07 June 2009
These news updates are fairly
sporadic. I probably blog too much as it is, with my current
academic research dealt with
elsewhere
(albeit obliquely by necessity), and various social networking
portfolios keeping various bodies of friends and colleagues informed
of the day to day activities, there seems little to need to repeat
myself here. My more pressing public engagements are advertised on
this site anyway.
That said, there have been a few events
lately which merit mention. I've been back on the radio a couple of
times, most recently to promote the Dublin One City One Book
festival which this year was all about Dracula. Having been
involved in the Irish Film Institute's plans for a Dracula movie
weekend from a fairly early stage, I was delighted and honoured to
take part in the panel discussion at the IFI in April alongside an
illustrious group of experts in the field. The session was recorded
and has been released as part of my Box of Obfuscation
podcast.
The Box of Obfuscation meanwhile
is growing in scope, and with several episodes for our second series
already published, and others in preparation this could be an
excellent series. I'd still love to get some proper sponsorship and
better equipment, but for a free programme we're growing well. I've
also decided to drop the "Avalard's" prefix because of the number of
voices I now have contributing. Whilst I'm still the host, I'm
freeing up the structure a lot, and encouraging the input of others.
This should keep it fresh, interesting and help spread the workload
(I simply can't write/produce/direct/host and keep on all my other
paid work - at least not while I'm not getting reimbursed for the
podcast).
Biggest news of the month, is in the
field of publishing. I have a book of my own long overdue (it is
coming, honest!), but I've been asked to edit another film-related
tome from a name author, and have readily agreed. Contracts are
still to be signed off, but the agreement has been made verbally,
and I'm thrilled to be asked. All being well, it should be finished
by the end of the summer, and its a wonderful opportunity and a very
promising text. I'll post more about that as and when I can.
I've also been reading a few scripts
lately. Some people do this for a living, not sure that I'd want to,
but I do enjoy the experience and the opportunity to work with
someone else for a change. From gentle suggestions down to
full-blown demands for change, it is a difficult process and dare I
say it, a delicate one. Between the script-reading and the book
editing I'm starting to feel like I'm returning to where I started
in the literary field as I used to do reading and editing for a
couple of friends back when I started university. We all fell out,
and I got caught up in my own little attempts with scriptwriting and
acting and directing, before leaving most of it behind. I think it
important to keep your hand in though, and I'm probably a better
editor than a writer (certainly with fiction) - better at working
with something from someone else than on my own material. As such
I'm very much available to do more of it.
As a final note, and a bit of a downer
unfortunately, my audio/radio project looks like it might be going
nowhere. There's a project outline, and notes on a series of six or
so half-hours (maybe 45 mins.), and a rough draft of a pilot. I had
a couple of very promising meetings in London about this before
being declined. Not really sure what to do with it now, or if it is
even worth bothering with at all. Quite possibly just being based in
Belfast worked against me on this. Who can say, but I see all manner
of shite commissioned all the time - and conceptually at least I
feel this is a good project. The show isn't over yet, but for now
the future isn't good for it.
09 November 2008
Where has the year gone? The
smell of cinnamon is in the air, the Starbucks cups have turned red,
and the ambient temperature has dropped several degrees. Yes folks,
Christmas is nearly upon us.
I've been back on the radio in the last
week, which was fun. I'm itching to do something more substantial
though. I quite fancy contributing to or presenting my own show
related to cult film and television. If any producers are reading
and you fancy trying me out, drop me an email. In the meantime I'm
working on a new series of podcasts which will take some of the
material that I want to do. The first of these is now online, an
adaptation of (an admittedly slightly academic) presentation I made
in Dublin in September. You can find out more about the podcast and
links to subscribing on
itunes from:
http://avalard.blogspot.com
Most exciting in the last few weeks was
spending time in Donegal and Dublin on the set of a certain new
horror film which I can't really talk too much about. It was
a very special experience, and one which I'm thrilled at having had.
Chatting to cast and crew, and generally observing. Managed to miss
my chance to be an extra several times which was a bit of a shame.
However, I was there to work... I've a couple of substantial
interviews recorded which should make their way into the public
arena in due course. Hoping to follow those up locally soon...
Needing to find a new outlet for my
thoughts and writing, and preferably in a paid arena. I've done so
much free work over the years, its finally got on top of me. Bills
need to be paid, and I'm faced with the prospect of refocusing my
attentions. All offers of commissions seriously considered....
18 October 2008
The last few months have proved
as hectic and varied as usual, and a series of talks and private
commissions have given me little time for an update here. I'm in
dire need of a holiday at the moment and a complete change with my
regular place of employment (like the poet Philip Larkin before me,
I work part-time as a librarian in order to pay the bills whilst my
brain tries to create).
For the last couple of months I've been
acting as DP on a short film shoot for a friend. The desire to get
behind the camera overriding anything else. Shooting with JVC HDV
cameras in natural daylight. A long and at times stressful process.
In the last week I've been able to compare that with a more
professional shoot as I spent several days in Donegal on research
with a feature film crew - painfully slow, but largely much the same
approach as ourselves. Except with some cash and professional
actors!
I've also recorded an interview for BBC
Radio Scotland about Hammer's new film The Wake Wood which
went out in September, and seperately was filmed in London for a dvd
documentary on classic Hammer (I'm told the disc should be out
within the next few weeks).
One of my drawings will be adorning the
cover of a poetry anthology soon, which has given me a new found
respect for that part of my work. The next few weeks also look busy
with work on two books, a talk at the QFT in Belfast on Hammer
horror, a trip to England for Ingrid Pitt's annual birthday bash
amongst the offerings.
I've also started work officially on my
PhD, which I'm doing out of Trinity College Dublin. Its a huge
research challenge, particularly with it being an archive-based
historical study, and I'm not one of the privileged few who gets
their course funded. Still, an interesting challenge and well
underway...
02 January 2008
Another new year upon us and the
diary is already starting to fill up. Most pressing is the
ongoing work on my Hammer book, a couple of commissioned articles
and introduction to prepare for the screening of documentary Crude
Awakening at the QFT on 21st January.
As part of the Queen's University Belfast Open Learning programme,
I'm teaching two film courses over five weeks between the end of
April and the start of June. Registration isn't for a while yet, but
anyone interested should drop me an email. The first is an
abbreviated version of the "Hammer Horror and the British Film"
course, originally planned for last September - we simply didn't get
the numbers last time. The second is a five week examination of
Citizen Kane, taking in a number of historical and critical
perspectives.
In between all this I'm moving house,
and back to Belfast on a permanent basis. I've been commuting for
the last few years and I've finally had enough....
08 December 2007
I've been kept busy in
recent weeks with a hectic schedule. On 17 November we were in
London for Ingrid Pitt's fan club reunion and birthday bash. I was
honoured to be invited as a special guest along with the likes of
Caroline Munro, James Herbert, and Kate O'Mara. And even more
pleased when Ingrid mentioned me in her weekly column for
DenofGeek.
The following weekend I was in Birmingham along with the HammerShop
team, with my brother Jonny enlisted for his first convention
experience. Whilst there I was delighted to meet with several of the cast
and crew of new Hammer production
Beyond the Rave.
Last week I took a much-needed break in Milan armed only with
a 35mm stills camera and none of the usual work. I am currently
preparing two prospective courses for an Open Learning programme in
Belfast for the spring, another commission for Film Ireland and an
introduction for a screening of documentary Crude Awakening,
to be held in January.
13
November 2007
Available now in all good
newsagents across Ireland and the UK is issue 119 of Film Ireland,
which includes my feature article Hammer Films: The Irish
Connection.
The article investigates the overlooked area of Hammer research,
with particular emphasis on the company's shorts and documentary
work. Film Ireland is published in Dublin by FilmBase. For
subscriptions and enquiries check out
www.filmireland.net
* An extract from the article is available on the Film Ireland
website here.
12 October 2007
The news section hasn't been updated
for a year, but if you've looked at "appearances" you'll see I've been
busy... so a quick update (and from now on, in a blog style)...
There was a great deal of press attention in
May when the sale of Hammer Films to a new European investment group
headed by John De Mol was announced. Despite the change, my relationship
with the company continues. I have continued to represent Hammer at
various events (including the Hammer At Bray event in August) and at The last few months have been very
busy, with much of June and July spent in Dublin whilst researching
materials for my Hammer book. August on the other hand was spent going
back and forth to England on various freelance jobs. And I took
advantage of that to take a number of new photographs for the book.
Earlier on this year I was asked to work on
a number of US dvds, to include the provision of special features and a
couple of commentaries. Unfortunately the distributors cancelled the
project, but over the last few months I have been employed on a
consulting basis on another couple of dvds for UK release. Swings and
roundabouts, eh?!
I've spent the last few weeks writing and
editing various pieces including a couple of new commissions. At the end
of the month I'm honoured to have been invited to introduce a screening
of the new print of Hammer's Dracula at the Irish Film Institute in
Dublin (see appearances)
Next month should see the publication of a
commission for
Film
Ireland magazine which charts a relatively unexplored area of
Hammer history. And later in November/early December, is the
publication of a new anthology on Stanley Kubrick from McFarland in the
US. My essay "Whose Stanley Kubrick?" closes the volume.
November 2006
The Journal of Horror Studies, an exciting new print-format
inter-disciplinary academic publication, has been formally announced by
publishers Intellect Books with the first issue due in Autumn 2007. The
Journal was conceived by Robert and is being co-edited by Robert
Simpson, Gary Rhodes (Queen's University Belfast), Tony Earnshaw
(National Museum of Photography, Film and Television) and Tony Williams
(University of Southern Illinois). A call for papers has now been
formally issued and is available along with further information on the
journal website
here.
22 November 2006
Robert is currently working on a number of extras for a forthcoming dvd
for the US market. This is his first sucj work for the dvd market.
Further details will be announced on completion and delivery of the
materials.
In the meantime he is
furthering his work as a
Hammer
spokesperson with an appearance at
Memorabilia on 25/26
November, to include an onstage Q&A. In October he introduced a special
screening of Plague of the Zombies as part of the
Cornwall Film Festival,
and with Marcus Hearn of Hammer Films
engaged in a Q&A with fans following the screening.
September 2006
Issue 18 of Hammer magazine, Little
Shoppe of Horrors has now been published. The magazine is edited by
Rondo Award-winning Dick Klemensen in the US, and was started in the
early 1970s. The current issue has major features on Hammer's Captain
Kronos Vampire Hunter and non-Hammer film Night of the Demon. Robert has
once again provided extensive articles on the current global dvd market
and much of the issue's Hammer news update. The magazine can be ordered
from the publisher here.
23rd September 2006
Robert Simpson has been invited to a
special screening of Hammer's The Plague of the Zombies at Carnglaze
Cavern in Cornwall next month as part of the
Cornish Film Festival.
Robert has been helping with the arrangements and will be conducting an
onstage interview with Marcus Hearn, representing Hammer Films.
There will also be a Q&A with members of the audience after the
screening.
22nd September 2006
"Restoration Punk" artist Vlad
Quigley has appointed Robert Simpson/Avalard Productions as his new
webmaster. Robert will be working with Vlad to produce a new website,
designed to capitalise on Vlad's existing commercial site via the
introduction of a mini-site tour. Additional webmaster duties are
pending negotiation. The new site is expected to launch during October.
20th May 2006
Owing to circumstances beyond control
Robert had to pull out of attending the Charming and Crafty conference
in Harvard this weekend, although it is still hoped that the paper he
was to give on the subject of Paganism and the Wicker Man will be
published in due course.
We hope the conference is a success and look forward to future
conferences from the group.
10th May 2006
Avalard Productions have launched the
official website of the peer-reviewed academic Journal of Horror Studies
proper today. The website - www.thehorrorjournal.com - will operate alongside the printed
publication which is due from Intellect Books in 2007. Avalard will be
hosting and maintaining the website independently of Intellect. The
Journal was founded and will be edited by Robert Simpson, alongside Tony
Earnshaw, Gary Rhodes, and Tony Williams.
11th April 2006
Hammer Film Productions Ltd.
appointed Robert Simpson/Avalard Productions with the responsibility of
bringing their official website -
HammerWeb
up to date, and to begin webmaster/editorial duties. We have been busy
developing a schedule for the site, and have relaunched the site with
the first updates this week.
1st April 2006
We've added a bunch of new photographs to the Photography pages from
sessions in Belfast (2003) and London (2006).
11th March 2006
The Official website of Robert J.E. Simpson has gone live under the
short url of avalard.co.uk.
During the coming months the site will be used to gather together
information on Robert's various works - professional and freelance work,
alongside personal offerings. It will offer a selection of his
photography and artwork, as well as a comprehensive guide to existing
published projects.
