Tag: Noel Clarke

Episode 146:Noel Clarke interview

In this episode of the podcast, Martyn sits down with acclaimed actor, writer, and director Noel Clarke to talk about his latest creative venture – the comic book series, The Troop.

Noel takes us on a journey through the creation of The Troop, explaining how his love for comics began as a child and how he was inspired to bring his own story to life in this medium. He discusses the challenges of writing for comics and the differences between that and screenwriting, as well as his collaboration with illustrator Joshua Cassara.

We delve into the world of The Troop, a group of young people with extraordinary abilities who are tasked with saving the world from a mysterious threat. Noel shares with us the characters and their unique powers, as well as the overarching themes of the series.

Beyond The Troop, Noel reflects on his career in the entertainment industry, sharing his insights on the challenges and opportunities that come with being a writer, director, and actor. He also discusses his experiences with diversity and representation in the industry and the importance of creating opportunities for underrepresented voices.

Join us for a fascinating conversation with Noel Clarke about his creative journey and the exciting world of The Troop.

The Troop can be ordered from Titan Comics. Read our review here.

The podcast is available from all good podcast services, such as but not limited to; Amazon Music, Podchaser, Player FM, Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts.

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Twitter:

Martyn – @BadWilf

Pete – @BeeblePete

Gerrod –@InGerrodsMind

Email:info@badwilf.com

Noel Clarke is @NoelClarke

Review-The Troop by Noel Clarke

In The Troop a team with super powers rises from a nightmare parade of violence, with memorable action sequences and flashes of sexual activity along the way.

Author Noel Clarke was part of the the main cast of Doctor Who’s 2005 return to television. Since then he’s written an episode of Torchwood and a couple of independent films, all of which show his knack for dark material. He told the Hollywood Reporter that he wanted to push boundaries with this comic. Where he does that is in his depiction of real life abusive human behaviour, which exists in the backgrounds that these super-humans come from. The Troop are not so much a fearless team of super heroes as a damaged pile of kids united by a shady character who comes off as a bit of a creep.

We’re in an early period for digital comics as they differentiate themselves from the heavy lines and solid fills of the past. In this book, artist Joseph Cassara paints with loads of photographic colour and texture. In one panel he simulates shallow depth-of-field, where the background has those discs you get from expensive cameras when points of light in the background are blurred.

It can be a little noisy but structure does win out over chaos, particularly in the action sequences. Movement in illustration is tied to the way shapes strike across the page and Cassara works this well. In a rainy forest chase he does this by putting his virtual camera high in the trees and in another, he grabs a snapshot from a flying belt’s hang time before a dangerous dad brings it down.

Issue 1 of The Troop is a bit of a contest between abuse violence and revenge violence but Noel Clarke is setting up something that is intentionally not shiny. This is a tale where everything soft is burnt away – that can lend the truly poignant bits great impact later on. Now it’s up to Clarke and Cassara to deliver on the promise shown so far.

Listen to our interview with Noel Clarke here.

Artwork preview:


  

Issue #1 is out 9th December 2015

DVD REVIEW-FAST GIRLS

Fast Girls is a film that tried to cash in on the Olympics but was not allowed to use the words “Olympics,” “London,” and “2012.” As a result, the film revolves around a group of female athletes training for the fictional 2011 World Championships. Co-written by Noel Clarke and directed by newcomer Regan Hall, the movie is billed as a comedy/drama, but it fails to deliver on both fronts.

The film stars Lenora Crichlow (Being Human) as Shania, a talented sprinter from the ‘wrong side of the tracks’ who is approached by relay coach Tommy (Clarke) to join the team. However, she struggles to be a team player. While it is refreshing to see a British production with strong female leads, Fast Girls quickly becomes a cliché-ridden film. The romance between Shania and Carl feels contrived, and the movie falls back on the same old tropes we’ve seen in countless other films.

Noel Clarke’s performance as Tommy is rather bland, and it feels like he wasn’t the original actor cast for the role. Phil Davis has little more than a cameo as Shania’s original coach, and it’s a waste of his talent. While the film does engage the audience at times, it’s hard to stay interested when the plot is so predictable. The “feel good” climax is the icing on the cake of this disappointing film.

Overall, Fast Girls is a film with potential, but it fails to deliver on its promises. The strong female leads are refreshing, but the plot is predictable and clichéd, and the performances are lackluster. If you’re looking for a film about female athletes that delivers on its promises, this one falls short.

⭐⭐

    • Behind the Scenes: Cast Training/ Costume Design/ The Relay/ Fast Girl Championship/ Night Shoot.
    • Interviews: Lenora Chrichlow/ Lily Jame/ Noel Clarke/ Bradley James/ Regan Hall/ Rupert Graves/ Lorraine Burroughs/ Lashana Lynch/ Dominique Tipper/ Damian Jones/ Ben Rimmer/ Shani Anderson/ Jeanette Kwakye.
    • Trailer

Storage 24 MCM panel

Noel Clarke and director Johannes Roberts visited the MCM Expo last month to promote the sci-fi action flick Storage 24 which opens tonight. After the trailer played they answered questions before running a preview clip from the midst of the action.

Unable to find a deal (or a role) that played to his strengths, Clarke wrote and produced the picture in addition to playing the lead. As Clarke describes, this brought restrictions associated with any independent British film:

“What happened with this film, halfway through (this won’t give it away) we wanted some sort of SWAT team thing at the end and we couldn’t afford the sixty or so people that I wanted. They came to us and were like, ‘you can have eight in the SWAT team.’ Fuckin’ eight! Motherfuckin’ eight! That’s not a SWAT team, that’s a group of guys comin’ out of a minivan!

“So I said, what if we scrap that? I said to Johannes, what if we do THIS thing? And I told him this really cool ending. And he said ‘aw, dude that’s so cool, do that.’

Fleeing something monstrous through corridors is a familiar enough idea and the corridors of a self-storage facility are an even more common image (I’ve moved house 3 times in the past 4 years). But the menace of Storage 24 does have a difference – one worth checking out on the big screen if the preview clip was any indication.

Storage 24 opens tonight