Hello, to Jason Isaacs...believe it or not!

Available to buy as print, and other stuff, at: http://gastongrimsdyke.deviantart.com/gallery/


Having recently made Twitter contact with the majestic Mark Kermode i'm throwing my hat in the ring for the most unusual "Hello, to Jason Isaacs" of all time...in that it's not spoken it's ILLUSTRATED!! 

AAYYTTHHAANNQQUEW!!

Hopefully it will merit a mention on 5Live's splendid film review show this Friday. Maybe even by...the Co-Host?

Excelsior Out!

Well, it is only a theory...

Available to buy as print, and other stuff, at: http://gastongrimsdyke.deviantart.com/gallery/

Here's number two in my series of "Greatest Current American Sitcoms"...the majestic "Big Bang Theory". Perceptively written and beautifully played it speaks to the geek in me (that would be me then) with every line.

It's finely crafted pop-culture references and kooky characters make it a "must-see" in our house. With a new series about to burst onto our screens I urge you to see it at all costs. Once it takes a bite out of you addiction ensues.

"BAZINGA!"

Excelsior Out!

Empire vs The BattleSheep

Ladies and Gents, I give you the completion of my "Three Colours Critique" trilogy...the staff of Empire Magazine. Beginning with Messrs Kermode and Mayo, then the mighty Kim Newman, the trilogy is...ahem...my life's work realised, and combines my love of cinema with my facility for caricature.

To judge the accuracy of my work I suggest you visit Empire's excellent magazine/website (see what I did there) and check out these wondrous writers, and their terrific prose. 

I think they're decent likeness' corralled in a reasonable in-joke.

I hope all concerned are flattered rather than appalled. I know, from Twitter, that Olly Richards was a little apprehensive at being given the "Excelsior" treatment.

It is meant in good natured tribute and, hand on heart, it's from an "Empire" reader who has been with the magazine from issue one. More power to your keyboard pounding lady and gentlemen, it's never less than a compelling read.

Excelsior Out!

Excelsior gets the Horrors!!

The good folks at SFX (the peerless Russell Lewin) have seen fit to print me once again in a Spooky, Oooky and throughly informative Horror Special. Thanks Russ, fun, as always.

Put me straight on matters horrific too. For years i'd been rabbiting on about a video nasty called "Brutes & Savages" containing real footage of a man being eaten by a crocodile...turns out that scene is FAKE! Cheers Russell, in my defence i was only a nipper when I saw it.

Make Mine SFX!!

Excelsior Out!

Excelsior in Mac Format

Your very own Excelsior made it into this months "Mac Format" magazine thanks to the mighty Dave Bradley and the, self confessed, grump Alex Thomas. I'm delighted with the results, my sorry efforts never looked better. Enjoy.

Excelsior Out!

#TeamSalmon

Last Saturday the BBC launched it's latest series of "Strictly Come Dancing", to great viewing figures. Today I post a good luck message for actor,spiritual guru,would be dancer and my Twitter mate...Colin Salmon. He's a terrific actor with a magnetic screen presence, and all round good egg; and he and Kristina are more than deserving of your enthusiastic support.

Hope everything goes splendidly for you big man, the Mitchell family will be cheering (and voting) you, & Kristina, on all the way.

Always remember: Why did the good Lord give us mountains if not to teach us how to climb?

You have all our faith.

Update: Colin and Kristina have seen, and approved, this tribute. Two prints are winging their way to them as we speak.

Excelsior Out!

The Day of the Black Dog

An artist left us in the summer...for reasons known only to himself. The 19th of August 2012 saw a tragedy unfold that people are still coming to terms with. 

The tabloids had their customary field day, with the macabre guessing games, no surprise there. Other people (of which I am one) sat dazed and confused, but everyone struggled to comprehend why a man (blessed with conspicuous success and wealth) should choose to sacrifice it all so publicly. 

The Red-Tops painted Anthony David Scott as a "Punters" director, making loud, clanging, populist nonsense for brainless multiplex cattle. To those who would agree with this theory I suggest you need your heads examining. Anyone who thinks what Tony Scott did was slight, or easy, should spend five minutes in the hell that is "A Michael Bay movie" (or with any one of the hundreds of "Bay-Clones" currently stinking up the Blackberry's of today's Hollywood hierarchy) and then revisit "Top Gun", "The Last Boy Scout", "True Romance" or "Crimson Tide"...and bask in the thrall of an artist at the very top of his game.

Living, to some extent, in the shadow of his brother, Ridley, did not seem to faze him. He pursued his own singular vision in everything he did. Creating a style that was endlessly imitated (Michael Bay step forward) but never bettered. Always testing limits, stretching boundaries and innovating technically; while bringing his painterly eye to every frame.

He, and Ridley, are influences on me and inspirations for me...and always will be.

I mourn his loss and, selfishly, the loss of all his future projects: his western (a Wild Bunch remake), his proposed "Warriors" reboot, his take on Mark Millar's "Nemesis" and, I'm sure, his "Top Gun" sequel would have rocked...and reminded the world, if any reminder were needed, of his directorial credentials.

Ridley's son, Jake, talked in a BBC documentary about his father's dark moods, calling them "The Black Dog". Maybe that same "Black Dog" stalked Tony? We don't know...and probably never will.

So, I say goodbye (with my poor contribution above) with awe, humility, respect and love (from one Geordie to another) to an artist whose loss will be felt across the film world for many, many years to come.

Excelsior Out!