This weekend saw thousands of comic book fans attained London film and comic con. However, one fan had dark intentions…
Fantastic beats and where to find them actor Dan Fogler, made an impromptu and unannounced appearance at the Heavy Metal Magazine stand, to promote his new comic book.
Obviously, as soon as Harry Potter fans heard he was there, his line grew very long, very quickly. He signed prints, posed for selfies and all was well.
However, staff were alerted to an individual acting suspiciously in line.
When asked why he was there, he stated he was on a mission to kill Dan Fogler, whom he beloved was the evil wizard Grindelwald using Polyjuice to disguise himself as “Jacob Kowalski”, Fogler’s character from Fantastic Beasts.
Luckily, a quick thinking member of staff was able to convince the deranged fan that Fogler is indeed, just an actor, as Kowalski was from the nineteen-twenties, so couldn’t possibly be at a convention in 2017.
The fan then insisted Grimwald had used a “time turner” to move forward in time. To which, the member of staff reminded him that they only work backwards.
The man then concluded that Dan, must be the grandson of Kowalski and decided to go visit Benedict Cumberbatch instead. He was escorted out of the building by security.
Although Ianto Jones is a beloved character among the Torchwood fandom, most would agree that he was often relegated to the background despite his intriguing backstory and secret cyber-girlfriend. However, the audio revival of the show, with full-cast dramas that focus on individual characters. Has given him and others a chance to shine.
In “The Office of Never Was,” Ianto takes the lead as he investigates a haunted building, displaying impressive deduction skills and carrying the drama with ease.
This is an extremely well-crafted and engaging story. James Goss, the producer and scriptwriter, delivers a dark tale that cleverly addresses one of Torchwood’s central conceits and provides some hard-edged, real-world consequences. The limited cast is used to great effect, allowing for strong character development and building tension as the story progresses. Goss’s nods to “The Avengers” add an extra layer of entertainment value, while his use of humour helps to balance out the story’s darker moments. The script for is a testament to Goss’s talent as a writer and his understanding of Torchwood and its wider universe.
Gareth David-Lloyd, is a skilled voice actor and brings his A-game to this audio. He effortlessly carries the drama on his own for the first few minutes of “The Office of Never Was,” showcasing his talent for conveying Ianto’s internal struggles and thought processes. His performance is nuanced and engaging, capturing the character’s dry humor and emotional complexity.
Overall, “The Office of Never Was” is another smartly directed, strong and entertaining outing for Cardiff’s favourite member of Torchwood.
A stand-up comedian is mostly his or her own writer, director and star performer. Unlike any other art form, there is no safety net and no private rehearsal. In its singular realisation, stand-up comedy only works live on a stage – in front of often-hostile audiences. For most people baring their soul and being heckled would be a life-changing trauma, for stand-ups it’s a nightly hazard.
The very idea of standing on a stage in front of strangers and trying to make them laugh, fills me with utter dread. I imagine it’s the same for most people, and is most likely reason the subject stand-up comedy is so fascinating and rife for a documentary.
Dying laughing is a British produced documentarty, about the life of a stand-up comic and although it sometimes treads familar territory-the loneliness of the road, the anguish of your set dying etc, directors Paul Toogood & Lloyd Stanton achieve a startling level of intimacy in a series of riveting interviews with the masters of comedy. What follows is an in-depth discussion about the emotional andpsychological highs and lows of life on the road.
Dying laughing is an emotional rollercoaster, which fully encapsulates the life of a performer. Chris Rock says comedians are “the last philosophers.” and, to a certain extent, he’s right. We follow this trend, with some of the most loved and respected comedians, whom speak candidly about their loves, their peevs and ultimately, their lust for being a stand-up comedian.
The film can feel a little self-indulgent at times, however that just adds to its charm. At no point do you want the interviews to stop. This is a great film, that gives an insight into the psyche of a wordsmith.
One of the most interesting character’s in Doctor Who’s history is, Captain Jack Harkness. The con man-come immortal-time traveling adventurer, with a wink and a swagger.
Altough we got to see more of the character in Torchwood, I’d always wanted a Captain Jack spin-off. I wanted to know what happened after The Doctor and Rose left him. Finally, Big Finish have answered that question.
The Year After I Died by Guy Adams.
As the title suggests, this story takes place a year after ‘The Parting of the Ways’. We’re presented with a very different Jack, he’s tortued, trying to lead a quiet life, he’s living alone and has shun human contact. He’s also trying to figure out how he survived the Dalek attack and why The Doctor and Rose abandoned him.
His quiet life is turned upside down when a young reporter named Silo Crook (Shvorne Marks) comes investigating, he again finds himself tasked with saving humanity.
‘The Year After I Died’works extremely well as a direct sequel to ‘The Parting of Ways’. It builds on the story told in the series 1 finale, but doesn’t fall into to the sequel trap of telling the same story. As far as opening stories go, this is a great installment. John Barrowman shins in this, delivering the most subjude/reluctant version of captain Jack we’ve ever seen. This is a very well-written story, with great performances. I would like to see more set in this timeline.
9/10
Wednesday’s for Beginners by James Goss.
After reprising her role as Jackie Tyler for ‘The Ninth Doctor Chronicles’, Camille Codouri returns as everyone’s favourie mum.
The first 15 minutes focus on Jackie Tyler, as she pushes the story forward with monologue. We learn what happens when Rose is away and we experience the true pain and lonliness she feels, it’s heart breaking.
Soon after, she meets her “handsome American stalker” (Captain Jack) and the story really kicks into gear.
Jackie and Jack make a great duo, Barrowman and Coduri have chemistry to spare and clearly had a blast recording this. Fun and flirtacious inuendo are a bounded around and it’s an absolute joy to listen to.
Jackie’s feeling of isolation and loneliness really resonates and is perfectally juxtaposed with the adventure angle.
Deep down, this is a fun adventure that will have you howling with laughter.
8/10
One Enchanted Evening by James Goss.
This story takes place mere minutes after the Doctor leaves Jack in the bar in ‘The End of Time’.
It turns out the Tenth Doctor wasn’t just trying to get the pair laid, he had an ulterior motive.
Jack and Alonso are both in dark places, Jack had just murdered his grandson, Steven, to save man kind and obviously feels a lot of guilt. Alonso had just walked off the Titanic, a broken man. Feeling he should have been braver, more like The Doctor.
The pair bond over the course of an hour, as they work to save a spaceship from being destroyed. The villain is voiced by Katy Manning, whois camping it up no end and clearly having the time of her life.
Although the villain feels very generic, character wise this is the best in the box set. Captain Jack and Midshipman Frame both help each other exorcise their demons.
This is a character driven story, that allows both characters the redemption they feel they need.
8/10.
Month 25 by Guy Adams.
This is the story we’ve spent 12 years waiting for. When we were first introduced to Captain Jack (12 years ago!) we learned he was a former time agent, with two years of his memory missing. Now, we’re finally getting some answers. We even learn his real name..
I’m a long time fan of Guy Adam’s work with Big Finish, but this could well be his best story. It’s gripping spy/conspiracy drama, that some how manages to be laugh out loud funny. This is well-written and well acted. Barrowman perfectly manages to speak the way we imagine a twenty-something Captain Jack would speak.
9/10.
‘The Lives of Captain Jack’ is a remarkable set, which I highly recommend. John Barrowman delivers some absolutely stunning performances.
James Goss and Guy Adams have managed to take such a well-known character and find new ways to make him to grow and mature, as well as answering questions fans have had for well over a decade.
It’s a must have box set, let’s hope this becomes an annual release. Maybe Jack could even meet a certain Professor Song…
It’s no secret that Sony has long wanted to launch a “Spidey-verse”, and despite striking a deal with Marvel Studios for the use of Spider-Man in the MCU, with films such as; the Avengers and the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming and its sequels. They’re planning to put their Spidey rights to good use; with or without the web crawler and, without Marvel studios.
Next year sees the release of an animated Spider-Man movie, focusing on Miles Morales, and last month, sony announced Venom and Silver & Black, the latter featuring the characters of Silver Sable and Black Cat.
As Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is cemented firmly in the MCU, there had been some speculation, as to where these films would take place.
Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige told AlloCine:
“For now, there is no plan for Venom in the MCU. It’s a Sony project.”
Many had assumed Venom would take place in a separate universe, but Keige’s answer does throw up other questions, such as; How will Venom’s origin be told without Spider-Man? If Tom Holland’s Spider-Man isn’t involved, will Sony cast a different Spider-Man? Are they building to a Spidey-Verse that features Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield?
Last week, Catherine Tate took part in a Q&A at London’s MCM comic con.
It’s extremely funny and Catherine is exactly how you’d like her to be.
Catherine Tate is an English comedian, actress, and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and seven BAFTA Awards. Following the success of The Catherine Tate Show, Tate played Donna Noble in the 2006 Christmas special of Doctor Who and later reprised her role, becoming the Tenth Doctor’s regular companion for the fourth series in 2008.
We attended the MCM expo, in London this weekend. Here’s the interview with Andrew Lee Potts. He discusses Primeval, Wireless and tells me to get off my butt and finish my web series.
There’s a transcribed version below the video.
BW:
So, Andrew. You’re obviously no stranger to these events. What is it that keeps you coming back to MCM?
ALP:
Well, I’m a big kid at heart. Also, getting that recognition for what you do, is really nice.
That’s why I first liked it. Actually chatting to the fans and the families who liked Primeval, for example, was really lovely. And once I started Wireless, which is my web show. They [MCM] got really behind it and started screening the episodes and a little fanbase started for the show. Here we are today and, I’ve actually filmed my first episode at MCM comic con. Which has been brilliant.
BW:
Do fans have common questions, in regards to Primeval and Wireless. What are the most common ones?
ALP:
Oh, gosh. ‘When’s Primeval coming back?’ Is the biggest one, I’ll get asked that a million times today.
BW:
So, when is it coming back?
ALP:
(Laughs) I’ll say to you, what I say to them [the fans]. I’ve got no idea, I’ve not spoken to the producers or anything. I know they still love the show. I have some sort of gut feeling, they may re-visit it. I think they should-as a brand.
I think it’s still strong. I think it would still work. I don’t know whether we’d be involved in that, as characters. But, I do think they should revisit Primeval.
I’ve got a little girl who is 6 now and, she loves dinosaurs and it’s a cool family thing. That’s what I love the most, is seeing the whole families together, going ‘Oh, yeah. I used to watch this with my granddad’. I just love that feeling about it.
So, no plans yet. But, it wouldn’t surprise me. I also get asked about CGI, a lot.
BW:
What was in like when you went to Canada, to work on that series [Primeval: New world]?
ALP:
Oh, it was cool. I did Alice for The SyFy channel, where I played the Mad Hatter and I was out there for four months, I fell in love with Vancouver. It’s one of my favourite places in the world.
So, to go back there to do Primeval was cool. I was honoured to be asked as well.
On the first night I got there, it was a night shoot. It was raining heavily. It had a big crew. A lot bigger than our crew, they had more money than we had. Which was all cool to see.
I went on to set and the showrunner said ‘Ladies and gentleman, Andrew Lee Potts. The reason we’re all here’.
So, it was just nice, you know? To see that it had travelled. The new cast members were full of questions about the show. It was a good experience and, I got very close with Nyle. Who played Evan Cross. On my honeymoon, he let me stay in his posh apartment in LA. So, I got something out of it (Laughs).
BW:
Is there anything you feel is unfinished about your character’s story?
ALP:
Well, we know they’re married [Connor and Abbie]. Because I reveal that in new world. I would have liked to have seen Connor as the team leader. I think he was going that way. He’d earnt his stripes in that sense.
I thought it would be great to have the ARC academy or something. Training newbies, but Abbie and Connor as a married couple. Because obviously, she’s good at all the kicking butt stuff and, he’s the technical side. That would lend itself to quite a lot of comedy, in their dynamic. It’d be quite nice to see them have a baby, then they’ve got something else to protect. There’s a lot of things they could do, I guess. And, get more guns. Always give Connor more guns.
BW:
Is working in sci-fi more rewarding than any other genre, because you get to come to things like this? [MCM comic con].
ALP:
That’s a good question. Primeval, Alice and that genre have given me a lot. They’ve helped me integrate with the fans a lot more.
Yeah, you do get more from it. For someone like me, who loves sci-fi. It’s great to be apart of a celebration, of the work you’re involved in and that’s why these cons are great.
Before Primeval, I’d done a lot of drama and, I’d played a lot of baddies. It was good because I’ve got a pretty versatile career. So, therefore, you get called in for a lot of different types of roles. But, as for walking down the street, it was easy. But now it’s changed, is the thing I would say. If I didn’t embrace a show like Primeval, or a character people seem to like a lot. It would get annoying. But, I do and I’m proud of playing the character.
BW:
It’s almost a unique sort of fame, isn’t it? You have a cult following here [MCM]
ALP:
Oh, I can’t walk around here. Especially in a hat like this.
But, Yeah. I do get recognised. My voice is apparently quite distinctive. I get clocked for my voice all the time if I’m on the phone. But, yeah. You do get so much back. It still surprises me how many people want to talk about Primeval. It’s become cult now, it is. Otherwise, people wouldn’t still be talking about it.
BW:
Is there anything you took away from your experience on Primeval?
ALP:
As a person, I think I became a lot more humble. It’s funny when you get fame for something and, it happened quite quickly for Primeval.
Because it was Saturday night TV. It was big and it had lots of bells and whistles on. We were on posters all over the tube.
Hannah was already used to it, as she was already famous. But I wasn’t. So, I kind of became really humble. It’s funny when you’re trying to become an actor and you’re trying to prove yourself and you want recognition, you want people to be talking about you online. Because that’s how you know you’ve arrived and when it happens, you go ‘Oh. Okay, that’s that then’. You stop chasing as much. You start listening a bit more, taking people’s feedback on a little bit more.
So, it’s made me more humble. We worked really hard on Primeval. We all got really close, as a team and, you know. I direct Wireless, so I’ve got a bit of a director’s head. So, I always side with the crew. I’ve always got lots of friends within the crew. I see how hard they work and try to help them however I can.
BW:
You did some stuff for the Primeval DVD, right?
ALP:
I did the making of Primeval. I also did webisodes. Any extracurricular things, they just went ‘Go on, Andrew’ll do it’. So, I did a lot of extra stuff for them. But, I enjoyed it.
BW:
Did you still anything from the show?
ALP:
Oh, yeah. I’m terrible at that. Significant character stuff, like the ring I wear around my neck That’s been in every episode. The earpieces, the black box. Anything I could put in my pocket, really. I would’ve had one of the big T-Rex or Raptor models if I could’ve got away with it. Lots of costumes, anything I could. Really.
BW:
Do you have any standout memories from primeval?
ALP:
When we walked into the ARC. The set they built for the second season. It was like, ‘I think we’re doing something right’. Because I’ve done a lot of shows, a lot of shows of varying budgets before Primeval. Then I walked on to that set, that looked like something out of James Bond and we were like ‘Okay, this is our world now, isn’t it?’ and they [ITV] said ‘Yeah and, we’re making toys’.
That sort of stuff was insane. I went to the toy factory, to see my toy being made. That’s cool, no one can ever take that away from me.
BW:
Did they 3D scan you?
ALP:
They didn’t 3D scan me. They did it from photos, actually. They would take pictures from different angles and they did the original sculpts by hand-the same guys who do the Doctor Who figures. They were fantastic, absolutely fantastic.
So, they got all the heads over to impossible pictures, who were like ‘Yeah that ones good. That ones good. Good, good’. They got to mine and said ‘That looks too good looking to be Andrew. Can you do something to his face?’ So, my character is smirking. I look like I’ve had a stroke. It still looks like me, but I don’t know whether to take it as a compliment or a diss.
BW:
What would you say, on your character’s gravestone?
ALP:
That’s quite depressing that, innit? ‘I’M NOT DEAD’. I think I had a few little things that people caught on to, one was ‘La Connor Temple’. So maybe it should say ‘La Connor Temple’ and underneath ‘Pretty sexy stuff’. Which is what I said, whenever I saw a new gadget or something. La Connor Temple, pretty sexy stuff (laughs).
BW:
What advice would you give someone who wants to start their own web series?
ALP:
Oh, gosh. Do it! Just do it. I’ve been asked this a lot. People just procrastinate and talk about doing it.
You’ve gotta do it, you’ve got to experience it. You’ve got to learn from it. I’ve made so many mistakes on Wireless, on the technical side of stuff. But, that’s why I love doing it. It just teaches you so much and, I’m a bit of a sponge anyway.
So, just get off your butt and do it. Film it on your phone. You can get basic editing packages now and put it online, on youtube. That’s all I do.
I’m no different to the next person. I just know a few more actors. That’s the only difference. That is the only difference, I can get a few actors in that are professionals. Who, very kindly do it for free. Because they see my passion, within it. But, you know. I’ve been making films since I was 13, on any sort of camera I could get my hands on. You’ve got no excuses, if you want to do it, you’ve just got to do it. Be creative. Make mistakes.
BW:
I guess there are no gatekeepers anymore. There’s nobody telling you, you can’t.
ALP:
Well, that’s the thing. That’s why I did Wireless. I wanted to be the boss of something, creatively. I wanted to put my vision out there. If people like it, they like it. If they don’t, they don’t. Gladly, hopefully, they seem to like it. I still enjoy doing it. I can’t stop doing it. I’m addicted. But, there’s no rehab.
Batman V Superman Director Zack Snyder is stepping away from Justice League, which is currently in post-production.
Snyder is taking the break to be with his family after his daughter’s tragic death.
Snyder told The Hollywood Reporter
“I’ve decided to take a step back from the movie to be with my family, be with my kids, who really need me.”
Snyder’s wife, Deborah Snyder, a producer on Justice League, will also be taking a break,
Joss Whedon will be taking over the upcoming re-shoots for Justice League.
The death of Snyder’s 20-year old daughter had been kept secret and Snyder planned to throw himself into work, however he feels it’s best to step back from the project and focus on family.
He added:
“In my mind, I thought it was a cathartic thing to go back to work, to just bury myself and see if that was way through it. The demands of this job are pretty intense. It is all consuming. And in the last two months I’ve come to the realisation …I’ve decided to take a step back from the movie to be with my family, be with my kids, who really need me. They are all having a hard time. I’m having a hard time.”
Justice League is still set for its November 17th release.
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