Well, I wanted to give a big thank you to everybody so I went on Facebook and did that on an individual basis on Sunday but I should have probably come to the board first as I realised not everybody is on ol' FaceAche. And I've been uber busy since I was up out early Sunday for a meeting when I needed a lie in and I've been a little under the weather ever since. Anyhow.
For those that don't know, the film played at the London International Sci Fi 'Oktoberfest' Film Festival. We had a 1pm slot on the Saturday which is a very good slot for a documentary. Later that night saw a screening of 'Monsters'. Go see it, it's awesome. But it's not a monster movie, it's a road movie. But you'll like it, I promise you. To be on the same bill as Monsters is a very good sign.
I want to mention a few people that came to Saturdays screening.
First off, thanks to Mike Rush for starting this thread. It was great to see Mike and Angela once again and along with everyone else I talked to, I just wish I'd had more time to chat with you.
It occured to me a while back that the film probably wouldn't have been worthwhile if it wasn't for the Aliens Legacy Gold Awards that Mike (along with Jason Steed) set up. You need a reason to film the celebrities and everyone's seen them interviewed before, that's all been done.
The Gold Awards gave me something new and original to capture but moreover they show true fan and cast interaction. And that's been a blessing for all of us that have attended one of these presentations, because you don't feel like an awkward fan asking for a pic or autograph. Instead, you're actively honouring that person directly in one of the most flattering ways possible. So those awards are just the coolest thing for me and I want to give a big shout out to Mike for making them happen. Regarding DVD's (Tony and Russ), these won't be happening any time soon for various reasons. Those reasons are ones of legality and permissions regarding usage of film clips from the franchise, so until I have all of those permissions from Fox those DVDs won't be here until next year, probably late in the year or even the year after. I will bring the doc to Dragon Con next year as part of their screening programme and Munkey or Gareth will probably deal with that once I've set it up, as I doubt very much that I'll be there. But I shouldn't have a problem with it being part of their film festival. This way everyone gets to see it together which is probably the most fun way to watch. But when a disc does emerge, there will be (to answer Kevin's enquiry), a Region 1 version. And a HD version.
Thanks to Rusty and Space Jockey for use of their wonderful artwork. Check out Dennis Lowe's Alien Fans documentary to see detailed coverage of Space Jockey's Nostromo blue prints, they really are awesome.
PVB, so cool of you to appear in armour on Saturday. We all know you've suffered recent (serious) health problems and despite that I saw the bags you had to lug home before you left the cinema. And you had a long journey. It just proves your inner strength and tenacity are something for us all to look up to and you have always brushed aside any pain or difficulties to stand tall amongst everyone in this group. In my mind that makes you the most 'Colonial Marine' of anyone I have met from this board. You're just a top man. Petty vindictive bastard, perhaps, but still a TOP man!
What I noticed in the cinema was how well Munkey's performance went down. People laughed in all the right places during his stints and he was pretty much at home in front of the camera. You made some great points and I think you did pretty much everything in first takes and straight off the bat! Cheers Paul!
Darren – I think when the people on this board see Darrens fan film they're going to be knocked out. The set Darren built on the last shoot was incredible. So I'm really glad I've been able to feature clips of it in my doc because it's a prime example of the passion that fuels this forum. Darrens passion for Aliens is second to none and he's proved that over again and that's why he won his gold award.
Gareth was up at 2am Friday night, walking back from his work place after going there specifically just to print out the film information sheet that I couldn't print. I sent him a PDF that night and he went in there, wacked out eighty copies. At 1am. I mean, he could have been at home with Abe, warm in bed, drinking cocoa and watching Aliens for the umpteenth time. Apart from that G has given me technical advice on numerous occasions and was invaluable in the run up to the screening -- checking the projection facilities with me, helping with codecs and hard drives, etc. And of course Abe T Alien has become such a character in his own right that it's a no brainer that he's a major part of the film!
Simon Smith's prop building is amazing stuff. The Sentry gun and Alan T. Alien's head always impressed me so it was great to include all that stuff. Not all these props and things will stand the test of time so it's an honour to be able to record them for posterity. But I'm not sure about all the tea bagging. Same with Data's pulse rifle. I have no idea how he puts that all together! Data lives far away and I was so pleased he made the trip but again, I wish I'd had more time to chat. Glenn still managed to come along even though he's recently a father, so thanks mate it was great have you in the doc and great to see you Saturday!
It's hard to remember the UK group before Si's pretty half, Gemma joined us. She's been fantastic and is always friendly, happy and generally a great person to be around. It's often said it would be great to have more women in the group and you would probably want them to be as cool as Gemma. I'm really glad she got to participate in the film. As with Vicky. Sorry I couldn't include your recently filmed clip but it will be in there, I *promise!* It was great to see both Vicky and Bri there. They were so cool putting us up for Darrens last shoot and allowing us to film there. Really cool people. Even if Bri does prefer PC's over Mac's! Heheheh
Harry. Well, like Gareth you've done lots on this, too. As a side note, Harry spent months (I kid you not) scanning in photographs for the new Alien Anthology. Sometimes he was up well in to the early hours to get the stuff over to them in LA. And I mean, day in, day out for months with no though of reward, which just shows you why he is affectionally nick-named 'The General'. I have another nick-name for him but we won't go in to that. And I really don't know much about gyaenocology, anyway. But seriously, Harry brought along lights and all the stuff that goes with them to the one day shoot we did in my living room. He sorted it all out himself and he didn't charge me a penny. Same for all of Darrens shoots. It's not easy to find cool friends like that. And on top of lighting he helped out on some of the admin stuff. You know, the boring stuff like paper work, release forms and all that jazz. It's not easy to find volunteers for all that! And let's not forget he's a big part of the film too, which was only natural since he's always been a well known figure in Aliens fan culture.
The Clangers – for they are one – thanks for your kind words. It's been great working with you guys and you're always popular with everyone wherever you go. Karyn comes across particularly well on camera. Andy had some constructive comments after seeing an earlier cut and he pointed me to the Dr Who confidential docs which shaped some of my ideas. Inspiration comes from all angles so it was good to hear Andys opinions which proved fruitful. And any couple that dress up as Gorillas from Planet of the Apes are winners in my book! Come on Brad and Angelina, let's see you do that!
Special mention must go to Claus. Most of you won't know him but he's SonicRadar on the board. He lives in Munich and flew over here especially for this screening. Clause worked on the sound mixing on this film and he's a top bloke. I did a six day film course with Claus a few years ago so it was good to work on a project together and prove that course was money well spent! He was clucking to meet you all after staring at your ugly mugs (Karyn, Gemma, Angela & Vicky excepted!) on his video monitor for weeks on end, so I'm glad he finally got to do that. He was very excited to meet Trevor and got some cool pics.
I know Trevor doesn't come to the board but I'm going to thank him anyway. As a thanks for being in the film I ordered a set of armour from Spat and Trevor's already got the helmet since Munkey presented him with one when he got his Gold Award. I know he wants to come to Dragon Con in 2011, so at least he'll have an outfit. He wants to be in the march. How cool would that be? So Dom or whoever's in charge will probably want to speak with him about that nearer the time.
On a related note, Tony and I have pointed Ricco Ross toward appearance agents because he expressed an interest in appearing at DCon next year. I think maybe Cynthia Scott and Daniel Kash may be possibles since they are happy to do the conventions. If you do get Ricco, Jenette Goldstein is also an LA resident and since they've appeared together before they might come as a package. So maybe we could get a few of them there for next year, who knows? And on that positive note I'll shut the fook up because I've probably gone on for too long already!
Once again, many thanks to all that came and all who participated. Humbly, ADC
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