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Read profiles
of contributors to Talking
Pictures here. If you have contributed to this site but your details
are not here email them to
me now! Go mad and send a pic of yourself as well!
Francis
Akpata
Francis studied philosophy at Kings College, London where he wrote for the student paper, Roar. He specialized in aesthetics and political philosophy. Since graduation he has worked as the marketing manager at Euromoney (this is a financial publishing firm) during the day and as a writer by night. At present he's writing a play titled A Duel in the Kremlin. This is a play about the struggle for power in Russia between Stalin and Trotsky after the death of Lenin in 1924. Originally from Nigeria
he's lived in the United Kingdom for 11 years and is saving money to go
to film school, where he intends to learn how to make films and documentaries.
Thanks to Carol Talking
Pictures magazine carried many of her in-depth interviews with independent
and mainstream film-makers. Most of these interviews, along with those
we did not find room for, are now on this website. As a full-time film
journalist she has contributed reviews to many publications.
Peter Anderson is 24,
and was born in Sheffield. By day, a receptionist, by night, asleep. By
the light of the moon, a wandering minstrel (he tells us).
If you want him to write
for you (yes, you!) feel free to get in touch:
Richard is a film writer
and Associate Tutor affiliated to the British Film Institute. Aside
from contributing to the Bright Lights Film Journal, Audience
and Senses of Cinema websites, his publications include Billy
Wilder, American Film Realist (McFarland, 2000). He is currently working
on Chocolate Biscuits and Italian Neo-Realism, a blend of reception
aesthetics and personal recollection, and a book on Realism for
the Bfi. He hopes one day to find the missing footage of Peter Sellers
from Kiss Me, Stupid and is very fond of creme fraiche and certain
Michelle Pfeiffer movies (who isn't?).
I was born around the
time of Rocky 3 and lived my childhood playing catch-up with cinematic
history. I’m still not there yet. My father used to let us (I have 4 siblings)
watch most things when we were young so I was desensitised to ultra-violence
at a pretty young age, courtesy of John Rambo, Robocop and Scarface. By
the time Phantom Menace disappointed everyone, I had started
my A-levels and by the time Gladiator made everyone fancy Russell
Crowe, I had done quite well in them. I studied English at Bristol UWE
all the way through Traffic to the year of the Matrix
(although I think it should be the year of the Hulk).
My favourite movie of all time is Rocky, although the best movie
of all time is probably Magnolia. My favourite video-game of all
time is Super Mario World and it’s also the greatest of all time.
The best book of all time is The Hunch-Back of Notre Dame by Victor
Hugo and my favourite song keeps changing. Right now it’s Life on Mars
by David Bowie. I’ve been in love before but it’s not as good as Rocky.
I wish I’d studied Film at university. Instead I have a degree in Law, a subject that doesn’t even come close to my passion for films. My favourite movies of all time are Saturday Night Fever, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Rocky II. As for the state of modern cinema I agree with Paul Newman who said: “Back then (Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid) we shot movies, today they shoot budgets”.
Martyn Bamber is a writer and filmmaker living in London. He has written for other film journals, including Senses of Cinema: www.sensesofcinema.com. Patrick
Bliss
“I became interested in working for an art house type cinema after my job relocated me to Salisbury in 2003. Suddenly, screenings of foreign language and independent films that I had taken for granted when living in London soon became a rarity. I am particularly excited about the advent of d-cinema and e-cinema and foresee a new era of internet distribution and small scale digital cinemas (or “minimas”) that offer a more culturally varied alternative to the multiplexes.” Patrick can be contacted at patrick.bliss@virgin.net Sonya Bo-Lynx is, in a
nutshell, “computer and films, and; films and computer”. She loves movies,
and she loves the computer, but not necessarily in that order. She can
virtually spend seven or eight hours a day in the cinema or,
When I was a little boy, I was befriended by Dick Powell, who was a very kind man (he loved kids). I fell in love with Constance in MGM's "The Three Musketeers". Constance, in my eyes and heart, is a beautiful princess. Constance was sensitively portrayed by a little girl, who was born in the Bronx and became a Hollywood legend. Ella, who is known to the world as June Allyson, always gives me constant encouragement, inspiration, and passion. I'm tired and weary of the 'harsh reality pictures' and their shattered dreams. I miss the 'dream factories' of old because Judy Garland's 'rainbow dream pictures' give us something to reach for. Teaches History and Film
Criticism at a small academy outside Trenton, NJ. His articles on
film have appeared in Bright Lights Film Journal, The Journal
of Religion and Film, Metaphilm, 24 Frames Per Second,
AugustCutter.com
and Film Comment. He has published a 'zine, Film Ex,
for the last eleven years.
An early contributor to
Talking
Pictures who went out of contact in the late 1990s to concentrate on
writing a best-selling novel.
Right now she is researching
the inconsistencies in the L.A. court system, as they pertain to (and usually
don't pertain to) human and civil rights.
I studied a BA in Cultural Studies and enjoy a variety of cultural pastimes such as seeing films, going to gigs and reading books and magazines. I also like to eat, especially artichokes and fudge (not together), sleep and watch TV in bed. I grew up in New Zealand which I still call home but have lived in London since 1999. I am currently employed
as a Communications Officer in an Architecture and Design practice. I can
be contacted at: nickydewe@hotmail.com
I have just started a Foundation Degree in Newspaper and Magazine Journalism and my dream job is to write about films. As a typical girl's girl I love the usual chick flicks but I am also a big Cameron Crowe fan, which allows me to explore my love of music in film too. I love writing/talking about films and influencing other people's viewing habits. I felt like I really achieved something when I managed to talk my little brother into watching black and white films and films with subtitles. There is still hope for young people! I teach public speaking
and film technical college in South Carolina. I have had one novel,
THE SCOUSERS, published in 1995. The book was ALMOST turned into
Mark is currently toiling in the tourism field while waiting for his big break; replacing whichever member of the Rolling Stones decides to give up the ghost first. In his spare time Mark
enjoys volleyball, blues music, and long moonlit walks on the beach. He
lives in Nova Scotia.
Adrian
Gargett
Having graduated from university with a 2:2 degree, Jamie has been reviewing films for the past two years and is currently working on several personal projects at the moment. The first film he remembers seeing was 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?' And his favourite film is 'Back to the Future' for sheer entertainment and writing reasons. If you would like him to review or write anything for your publication, please contact him at jtoady1@hotmail.com Jack is an Essex based
writer who graduated from the University of Bedfordshire this academic
year (05/06) with a 2.1 classification BA Honours
Donna is 23 and has been involved in music and entertainment writing since the age of 16. Currently working as a press officer, Donna combines her passion for writing and entertainment to freelance write for as many clients as possible in her spare time. She regularly submits work to several magazines and websites, and is responsible for all content on girls online pop music magazine Luscious Girls (www.lusciousgirls.net). For more information on
work published and availability please contact Donna at: donna@uksoul.co.uk
Nick
Green is a produced feature film screenwriter, who has worked in the industry
as a script writer, editor and analyst for twelve years. His CV
Awaiting
info.
David has worked on several
films and TV commercials. He has acted as a cameraman and is a special
effects expert. He has been a regular book reviewer for Talking Pictures
for several years.
I live in Wolverhampton, England and am currently studying for a combined degree in Creative & Professional Writing and Film Studies. I am hoping to work in magazine journalism and, in an ideal world, I would love to be a professional film critic, like the late Pauline Kael. I spend a lot of time at the cinema (nothing compares to the big screen) and I also enjoy the theatre and 1980s nostalgia. My favourite genre is horror and I am particularly fond of cult and B-movies as well as more mainstream stuff. My favourite directors include Todd Solondz, Quentin Tarantino and John Carpenter. I can be contacted at lucinda@ireson01.freeserve.co.uk Aged 25 and living in the deepest depths of Worcestershire, I am currently working my way through the business they call ‘show’ as a theatre education officer and cinema programmer. My proudest moment is gaining a First Class Honours in English and Literary Studies before being thrown to the lions to try and scrape together a career, although it is my love of books, films and plays that gets me through the night. Favourite films (the girlie
options): Some Like it Hot, Amelie, It’s a Wonderful Life.
Jen is one of those lucky few who make a living at making sarcastic comments about films she loves, trying to remember them later, and writing them down. In her spare time she plays saxophone and piano, ballet dances, does yoga, paints, reads, runs, does endurance races with her horse, and (completely destroying her sweetness and light image) boxes competitively. Jen lives in Nova Scotia.
Martin is a psychologist
and an expert on UFO stories and their cultural context. In particular
he has compared UFO movie scenarios and images and their impact on 'real'
UFO reports.
Shari Last is studying
English Literature with Film at university. She is looking to become a
film critic. She likes most films, especially sci-fi, action and
some horror films. She does not really find it particularly comfortable
writing in the third person.
Awaiting
info.
Andrew studied film and literature at the University of Warwick. He has been involved with local politics in Birmingham for many years. He wrote about the strange
aspects of a 'silent' movie star in the first issue of Talking Pictures,
entitled A Star
For Our Times. Since then he's looked at the political ramifications
of Metropolis and how
the Hollywood Censor Stayed Stumm
for the Mob.
Graduate of the MA program
in Film and Television Studies at the University of Amsterdam. My final
theis was about film form and postmodernism. After a year in Australia,
now living in home city of Edinburgh, working to pay for my dvd collection
and Cineworld Unlimited Card. Interested in Hollywood, European film
and Post-Classical Cinema, I hope to have more writing published in the
future.
He tells us, "I am 22
year old film studies graduate from Sheffield Hallam University in the
UK. I am currently happily unemployed and living in Newcastle, where I
Filmmaker. Studied journalism in Holland and filmmaking in London. Graduated in writing/directing. Started his own independent production company, Free Spirits Productions in 1998. His film Rainbow Days has been distributed by Documedia International. He has his own Free Spirits website. Simon
works for an investment bank but would like to take up something more interesting.
He writes the soccer articles for Suite101at: http://soccer.suite101.com/
Awaiting
info.
Robert
Moss is 37, lives in north London and works as a journalist and sub-editor.
He has been on the verge of working as a full-time film scriptwriter for
several years. He hopes to be on the verge for many more years. He is also
very tall. Quite inconceivably tall. And very good looking (so he says).
Alan
Pavelin
Mark
is a regular contributor to Fortean Times.
Carina
Platt is a freelance journalist and writes for a number of national magazines
and websites. She’s particularly fascinated by all things strange
Alistair
Pope is an actor and writer who lives in London. More details can
be viewed at www.alistairpope.co.uk
I recently graduated with a BA in Contemporary History from the University of Sussex in Brighton. Typically, it only became clear to me whilst sitting through 3 years of history lectures that my real passion lay within the media industry. As a result I am currently studying a Masters in Media and Cultural Studies and trying to gain as much experience as possible within the film/television industry. After I graduate I plan to move back to London and hopefully gain a top job within a film/tv production company. Is a documentary filmmaker.
Recently graduated from
Bretton Hall College, University of Leeds with a First in English, Lucy
is preparing to study for a Masters degree in English Literature. She has
a keen interest in art, comedy, film and creative writing, and has had
work published by Forward Press: Poetry Now, Anchor Books and the-phone-book.com.
Email: lucylulu42@hotmail.com
Awaiting
info.
Howard is a freelance
writer who lives in Vancouver BC with his wife Joan, a pre-School Teacher,
and has two sons, David, a Film Editor in LA and Marc, a Special Needs
worker in the Pacific Northwest. He has been a Social Worker and a Technical
Writer and now has many film reviews and articles to his credit. He can
be contacted at: hschumann@shaw.ca
His film interests range
from Steven Spielberg and Orson Welles to Hammer horror. In 1988 he graduated
from the University of Warwick with a BA (Hons) in Film and Literature.
He has co-written comedy scripts for radio and in 1992 co-authored Supernatural
Spielberg with Nigel Watson. He works as
a journalist in the New Forest region.
David graduated from the
University of Hertfordshire in 2000 with a first class degree in performing
arts and the Sir Nigel Hawthorne Award for Outstanding Achievement. Interested
in film from a young age, David is currently taking his formal training
to become a qualified journalist and writes for a number of websites
and his local newspaper group. Favourite films include Life is Beautiful
(la vita e bella), It's a Wonderful Life and The Shawshank Redemption and
he has a real passion for the work of Alfred Hitchcock.
Is
studying for an MA in Documentary Research in order to (hopefully) blend
her past life as a journalist with her new aspirations as a filmmaker...
eventually. She has had varied jobs from aerobics instructor (which she
still does) to teaching English as a foreign language - with some proof
reading thrown in for good measure. She adds: "Although I am studying documentary,
I love all film and have a broad range of tastes - if it's good (my discretion!)
I like it."
Alan completely re-designed
Talking
Pictures in the Spring of 1996. He designed and printed issue number
14 right through to 21 when we brought the magazine on-line as this website.
As well as being an I.T. consultant he is the co-director of ST&T Publishing
Ltd. If you want to print a magazine, book or any other type of publication
he can supply you with a quote. Contact him at
sttprojects@btopenworld.com
Rishi Vaja lives in London.
He notes: 'I recently graduated from DeMontfort University in Leicester
(also known as the plughole of the Midlands!). I studied Media and got
a 2.2 ( also known as the Drinking Man's Degree!). I absolutely love watching
films but studying it 24 hours a day, se7en days a week meant that by the
end of my degree I couldn't watch another film! Therefore in lectures I
started coming up with ways of getting back at bad Hollywood films by writing
venom about it! My influences are diverse - I love directors such as Robert
Rodreiguez, David Fincher and Sergio Leone however I find myself watching
films like Bring It On and Beverly Hills Cop 2! I guess you
could call me a Confused Arthouse Mainstream Film Junkie!'
Nigel
Watson
Kathryn
was a copywriter in North London. She left to work for a publishing company
and has not been in contact since moving.
Photographing
Scunthorpe, writing, music and poetry are just some of Robin's interests.
He has written detailed and well-respected guides to the works of Bob Dylan,
including Isaiah on Guitar. He is the founder of Exploding Rooster
books.
His ambition is to write a classic novel that will befuddle the world.
Lenore Wright has 15 years experience selling spec scripts and movie pitches to major production houses. She lets us use her regular on-going series of guides to using the Internet – The Screenwriter’s Web. For more insider information
on marketing screenplays subscribe to her FREE newsletter Script Market
by sending an email to newsletter@breakingin.net
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Following
a varied career in live music promotion, fundraising and (briefly) television,
Patrick Bliss is presently studying 
Adrian
Gargett received a PhD in philosophy from the University of Warwick and
an MA in Art History from London's Courtauld Institute. Research interests
include philosophy/art/film/cultural theory. Notable publications include:
"The Matrix: What is Bullet Time?"; "Doppleganger: Exploded States of Consciousness
in Fight Club"; "X-Men: Speed Mutation" on www.disinfo.com; "Strange Days"
(Virtual Spaces) Journal of Cognitive Liberties Vol. ii No. 3; "Symmetry
of Death" Variaciones Borges 13/2002; "Eternal Feminine" Parallex 25 "Having
Sex". Film criticism also appears on www.Kamera.co.uk. Other work available:
Nasty/Azimute/Richmond Review/CLCWEB/3AMMagazine. He can be contacted at:
Alan
is a retired actuary. He first became keen on films on seeing The
Third Man as a child. He is particularly interested in the relation
between religion and the cinema, and has written on this subject for various
publications.
If
you hate this website blame me... In the early 1980s I took a 9-month-long
course in TV production techniques in Leeds. This led to writing freelance
articles for video magazines. After making videos for the Hull Health Authority
I took the degree course in Film and Literature at the University of Warwick.
When I graduated I immediately moved to London and worked as a copywriter
for 9 years. Regular meetings with 