Together with my co-showrunner the amazing Simon J. Ashford, we've been having criminal amounts of fun working on Series III of the Musketeers. Some casting announcements have already been made including Rupert Everett as Governor Feron and Matthew McNulty as Lucien Grimaud but there will be more to come as we move into the Summer. In the meantime, here's the two of us on the set plotting all sorts of mayhem, adventure and heartbreak over our ten episode season. 17th century Paris will never be quite the same...
"...............this is the official blog of Screenwriter and Producer Simon Allen and that's Paul McGann up there playing Clarence in our weird little 2005 fantasy pilot Fables of Forgotten Things which I am still VERY proud of after all these years. We made it for nothing but we made it with everything. Google it. Search it out. It might make you feel better............."
Saturday, 6 June 2015
".......filming is well underway on The Musketeers Series III!"
Together with my co-showrunner the amazing Simon J. Ashford, we've been having criminal amounts of fun working on Series III of the Musketeers. Some casting announcements have already been made including Rupert Everett as Governor Feron and Matthew McNulty as Lucien Grimaud but there will be more to come as we move into the Summer. In the meantime, here's the two of us on the set plotting all sorts of mayhem, adventure and heartbreak over our ten episode season. 17th century Paris will never be quite the same...
Saturday, 30 May 2015
"......Spotless sells to NBC Universal!"
NBC Universal has bought the dark, character-driven drama 'Spotless' to premiere on its Esquire network this Autumn. I was thrilled to write Episode Eight of the series which was co-created by the awesome Ed McCardie. Spotless was originally produced by Tandem Productions for Canal Plus and stars Denis Menochet ('Inglorious Basterds'), Marc-Andre Grodin ('C.R.A.Z.Y'), Miranda Raison ('Spooks') and Brendan Coyle ('Downton Abbey').
The show has already aired in France to phenomenal acclaim and the full story on its stateside debut can be found in Variety.
Wednesday, 11 February 2015
".....Breathe is a VIMEO Staff Pick!"
Following its selection as a 'Short of the Week', Breathe has now been chosen as a VIMEO Staff Pick!
This follows in the ghostly footsteps of Lot 254 which was awarded the same accolade last year (read about it in this old post).
You can watch 'Breathe' on the VIMEO Staff Pick Channel where it has already attracted nearly FIFTY THOUSAND views*, over twelve hundred 'likes' and scores of positive comments!
*UPDATE - 95,000 VIEWS NOW!!!
Monday, 9 February 2015
"....Breathe makes its online debut with Short of the Week selection!"
After its debut in the BFI Gothic season and multiple festival screenings all over the planet, our short supernatural film 'Breathe' now makes its online debut via the prestigious Short of the Week website.
With their amazing team based in New York, 'Short of the Week' has been serving up epic bite-sized films to millions of filmmakers and fans since 2007 and is widely regarded as one of the best short film showcases in the world.
Starring Josef Altin ('Child 44', 'Game of Thrones'), Jack North ('In the Flesh', 'Chasing Shadows') and Orion Ben ('Skins', 'Call the Midwife'), 'Breathe' can be watched here. Hope you enjoy it!
Wednesday, 1 October 2014
"....Breathe's festival run continues."
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| Behind the scenes on 'Breathe.' |
The film is haunting its way round the world at the Lund International Fantastic Film Festival , Brest Short Film Festival and the Leeds International Film Festival.
Starring Josef Altin ('Game of Thrones'), Orion Ben ('Call the Midwife') and Jack North ('In the Flesh'), 'Breathe' is an old school supernatural chiller about an apparition that can only be seen when you hold your breath. The longer you hold your breath, the more defined the apparition becomes and...well, why don't you take a deep breath and find out for yourself?
When making the film, we were determined to keep digital theatrics to a minimum and tell the story with as many in-camera techniques and practical effects as possible. We want our ghost stories to be true to the spirit of the many remarkable television films from the 60s and 70s, not least Nigel Kneale's 'The Stone Tape' and the elegant, unearthly work of Lawrence Gordon Clark. Even within the limits of 4 by 3 aspect ratios, low resolution video and non existent budgets, these films prove that suggesting an idea is always more powerful than showing it.
We've been so thrilled with the success of 'Breathe' that we're already planning a follow-up, a long cherished M.R. James adaptation that will be even more terrifying. In the meantime, here are a few behind the scenes images from the shoot....
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| Orion Ben prepares for a take in 'Breathe.' |
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| Toby Meakins directs Jack North and Josef Altin in 'Breathe.' |
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| Orion Ben between takes in 'Breathe.' |
Wednesday, 4 June 2014
"...coming this Winter to BBC One: World War Three, 1980s melancholy and Wham!"
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| detail of the secret nuclear bunker |
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| map of the uk from the secret nuclear bunker |
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| training manual: preparation for the end of the world |
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| transmission codes |
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| dead technology deep beneath the essex countryside |
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| Bungalow in Essex |
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