked them into it... But I like to think I write fun parts to play, so even the smaller roles have something cool or crazy for the actors to do. I'm incredibly honoured that they took the roles and enjoyed them.


Q: Are you a writer who likes to be on set or once you’ve written your script you let the director “do what they want” with it?

JAMES: I like to be on set, but am very respectful of the director's authority - you have to have one person in charge, and I'm not one of those writers who stands there coughing if anyone changes a word, I'm just there to watch and help if I'm needed, or just enjoy the show if I'm not. I try to be there for big dialogue days in case the director or actors want some line changes or alternate options, which happened a couple of times. I'm not precious about the lines, we're all there to make a good movie, and that's my priority.


Q: Would you like to return to the zombie genre?

JAMES: Definitely! I've got another zombie script floating around that I'm hoping we can get made soon, and if something else came along in that genre and felt right, I'd jump at it. I've always, always, always wanted to make a zombie movie, I love them.


Q: What’s the best zombie movie ever made and do you prefer runners or walkers?

JAMES: Dawn of the Dead, the original (although I love the remake too, they both exist as their own movies and do different things). The original is glorious. I have nothing against runners, but I prefer walkers. Walkers are way scarier because they seem silly at first, but they'll wear you down, quietly, you won't even know there's one behind you until it's taken you down. You think you've found a hiding place, you think you've got away, but they'll just keep coming, and coming, and coming, shuffling towards you, gaining in number, and they'll always - ALWAYS - get you in the end.


Q: You’ve written for a number of different mediums but which do you prefer?

JAMES: They each have their pros and cons, I love them all in different ways. With TV, you get the thrill of knowing that tons of people are watching your show right now, at exactly the same time. With movies, you get to sit in a room full of people and see, hear and *feel* their reaction. With comics, you get an unlimited visual fx budget. With the web, you get instant feedback and see exactly where your audience is. They're all fun, because I get to make up stories for a living. With this screening of Cockneys on the Horror Channel, I get the best of the TV and film worlds, because it's a movie I wrote going out on TV! I'm very honoured it's playing on the Horror Channel, where it belongs.


Q: So, what are you working on at the moment?

JAMES: Mina Murray's Journal, a modernised vlog-style adaptation of Dracula, with Mina and Lucy as the heroes - I'm calling it a Vladaptation... The first season is online now, at www.minasjournal.com. We're still taking Connie around to festivals, that's a short film written & directed by my partner Cat Davies, we produced together, and I edited. I wrote episode 3 of the current series of Eve on CBBC, I've got another couple of shorts I want to direct, a couple of features in the pipeline, and a TV series in development.

Cockneys Vs Zombies is on Horror Channel, Fri 4 Nov, 9pm.

Links
http://jamesmoran.blogspot.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/JamesMoranWriter

Full Movie (USA Only) - Death Wish 3 (1985) - From The Paramount Vault

When architect-turned-vigilante Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) returns to New York City, he discovers that one of his friends has been murdered by gang members. After the cops bring Paul in for questioning, he receives a tempting offer from the police chief (Ed Lauter) : Paul can have free rein to eliminate the gangsters, as long as the police get the credit. Paul agrees and goes to war against Manny Fraker (Gavan O'Herlihy) and his vicious gang of thugs.

Interview with Judy Vamp-Shire By David Kempf

Judy Vamp Shire is also known as The Devils Daughter. The Devils Daughter is the Title Song from Judy's 2012 EP. The EP was Judy's 1st recording of her unique genre of Vamp Rock.

She has followed the EP with an Album Titled Beyond Imagination which was release on 8 October 2013. Judy Vamp-Shire and her Band perform at private and public events.

Judy is currently working on a new TV Horror Show called Nightmares From The Vampires Lair, where she is Hosting Horror Movies. Judy can also be made available for Recording, Touring, TV, Film and other interesting and professional viable projects, with other Bands and industry professionals.

Interview with Judy Vamp-Shire By David Kempf

Tell us how you became involved in performing.

I was in a pub in the UK when I bumped into my gynaecologist, like one does! Who was with a friend of his, this blonde Adonis of a guy with a strong pulse which attracted my Vampire instinct. He was in the music business, we hit it off and he became my boyfriend. Anyway at that time I had never sung or performed in any professional way, I think my biggest gig was in the shower by myself! I just enjoyed singing around the house to myself and never thought making a career out of singing. When he heard me singing he was blown away with my voice but never encouraged me to take up singing as a profession because after 20 years in the business he knew just how hard it is to get anywhere regardless of the talent! So moving on we travelled to the USA a lot where he had many friends and I started singing at private parties for some of them. The word spread and I got more and more offers of work, that's how my career started off performing as a singer.

How did you come up with your vampire persona? 

I have always been a Vampire in my private life. But going back in time Vampires were not very well received in normal everyday life and the Gothic lifestyle people associate with it was also not well received in the early days! So it was more the reverse I came up with a sort of nice girl from next door image on the outside and was living a Vampire lifestyle behind closed doors! Being a very private person I liked to blend in with my surroundings so as to go unnoticed.

As my singing career developed I found myself being marketed as a posh sophisticated Jazz/Blues Singer doing up market gigs many in castles and stately homes for wealthy clients. The lifestyle was great but it was not the real me! Meanwhile the interest in Vampires through movies became huge, so one day I said to my management. I want to stop what I'm doing and I want you to erase my musical past. I’m going to come out and let the World see who I really am. Create a new genre of Rock music called Vamp Rock, make a Vamp Rock Album of original songs with lyrics about my world and life. Bring my private Vampire life into my public life and be myself. That is what I did back in 2013 and to my surprise people actually liked me for what and who I am, a Vampire. So the answer to this question as you can see is I did not come up with my Vampire persona, I was always that person.

Tell us about some of your influences. 

This is hard question to answer because generally I'm not influenced by anything.  My music is not influenced by any other band or singer I can put my finger on. I love most music perhaps Rock, Blues and Jazz the most, but I also like any good music regardless of the genre. I have great admiration for artists like Gary Moore, Dave Gilmour, Santana, Joe Bonamassa, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Lemmy and B B King. Bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Aero-smith and Bon Jovi. Singers like Barbra Streisand and Judy Vamp-Shire!Barbra Streisand

My life style is obviously influenced by Vampires, Gothic, Black Magic, The DarkSide, Horror and much more. But i’m my own person with a unique blend which I don’t attribute to any one thing! I am the missing link between good and bad, light and dark. I have an immense amount of love and good to give and yet i’m living in a dark, gothic almost twilight zone


Do you enjoy introducing the world of horror to more viewers? 

Yes, I do, yet in a way thats I hope unique to me. I try to make horror a thing that's frightening in a good way, scary in a fun way. Where evil is good and good is evil! I have got fans of all religions, many devout in their religious beliefs, that accept me for who I am and genuinely love me. Even though i’m not of their faith and in many ways the last person you would expect them to have anything to do with! So horror and myself have built a bridge I would never have thought possible. So yes I love introducing the world of horror.


What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment as an artist so far?

Probably to have survived being in the music and now tv business without ruining my life with drink or drugs. To get through the rollercoaster of being and artist is my greatest accomplishment. A close second is my Album beyond Imagination, 10 original songs that tell a story about my world. And a third if it's ok to list 3 accomplishments as my greatest overall Accomplishments? To have the opportunity to Host Horror Movies as myself a genuine chick from the dark side!


Name some of your favourite horror books.

I very rarely have time to read books but from memory I think The Devil Rides Out was my favourite fictional horror book.

I have some books on black magic hand written in blood and a book of spells also hand written in blood which I think you can call horror books, they are all my favourites.


Name some of your favourite horror films.

I enjoyed Dracula Untold, thats a favourite and also love many of the old Hammer House Of Horror films. Actually being a Horror freak I love most horror films even the low budget crap films. In fact there are so many I love, i’m having a problem naming my favourite horror films, so lets say most of them!


Why do you think horror remains popular?

People all have a fascination for horror. Maybe it's a genetic thing going back hundreds, perhaps thousands of years when the night was a time to fear, superstition was the reality of life and anything that could not be explained was generally feared. These days horror is an escape from the modern world we live in. Where we can experience the fear without the danger? The dark has a primeval lure which is horror and thats what makes it so popular!


What are your latest projects?

I am currently finishing off filming my new tv show called Nightmares From The Vampires Lair where I am hosting classic horror movies a bit like Elvira did years ago. This time it's being done by a genuine Vampire and what you will see is the real me complete with my quirky ways and sense of humour.
I also have 2 other tv projects on offer for 2017 and my management are looking into getting me on tour with my band in the USA during 2017.


Please in your own words write a paragraph about yourself & your work.

I am Judy Vamp-Shire a blood loving sex crazed Vampire making a living as a Vamp Rock singer and now a TV Hostess earning just enough money to pay for my spooky old ruin of a home, feed my wolf dog Vamplena and pay for the vets fees for Vamplena and my collection of bats which total around 300. I drive a black BMW Z4 which was the most Vampire looking sport car I could find and a black turbo charged Volvo estate/station waggon, that looks like a funeral hearse which I use to transport Vamplena my wolf dog. Within my home I surround myself with a collection of weird things, skulls, skeletons, things related to magic, mystery, horror, vampires, legends, unusual gothic artefacts and other secret things I cannot tell you about! My music is my own genre I call Vamp Rock which is a mix of atmospheric Rock ballads and high energy Rock music all with lyrics about me, my life, vampires, witches, black magic and the dark side. My new tv work has me currently working on a show hosting horror movies from my vampires lair and other unusual spooky places. With 2 other new tv opportunities on offer for 2017 for which I cannot give details yet, but I can tell you they encompass things related to my lifestyle and music. They will be exciting, mysterious and nothing like you have seen me do before and I can’t wait to get my fangs stuck into them!

Links to my website, social media, music and tv:
http://www.judyvampshire.rocks
http://www.facebook.com/judyshire
http://www.youtube.com/judyshire 
http://www.facebook.com/judy.shire.7
http://www.twitter.com/judyshire1
http://www.reverbnation.com/judyshire
http://www.instagram.com/judyvampshire
http://www.internet-tv.rocks

Competition: Win Darling on DVD

Darling is out now on DVD. And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on DVD to give away.

Synopsis:
A lonely girl’s violent descent into madness.

Hired as the caretaker of a large mansion in New York, an unnamed young woman soon discovers its haunted reputation and troubled history. Bored and left to her own devised for extended periods of time, she slowly goes insane.

A chilling black-and-white horror playing homage to the classics, starring Lauren Ashley Carter, Sean Young and Larry Fessenden.

Mickey Keating (Director, Producer)

Win This:
Darling [DVD] [2016]

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...


Competition Closed

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 07-11-16
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Competition: Win The Lighthouse on DVD

The Lighthouse is released on DVD October 31st. And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on DVD to give away.

Synopsis:
THE LIGHTHOUSE follows Thomas Howell and Thomas Griffith’s disastrous posting to Smalls Island Lighthouse to ‘keep the light’ 25 miles from land and surrounded by the deadly Irish Sea.

The men are stranded in a freak storm that rages for months, nothing short of an act of God. The film tells a tale of death, madness and isolation; a desolate trip into the heart of human darkness.

Cast: Michael Jibson, Mark Lewis Jones, Ian Virgo, Stephen McDade, Jason May, Nathan Sussex

Win This:
The Lighthouse [DVD] [2016]

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...


Competition Closed

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 07-11-16
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.