A

DO AR EXC

Alternative UB DM LUS
LE AN IVE
N A IN
EG N T
AT IM ERV
IV A IEW
E TI O S
& N !
M ,
O
RE
...

TAPEHEAD

THE REAL JIM SHELLEY

9 News
9 Previews
9 Reviews
9 The Shield
9 The Sopranos
9 Stuntman Special
9 Is TV the new film?
EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW INSIDE: THE OBJECTIVE
Contents.
News/ Previews
Preview Special - Alternative takes a look at two of Clint
Eastwood’s latest films, in front of and behind the
camera 4 - 5
The Objective - An exclusive preview with lead actor
Matt Anderson about his new film The Objective, from
Blair Witch co-creator Daniel Myrick 6 - 7
Don Bluth News - An intimate chat with co-founder
Gary Goldman from Don Bluth Animation about the
studio’s past,present and future 8 - 11
Picture This : The Posters Of Watchmen 12 - 15
Reviews (In Cinemas now/ Alternatives)
Watchmen/ Watchmen Graphic Novel - Alan Moore
controversially called his alternate reality Grapic Novel
epic unfilmable. So just how well does this adaptation
hold up against the source material? 16 - 19
Bold 3D/ Spirited Away - The latest from Disney offers
some of the best CGI animation yet. But can it ever
match the charm of traditional animation? 20 - 21
Righteous Kill/ 36 - Can Pacino and DeNiro ever live up
to their crime epic Heat? And if not, who can? 22 - 23
Features
The Sopranos VS The Shield - We take a look back over
both series to see what made them so special 24 - 35
Tapehead Interview - Daily Mirror TV critic Jim Shelley
answers the question: Is TV the New Cinema? 36 - 38
Stuntmen Special - Alternative asks three professional
stuntmen, living in a world of death-defying leaps, huge
explosions and extreme mayhem, one vital question:
Why do you do it? 39 - 45
A Mann’s World - The films of Auteur Director Michael
Mann 46 - 49
2 Alternative
Introduction.
W
elcome to the
very first issue
of Alternative
Magazine! It has taken a long
time to get the ball rolling, but
now we are here at last, and
there is no turning back. The
mantra for this magazine has
always been the same: to be
alternative. There will be no bias given to the mainstream.
Indie, world and foreign cinema will not be shyed away
from. Any film reviewed will also have an alternative film
offered up for review alongside it . Television is not looked
down upon. The Sopranos is just as valid as Goodfellas,
The Shield just as impactful as Serpico or Dirty Harry. If
this magazine does what it’s supposed to, it will make
people realise that it isn’t the medium that matters; it is
the story that is told. Hopefully, after finishing this first
issue, you will agree. Enjoy the magazine!
Features (continued)
Aardman: The Man Behind The Magic - Alternative
speaks to lead animator Merlin Crossingham about
the Studio’s latest Wallace and Gromit film, their up-
coming projects and much more... 50 - 55
Cloverfield: Special Effects Special - SFX wizz David
Vickery from Double Negative explains just how he
went about destroying New York in the hit film 56 - 63
At Home
Blu Ray Of The Month - Blade Runner has finally hit Blu-
ray! The alternative offered may surprise you... 64 - 65
Interactive Entertainment - New release Ceville and
retro choice Broken Sword 3 66 - 67
Alternative 3
News/ Previews
CLINT PREVIEW
SPECIAL
CHANGELING
Angelina Jolie stars in shocking true story
M
any film goers may
have already written
off Angelina Jolie
when it comes to se-
rious acting. Remem-
bered in recent years on the big screen
as videogame character Lara Croft, Tomb
Raider, it may come as a surprise that
she is cast as the new lead in acclaimed
director/actor Clint Eastwood’s latest film,
Changeling, due for release this year.
But such filmgoers should be careful not
to immediately jump to conclusions. This
seems to be Jolie flexing her acting mus-
cles to breaking point, providing any
naysayers with a firm, defiant message:
tell me this isn’t Oscar worthy.
And arguably, it could be. Changeling
tells the story of a grief stricken mother in
1920’s LA, whose son has gone missing.
When the authorities return him, she be-
4 Alternative
gins to suspect something isn’t right: this
isn’t her son. The main focus of the film is
her struggle to reveal the truth.
The film has basis in reality, discussing
events surrounding the Wineville Chicken
Coop Murders, a murder and kidnapping
case that was uncovered in 1928. This
seems to be lending a lot of weight to the
film, stirring up controversy in the press
before it has actually been released. The
film even begins with those infamous
words: Based on a true story.
Starting out as a cowboy in low-budget
spaghetti westerns, few expected Clint
Eastwood to rise to prominence in recent
years as a director. He has now received
more critical acclaim for his directorial
outings than he ever did for his admit-
tedly limited but highly praised acting
roles. After Changeling is released, he is
also planning to release another film,
Gran Torino, in which he both directs and
stars.
If early screening are anything to go by,
this film seems very promising indeed,
pairing one of the hottest actresses at the
moment with a director who has easily
proven he is more than just an actor look-
ing for a way to keep himself involved in
film as old age sets in, in front of or be-
hind of the camera.
The trailer already has several scene
snippets screaming Oscar worthy, with all
involved looking on top form. The only
worry now is whether the full film will live
up to the praise already being thrown at
it, or drown like many have before it
under the weight of expectation. Come
release this Friday, we will finally be able
to make our own minds up once and for
all.

GRan TORInO
Whatever you do, don’t step on his lawn
C
lint Eastwood stars and di-
rects in the new film Gran
Torino, to be released in
January this year, with a
startling amount of what
can only be described as testosterone
soaked-grit. This is immediately evident
every time Eastwood’s Korean War Vet,
Walt Kowalski, opens his mouth.
“Ever notice how you come across some-
body once in a while you shouldn't have
messed with? That's me.”
Sound cheesy? Maybe it would be in the
wrong hands…but it seems so far that
Eastwood is pulling it off with ease in this
modern day morality tale, set in a run-
down neighbourhood of downtown De-
troit.
Walt’s wife has passed away at the be-
ginning of the film, and we are quickly
shown how self absorbed his two sons
and their families are, present at the fu-
neral due only to a sense of necessity,
eyes beady with the thought of inheri-
tance.
The family next door are Hmong, a fam-
ily without a father, two teenagers strug-
gling to stay on the straight-and-narrow in
an area of gang violence and gun crime.
Needless to say, Walt finds this situation
less than ideal, but keeps himself to him-
self, happy to retire to his workshop
(housing the titular Ford Gran Torino) or
his stoop with some beers during the day,
then meet the other old-timers down at
the local bar in the night for a few more.
After the funeral in this very bar, Walt
again puts his razor-sharp tongue to
good use, telling a joke.
“Oh, I've got one. A Mexican, a Jew, and
a coloured guy go into a bar. The bar-
tender looks up and says, "Get the fuck
out of here."
You could say Walt isn’t a people per-
son…but then again you would be wrong,
because in a strange way he is. This is
where the heart of the film lies, kicking
into over-gear when a teenage Hmong
gang starts to terrorise his neighbours,
their attempted initiation of the unwilling
younger male teenager Thao spilling out
onto the front lawn, a full blown fight
breaking out.
The family is helpless. That is, until Walt
steps out with a rifle pointed at the near-
est gang member’s head. The reason?
“Don’t think for a second I won’t blow a
big hole in your face and it won’t bother
me a bit, not any more than if I shot a
deer. Now get off my goddamned lawn.”
Note to self. Stay off Walt Kowalski’s
lawn.
News/ Previews
Again, the tough-guy dialogue would be
cringe worthy in lesser hands, but East-
wood still has that tough image gained by
playing a lifetime of hardasses, regard-
less of his advancing senior years, with a
cold, detached look in his eyes to not
only deliver it like poetry but also mean
every goddamn word.
Needless to say this situation is going to
escalate throughout the course of the
film, but thankfully it seems Eastwood is
going for a character driven drama, such
as his previous successes with Mystic
River and the recent Changeling, rather
than dumbing it down with all-out vigi-
lante action. Here at Alternative Maga-
zine we applaud this decision, and look
forward to what could be one of the big
surprises of early 2009.
Already considered as a potential Acad-
emy Award contender, perhaps the
biggest surprise will be if it actually wins
with a title character that uses such
colourful politically incorrect phrases as
“eggrole”, “pussycake” and “gooks” to de-
scribe the Hmong, yet remains endearing
and heroic to both their people and the
viewer. Gran Torino had a limited release
in North America in December 2008 and
will have a wider release in January
2009.
Alternative 5
News/ Previews

Exclusive
Preview !
AlternAtive speAks to leAD
Actor MAtt AnDerson About his
new filM, DirecteD by blAir
witch project co-creAtor
DAniel Myrick ...

THE OBJECTIVE Thank you for your time Matt! So what is the objec-
tive actually about?
The film is about a group of US Army Special Forces sol-
diers (Green Berets) in Afghanistan at the beginning of
the current war. They are given a mission to escort a CIA
operative into the mountains to find an Afghani cleric who
will support the US. As they travel deeper into the moun-
tains trying to find him strange things begin to happen. As
the tension increases it becomes apparent to the soldiers
that this mission is not what they were told and the CIA
man knows much more than he's telling.

Who is directing?
Dan Myrick is the director. He was one of the co-direc-
tor/creators of The Blair Witch Project.

Does this film share aspects that were shown in Blair

Witch?
There are certainly similarites to the films. A small group
that are out of their element. Strange things happen and
increase as they push on. An otherworldly antagonist that
may not be very tangible. However, they are certainly not
the same film. The shooting style is different, very little
shaky cam on this one. Instead of some inept kids this is
a trained group of battle tested Special Operators with the
latest technology. They battle their foes instead of crying
into the camera...you get the idea! Don't want to give too
much away!

How did you get involved?

I had worked on several films with one of the producers,
Andrea Balen. She contacted me about stunts on the film
and suggested I put my resume in to casting because of
the film’s subject and my background. I actually was an
SF soldier (Special Forces) in the first Gulf War and
served in Iraq in 2004-05. When the casting director con-
tacted me for a callback he asked where they had gotten
me from and I related this info. He paused and then told
me that the director had no idea I was a stuntman or that
I knew one of the producers and that I shouldn't mention

6 Alternative

a
The setting creates a highly contemporary feel. Director Daniel Myrick.
it, so I didn't.
Did you read a full script before shoot-
ing began?
Absolutely. After I was cast they sent me
the script. It was kind of funny. As I was
reading the script I realized that this was
a big part, the second lead in fact. So I
called Andrea, my producer, and asked if
there was a mistake in the part I had
since it was so much dialogue. She
checked and lo and behold, not only was
there no mistake I was also the first actor
hired from the casting. One other actor
was already on board, he had worked for
Dan Myrick on Blair Witch and Dan knew
he wanted him very early on.
Are you an actor first and a stuntman
second in this film?
DEFINATELY an actor first on this one.
As I said, I was in a big part, the biggest
acting role of my career in fact. That
being the case I immersed myself into it.
In fact I even talked with the producers
and thought it best that we have a local
stunt coordinator so I could concentrate
on my acting role. I looked over what he
put together for safety, but he and his
crew were very professional. This made it
easy to concentrate on my acting. The
only thing I took the lead on (SPOILER
ALERT) was putting together a major
ground and pound fight.
Was the film actually shot on location
in Afghanistan?
No, even though some of us have been
in combat it's a lot easier to be a badass
when the guns firing at you are firing
blanks. We filmed in Morocco.
Who else is starring in the film? How
was it to work with them?
We had a great cast, both as actors and
as people. They were all a pleasure to
work with. Jonas Ball was our lead and
my nemesis. He had a great film out the
year before called The Killing of John
Lennon where he played Mark David
Chapman, Lennon’s murderer. Mike
Williams is the Blair Witch veteran I
spoke of. John Huertas has also worked
with Dan, playing a lead in his previous
film Believers. Right after The Objective
he went on to work in the HBO mini se-
ries Generation Kill and is now co-star-
ring on the new tv series Castle. Jeff
Prewett was cast as an Australian SAS
attachment and interestingly was cast on-
line from auditions he submitted via the
web. None of us even met him until we
arrived in Morocco to shoot, including the
director. We were rounded out on the
team by Kenny Taylor and Sam Hunter,
also both veterans. In fact, out of the
seven of us five were former military.
Three of those were Special Operations
with combat experience. We also had a
local Moroccan actor named Chems-Ed-
dine Zinoune. A wonderful actor who
sadly died in a traffic accident in
Casablanca this past November.
Have you seen any audience reactions
to the film?
Yes. Our world premier was at the 2008
Tribeca Film Festival in New York. We did
question & answers after the film so not
only did we get to see their reactions, but
we got to interact with them. It was great
to get that opportunity, to actually interact
and not just read some faceless review
on the web from god knows who. We ac-
tually had a former Special Forces guy in
the audience at one of the showings. It
was truly gratifying to talk with him after
and have him tell me he enjoyed the film
and really "believed" in us as the SF sol-
diers in the story.
Is this your biggest acting role to
date?
As I mentioned earlier, this is definately
my biggest role. Usually as a stuntman
we get a few lines and die horribly. I've
had some decent sized acting roles be-
fore opposite some big actors like
Michael Madsen, John Rhys-Davies, Gi-
ancarlo Esposito, but this was not only
the biggest role but the BEST role I've
been given the chance to play.
Who is your character? How did you
approach the acting?
My character is Chief Warrant Officer
Wally Hamer. A seasoned Special Forces
veteran with many years in service who is
in command of a SF team in Afghanistan.
As a former SF soldier myself it was very
important to me that I come off as credi-
ble inside the SF community. I took a lot
News/ Previews
of my experience with many different SF
leaders and tried to mold that into a sol-
dier that wouldn't be a caricature, but that
the audience that wasn't military could re-
late to. At times it's rough, we've been re-
viewed by some people on blogs as
"cliche," but the thing is that many sol-
diers are kind of cliche. We use a lot of
the same terminology, jokes, insults, etc. I
used tons of cliches that I had learned
from the soliders that trained me and god
knows how far back they had learned
these. I feel like I walked the line and
came out with a realistic representation of
a solid SF leader.
Any good memories from shooting the
film?
Many...I got a chance to work overseas,
that's enough right there. But I had a
wonderful cast to work with. A GREAT di-
rector in Dan Myrick, who really guided
me and then let me play with stuff to see
where it would go. The people in Mo-
rocco were very gracious and the crew
top notch pros. To add to all of that I got
to take my oldest son over with me for
the shoot. He got to work on set as a PA
(production assistant), which really
means he was a gofer (go fer this, go fer
that). During the filming they threw him
into a uniform and put him in as an extra.
The camera went by him into an office
where I was. This was REALLY COOL
because I have footage just like that from
an episode of the old TV show The A-
Team, where I WAS the soldier extra and
the camera went by me and into an office
where my dad was playing a General that
was after the A-Team. He was an actor
as well, in fact I'm the 4th generation in
an entertainment family. Unfortunately the
piece with my son was cut out. But after
the shoot he and I threw on back packs
and went to Paris, Rome, Madrid, and
then Casablanca.
When is the film out? (Is it later than
the US Feb 09 date here in the UK?)
The film premiered here in Los Angeles
on Friday the 13th of March. I'm not sure
about the UK, but it is currently available
"On Demand" on the IFC channel. It's set
to come out on DVD in June of 2009.
Alternative 7
News/ Previews
Preview Special!
don Bluth
Productions
Gary
Goldman
Thank you for your time! So, how did
Don Bluth Productions originate?
It was 1973, about a year after I met Don
working at Walt Disney Productions. We
had been told when we were hired (Don
in April ’71, me in February ’72) that the
Nine Old Men would be retiring in the
next 5 or 6 years.
So, in a panic, we realised that we were
only being trained to be animators, and
realised that we would have to learn
more about all the processes in the pro-
duction of animation. We didn’t even
know what questions to ask. So we de-
cided to make a short film in Don’s
garage, in which we would surely cause
questions to ask our mentors at Disney.
We started with a project we called “The
Piper”, based on a poem that Don’s
brother, Toby wrote.
Don had already purchased an editing
bench and a moviola to watch and study
16mm copies of animated shorts you
could buy, like Warner Bros and MGM
cartoons. We invested in building small
animation desks and purchasing anima-
tion discs to animate with and folding ta-
bles, lamps pencils, paper, paint,
brushes, etc - tools to do animation at the
house and in Don’s garage. The first peo-
8 Alternative
AlternAtive speAks
exclusively to the studio
co-founder About the pAst,
present And future of don
bluth productions.
ple involved were Don, Don’s brother,
Toby, Dave Suding, an assistant anima-
tor, Dale Baer, an animator trainee, and
me, an animation trainee and inbe-
tweener.
By mid-1973 we had quite a bit of our
own time and money invested in the proj-
ect, so we decided to protect the invest-
ment by incorporating. We were paying
for everything ourselves from tax returns
and any freelance work we picked up on
the side.
We went to an attorney, incorporated,
and called the company Don Bluth Pro-
ductions, Inc. The name stuck, but some
of those involved did not. Dave Suding
and Dale Baer decided to not spend their
off-time working at the garage and at
some point Don and Toby had a dis-
agreement and Toby left.
John Pomeroy had joined the Disney or-
ganisation in February of 1983. He im-
pressed us with his drawing, knowledge
and enthusiasm, so we invited him to
come see what we were doing that sum-
mer, and he became part of our learning
programme.
In 1975 we felt that The Piper was too
big of a project and came up with a sim-
ple short story to practice and learn our
skills on, something we might be able to
do in a couple of years (working nights
and weekends). The story was called
Banjo The Woodpile Cat. We started in
March of 1975 and completed it in De-
cember of 1979 (four and a half years
later).
Was there a dissatisfaction at Disney?
Not at that time. We were actually very
enthusiastic about working at Walt Disney
Productions, almost obsessive about it.
Don had wanted to work there since he
was very young – like by the age of nine
(and did work there when he graduated
high school in 1955 – on Sleeping Beauty
as an assistant to John Lounsbery). John
Pomeroy had been inquiring with Disney
about working there since he was 13
years old.
Personally, I actually had hoped to be a
panel cartoonist for newspapers like
Leroy Holly, a family friend. After graduat-
ing from Art school, I met with Lee and
he recommended that I go down to
Hollywood and get a couple of years ex-
perience in the animation industry before
I dove into the independent cartoonist
world. I showed my drawing portfolio at
Walt Disney Productions and was hired

Above: The studio’s first film may still be one of
their best.
Right: Don Bluth himself smiles for the camera
into their animation programme three
days later. So I was not really a devout
fan when I arrived. But, after about 6
weeks into the training programme, ani-
mating my personal screen tests, they
showed us trainees Pinocchio…I became
an instant super fan. I couldn’t believe I
was part of such a magical place. We all
worked together at Disney during the day
and in Don’s house and garage at night
and weekends, training ourselves in all
things animation.
In this period we were promoted regu-
larly and were part of the animation team
that made: Robin Hood (1973), Winnie
the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974), The
Rescuers (1977), Pete’s Dragon (1977),
The Small One (1978) and went on to
The Fox and the Hound in November of
1978. It was during the production of
Pete’s Dragon and The Small One that
we lost our innocence, and realised that
the management, at that time, had little
respect for the quality of the films and
wanted us to stop trying to recreate the
production values of the past and encour-
aged us to cut corners and reduce the
cost of production. They made our lives
as leaders very uncomfortable. And, basi-
cally saw the artists as just the laborers
to cobble together products for them to
sell. Don stepped down as Producer/ Di-
rector and asked to just animate.
Around the same time three ex-Disney
executives contacted us to see if we
would be interested in leaving Disney if
they could raise money to finance a fea-
ture film. (We don’t know how they knew
we were becoming disillusioned about
our roles at Disney and with the company
itself), but they were serious about this.
They asked if we had a company? We
did – Don Bluth Productions. They asked
what film we would make if they could fi-
nance?
We told them that story man/character
designer, Ken Andersen had suggested
that we read the Newberry Award-winning
novel, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of
N.I.M.H., which we had, and that’s the
book we would like to base an animated
feature on. Their investor asked if we had
done anything on our own that wasn’t
made at Disney?
We had Banjo, which was all animated
and about 70% in Colour, which we
showed him. With that, he agreed to fi-
nance our first feature and to pay for the
completion of Banjo. With that commit-
ment, Don, John Pomeroy and I resigned
our positions at Disney on Don’s birthday,
September 13, 1979.
The following day, 8 more animators and
assistants who were working nights and
weekends with us, resigned, and over the
next three months another 6 came out to
join the group. Don Bluth Productions,
Inc. was now a funded company, and
from September 13 to December 19th of
1979 we worked seven days a week to
complete Banjo the Woodpile Cat and get
it into two theaters for one week before
the end of the year for Academy consid-
eration in the “Short Film” category.
In January of 1980 we began pre-produc-
tion on The Secret of N.I.M.H. Banjo
went to sleep for the next two years be-
fore it was shown on America’s ABC net-
work as a primetime special.
Who were the founding members?
The founding members officially were
Don Bluth, and me, however at the time
of our departure from Disney, it was us,
and John Pomeroy. We had a fourth
founding partner, Mel Griffin, who was to
be the businessman of the company. In
August of 1982 we mutually agreed his
departure from the company.
The company operated as Don Bluth
Productions until early 1984, when, in the
middle of production of our third video
game, Dragon’s Lair II: A Time Warp, our
distributor shut down the cash flow which
put Don Bluth Productions in jeopardy of
bankruptcy with an outstanding debt of
News/Previews
$300,000. In order to fight the disruption
of the revenue flow, we had to go into
bankruptcy court to resolve it.
We had formed a second company Bluth
Group Ltd to be the partner with the dis-
tributor and that company had to do the
same. Finally, in 1988, we won the law-
suit but in the middle of the 4 year court
case, Don Bluth Productions had to go
into Chapter 7 and be dissolved. We
found another business partner, Morris
Sullivan, who set up a company, Sullivan
Studios, Inc., with which we produced An
American Tail and The Land Before Time
with Steven Spielberg and Universal Pic-
tures.
We moved that company from Van Nuys,
California to Dublin, Ireland with 87 of its
talented staff (and their families) in No-
vember of 1986, and in 1987 the name of
the company became Sullivan-Bluth Stu-
dios, which grew to a staff of 400. And, in
1990 we changed the name to Don Bluth
Entertainment.
In 1992 the company again found itself
in bankruptcy court, and this time the
company was sold.
Don and I produced and directed for the
new company which continued the com-
pany with the name Don Bluth Entertain-
ment, but we did not own it. In late 1993
Don and I were contacted by Bill Me-
chanic who was being recruited by New
Corp from the Walt Disney Company to
take on the Chairmanship of 20th Cen-
tury Fox. He told them he would take the
job if he could start a feature animation
division.
They called on us to help them start the
new company Fox Animation, Inc. In Au-
gust of 1994, Fox moved us to Phoenix,
Arizona where a 66,000 square foot
building was remodeled for animation
production. We ran Fox Animation as its
producer/directors for 6 years. In 2000
we incorporated the name Don Bluth
Films, Inc. and have been developing
feature film properties and contracting to
Alternative 9
News/ Previews

Above and left: Some

early artwork from
Banjo the Woodcat.
Right: An American Tail
saw the studio team up
with Steven Speilberg
to create one of the
most celebrated ani-
mated features ever.

produce and direct a few short subjects in
animation. We are currently seeking
funds to put new feature-length proper-
ties into production.
How many people make up the studio
today?
Just a few, for development only, plus we
contract out to ex-employees.
How has it been over the years to
work with Don Bluth and John
Pomeroy?
We are close. More like brothers. Don is
still full of passion for animation and has
the energy of three people. John went
back to Disney in 1993 and worked there
for 10 years. He is still a partner in Bluth
Group Ltd, which owns all rights to the
three video games and are still sold on
DVD and Blu-ray and are playable using
the remote of a DVD player.
The games are being reprogrammed
now for an iPhone/iTouch devices, to be
available on the Apple Apps store. John
continues in the industry as a storyboard
artist and an animator. We went through
a lot of bumps and hardship in our jour-
ney to bring back the production values
we felt were important to the art of anima-
tion. We just remastered Banjo the
Woodpile Cat, digitally cleaning it up for
its DVD premiere on its 30th Anniversary
with a double disc package including 90
minutes of bonus features. It’s on ama-
zon.com. And, Don is now creating ani-
mation tutorials on DVD and has set up a
donbluthanimation site where students
and aficionados of animation may buy
these informative lessons in animation.
What have been the biggest hits for
the studio?
Probably An American Tail, The Land Be-
fore Time and Anastasia, but then, The
Secret of NIMH, All Dogs Go To Heaven
& Thumbelina seem to have sold a lot of
DVDs worldwide and have a large fan
base.
Why has the studio not made sequels
to its films?
We haven’t been real interested in se-
quels. Once we’ve told the story, we’re
ready to move on to the next new idea.
Why have other studios instead?
Probably because they had the right and
didn’t have a better idea.
Is traditional animation on the de-
cline?
Decline? With the exception of TV series
and commercials, traditional animation
has been dead since the release of
Home on the Range in 2004. However,
there is a market for it. It’ll have to be a
great story with great appeal and be
made at a much lower cost than the CG
animated features. We plan to be part of
its resurgency.
All Dogs Go To Heaven was beaten at
the box office by Disney's The Little
Mermaid, although it later became a
hit on home video and is considered a
cult classic. Did the studio ever con-
sider compromising and making more
mainstream films to win box office
success?
Compromise? Not really sure what com-
promise you are referring to. We compro-
mised a lot with The Land Before Time.
Cuts were made while we were in pro-
duction and even more were made after
we delivered the film to make it a kid-
friendly G-rated film. The same happened
to All Dogs and to A Troll in Central Park.
Sometimes the financing entity and/or the
distributing studios demand a say-so in
the final product.
Will All Dogs Go To Heaven ever be re-
leased as a directors cut with added
footage/ original aspect ratio, remas-
tered picture and sound?
No. The footage that was cut, was dis-
carded, not saved. The drawings were
not archived. Goldcrest Film and Televi-
sion actually refused to store the original
art (drawings) and, I believe most of the
cells and backgrounds were destroyed or
taken to the dump in the UK. They said
that it cost them “too much” for adequate
temperature & humidity-controlled stor-
age.
Also, most of our films were originally
shot in 1:1.33 which is 4X3. The top and
bottom of the frames are "clipped" in the
theater projectors to present a 1: 1.85
image on the screen. So, those original
VHS tapes and the first DVDs were pre-
sented in the original 1:1.33 format,
mainly because the home viewing audi-
ence thought something was wrong with
the tape or their TV when the image had
black across the top and bottom, letter-
boxing the image to 1:1.85. The home
audiences now understand the difference
and most of the new DVDs have been re-
formated to fit the 16X9 measurement of
the flat screen TVs. Still, this means that
some of the original art has been clipped

10 Alternative

Above: The studio has had mixed success
over the years. Anastasia was a massive hit,
whilst Titan A.E sadly turned out as a flop.
Right: Don Bluth relaxes with the cast of All
Dogs Go To Heaven.
or cut off. We just re-mastered our
garage project, Banjo the Woodpile Cat
and we gave the viewer a choice of 4X3
or 16X9, to accommodate the new TV
screen size.
Has the studio considered the above
for their other back catalogue with the
event of blu-ray?
All Dogs for example? We do not know.
Goldcrest has been fairly secretive with
regards to marketing the DVDs, we are
never asked for our input.
Did Titan A.E damage the studio with
its poor box office performance?
I’d have to say yes. But more than the
film’s performance was the lack of mar-
keting by Fox. They abandoned the film
after the first weekend, refusing to adver-
tise the film after only bringing in $9.8 mil-
lion on its opening weekend.
What do you think of this film person-
ally?
We’re not ashamed of the film. There was
a lot of talent behind that film, with about
14 top writers from the sci-fi genre, in-
cluding Josh Whedon and John August.
The problem was that for 18 months the
film was in production with another direc-
tor and producer. They had spent $30
million and ended up with little except
quite a bit of pre-production artwork. We
had to start over and were given a $55
million budget to get it done.
The schedule was condensed to 19
months, in order to meet the budget re-
quirements, plus we had to battle with the
creative execs at Fox as we raced to the
finish line. Not fun filmmaking. But, in the
end the crew was pretty proud of their ac-
complishment. Strange but that’s a film
that also has gained a cult DVD audi-
ence. See fan reviews on amazon.com.
Did this cause problems with 20th
Century Fox?
No. They had decided about half way
through the Titan A.E. production to give
up 2D animation and concentrate on CG
movies, which they could have easily
converted the Phoenix facility to do (and
everyone knows that traditionally trained
animators make the best CG animators).
There were also issues between New
Corp management and 20th Century Fox
senior management. We were the collat-
eral damage, us and 314 animation
staffers.
How did the studio come to animate
for the Scissor Sisters?
The band contacted us and asked if we
could do something that would be similar
to what we had done in the film Xanadu
(1980). We said yes. We discussed and
agreed the entire approach with their live
action director. We story boarded the ani-
mation portion, and it was approved. It
was going to be a fun project. Then, they
lost their original live action director and a
new director was selected.
This live action director changed the idea
for the live action and the final product
truly baffled us. We felt that the animation
no longer made sense. Originally, the live
action girl was to have a job that she
hated - in an old building where it was
dull and unexciting, almost sweatshop
conditions. And, she lived in a tiny bed-sit
with a shared bathroom that was in need
News/ Previews
of repair and paint. A life not envied nor
enjoyed. The idea was that she was to
feel trapped in her situation, like Rapun-
zel in her tower, hence the approach to
her dream in animation. Needless to say,
the final product does not reflect that con-
cept.
What other studios do you look to with
respect? (Pixar? Ghibli?)
Yes to both. And add Aardman Studios
and Nick Park to those. We also liked the
work that the Australian company, Animal
Logic did, and George Miller’s direction
on Happy Feet.
And finally, what is the studio working
on at the moment?
Some books, and also a Dragon’s Lair
adaptation for the iPhone and iTouch de-
vices at the Apple Apps store.
We are working on several things, Don is
concentrating on the creation of DVDs
which will have animation tutorials from
the very basics of traditional classical ani-
mation to the advanced approach to sto-
ryboarding, layout and complex
animation. There is to be six major areas
of tutorials with six separate DVDs on
each subject. These are digitally shot with
Don himself demonstrating with drawings
how he approaches each challenge.
We are working on the third book, The Art
of Character Design. And, we’re in devel-
opment of eight feature-length animated
films, plus seeking financing for those
and the purchase of a popular book se-
ries for future feature films.
Alternative 11
News/ Previews

WATCHING
THE
THE COMEDIAN

This issue for our ‘PicTure This’ secTion, we Take

a look aT The newly released comic-con
PosTers for The uPcoming film waTchmen, and
comPare Them To The original comic-con
PosTers for The 1986 graPhic novel .

12 Alternative
 News/ Previews

Picture this
A guide to the best posters, books and
images bubbling up from the film world

WATCHMEN
DR MANHATTAN

Left: The Comedian is the catalyst for the Watchmen story. Much of his
controversial character seems to have remained intact, although his full
head mask has been replaced with an eye-mask instead.
Above: Dr Manhatten has been fully realised in the film via motion capture
with the actor that plays him, and the latest in CGI technology. As his char-
acter is supposed to be losing touch with humanity, perhaps the notirously
artificial CGI method will work effectively for once!

Alternative 13
News/ Previews

SILK SPECTER

Above: Silk Spekter seems somewhat younger in the film version, and
relative newcomer Malin Akerman has a lot to prove to fans.
Below: Night Owl’s suit has been modernised, making it look more tech-
nologically advanced than it had been originally in the graphic novel.
NIGHT OWL

14 Alternative
 News/ Previews

ozymandias

Above: Oyzmandias seems thinner and less fatherly in the film version.
But will his plans remain the same...?
Below: Rorschach seems to have survived the transition to the big
screen perfectly, oozing menace and mystery in equal measures.
RoRschach

Alternative 15
 In Cinemas Now

WATCHMEN

16 Alternative

film version
A
nybody familiar with Alan
Moore’s seminal work
Watchmen will also know
that he famously called it
un-filmable after several
failed attempts in the past (it has been in
development hell since the 1980’s), and
also due to Hollywood’s less than faithful
treatments of his other works such as V
for Vendetta. It is therefore quite difficult
for fans of the graphic novel to fully relax
when viewing this film, especially after it
has already been condemned from the
creative genius behind the ideas con-
tained therein in the first place.
Therefore, Alternative has chosen to re-
view this film as a film first, and an adap-
tation secondly. Luckily, in either case it
doesn’t do a half bad job. For viewers en-
tering the world of the Watchmen cold
turkey, the story tells the tale of what the
world would be like if superheroes really
existed, during an alternate reality
1980’s.
Of course, these are not your typical su-
perheroes. They are literally just regular
people who have decided to put on outra-
geous costumes and fight crime. Sadly,
this idea is somewhat difficult to swallow
at times, especially since the film does
show them as slightly more super than
the average person with little explanation,
rather than stick more faithfully to their
otherwise normalness in the graphic
novel.
Still, the physical representations on
screen of these previously ink and text
characters are a true sight to behold. Es-
pecially the character of Rorschach, a
suited masked vigilante whose masked
face contains ink blots that change with
his mood and expressions. He plays a
protagonist of sorts in the film, deciding to
fight crime long after superheroes have
been outlawed. Jackie Earle Haley is a
revelation in the role, portraying the
voice, mannerisms and posture of the
character to perfection.
The other characters are effectively
shown as well, including Night Owl, Silk
Spectre and Ozymandias. Again, these
names will mean nothing to people who
have not read the source material, al-
though they are presented well here and
are reasonably well explained to new-
comers.
Rorschach is investigating a killer who
seems to be killing off masked heroes
one by one, even though non of his old
partners believe him. This is put into mo-
tion by an excellent opening scene, mak-
ing great use of Nat King Cole’s
“Unforgettable” as ex-hero The Comedian
gets beaten to a pulp by an unseen as-
sailant before being thrown through the
windows of his top storey apartment. This
superbly sets up intrigue for newcomers
to the material and drives the film for-
ward.
The only true hero in the film is Dr Man-
hattan, a once normal man who was acci-
dentally locked in an experimental test
chamber, deconstructed to an atomic
level. When he finally manages to put
himself back together, he is a blue, god-
like creature in the vague form of a man
who can crush tanks with a sweep of one
hand and explode people with a wave of
the other. However, as powerful as he is,
little does he realise he is merely a pawn
in a very dark, dangerous plan.
If all of this sounds complex, it is proba-
bly because it is. Luckily, director Zach
Snyder is a far better storyteller in this
case than Alternative: the complex plot is
woven perfectly well over two and half
hours that fly by without ever feeling slow
or needlessly dense.
In Cinemas Now
Sadly, this was still never going to be
enough time to fully realise the graphic
novel on screen. In many ways, the fans
are both the people who are either going
to hate the film for not being 100% faith-
ful, or get the most from it because they
have a wealth of backstory in their heads
already that will fill in the gaps on screen.
People new to the material may actually
be more forgiving because the world is so
well realised, and the story so well told,
that it defiantly grabs a viewer’s attention
easily. As a matter of fact, it will probably
encourage said viewers to seek out the
graphic novel, which can by no means be
a bad thing.
It is important to note that, although Al-
ternative has not divulged too much plot
in this review, it is only because it would
spoil the various twists and turns that
work so well throughout. As well, the film
is a visual treat, accompanied with a
great soundtrack that really captures the
feel of the time.
Sadly, the medium of film only allows the
film to encompass the heroes them-
selves, eliminating the everyman that
was present in the graphic novel. This
also in turn reduces some of the im-
mense paranoia that was originally pres-
ent in the text, showing the mentality of
people at the time, when nuclear disaster
could be just around the corner.
Still, as a film alone, this is a great piece
of entertainment that may prove Alan
Moore right with regards to the graphic
novel being un-filmable, yet proves that
something equally entertaining of its own
right can be born in the process of simply
trying in the first place. So no, Watchmen
the film isn’t a perfect adaptation, but it is
a visually stunning companion piece that
is faithful to the best of its ability, and
could have been a hell of a lot worse.
Alternative 17
 Alternative Suggestion

WATCHMEN

18 Alternative

graphic novel
Please Note: It would be advisable to
not read this review until after having
at least seen the film, as inherently
due to its nature, some minor spoilers
are present.
O
f course there is no better
alternative for the Watch-
men film than the source
material from which it de-
rives. The graphic novel
was a landmark achievement upon re-
lease. It is also the only graphic novel to
be included in Time Magazine’s 100 best
English language novels of all time.
As the story has already been explained
in the film review, and Alternative is sure
many readers will have already read the
graphic novel anyway due to the above
note at the beginning, it is best to explain
what makes the novel so much richer
than its screen adaptation.
Immediately apparent is the fact that
there is just so much more story present.
Rorschach in the film has no backstory to
explain the origins of his mask, whereas
here the luxury of space and time (the
graphic novel is actually 12 collected is-
sues of a comic book series) allows a
great explanation that also gives him a
far greater empathy level for his ex-
tremely violent tendencies.
As well, this applies to every single char-
acter. The film does an excellent job in
the time it has to explain as much as pos-
sible, yet even simple things like why
Doctor Manhattan is walking around
naked are addressed in the graphic novel
Alternative Suggestion
to a far greater degree.
As mentioned in the film’s review, one of
the true shames of the cinematic interpre-
tation is the loss of perspective from the
average man present in the graphic
novel. There is a young black man who
reads a pirate comic within the main
comic, giving a great sense of the youth
mindset at the time. His interactions with
the man working at the newsstand are
nearly completely absent in the film, yet
here they add so much to the narrative
and act as a vessel to show the outlook
of the public during the events that take
place. There are regular people who are
scared sick at the threat of nuclear war
always present in the background, mak-
ing it feel like there is much at stake all of
the time.
Between the 12 issues there are also
several faux documents and book ex-
tracts that supply a wealth of additional
information. There are extracts from the
original Night Owl’s journal explaining just
what would make a regular person dress
up in a costume and fight crime. On this
very note, the graphic novel also makes
the superheroes themselves less super
overall.
This adds immensely to the believability
and also helps the world shown to feel
that much closer to our own. Zack Sny-
der’s version of Watchmen made the mis-
take of making the superheroes too
super, perhaps to match the recent suc-
cesses of superhero films in general.
Here, they are instead regular human be-
ings fighting because nobody else will,
and not because they are particularly
special beyond their own stubborn will,
determination and silly costumes.
Finally, nothing can beat artist Dave Gib-
bon’s artwork. Even 20 years later, fans
are still discovering new nuances in his il-
lustrations. John Higgin’s colouring pops
off the page, adding greatly to the solid
visual design and character imagery. The
repetition of the smiley face with a drop of
blood is an example of this innovative de-
sign. It is no surprise the film chose to
feature these strong images so much in
its various sequences, to great effect.
The only way in which the graphic novel
arguably suffers is the ending. Although
the message is clear, the plan by the vil-
lain (who Alternative has done well not to
reveal in either review, just in case!)
seems slightly comical (pardon the pun)
in the graphic novel. The film did well to
change this to a slightly more modern,
post 9/11 ending that is quite chilling, if
not as graphic. Of course, to some hard-
core fans this idea will be sacrilege.
Still, anything that works in the film
works here as well, with more detail, and
arguably greater impact due to a wealth
of detail and information. It is a true joy to
pour over this book, a treasure trove of
secrets, a peepshow of weirdos entrusted
with the protection of the human race,
hated and outlawed by their own govern-
ment. The film is good, telling a diluted
version of the story very well, yet it is
doubtful anything will ever approach the
twisted brilliance that is Watchmen: The
Graphic Novel. Seek it out.
Alternative 19
In Cinemas Now
BOLT 3D
Homeward Bound meets The Truman Show.
I
n many ways, Western audi-
ences are severing their ties with
traditional animation styles and
looking towards the future:
namely Pixar and their computer
generated films such as Finding Nemo
and Wall-E. These films have found great
success with critics and viewers alike,
largely encompassing what animation
stands for in the 21st Century.
Still, it could be argued that while these
films makes large strides with regards to
freshness and plot (they are treated as
real films as opposed to a series of songs
with a loose plot thrown in as necessity),
they sometimes struggle to rival the
beauty a hand drawn image can evoke, if
only for the sheer effort a traditional ani-
mator has to put into a film to create a
moving image.
Therefore, Bolt as a film is an enigma at
first glance. It is considered a traditional
Disney film (the 48th the studio has
made), although it is in state of the art
CGI, no doubt enhanced by Disney’s re-
cent purchase of the Pixar studio (with
whom they had worked with extensively
in the past.)
The story is somewhat typical: a young
girl loses her dog, and then the dog has a
perilous journey to find his way home.
The reason this film can elevate above
this predictability is due to the unique way
the story is told.
The dog in question is called Bolt (voiced
by John Travolta). Little does he know
that the life he thinks is real, full of action
and adventure protecting his “human”
20 Alternative
Penny (voiced by Miley Cryrus), is actu-
ally a television show. The rest of the cast
and crew keep this a secret so that Bolt
will always act to his full potential. He
truly believes he has super strength,
laser-eyes and a ‘super bark’ that can
decimate a 3-mile radius.
This is where much of the humour origi-
nates, with the titular Bolt finally venturing
out into the real world by mistake and fail-
ing to realise he is a normal dog. Tra-
volta’s voice work gives a likeable
personality to Bolt and although the film
is obviously aimed at a young audience,
older viewers will find the visuals and hu-
mour engaging enough to not lose inter-
est.
The new characters introduced as the
film progresses do little that hasn’t been
seen before (Mafioso pigeons), yet the in-
teraction between Bolt and alley-cat Mit-
tens is surprisingly fresh and at times
even poignant. However, it is only when
Rhino the hamster is introduced that the
film finally finds it’s feet, with his unique
blend of insanity and recklessness creat-
ing blistering humour and insane situa-
tions that are a delight to witness.
The 3D aspect of the film isn’t just a gim-
mick either; Alternative would stress that
the film is meant to be seen in 3D. It can
be seen just normally, however the new
Realvision technology used here is truly
stunning. No longer are the 3D glasses
provided cardboard monstrosities with
sweet-wrapper lenses of red and blue.
The older 3D techniques had a habit of
sending films into a gauzy haze of semi-
3D, headache inducing trauma that felt
like it was a chore to watch, and sacri-
ficed the actual film in favour of a novel
effect that wore thin very fast.
The new thin 3D glasses are light, com-
fortable, durable and resemble a pair of
sunglasses. Perhaps most importantly,
they in no way impede the viewing
process. The greatest testament to their
success is that is easy to forget you are
even wearing them.
The initial opening sequences, taking
place during Bolt’s fake show, pop off the
screen and infuse action chases with a
sense of true space and speed that
makes it hard to imagine another CGI an-
imated film not being viewed in this way.
In later scenes in the real world of New
York, perspective is excellent. Even quiet
scenes beautifully portray details in the
background behind the characters inter-
acting in the foreground. The effect of
something actually popping out of the
screen towards the viewer is used spar-
ingly and sensibly. The film always comes
first, with the 3D only there to enhance
the experience, which is all a demanding
viewer could possibly ask for. Even the
obligatory Disney song isn’t too damag-
ing.
Are there better films of the same type
already out there? Undoubtedly, but Bolt
succeeds anyway due to it’s charm, origi-
nal take on an unoriginal plot device (it is
basically Homeward Bound meets the
Truman Show for kids) and its success at
using 3D to enhance but not overwhelm
the movie going experience.

SPIRITED AWAY
Japanese animation charms its way overseas.
J
apanese animation powerhouse
Studio Ghibli continues to create
traditionally animated features, to
critical acclaim, regardless of a
shift in the West towards the com-
puter generated bells and whistles pro-
vided by the likes of Pixar.
It is highly probable that the key to the
continued success of the studio’s films is
the fact that, although animated films are
often incorrectly labelled as entertain-
ment ‘for kids’, Ghibli’s films are simply
just that; films. It doesn’t matter that they
are animated, or that the core audience
will be predominantly children (although
in Japan it has certainly been found that
adults love the films just as much.) Even
if the scripts came to fruition via live-ac-
tion rather than animation, it is likely that
they would still manage to engage a wide
range of viewers due to the fantastic sto-
ries told, although they would certainly
lose some of their beauty.
It is this steadfast grounding in the idea
that they are simply making ‘films’ that
makes Ghibli’s output of such a consis-
tently high calibre. The fact that these
films are animated is not detrimental at
all, rather, it manages to marry some of
the finest hand drawn visuals ever con-
ceived with some of the finest stories to
emerge from the East, culminating in
beautiful, challenging entertainment.
2001’s Spirited Away could possibly be
the pinnacle of the studio’s achieve-
ments. Upon release, is went on to sur-
pass Titanic as the highest grossing film
of all time in Japan, animated or other-
Alternative Suggestion
wise. Later, after being brought over to
the West by Disney (who also provided
the localised dubbing under the supervi-
sion of Pixar‘s John Lasseter, the only al-
teration they are ever allowed to make to
Ghibli films, as no cuts are allowed), Spir-
ited Away won the second Oscar ever
awarded for Best Animated Feature, as
well as being the only non-English speak-
ing animation to ever win an Academy
Award. All of this immense historical
background in animation makes Spirited
Away a perfect alternative suggestion to
our Bolt 3D review.
Directed by the legendary Hayao
Miyazaki, the film tells the story of a
young girl name Chihiro, who is moving
to a new town with her parents. Driving
on the way to their new home, her father
tries to take a shortcut through a nearby
forest, instead getting them all hopelessly
lost, stopping at what appears to be the
entrance to an abandoned theme-park.
Exploring, they find what appears to be a
whole deserted town. Chihiro’s hungry
mother and father help themselves to
some freshly cooked food at a nearby
banquet table when suddenly, they turn
into pigs. Nighttime comes, and the exit
to the theme park is blocked by water.
Chihiro’s journey after these events sees
her befriending some strange and won-
derful characters in an unknown spirit
world, fighting to get her parents returned
to human form against the wishes of the
witch Yubaba (who takes her human
name and replaces it with the name Sen),
and ultimately growing up in the process.
With the help of a young boy named
Haku, she works at a bathhouse, even
helping a mysterious polluted river spirit,
heaving with black sludge, transform
back into its original form from the dan-
gerous, violent force it has become. This
scene in particular is a standout in the
film, the chase throughout the bathhouse
and across this new world filled with ki-
netic energy and lathered with detail.
All the while, the environments are por-
trayed beautifully, scorching hot days with
only a hint of a breeze to lazily disturb the
individually animated blades of grass,
skies so blue that only the wisps of
clouds that are present break the illusion
they can be swam in. Even at night, the
wandering spirits emit an eerie light that
is both beautiful and hypnotic.
It can be sometimes difficult to success-
fully summarise films of this type, espe-
cially when it is embedded in a culture so
different from our own. However, the film,
whether watched with the subtitles or the
dub, works perfectly. The seemingly com-
plex storyline flows at a gentle pace that
never confuses the viewer, and every-
thing that happens makes perfect sense
in the world that has been portrayed.
Some scenes may be slightly startling for
a younger viewer, however for most, this
is blistering entertainment. The fact it
manages to address so many issues and
show such startling character develop-
ment without succumbing to a ‘life-lesson’
sing-song speaks volumes; this is simply
a very good film that never preaches to
its audience.
Alternative 21
In Cinemas Now
RIGHTEOUS KILL
We’re all too old for this shit.
N
either Robert DeNiro nor
Al Pacino will need any
introduction to readers of
Alternative. Over the
years both actors have
proven time and time again that they are
modern movie icons, actors that defined
cinema for great lengths of time. Charac-
ter actors that resemble the cinema
greats of old, neither can be accused of
simply being a star, or an actor. True pro-
fessionals, they are both.
It seemed almost to be an arranged de-
cision that neither actor would appear to-
gether just for the sake of it. Indeed,
although both featured in the Godfather
films, neither was on screen together due
to portraying characters from different
eras. When they finally did come together
in Michael Mann’s sprawling L.A epic
HEAT in 1996, it was instantly hailed as a
masterpiece. Each of them brought
something new to the table, neither over-
shadowing the other. Their screen time
shared together was minimal, but when it
did happen it was electric, each word,
each stare so infused with purpose and
meaning that it was hypnotic. Two mas-
ters were at work here, two veteran ac-
tors, and nothing was ever going to top it.
That is, supposedly, until now. Why else
would the two actors, who waited so long
to find HEAT before they agreed to work
together, taint their good names and the
memories of that classic film by signing
onto the film equivalent of the titanic?
Sadly, they did. The story is the kind of
generic, run of the mill cop thriller that is
pumped out on a regular basis. It is then
infused with the generic, run of the mill
22 Alternative
whodunit that is also pumped out on a
regular basis, combined into one unsuc-
cessful, sorry mess. Turk (Robert Deniro)
and Rooster (Al Pacino) are cop partners
who are hunting down a serial killer who
seems to only kill the suspects in cases
that they investigate.
The trick here is that the film is told to us
by Turk as a video confession, implying
he is the killer. The word implying is used
with no worry that Alternative will have
spoiled any of the plot for the viewer.
What little there is appears obvious from
the very beginning of the film. The cliché
use of the victims looking with recognition
at the unseen killer before being killed
does little to hide the fact that if it was
Turk like implied, why wouldn’t they just
show us in the first place? Therefore the
main drive of the story is immediately lost
and the true killer is so blatantly obvious
it insults everyone’s intelligence.
Both actors seem to be simply going
through the motions, playing tough guys
they could easily pull off years ago, but
who now seem silly as the grey creeps in
and the passion ebbs away. They are
surrounded by a cast of younger actors,
even workout in gym scenes to show
they’ve still got it (they really don’t, at
least not in this) and this further makes
you wonder why they thought these char-
acters were worth portraying on screen in
the first place. Unlike the Serpicos and
Jack Walshs of the past, they lack believ-
ability and likeability. They are instantly
forgettable as you leave the cinema, and
you hardly care what happens to either of
them.
It goes without saying that director Jon
Avnet is no Michael Mann. The film could
be set anywhere, with the locations used
as generic as the material. Forget the
dangerous beauty of L.A in HEAT; it is re-
placed here with a New York so devoid of
what actually makes the city memorable
that you wouldn‘t even know where it
was. That is if it wasn’t for the unimagina-
tive tracking shots of the skyline given at
every goddamn opportunity. The camera
angles and lighting makes everything feel
like low-budget television, further striking
home what a real turkey this film is.
It may seem unfair to keep reverting
back to HEAT. Still, that was a truly suc-
cessful film that didn’t compromise in the
slightest on bringing a great story to the
screen. It was a great script with a fantas-
tic director starring two actors at the
height of their game. Even the supporting
characters in that film were better devel-
oped than Turk and Rooster are in this
dredge.
And there immediately lies the problem
with the film. It is predictable, boring and
saddening. It isn’t the worst film ever
made and it isn’t unwatchable. But every
fault, every stumble is magnified with the
inescapable knowledge that Pacino and
Deniro have gone from a classic film to
something that would easily be at home
on some obscure channel, a made for TV
shit-fest that would pass an afternoon
and then be forgotten. Disposable enter-
tainment that struggles to even entertain.
They should have done HEAT and then
retired. Righteous Kill and it’s portrayal of
two deteriorating legends working to cash
in a cheque they probably didn’t even
need, is painful to watch. Avoid.

36 Quai des Orfèvres
French ‘policier’ thriller turns up the Heat.
W
hereas the United
Kingdom imports a
lot of its films from
the United States,
France has long
been happy to focus on making its own
films. It has a thriving film industry that is
self-reliant and doesn’t rely on imports. It
is easy to see why, especially after
dredge such as Righteous Kill, reviewed
opposite. Arguably, they are simply better
filmmakers.
36 Quai des Orfèvres (Department 36) is
a 2004 French film written and directed
by Olivier Marchal. Set in Paris, it tells the
story of two cops, Leo Vrinks played by
Daniel Auteuil, and Denis Klein played by
Gerard Depardieu, who are competing for
the vacant seat for Chief of Police whilst
an ongoing manhunt continues for a gang
of violent thieves.
From the outset, it is apparent things are
going to go from bad, to worse. Olivier
expertly weaves a sense of dread in
every frame, with every pause, building
up to a boil so intense that when the vari-
ous plot threads finally culminate, it is
genuinely affecting and shocking.
It comes as no surprise to realise that
Olivier Marchal himself was a police offi-
cer for 20 years. He portrays the profes-
sion without any glitz or glamour, showing
it for what it really is. It is fresh and reliev-
ing to note that neither the protagonist
Vrinks, nor the antagonist Klien, actually
have that much difference between them
when you get down to basics. Neither are
glowing examples of justice and good.
The only difference is that Vrinks took a
different path at some point in the road,
and has enough morals and conscience
left to leave both himself and the viewer a
glimmer of hope. The fact that Klien
doesn’t makes him a ticking time bomb,
Alternative Suggestion
another of the film’s gripping, morbid fas-
cinations.
In fact, it is difficult to take your eyes of
either character. Auteuil and Depardieu
act like their lives depend on it, infusing
their characters with motives, back sto-
ries and whatever scraps of humanity
they can afford inbetween. It is an acting
tour de force (Alternative feels this cliché
term is acceptable in a French review!)
that constantly pushes the expectations
of the viewer.
The camera work is beautiful, capturing
Paris in a new light. Rain soaked streets
ooze enough atmosphere to easily out-
match New York City, whilst later shifts to
industrial areas and countryside do little
to lighten the wonderfully dark and gritty
police-noir ambience. This film continues
where Michael Mann has arguably left off
in recent years, showing a man’s world,
and the price everyone has to pay to live
in it.
Indeed, the film has often been labelled
as ‘The French Heat’, although this is
slightly unfair. Heat, as good a film as it
is, was built on star power, Hollywood
and style. 36 is a different beast alto-
gether. Alternative implores anyone who
disagrees to simply compare the endings,
which we won’t spoil. Suffice to say, 36
never succumbs to tying everything off
with a simple shootout. The way it even-
tually plays out is far more devastating,
intelligent and original.
Even the shootout that does occur, tak-
ing place at an abandoned warehouse
and surrounding area, simply makes
more sense than the one in Heat. Sure, it
isn’t glamorous, and yes it lacks some of
the visual oomph of its American cousin.
Still, it feels accurate, and the way it
ends more than justifies its execution.
Why would the police wait until the rob-
bers got to their destination anyway, en-
dangering innocent lives? When you start
to address the accuracies of this film, it
sadly starts to unravel some of the bril-
liance of Heat.
That is of course, if you want to compare
them. In total honestly they are two com-
pletely different films anyway, with only
superficial similarities to begin with. This
film isn’t cops and robbers. It is half de-
cent cops, rotten cops, quite bad crimi-
nals, very bad robbers… the list goes on.
The lines are not so much blurred, as for-
gotten. This is one of the film’s strengths,
not only adding to the believability, but
the humanity of the various characters
present. It is difficult to anchor yourself
emotionally when all the balls are con-
stantly in the air, never settling. That is
why this film is such an adrenaline rush
to witness.
The film could have easily carried on in
this manner for the full runtime. Instead, it
chooses in the final act to let all the balls
drop. Where the various characters fall is
one of the biggest gut punches in recent
cinema, and what follows is a final chap-
ter so perfectly realised, cinematic and
oddly poignant, that you finally realise
you aren’t here for the guns and glamour
after all. Who needs that, when there is
acting and filmmaking of this calibre
available from just across the water? Fi-
nally, it is a shame then to note that, al-
though this film has enjoyed critical
success and limited release outside of
France (it is a brilliant watch either
dubbed or subtitled), the Americans still
feel the need to make the dreaded re-
make. Alternative wishes to simultane-
ously review the remake in advance, and
finish our review: Watch this film. Avoid
the remake. You may as well just re-
watch Righteous Kill.
Alternative 23
Article: The Sopranos Retrospective

Words by
Martin Mulrooney

24 Alternative
 Article: The Sopranos Retrospective
Don’t Stop
BeLieving
it cut to black.
this sprawling,
modern day mafia
epic was over.
but just why was
the sopranos so
successful?
O
n June the 10th 2007 at
exactly 10.05pm, 12 mil-
lion Americans had their
televisions cut to black.
Rather than stay calm,
the majority panicked; the past hour
had already been heavy with an almost
palpable, unexplainable dread. Mo-
ments later, phone lines were jammed
with calls and some cable-television
switchboards actually crashed. Internet
forums were awash with the “trauma” of
the event. Some people were grieving,
others were simply angry.
Was it a terrorist attack? Or a simple
power-cut? No…it was a long running
HBO drama, The Sopranos, airing its
final episode. Eight years, six seasons
and 86 episodes after it had first
started, it was all over.
To many, such chaos at the ending of a
mere “television show” seems ludi-
crous. The shows’ fans would disagree
with this statement venomously. Some
would further argue that it was not only
a “television show”, but also a popular
culture phenomenon that deftly com-
mented on American life and society for
its run.
Vanity Fair, an American magazine of
culture, fashion, and politics even went
so far as to call The Sopranos: “per-
haps the greatest pop-culture master-
piece of its day” in it’s April 2007 issue.
This goes a long way towards explain-
ing the immense success the show has
enjoyed. First of all, HBO in 1999 was
only just starting to invest in new origi-
nal programming again. There was no
indication that the pilot show, depicting
a Mafioso who was also a family man,
would move beyond being just that: a
pilot. The fact that this escalated into a
series meant little: there was no indica-
tion it would go beyond just the one.
This then continued into two series,
then three. HBO, and the creator of the
show David Chase, officially had a hit
on their hands.
The protagonist, Tony Soprano, isn’t a
typical lead character. He is depressed.
He takes Prozac. He feels the good
times are over already. He is disen-
chanted with life, with America, with his
work. Of course his work is a world
away from anything the average person
could comprehend: the flip side is that
his personal life and personal problems
aren’t that far removed from many
viewer’s daily lives. He confides to his
therapist "Everything I touch turns to
shit. I'm fuckin’ King Midas in reverse
here. I'm not a husband to my wife. I'm
not a father to my kids. I'm nothing."
These are insecurities many men can
relate to. It’s practically a mid-life crisis.
Elayne Rapping, professor and pop-
culture expert, who has dealt with the
show and its themes in depth whilst
teaching courses on Television and So-
ciety in New York, explains:
“I think the significance of the show
was that for the first time, it made a
gangster into a hero. I think you need
to see it in the context of The Godfa-
ther--family and "business" seen for the
first time in film as interwoven. But for
the small screen, you need a more typi-
cal American suburban family so they
"reduced" the concept to the TV norms.
Its significance --for TV and society--is
that it IS the first TV show to make a
criminal a hero, and "normal" family
man. I think we will see in the future
more of this kind of series on regular
cable (unless the writer strike kills
scripted TV).”
On the face of it, the premise didn’t
sound especially original: the gang-
ster/mafia genre had been done to
death (no pun intended), with a wealth
of films in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. The
Soprano’s trick was that it was mafia
with a contemporary twist. The wise
guys now had families and problems an
audience could relate to. These wise
guys were also not exactly Henry Hill:
they were overweight, self-admitted
“fat-fucks” from New Jersey.
New Jersey. Only a stones-throw away
from the somewhat stereotypical mafia
backdrop of New York, it is a world
apart when it comes to atmosphere.
The locations ooze a feeling of grit that
perfectly marries the stories being told.
Creator David Chase chose some-
where he knew, he grew up in New Jer-
sey and this shows on screen.
Immediately when the credits fire up,
we see the protagonist Tony Soprano
driving from New York back into New
Jersey. Visuals sear past the windows,
in the mirrors: Italian style neighbour-
hoods, warehouses, marshlands and
Alternative 25
Article: The Sopranos Tour

The Sopr
AlTeRNATive wRiTeR MARTiN MulRooNeY TRAvels To
The big Apple To TAke The sopRANos TouR. AloNg
The wAY he MeeTs The MuffleR MAN, eATs oNioN
RiNgs iN holsTeN’s, TheN wAshes iT All dowN wiTh
AN iCe-Cold budwieseR iN The bAdA biNg...
The tour begins in New York City,
but a short coach ride later, you will
find yourself deep in the heart of
New Jersey...

Top left: The muffler

man looks on.
Top right: New Jersey is a
world apart from
New York City.
Right: The diner where
Christopher was
famously shot.
26 Alternative
 Article: The Sopranos Tour

anos Tour

top left: holsten’s, where the famous last scene took place.
top right: i enjoy an onion ring where we last saw tony before the
infamous cut to black.

top left: the real life bada bing is called the satin dolls club.
top right: unfortunately, no cameras were allowed inside!
For more information, or to book, go to:
http://www.screentours.com/tour.php/sopranos/
Alternative 27
Article: The Sopranos Retrospective
scrap heaps. The journey ends as Tony
pulls up the driveway of his Suburban
Mansion.
The backdrop was in place, but would be
useless without an effective cast to por-
tray the characters. Relative unknowns
were chosen; James Gandolfini as Tony
Soprano, Lorraine Braco as Doctor Melfi.
The reality of the acting made the mate-
rial more effective, and believable. Es-
sentially, all of the major characters are
murderers. Even Tony’s wife Carmela,
played by Edie Falco, is guilty to some
extent, taking all of the pros yet shunning
the cons. (Again, no pun intended.)
The Mirror television critic Jim Shelley
mentioned this in his column “tapehead”:
“Effortlessly likeable, the key to its suc-
cess is the way James Gandolfini as mob
boss Tony Soprano (combining all the
lumbering charm and brutality of a black
bear) makes the anxiety attacks he has
started suffering so funny and distress-
ing.”
To ensure the audience wasn’t repulsed
by the monsters on screen there needed
to be a humanistic element. This is
shown in the small details, such as the
anxiety attacks.
For example, when Tony’s nephew has a
drug addiction, the “families”, both gang-
ster and blood relations, stage an inter-
vention. The fact it ends up in fisticuffs is
almost irrelevant. It’s the thought that
counts.
28 Alternative
Family reunions are often somber affairs for The Sopranos.
In a similar manner, an ex-boyfriend of
Tony’s daughter Meadow is trying to get
into the mafia “business”. Tony discour-
ages this to respect a deceased father’s
wishes. However the ex-boyfriend, Jackie
Junior, ends up in a shootout where a
made-man is killed. Tony allows the pun-
ishment of death to be dealt to Jackie,
covered up as a drug-related killing.
He has still indirectly committed murder,
but to the viewers, this is how his world
works. He didn’t resort to the desperate
measures until they were necessary. He
is a calculating murderer…it isn’t for fun.
It’s just business. Sometimes horrible
acts need to take place in the show, oth-
erwise it wouldn’t ring true. The mafia ele-
ment is a waste of time if it isn’t
elaborated on to some extent. The
show’s success is that it manages a fine
balancing act between mild humour,
shocking murder, real life situations and
quiet moments of reflection.
All of these ingredients that make up the
show have integrated into popular culture
with ease. T-shirts that loudly proclaim
Bada Bing! register with Sopranos view-
ers instantly as the infamous strip club
frequented by Tony’s crew. Shows such
as The Simpsons and Saturday Night
Live have parodied the show numerous
times over the years. The controversial
ending brought a fresh number of other
shows onto the parody bandwagon. The
show is instantly recognisable and famil-
iar to fans. Even people who don’t watch
the show are usually familiar with at least
some of its concepts: Tony Soprano in
particular has become a screen icon, a
character practically everybody knows,
even if they can’t name the actor who
plays him.
The show itself is self-referential. The
characters constantly base themselves
on real-life popular culture such as The
Godfather films, aspiring to be like the
characters in the movies. They discuss
these films, even doing impressions and
quoting lines. The actor who play’s
Christopher Moltasanti, Tony’s Nephew in
the show, was famously shot in the foot
when he played a barman in the classic
1990 Mafia film Goodfellas. During one
episode of the Sopranos, he is irritated by
a pastry chef and shoots him in the foot.
These kinds of subtle references are
made constantly, adding to the rich tap-
estry of popular culture present.
No score is used in the show either: the
music is strictly popular music, in forms
such as classic rock or contemporary
electric. These are songs that the audi-
ence knows, coming from the radios of
the characters cars and the speakers of
cafes and bars. Or perhaps strip clubs
and illegal basement card games.
A fair point to make would be this: is all
of this popular culture ammunition
enough to keep the show firing on all
cylinders for 8 years? Probably not…
 Article: The Sopranos Retrospective
Oh, Poor You!
tony soprano: agony aunt
Advice # 1: Women Troubles.
Tony Soprano: These fuckin'
women, they'll drive you nuts with
their emotions and whatnot. And I
know it feels like you're never gonna
love anybody again. But trust me,
there's millions of girls that are dyin'
to meet a guy like you. I see 'em
every day.
Anthony Soprano, Jr.: Oh, right. I'm
so special.
Tony Soprano: You're damn right
you are. You're handsome, and
smart, and a hard worker, and - let's
be honest - white. That's a huge plus
nowadays... Go out and get a
blowjob.
Anthony Soprano, Jr.: I don't want a
blowjob!
Tony Soprano: Keep your voice
down.
Anthony Soprano, Jr.: Why? Who's
listening out there?
Tony Soprano: Nobody.
[Carmela opens the door]
Anthony Soprano, Jr.: Ah, fuck me!
Advice #2: Feelings
Tony Soprano: Let me tell ya some-
thing. Nowadays, everybody's gotta
go to shrinks, and counselors, and go
on "Sally Jessy Raphael" and talk
about their problems. What hap-
pened to Gary Cooper? The strong,
silent type. That was an American.
He wasn't in touch with his feelings.
He just did what he had to do. See,
what they didn't know was once they
which is why the show employs a
depth that allows it to be pulled apart
like a great novel. The therapy ses-
sions alone could be a show in and of
themselves. They allow the viewer to
cut through the bullshit and get some
insight into a world full of liars and de-
ceivers, straight from the horse’s (or
bear’s) mouth.
There is constant symbolism present,
especially with the use of animals. The
ducks that fly away in the initial
episode represent Tony’s fear of losing
his family. The cat in the final episode
could be interpreted as the reincarna-
tion of a dead character… or it could
just be a cat. David Chase is happy to
let the viewers decide. Not everything
is explained in real life. The Sopranos
reflects this. Even the ending is am-
biguous… it says so much without say-
got Gary Cooper in touch with his
feelings that they wouldn't be able to
shut him up! And then it's dysfunc-
tion this, and dysfunction that, and
dysfunction ma fangul!
Advice #3: Learning from your mis-
takes.
Tony Soprano: Uncle Junior and I,
we had our problems with the Busi-
ness. But I never should have razzed
him about eating pussy. This whole
war could have been averted. Cun-
nilingus and psychiatry brought us to
this.
Advice #4: Diet Advice.
Tony Soprano: I think it's time for
you to start to seriously consider sal-
ads.
Bobby Baccilieri: What do you
mean?
Tony Soprano: What do I mean? I
mean get off my car before you flip it
over, you fat fuck.
Advice #5: The American Way.
Tony Soprano: Excuse me, let me
tell you something... When America
opened up the floodgates and let all
us Italians in, what do you think they
were doing it for? 'Cause they were
trying to save us from poverty? No,
they did it because they needed us.
They needed us to build their cities
and dig their subways, and to make
them richer. The Carnegies and The
Rockerfellers: they needed worker
ing anything at all.
All of the televisions went black: it was
over at last. The end of an era. Ar-
guably a golden era providing the best
televised drama in recent memory, if
not ever. (At least, if you are Vanity
Fair.) Some loved the ending, others
hated it. There was only one constant.
When the screen went black, David
Chase had the last laugh. He pulled
the plug, he called the final shot. He
whacked the viewers. It was an ending
befitting and perfect. It caused conver-
sation, debate and controversy, just
like every other episode had done be-
fore it. It said so much, without saying
anything really at all. Life goes on, but
it will never be quite the same again.
R.I.P, The Sopranos.
1999-2007
bees and there we were. But some of
us didn't want to swarm around their
hive and lose who we were. We
wanted to stay Italian and preserve
the things that meant something to
us: honor and family and loyalty...
and some of us wanted a piece of the
action. Now we weren't educated like
the Americans, but we had the
BALLS to take what we wanted! And
those other folks, those other... the,
the JP Morgans, they were crooks
and killers too, but that was the busi-
ness right? The American Way.
Advice #6: Cyberspace.
Dr. Jennifer Melfi: It sounds to me
like Anthony Jr. may have stumbled
onto existentialism.
Tony Soprano: Fucking Internet.
Advice #7: Remembering the good
times.
Anthony Soprano, Jr.: Focus on the
good times.
Tony Soprano: Don't be sarcastic.
Anthony Soprano, Jr.: Isn't that
what you said one time? Try to re-
member the times that were good?
Tony Soprano: I did?
Anthony Soprano, Jr.: Yeah.
Tony Soprano: Well, it's true, I
guess.
Alternative 29
Article: The Shield Retrospective
SEEMS SUCH A
LONG TIME AGO
B
ut it seems such a
long time ago.
The final song that
played over the cred-
its of FX Network’s
The Shield was sucker-punchingly
poignant in a show more accustomed to
the sound of the streets than it ever was
to melodrama. Dirty rock metal and
gang rap provided a soundtrack for de-
tective Vic Mackey and his strike team
to tear up and smash down the streets
of L.A over seven brutal series, yet we
finished with a song that not only con-
jured up the good times, but the prevail-
ing lack of them and the shit that
festered in their place as they simmered
out and died.
Vic Mackey was never a Tony Soprano,
and likewise, he didn’t go out of viewers
lives surrounded by his family, or loved
ones. There were no onion rings. All he
had left were pictures and stubborn-
ness, a will to survive no matter who he
fucked over in the process, which would
never die. It was that stubbornness and
constant fight inside Vic Mackey that
made this show different. He wasn’t
sugar coated, and we were all fools for
ever buying his bullshit. Maybe we were
holding on to those moments of good as
well, hoping it would get better. It didn’t.
But already, it seems such a long time
ago.
So lets go back to the beginning in-
stead. Season 1, episode 1, 12th March
2002. The pilot episode is aired. Cre-
ated by Shaun Ryan of Nash Bridges
30 Alternative
THEY KILLED PEOPLE,
DEALT DRUGS, STOLE
MONEY, TOOK BRIBES.
THEY BROKE NEARLY
EVERY LAW THERE IS.
THEY WERE ALSO THE
BEST COPS IN LA.
fame, the show was already controver-
sial due to being based in part on the
real life Rampart Division police scandal
in the LAPD. Many other networks and
many other shows would have buckled
under this controversy, or diluted their
vision into something softer, safer. This
wasn’t HBO, this was basic cable, and it
was premiering to more than 5 million
people, riding already on the back of
critical acclaim.
We were introduced to various charac-
ters, most important of all, our supposed
hero Vic Mackey. We got the usual set-
ups for a cop series narrative arc. There
were very good cops. Take for example
Claudette Wyms, a veteran detective
who has been on the force 25 years.
African American and also a woman,
none of this has stopped her in the past
from being one of the best investigators
in the district. She is headstrong, deter-
mined and has a strong moral compass
Or Detective Holland ‘Dutch’ Wagen-
bach, seemingly a socially inept nerd,
who is later revealed, both on his own
steam and his initially uncomfortable
partnership with Claudette, to have a
sometimes unsettling insight into the
mind of the serial-killer. He arguably
cracks as many cases in interrogation
as Mackey does on the streets, using
brain rather than brawn. He has his own
demons though, emotionally neglected
and desperate to belong…it is only in
the final series that Dutch begins to fully
control his life.
Then, lets not forget the very bad drug
dealers, murderers, rapists, pae-
dophiles, you name it, they had it. All
present in the fictional L.A district of
Farmington (watched over by cops in-
side the ironically named “Barn” police
station, a condemned church that offers
cheap office space and broken plumb-
ing).
Finally, not so much between the two
as sideways, there was Vic Mackey and
his Strike Team members, Shane, Ron-
nie and Lem. They’re all suspected of
being dirty, especially Vic. Little deals on
the side, some drugs moved here, some
protection money paid there. Still, they
get the job done. You could almost say
a necessary evil. Of course, there is al-
ways opposition.
So the new Barn captain David As-
ceveda brings in a new guy, Terry, to
add to the Strike Team, keep his eyes
and ears open. This way, he can keep
an eye on Vic. Asceveda wants to run
for Mayor and Mackey would be a big
catch to swing the deal. Already,
viewer’s minds are racing: how deep
does the rabbit hole go?
For Terry, not very. The pilot episode
ends when the Strike Team conducts a
raid on a drug dealer’s house. After
shooting the perpetrator, Vic casually
leans down, picks up the dealers gun,
and shoots Terry in the face. Role cred-
its. This single act was to become the
sole underlying driving force in the de-
struction of Vic Mackey and his strike
team over 7 series of lies, deception,
murder and devastation.
Article: The Shield Retrospective

Words by
Martin Mulrooney

Alternative 31
 Article: The Shield Retrospective

Portrayals
AlternAtive tAkes A look At the unused Artwork
from the finAl three series of the shield.
5
on
as
Se

6
on
as
Se

32 Alternative
 Article: The Shield Retrospective

of a killer.
many people are unaware that for every poster that is
chosen for a film or television series, there are usually
hundreds more that don’t make the final cut.
the shield has always had a strong indentity. it is a true
testament to the designers who created the posters on
these pages that every single example retains the mood
of the show. it is even more astonishing to realise that to
achieve that one, final image that reaches the masses,
so many more must be buried forever...
7
on
as
Se

Alternative 33
Article: The Shield Retrospective
Vic’s conscience started to get in
the way as The Shield progressed
Lem couldn’t handle the things they did.
Stomach ulcers, spitting blood, burning
millions in stolen Armenian Mob money:
he was cracking under the pressure. In-
ternal affairs breathing down his neck (in
a career defining role by Forest Whitaker
as Lt Jon Kavanaugh in series 4), every-
body was afraid he would blow them up,
until somebody cracked and blew him up
instead. More problems.
Shane had been there from the start.
Vic’s right hand man, side by side as
they blew Terry away, Vic had taught
Shane everything he knew. Most impor-
tantly, in a twisted way, Vic lived by a
code. Killing Terry was wrong, but it went
unspoken of because to Vic, it was justi-
fied. They had exterminated a rat. But
Shane went too far, he always did. Some
things could be forgiven. A surprising
amount of things. But one explosive, im-
pulsive, selfish moment at the end of se-
ries 5 made sure that forgiveness was no
longer an option. Never had Vic Mackey
34 Alternative
looked so horrified as when he con-
fronted Shane for what he did, while
knowing deep down he may as well be
screaming into a mirror.
Ronnie. For several series, he was an
ever-present, seldom heard member of
the team, who did his job, did it well, and
bucked TV conventions by being true to
life: somebody who isn’t scripted to
speak an equal amount of lines as every-
one else just so he can be noticed. Not
everyone in life is a big personality. The
beautiful payoff is given as this character
blooms into a major player in later series,
revealing just how much Vic has rubbed
off onto him over the years through some
startling scenes of character defining, ir-
revocable moments of unity and loyalty.
This makes it even worse to bear when
he screams those final haunting words at
Vic in the last episode: “You told them…
EVERYTHING?!” Just like everyone
else, he was fucked from the get-go.
Well, nearly everyone.
Vic didn’t finish the Shield saga at a
diner eating onion rings with his family.
That was the point: his wife is so scared
of what he is that her and the kids don’t
want to be anywhere near him, instead
turning to witness protection, hidden for-
ever, safe. Providing for special autism
schools with blood money and popping
home once in a while to drop off some
more cash was never going to be
enough.
All he has left are his pictures, and the
one thing that can harm him: an office
job. Immunity doesn’t cover the mun-
dane process of reports and being ripped
from the precious streets, streets he
used to own. His work family are either
dead or in prison. His real family have
fled. He is free. He won. But more than
he fucked everyone else over in the
process, he fucked himself over. No
more power. No more respect. No more
control. No more Shield.

Problem: Child-rapist, informant killer
and drug lord Armadillo Quintero is
guilty, but there is no evidence.
Solution: Vic takes the Strike Team
around to Amadillo’s house. He beats
him with a hardback book to a bloody
pulp, leaving him spitting teeth, then
asks him to leave. Armadillo declines.
Vic drags him into the kitchen and
cooks his face on the stove. He only
stops when he is dragged off by his
fellow stike team members.
Effectiveness: 7/10. Vic wins in the
short term, giving Amadillo a good
beating he will never forget. But some-
thing inside him has snapped, and will
never be the same again.
Article: The Shield Retrospective
The original police lineup from
The Shield series 1.
WWVMD?!
NEXT TIME YOU ARE IN A BAD
SITUATION, WHY DON’T YOU
JUST ASK YOURSELF...
WHAT WOULD VIC MACKEY DO?
Problem: Rape suspect starts shoot-
ing, before fleeing into a nearby house
and refusing to exit.
Solution: Vic and several other police
officers ask the suspect to exit the
building. When he declines, Vic sends
in an attack dog. The man screams out
in pain as the dog mutilates the man’s
genitals. Vic calmly tells the other offi-
cers they can wait awhile before they
procede to enter the building and make
an arrest.
Effectiveness: 9/10. It is safe to say,
even if the suspect hasn’t learnt his
lesson, his raping days are over. Ho-
ever, the man doesn’t have to look into
Vic’s eyes as it happens, so a point off.
Problem: Two fellow officers of the law
have been murdered. A Russian Arms
Dealer has info but won’t talk.
Solution: Vic ties the arms dealer to a
chair rigged with C4-plastic explo-
sives, hoping this will scare him into
talking. However, it works altogether
too well. The terrified Russian panics,
tipping the chair and detonating him-
self into a spray of chunks as the
Strike Team watches on in disbelief.
Effectiveness: 10/10 or 0/10, depending
on your point of view. They got rid of a
scumbag, but simultaniously (and liter-
ally) blew up their only lead.
Alternative 35
Article: Tapehead Jim Shelley
JIM
SHELLEY
tHE Daily miRROR tv
cRitic wRitEs ExclusivEly
fOR altERativE magazinE
On tHE futuRE Of film
anD tElEvisiOn.
H
ow I became a televi-
sion critic wasn’t a sud-
den thing. It was in a
way that probably isn’t
possible anymore.
When i was at school, the only thing I
wanted to be was a music journalist. I
sent in some gig reviews and eventually
the NME ran a review of as band I'd seen
supporting at the Hacienda...The Smiths!
I started writing interviews for magazines
and eventually The Guardian and various
other newspapers. When The Guardian
set up The Guide, the editor (who was
going out with a girl I knew from another
magazine: such is the media) asked me if
I wanted to write a weekly TV column. I
said no. He offered me more money, and
eventually I said yes. This was Tapehead
which I did pretty much every week for 7
years. A fan of that column persuaded
Piers Morgan to offer the job at the Mirror.
Television drama has changed over
the last 10 years in a lot of different
ways. How?
Well the obvious answer would be, it's
got worse. Channel 4 and ITV have gone
to pot. The BBC has relied on costume
dramas. Reality TV has taken over the
schedules - and the budgets.
Shows such as The Sopranos and The
Shield are becoming so popular, not
only in the US, but over here in the
UK. Why?
Well, first - because of their quality.
British TV is the most sophisticated in the
world, so they know a good thing when
they see it. One's about gangsters, one's
a cop show... Looking at it now, it seems
obvious they would be, but at the time
they were both so 'radical', I doubt the
scale of their success was forseen.
36 Alternative
I think that the US are
ahead of the UK with re-
gards to good quality TV
drama in some ways.
Well obviously with budget.
but the budget is driven by
the audiences. The most
popular shows in America are pro-
grammes like House. Ambitious, uncon-
ventional shows like Dexter, Weeds,
Deadwood and Californication are stan-
dard.
Characters like Vic Mackey and Tony
Soprano, who are essentialy murder-
ers, are still rooted for by viewers.
This at first seems strange, although I
do think there are valid reasons for
this.
Firstly I'd say that it's the way they're writ-
ten. They're anti-heroes, but they’re still
heroes. They're cool and I guess they're
both inspired by characters in Westerns.
Vic is basically Yul Bryner with a badge.
My favourite speech by Tony is "whatever
happened to the strong, silent type ?" -
He's always watching Westerns, war
movies... everybody's out to get him. The
feds, other gangsters, some of his own
men. Plus he's very charming, hand-
some, he's a man's man and a big pussy-
cat... everybody loves Tony.
Do I think that these types of TV
shows are starting to rival films?
No. i think they surpass them. The Sopra-
nos and The Wire boxed sets far surpass
even Goodfellas or Serpico. It's a 50 hour
epic versus a 2 hour jingle... no contest.
Films these days are far too com
mercial and compromised by
comparison.
So, could the impact later episodes in
the Sopranos or The Shield had with
viewers be achieved in a typical 90
minute film...
Only a really good one. We know the
characters far better. We feel we know
them. We have seen more detail and
depth with characters like Vic (and
Shane) and Tony. Take The Departed by
Scorsese. To me, as good as it is, it basi-
cally has none of the resonance or heart.
The Sopranos ending divided audi-
ences in half.
I liked it at the time and probably still
would. I dont have the best memory. I re-
member reading the various theories. i
was glad it was understated and not pre-
dictable. The fact that there's so much
debate about it, to me, meant it worked.
I’d like to know what Alternative thought!
The Shield ending was a completely
different take on how to end a long
running show.
I liked that too, but for different reasons.
Can The Sopranos and The Shield be
compared? It is difficult to say.
The ending to the Shield was - to me - as
far as i recall, far more conventional, but
probably better realised and worked very
well. The Sopranos was more ambivalent
and so by its nature less well-realised. It
was like a David Lynch ending and some
people won't like that. The pressure on
the ending of the Sopranos was massive
- it's a more historic show. The Shield
was alot more to do with the character
rather than the plot. (I think.)

More to come from The Shield.
Would I say that either show had at
any point been overrated, or under-
rated?
Of course, under-rated. I could watch
them from the beginning right now. The
Sopranos is Art. The Shield is impressive
because it rose above itself. It developed
from something quite low-key into some-
thing really quite classic.
The Sopranos had a huge cultural im-
pact. I think for alot of people this was
because they could relate to the family
side of the show.
For me? Perhaps a bit but mostly I think
it's about men, about Tony and the boys,
and fear, loyalty, being a man. (It is the
same with The Shield.) These are the
ideas that grabbed my attention.
Many cop shows have a very clear
portrayal of the law as good, and the
criminals as bad. Shows like the
Shield, or The Wire to some extent,
challenge this view.
Is this important? Er, YEAH ! Actually
though they do challenge it, they then
sort of say it's good to be a cop at the
same time. Vic and McNulty are good
cops and ultimately Tony and the crew
are thugs and the shows make no bones
about that.
Article: Tapehead Jim Shelley
”Film actors on TV can only be a good thing.”
Stop believing: The Sopranos is over.
But then you have to ask yourself: Do
they offer an excuse for police brutal-
ity? Or is that too general a state-
ment?
In my opinion, no they don't. They show
the reasons, they show where the line is,
they show what's right and what's wrong
and that's what they’re about.
With regards to the impact these types
of shows and their success has had
on the new shows starting to emerge,
I think they have set the standard, raised
the bar and they are going to inspire a lot
of writers, actors and directors to live up
to them because otherwise for all eternity
people will just say: IT'S NOT AS GOOD
AS THE WIRE.
Did the fact that the Sopranos was on
pay per view (HBO), and the Shield
was on basic cable (FX) have anything
to do with their success? Well, I am
not sure if they could have worked as
well on the opposing channel.
But on the other hand I think those two
shows are pretty similar. Maybe they
would have been fine on each other's
channel. Maybe they would have been
different shows altogether though if this
was the case.
So should either show be revisited in
the future? Or would to revisit them
weaken the impact of their respective
endings as they stand now?
These are questions I think any true fan
of either show could consider. I want The
Shield to come back. I think it will. The
Sopranos shouldn't and I dont think it will.
David Chase said he wanted to do a
movie, but I think Gandolfini has moved
on and the others are too minor. The
Shield has more to come.
There are several films I rate so far
this year.
The last film I really liked was The
Wrestler. Before that Gone Baby
Gone. Also Charlie Wilson's War and Be-
fore the Devil Knows Youre Dead.
I tend to watch films on DVD. Eden Lake
was interesting - the guy who
plays Cook in Skins is going to be a big
star I think.
I have my eye on several films that
aren’t even out yet.
Apparently Abel Ferrara is going to make
a prequel to King of New York, and some
one's making a remake of The Bad Lieu-
tenant. Whether either of these is a good
thing though remains doubtful.
.
Alternative 37
Article: Tapehead Jim Shelley
Ashes to Ashes: Buried by Hawkes?
As a television critic I don’t just simply
appreciate TV more than cinema. Any-
thing good, I will watch.
I love going to the cinema, usually Mon-
day afternoons when there's no-one
there.
There are several television shows
that I see becoming classics in the fu-
ture that are still running now.
The Corner should be on BBC2. Genera-
tion Kill is also excellent. Apparently Red
Riding is terrific but I am saving that for
the weekend. Californication is great.
Huff was amazing. Mad Men is a bit too
perfect. Who knows what will last?
There is a growing trend of film actors
working on television.
Film actors on TV can only be a good
thing - just look at Glenn Close and
William Hurt in Damages, Robert Carlyle
in 24. They're still actors.
Why do I think they do this?
Exposure, fame, and the writing is better.
A question I often get asked as a TV
critic is: What is the biggest "jump the
38 Alternative
A future classic?
“The last film I really liked was The Wrestler.”
shark" moment I feel a TV show has
ever commited?
And then i reply, Mistresses ? No, just
joking. I've heard series three of Dexter
sucks, but so far...
Ashes to Ashes, which thanks to Keeley
Hawes I HATED.
Some television shows have been
cancelled that I think shouldn't have
been. I sometimes wonder if audi-
ences are sometimes too set in their
ways to accept new shows.
There are so many examples. To be fair,
it's usually not just the audiences but the
marketing, scheduling. I would say Huff.
I think DVDs and Blu-Rays are integral
to the success of many TV shows
nowadays. Some would argue that
something is lost if a show isn't
watched week by week as it is aired.
These days I don’t think it matters when
you see a show except if you read the
papers or look at the internet you'll find
out what happens. Personally i couldn’t
do that.
The writers strike changed television
Gone too soon?
shows... not only did it benefit the
writers financially, it also altered the
landscape in other ways as well.
I would like to think it woke the studios up
to how important the writers are. So
many big actors were behind them. But
now so many shows are in crisis, the
ground they gained will probably
be lost.
There is a website with my Tapehead
archives on it. I am never tempted to
start adding new material though.
I would love SOMEONE ELSE to update
my website. The ShelleyVision and TV
Dinners columns are on the Mirror and
Guardian sites. So..I'm happy and re-
lieved Tapehead even exists at all.
How do I feel I have developed as a
critic since I started?
Hmm, how have I developed... I no
longer spend a week perfecting an intro
as I did when i was writing freelance pro-
files. I no longer write over the word
length. (The space is the space).
Journalism is one of those jobs, like all
the best ones, you learn doing it. I would
hate to read anything i wrote early on.
 Article: Stuntmen Special

THREE MEN.
ONE MISSION.
RAISE.THE.BAR.
ALTERNATIVE SPEAKS ExCLUSIVELY TO THREE
STUNTMEN fROM ACROSS THE GLOBE. BUT ARE
THEY THE REAL MEN BEHIND OUR ACTION HEROES,
OR SIMPLY ADRENALINE jUNKIES? Words by
Martin Mulrooney

NAME: Jude Poyer NAME: Matt Anderson NAME: Steen Young

YEARS IN THE BUSINESS: 10+ YEARS IN THE BUSINESS: 20+ YEARS IN THE BUSINESS: 20+

LOCATION: London/ Hong Kong LOCATION: USA LOCATION: UK

SPECIALITY: Explosions/ rock SPECIALITY: Scuba/ water. Also SPECIALITY: Firearms. Guiness
climbing. Also an expert in fight cho - specialises in stunt co-ordination. book of records for being set on fire.
reography.

CV: CV: CV:

Armed and unarmed combat Firearms expert Martial Arts Champion
Fire, Body burns, Explosions Stunt and precision driving Weapons Master:
Falls Air Rams Double swords
Gunfights and Squibs Glass Hits Staffs
Strong swimmer Wire Work Axe
Scuba Diving (PADI Divemaster) Rappel Master/ Instructor Knife
Horse Riding Sword Choreography Chains
Rock Climbing Military technical advising Hand to Hand
High Diving (10 metre board) Kickboxing Film and Television (The Dark
Extensive Blue/Green Screen experi - Recent films: Die Hard 4 and Be - Knight)
ence owulf. Publicity stunts
Motion Capture Recent TV shows: CSI-Miami and 24 British Kung Fu Association

Alternative 39
Article: Stuntmen Special
JUDE
POYER
Van damme is he on fire!
But fame isn’t his hunger
How would you describe your job?
I work as a stunt performer and stunt co-
ordinator for films, TV, commercials,
music videos etc. Each job varies. It
might involve doubling an actor for a diffi-
cult or potentially dangerous shot, chore-
ographing a fight, or ensuring the safety
of cast and crew during filming. Often it
involves creating the illusion of extreme
danger on screen, whilst simultaneously
limiting the danger to performers and
crew on set.
How did you get in to the stunt game?
Was it a case of having the skills al-
ready and then it being a natural next
step, or was it something you worked
towards from a young age?
I have always loved movies, from a very
young age. I’m a child of the VHS gener-
ation! I started training in martial arts at
age 8, due to the influence of ninja and
Bruce Lee movies. I guess I caught the
acting bug very early doing school plays.
Later I did acting classes and took A lev-
els in Media Studies and Film Studies.
So I guess you could say I was learning
about performance and film making from
an early age. I wasn’t thinking “I want to
be a stuntman” as a kid, but I did know I
wanted to work in film, and specifically
action films. Being an action actor in
Hong Kong meant that I got to use mar-
tial arts, but also that I learned about per-
forming stunts. Over the years, I found
stuntwork more appealing than acting. I
didn’t have all the skills in place before I
started in the industry and don’t think I
ever will. I’m constantly trying to learn
new skills and develop my existing ones.
What do you specialise in?
As a stunt performer and coordinator, I
would say I do most general stuntwork.
I’ll do fire stunts, explosions and falls etc.
I specialize in fights, though. I think fights
and stunts involving wirework are my
specialty. Obviously Hong Kong is a great
training ground for that, and I try to com-
bine what I’ve learned both in Asia and in
the west to my stunts. I’ll often use wires
in ways which might not be obvious. Ob-
vious wirework is the “Matrix” or “Crouch-
ing Tiger Hidden Dragon” stuff (which I
40 Alternative
love), but sometimes you can use
wires and ropes for things like
falls – you stop the performer
from hitting the ground, and you
don’t have to frame out airbags
or crash pads.
What made you move to Hong
Kong in 1996?
As I said, I did my A levels. I
could have left school and gone
on to Drama school or off to
study film. The fact is, though,
that I knew good Drama school
stunt people are not daredevils. I’m one
graduates who weren’t getting acting
of those people who approaches a poten-
work, and similarly I didn’t think Film
tially dangerous scene or shot with the
School was the best step. I had been a
mindset of “How can I make this look as
fan of Hong Kong action films since a
exciting or perilous as possible whilst
very young age and I saw western martial
minimizing the risks?”
artists in those films. So I thought “why
spend 3-4 years in an institution paying to
Have you ever been injured during a
learn about filmmaking?
stunt?
Why not spend those years in Hong
Not seriously. I think it’s ok to get hurt, but
Kong – getting paid on real sets to learn
not to be injured. By that I mean I expect
from the best?” I knew that if it didn’t work
bruises and minor cuts, and get them a
out, I’d at least have tried, and hopefully
lot of the time. So far though, I’ve been
would have some fun life experiences. As
fortunate enough to avoid anything nasty.
it turned out, I lived and worked there for
8 years, and met my wife!
What is the most difficult stunt you
have ever had to perform?
What major films have you worked
Boring answer, but I don’t know. Some-
on?
times performing fight choreography to a
I’ve appeared in a few big Hong Kong
good enough standard can be extremely
films, which may not be known to your
challenging, whereas being set on fire
readers. Probably the biggest was “A
can be quite straightforward. One of the
Man Called Hero”. It’s a big budget comic
things I enjoy now about coordinating is
book adaptation with a cast of many top
the challenge of putting what’s written in
Chinese actors. It was directed by An-
the script up on the screen. Last year I
drew Lau, who later did “Infernal Affairs”.
worked on “New Town Killers”, a British
The film was a big summer hit in Asia in
film shot on location in Edinburgh. That
1999.
had some decent stunts written in the
I’ve done fewer big western movies. I did
script, and I was responsible for both
a couple of days on “Da Vinci Code” for a
doubling the lead actor and designing the
2nd Unit flashback scene. I also worked a
wire assisted stunts. So when the script
fair bit on “Ultraviolet” with Milla Jovovic
said the hero had to leap off a 2nd storey
(it filmed in Hong Kong and China) and
ledge, hit the roof of a moving ambu-
“The Medallion” with Jackie Chan and
lance, and then land on the steet below, I
Lee Evans. Those two movies didn’t turn
was thinking “How to do this in an excit-
out too well, sadly.
ing way?” Too many films have people
jumping in the first shot (into boxes or
Are you an adrenaline junkie?
mats out of frame), then landing in the
Absolutely not. I get scared! For me,
next shot. I wanted to show the whole
there may be a place for adrenaline
thing in one continuous shot with no cuts:
junkies in the stunt business, but most
ledge to ambulance to ground. I did the

Performing a full body burn in Ten Dead Men.
Jude tackles Jet Li. Then they eat lunch.
stunt, and I think it turned out okay, espe-
cially considering the limited time and
crew we had.
What was your favourite film you have
worked on?
Probably it would be “A Man Called
Hero”. I was playing a character in the
film, and as that character got to perform
stunts and fights. I was working with a
very friendly and experienced crew. For a
20 year old Hong Kong film fan from Lon-
don it was a dream come true. Also
, I was filming in Mainland China, so got
to do some sightseeing on my down time,
which is a bonus of this job.
Do you get to travel all over the world?
Who foots the bill?
A lot of the time the production company
pays to fly you out and put you in an hotel
or apartment. Obviously, that’s an ideal
way to work, and I count myself very
lucky that I’ve been to places such as
Syria, Thailand, The Philippines and Italy
under those circumstances. However, if a
job is happening in a foreign country, and
it’s a job I want to do, I will consider flying
myself out there to do it. Sometimes it’s
better to pay for flights and board, then
get paid to work in some foreign land
than stay in London. As long as it doesn’t
leave you out of pocket and you get an-
other credit on your CV, another stamp in
Article: Stuntmen Special
Don’t look down...you’ll spoil the shot!
your passport and some decent photos,
showreel material and hopefully cash and
fun, where’s the harm?
Do you ever get to meet the stars on
set?
Of course you do. Some people mistak-
enly think stunt people are just stunt dou-
bles. Doubling is just one thing they do. If
you see a star beating up five people
playing muggers or bodyguards etc, the
chances are that they are stunt people
playing those parts. Stunt people also
help teach actors fight choreography or
demonstrate or test actions for them. We
also are involved in ensuring the safety of
actors, so that might mean putting them
in harnesses and controlling their safety
ropes. On “New Town Killers” there was a
lot of that because we had James An-
thony Pearson being chased all over Ed-
inburgh by Dougray Scott, including
across icy rooftops.
I don’t like namedropping, but if you in-
sist on a bit, I’ve been killed or kicked by
Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Milla Jovovic and
Van Damme among others. I never try to
cosy up to actors, though – they need
their space to do their thing. You don’t
have to be friends with them. It’s more
important that they feel safe working with
you.
Do you ever get jealous of the stars
for getting all the fame, whilst behind
the scenes stuntmen can go relatively
unknown?
Not at all. I’m not hungry for fame. I’m
very lucky because I get to work on films
and then go home to a life of anonymity. I
wouldn’t want to be trailed by paparazzi
or photographed walking my dog, as
some stars are. Also, I don’t need the au-
dience to know it’s me doing a stunt. I
know it, and your peers in the industry
know too.
How long can somebody last in the
stunt industry before they have to re-
tire due to age or health?
It is often up to them. Of course for most
people, when they are in their mid forties,
they will find certain things harder to do
than when they were in their twenties.
However, the industry needs stunt people
of all ages to play a variety of characters.
If you need a sixty year old man get
punched in a bar fight, a sixty year old
stuntman in good health will likely look a
lot better than a thirty-something stunt-
man in makeup! Also many stunt people
move into coordinating stunts and 2nd
Unit direction as they mature.
Alternative 41
Article: Stuntmen Special
MATT
ANDERSON
You can knock him down,
but he alwaYs gets back up
How would you describe your job?
I'm a 4th generation performer, my mom
& dad met on broadway, my grandpar-
ents met in vaudeville, and my great
grandfather was part of a minstrel show. I
dabbled in the business when I was
younger, then took a break and joined the
US Army. I served as an Infantryman,
Paratrooper, and as a Special Forces sol-
dier (Green Beret) in the first Gulf War.
After the war I came back to the industry
and also served in the reserves. I am pri-
marily a Stunt Coordinator & Stuntman,
but I also act quite a bit. In fact I am the
2nd lead in a film by Blair Witch director
Dan Myrick called "The Objective" which
is being released here in the US theatri-
cally in March. It's only a limited theatri-
cal, but it's currenly on IFC on demand.
(http://www.objectivemovie.com)
Often having acting skills is helpful as a
Stuntman, since they can then hire one
person to do an action role, instead of an
actor that has to have a stunt double. I
also 2nd unit direct and have directed
one full length feature film with name tal-
ent, Luke Goss (Blade 2, Hellboy 2,
Tekken), called "The Dead Undead."
You also class yourself, as well as a
stuntman, as a stunt co-ordinator.
How do the two roles differ?
I work mostly as a Stunt Coordinator, but
I also still work as a stuntman, on my own
shows and for other coordinators I know.
The obvious difference is that as a coor-
dinator I am responsible for planning the
action sequences, allowing the directors
vision to happen safely, hiring the right
stunt people for the job at hand, and most
importantly safety on my set. Not just
anyone can be a good stunt performer,
but fewer still can be good stunt coordi-
nators that get the stunts and take care of
their people, not just try and get the next
job at the cost of their people.
How did you get in to the stunt game?
Was it a case of having the skills al-
ready and then it being a natural next
step, or was it something you worked
towards from a young age?
I certainly wasn't planning on it from an
early age. I was definitely a wild child, but
42 Alternative
I never really gave stunts a
thought. I grew up with folks that
were actors. When my dad moved
to Hollywood, I followed the next
year...I was around 22. Like I said
earlier I dabbled in film, worked as
an extra mostly. Somehow I ended
up doing a live western stunt
show, can't remember how that
happened anymore I think it was
through a friend. Did that for
awhile and liked it as I had always been a
pretty active guy. Combine that with a lit-
tle time in the military and working as an
extra and Voila...an aspiring stuntman
was born. I only did a few smaller stunts
in film before I went back in the Army.
When I got off active duty in 91 I decided
to pursue it full time, now with a very solid
military Special Operations background.
The rest is, as they say, history.
When you use a weapon in a scene,
such as a gun or knife, are they repli-
cas or the real deal?
Both, just depends on the requirement.
When guns fire blanks, those are real
guns that are blank adapted. Sometimes
the camera will be very close so we need
to use a real knife. The knife will NEVER
be sharp, at least not on my set or any
other pro set. Other times I might need to
fly through the air from an explosion, so a
rubber gun is in order. During a serious
fight having a dummy or rubber knife is
smarter than crashing a metal one into
someones arm, even if it is dull...it's still
metal. So you just have them all in your
toolbox and use the right one for the job
at hand.
Is it true that, unlike many other stunt-
men, you also perform underwater
stunts?
The underwater part is true, but there are
other stuntmen that work underwater. Un-
fortunately there are also plenty of folks
that THINK they can do underwater work
because they are scuba qualified. Now
they might have gotten qualified 10 years
ago, and only dove 8 times since then,
but they figure they're qualified which is a
definite pet peeve of mine. I have been
diving for years and I have
MANY certifications. I am a Divemaster,
Master Diver (yup there's a big differ-
ence), resuce diver, etc. I am currently
workng as an assistant instructor on my
way to getting my instructor cert. I have
some technical diving certs, like nitrox,
cave, rebreather, high altitude diving, etc.
I am also a member of IATSE (The Inter-
national Alliance of Theatrical Stage Em-
ployees) local 80 Marine. Very few stunt
performers that I am aware of are mem-
ber of the crew union marine local like
myself. I really love diving and have been
underwater all over the world, both for
work and for pleasure. My most recent
trip was to Truk Lagoon near the island of
Chuuk in Micronesia. I spent 10 days div-
ing WWII Japanese wrecks that litter the
bottom of that area.
What major films have you worked
on?
Rather than throw all of that out there,
just take a look at my imdb.
(Ed.- A quick look on the Internet Movie
Database shows that Matt has worked on
Die Hard 4 and Beowulf recently, as well
as many other films in the past.)
Are you an adrenaline junkie?
Maybe a little bit, but not when I'm work-
ing. I do like to do very active things, but I
am not in this business for the rush. Peo-
ple that try getting into stunts because
they say they are adrenaline junkies or
daredevils typically don't last very long.
Daredevils will try anything once...stunt
performers need to be able to get up and
immediately go back to their first position
and do it again, and again, and again if
need be. At the end of the day I need to
be able to physically function or I can't
work, so I need to do it right and do it

1 2
Jump in front of car.
safe. eventually you'll get hurt, but you
want to mitigate that as much as possi-
ble.
Have you ever been injured during a
stunt?
Sure, like I said eventually you're going to
get hurt. Some worse than others, some-
times it's just the luck of the draw. If it
wasn't dangerous the actors would do it.
I've been pretty lucky throughout my ca-
reer and had nothing really life threaten-
ing. I've broken some fingers, my nose (3
times but only twice were stunts), had my
scalp split open, blown my ankle out,
sprained and tweaked more than a few
things. The worst injury I ever had was
the show I got my SAG card on. I had
been back form the war for about a year
and got on this show because someone
had not showed up. I had a 20' highfall,
backwards into a shallow creek with an
explosion in my face. I really went over it
in detail, made sure everything was set
for when the day came. A few days be-
fore that I was told to go do a little fall
when an explosion went off in a field, it
was an american Civil War Vampire
movie...don't ask. (Laughs) Anyway,
Re-enforced pant-seams are a must.
Article: Stuntmen Special
Get ran over by car.
being a young stuntman I ran over and
didn't bother with pads or stretching, hell
is was a nothing little thing...run down a
small hill and push off a sandbag when
the small dust bomb went off.
So I did...but didn't factor that the hill had
a wicked angle to it. So when I hit and
rolled, i rolled sideways as well and
piledrived the point of my shoulder into
the ground. I heard and felt a pretty nasty
crunch and knew it wasn't good. when
they called cut and I moved I knew it was
pretty bad because I became instantly
nauseous. Then they called "back to one"
(where you started because they're doing
it again). This is where the rubber meets
the road for a stunt performer. I wasn't
just hurt, I was injured...but like the old
saying goes "the show must go on."
Anyone can do it once...I went back and
did it 2 more times, without the crunch
part of course, and only told a few of the
stunt guys. I was afraid they wouldn't let
me do my big stunt and I wouldn't get my
SAG card. I nursed and self treated it as
best I could, took A LOT of motrin, and a
few days later did the big fall with no
problems. Stupid...maybe, but it
got me into the union and
started my career so I figure it
was just the price of admission.
What is the most difficult
stunt you have ever had to
perform?
Well it depends on whether
we're talking physically or men-
tally. Physically it was probably
just riding a bicycle. Mind you I
was driving this heavy old
school bike down a 100' ramp
with someone on the back,
through a breakaway glass win-
dow, and dropping 6' to a hard-
wood floor...at speed. That was
for the film "Jay & Silent Bob
Strike Back" where I was dou-
bling Kevin Smith as Silent Bob.
That one hurt the most. Men-
tally it would be doing about a
110' -120' highfall from a build-
ing. I'm not an amazing highfall
guy, just adequate, so it was
quite the adrenaline rush...that's
the nice way of saying it scared
the crap out of me. I've gone
down stairs, jumped out of
3
Play dead...then get paid.
planes, been set on fire, flipped cars,
gone through windows, and leaped off a
100' bridge on a rope, among other
things, but that highfall was probably the
hardest stunt mentally that I've ever
done. I know other folks that can do twice
that easy, but would hate doing a fire
gag. Just depends on your background
and training.
What was your favourite film you have
worked on?
Well as a stuntman it would be "Jay &
Silent Bob Strike Back." The stunt coordi-
nator was old school and a real pro.I re-
ally got a feeling of what it was like back
in the day doing stunts, but with a mix of
modern as well. Kevin Smith, the director,
was a joy to work with and I mean that
sincerely. He's just a really good human
being, as is his producer Scott
Mosier...and of course Jay, who is the
bomb yo.
As an actor it would be "The Objective."
The obvious reason is that it was my
biggest role in a film, I was the 2nd lead. I
also got the chance to work for another
awesome director, Dan Myrick. Another
truly good human being that really loves
what he does. He really allowed us the
freedom to collaborate with him and not
just work for him. It also led to me stunt
coordinating 3 films he produced after
that, so I've got to love that.
As a Stunt Coordinator it would be "La
Linea." Again, yet another wonderful di-
rector, James Cotten. Really a nice guy
who let me flex some muscle on the film
and 2nd unit direct a bit. It was a great
experience to be able to coordinate a film
with a cast that includes Ray Liotta, Andy
Garcia, Esai Morales, Armand Assante,
Joe Morton, and Bruce Davison. I got a
chance to do a lot of stuff, put a lot of
people to work, and work with a lot of
great talent.
Do you get to travel all over the world?
Who foots the bill?
Not me, that's for sure. I can't afford that
stuff! (Laughs) Seriously, when it's for
work the film company will pay for it. I just
came off a commercial where we filmed
in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I'm certainly
not a local, so they flew me down there.
Often it does not cost anything to change
the dates on the return flights, so I'll stay
Alternative 43
Article: Stuntmen Special
on location for awhile, maybe fly some-
where else then come back, or stop for a
bit in a layover city. When I filmed "The
Objective" we shot in Morocco. My oldest
son came with me and of course we put
him to work doing all the crappy jobs.
Boys gotta learn and I'm not a touchy
feely type of dad, he needs to earn it.
Well I changed our return flights and after
the show was over we both strapped on
some backpacks and went to Europe. Hit
Paris, Rome, Madrid, then back for a bit
in Casablanca...yes we went looking for
Rick's Lounge, never found it though. The
film only paid for the business part of the
trip, i paid for the vacation. But it cost
them nothing for me to change the return
dates made it MUCH cheaper for my son
and i to tool around Europe. The flight
over the pond is the expensive part...after
that I just hopped on easyjet.
Now when I go on my dive trips, that's all
me. So i guess I need to do movies to
support my diving habit.
Do you ever get to meet the stars on
set?
Pretty much constantly, it's part of the job.
Not much that's story worthy, not after a
fashion. I rarely work on anything where I
don't meet someone that's considered a
star. I've mentioned several so far, but
here's just a few of the folks I've worked
with besides those I've mentioned: Demi
Moore, Bruce Willis, Mark Wahlberg,
Jason Statham, Donald Sutherland, Burt
Reynolds, Kevin Pollack, Daniel Stern, Il-
leana Douglas, Eric Roberts, Viggo
Mortensen, Bokeem Woodbine, Mark Da-
44 Alternative
Matt as a stunt double in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back.
cascos, Keith David, Katee Sackhoff,
Richard Grieco, John Rhys-Davies,
Jason Scott Lee, Mos def, Seth Green,
Dolph Lungren, etc, etc. Please tell me
I've dropped enough names?!
You have! Do you ever get jealous of
the stars for getting all the fame,
whilst behind the scenes stuntmen
can go relatively unknown?
Not a bit. I act as well so I understand the
dynamic. I CHOSE to be a stuntman, and
I have no regrets. Will I make it big as an
actor, unlikely but who knows? If not
that's just fine because I was a stuntman
first, I'm a stunt coordinator /stuntman
now, and I've got more than a few years
to go before I can't be one no 'mo.
How long can somebody last in the
stunt industry before they have to re-
tire due to age or health?
Well that absolutely depends on the per-
son. Some folks get out early, some
move on to other jobs, some have health
issues that force them out. Still others
work WELL into what most would con-
sider their twilght years. Consider "Judo"
Gene LeBell, who is 76 years old and still
working as a stuntman and teaching
grappling at his studio. 15 years ago,
when Gene was a youngster of 61, I
watched him slam his head and body
through a glass window on a film called
"Best of the Best 2." Or how about Bobby
Herron who was working on "Reno 911"
this past November. He had to do a fall
down a flight of stairs, twice....he's 84
YEARS OLD. How's that for refusing to
retire? So you see it's really all depend-
ent on the individual.
You see we just don't want to retire. Why
should we, we get paid to play. Most of
us LOVE what we do, so retiring isn't re-
ally something we strive towards. My girl-
friend was talking with me about her
retirement plan, she's a police officer and
has hers very well planned. She asked if I
didn't want to retire andI told her "hell no."
to me retirement equals death. Lots of
people sink rapidly after retiring and feel-
ing like they are useless. Most people
can't wait to retire because they hate their
job and are miserable. Well like I said, I
love what I do...I love the constant chal-
lenges...I love that it always different be-
cause every film is different. It keeps it
fresh and if you love what you're doing,
you feel needed and vital, then you're
going to live a lot longer. My plan is to
stay alive for awhile and turn my grand-
kids against their dads...kind of an old
guy payback. Gotta love it.
Venturing into deep waters.

Steen
Young
The real dark knighT Tells
us how he became The boss
How did you become a stuntman?
I got into the business as i had done al-
most everything else in the entertainment
business. I have been an actor,dancer,
singer, stiltsman, human statue,acrobat,
arielist,fire spinner and many more occu-
pations. I even because a guinness book
of records member, recorded voice on 3
albums, became a martial arts cham-
pion.. I needed a further challenge. Risk-
Might as well...jump!
Steen Young, we salute you.
Article: Stuntmen Special
ing everything as a stuntman seemed to
fit.
What films have you worked on?
Both of the new Batman films, 28 Days
Later, Tomorrow Never Dies...lots.
Is it a hard profession to get into?
It was slighly easier for me because I al- the scenes stuntmen can go relatively
ready had 3 out of the 7 skills required to unknown?
become a stuntman when i found out No because the actors make the film
about stunt registar. But yes, it can be happen, stunts are the exciting bit, but
hard. the stars are the glue that pastes the film
together or it would be same same action
Every suffered any serious injuries? throughout.
Yeh, sure. Sword in the leg, head cracked
open, smashed into ground under They deserve the limelight.. we have our
horses, the usual. group or training and our fun and we get
paid to do it.. what a fantastic life.
Naturally. Are you and your fellow To spin round a horse at full gallop,
stuntmen adrenaline junkies? wheelie a bike without getting arrrested,
Of course, we all love action on and off set myself alight and jump off a building
the screen, but we are more careful than and hopefully be able to go home alive...
the average joe as we see what can go now thats what i like.
wrong and the injury's and deaths that
can happen. Thank you for your time! Before we
finish, can you tell us what it is like
Do you have a favourite film you have working in the computer games indus-
worked on? try?
Hmm, my favourite film... I have done It’s brilliant! I get to be Bond (007), the vil-
over 400 productions but the "Dark lian’s all the characters, all the stunts, all
Knight" has to have been the best. I get at once! While on a film you get the odd
jerked out of the side of a skyscraper by good stunt but usually its bread and but-
a plane attached to Batman. that was ter fight scenes. A light saber in Star
fun! Wars, where i’m the boss of my action, I
put together the moves and chore-
Do you get to travel all over the world? oghraph what I feel will work, is great!
Who foots the bill? Nothing is better than being the boss.
We do get to travel but most planes and
hotel rooms look the same, and you
leave your loved ones at home. Some-
times you fly them out for a holiday like I
did when I was filming "Munich" in Malta.
I flew my partner out for a week and she
sat at the poolside sunning herself as I
was covered by fake blood as machine
guns tore into everyone!
The film companies pay the bills but we
pay for loved ones.
Do you ever get jealous of the stars
for getting all the fame, whilst behind Firestarter
Alternative 45
Article: Michael Mann

IT’S A MAN
mICHAEL mANN: AUTEUR
A LOOK BACK OVER A CAREER BUILT ON FILmS OF CO

46 Alternative
 Article: Michael Mann

N’S WORLD
NCRETE JUNGLES AND THE MEN THAT INHABIT THEM
By Martin Mulrooney
Alternative 47
Article: Michael Mann
Al and Bob’s staring competition was starting to get out of hand...
W
hen it comes to films
showing a man’s
world, there is no
greater authority than
American director
Michael Mann. Also a screenwriter and
producer, he made several made-for-tele-
vision films, before his debut film Thief in
1981. This launched a film career span-
ning over 20 years to the present day,
with his last film being Miami Vice, re-
leased in 2006. Miami Vice is itself a re-
invention of a cult television show of the
same name that Mann produced from
1984 to 1990, amounting to 110 shows
altogether.
The topic of the auteur is now much
more dominant than it has ever been,
with the word sometimes being overused.
But does it apply to Michael Mann? With
such a wide spanning career, there has
certainly become a correlation between
all of his works that indicate Mann as an
auteur director. There are many themes
that are prevalent, and a style that is un-
mistakably known as pure ‘Michael
Mann.’
Thief (1981) is a product of 80’s filmmak-
ing in every respect. Neon prevails every-
where, the music, cars and clothes are
now severely retro with hindsight, yet all
of this amounts to not only a product of
the times it was created in, but showcase
cinematic techniques that have been
present in the director’s work ever since.
The reason the film still stands up today
is because all of the stylistics are still held
together by a strong plot and character
development, and this has continued
throughout his career. Mann often deals
with criminal undertones in his films, yet
the actual action and violence is relatively
low. This, his feature film debut, set the
precedent for the works that would follow:
a film pushed forward not by action, but
by character development and insight.
The style on screen merely compliments
the substance.
Indeed, this substance spreads insofar
as that the attention to detail is meticu-
lous. Thief deals with a professional safe-
cracker, and actually goes to great
48 Alternative
lengths to ensure authenticity in what
tools are shown for this illegal profession,
and the way they are used. When James
Cann as Frank breaks into a safe, he is
actually doing it for real. Similarly, experts
were used to retell real case scenarios,
which could then be realistically adapted
to be used here. This again set a prece-
dent for the future: Mann is renowned for
being meticulous in every aspect of his
work, even down to detailed notes on a
character’s childhood that will never even
be referenced in the film. Actors will often
have to become the character as much
as possible, for example with extensive
weapons training, from Andy McNab in
particular in Heat (1995), in preparation
for an extensive gunfight in the middle of
a busy city-street.
Certainly, because the male characters
in Mann films are fully fleshed out, they
allow themselves to be aligned with an
audience, even if the women are admit-
tedly put on the back burner. Mann takes
characters the majority of viewers will
never meet a real life equivalent of, such
as the heavyweight champion of the
world (Ali, 2001), or a professional hitman
(Collateral, 2004), and gives them individ-
ual quirks or empathetic traits so that an
audience can relate to them on a human
level regardless of personal experience
with what they are seeing on screen.
Vincent the hitman in Collateral says
nothing about his life in the entire film, yet
certain dialogue and script choices subtly
hint enough to raise him above a two di-
mensional bad-guy, and provide clues to
his past. When Max the cabdriver says
he doesn’t want to buy flowers for his
mother, Vincent goes stone-cold serious,
buying them himself, and uttering the
words: “she carried you in her womb for 9
months.” Without saying it outright, Mann
could be hinting at a number of things,
such as Vincent’s own mother dying dur-
ing childbirth. Vincent also shows a pas-
sion for jazz music, humanising him as
many Mann anti-heroes are humanised,
and slowly as the night goes on and more
people die, subtle changes in facial ex-
pression show that he is still only human,
and has at least a shred of compassion
due to his actions. Subtle hints such as
these often make up the character devel-
opment in Michael Mann films. He makes
a viewer figure things out for themselves,
rather than using Hollywood conventions
to spell everything out instead.
This is the same in all of Mann’s films.
He also very deliberately blurs the lines
between men’s moralities, instead giving
all main characters, good or bad, an even
playing field. In Heat when Pacino’s law-
enforcer meets with Deniro’s expert-thief
face to face, it is done over coffee in the
most non-aggressive environment imagi-
nable: a public restaurant. For a time,
they could almost just be two regular men
meeting to socialise. Neither is de-
monised or idolised, and they both have
positive and negative aspects to their
characters. The cop has family issues
due to being too addicted to his job, and
the criminal is too detached from his
emotions to enjoy anything he earns.
Mann’s men live for professionalism.
His films regularly deal with the bond be-
tween men and their profession, be it
legal or illegal. This also in turn leads to
dealing with the pressures of trying to
balance this with a semblance of nor-
malcy, such as a successful relationship
with a woman, and the tolls this takes on
other aspects of their lives. This prevails
via a sense of loneliness and isolation,
especially in Thief, Manhunter, and Heat.
Heat in particular revisits this concept,
and builds on it, from what was estab-
lished in Thief.
Where that film dealt with only a criminal
side of the law, Heat looked at both sides
in a completely un-Hollywood fashion: the
line between the supposed good (Han-
nah, Al Pacino) and bad (McCauley,
Robert DeNiro) was blurred until they
were all just men doing a job, and being
all the more detached and lonely be-
cause of it.
On the other hand, whilst for example Ali
deals with a different type of scenario, the
world of boxing, and The Insider (1999)
deals with corruption in the tobacco in-
dustry, the formula in all Mann films is still

present: a professional man facing obsta-
cles that affect their personal lives, such
as their families, and moral choices that
have to be made.
Overall, women take a backseat role in
Mann’s films, generally being, rather than
completely undeveloped, instead just less
focused on. Mann’s world is a man’s
world, and women in his work are often
just another asset on the line for the male
characters to emotionally jeopardise, due
to their inner demons and questionable
actions.
Another main theme for Mann is his vi-
sual style. As previously mentioned, his
debut film Thief owed a lot to the 80’s in
the way it was presented. However, even
later films in Mann’s collection still heavily
borrow from this time. The suit worn by
Vincent in Collateral is a dated light grey,
certainly belonging in the past rather than
the present. The Miami Vice film in 2006
still held onto its television roots, with
again the suits, haircuts and styles of
Miami in the 80’s creating a blend of
modernity and nostalgia when thrown into
a present day upgrade.
Mann’s films take place in a stylistic uni-
verse all of their own, where Mann’s cine-
matic routes from decades ago can still
survive and be readapted to the present,
to look fresh and new. The world reflects
the mood of the characters, often shown
in an almost dreamlike manner, empty
streets in a concrete jungle. With every
film Mann has made, the constant view-
ing of the city is as much a character as
any lead actor; with the way it is filmed
giving an almost rhythmic pulse of life
and death, bright lights and dark alleys.
This mixture of light and dark further par-
allels the inner turmoil and imperfections
of Mann’s protagonists. Los Angeles is
revisited several times in his filmmaking
due to its effectiveness in this regard.
Mann’s use of colour has been a stylistic
continuity throughout his career. Almost
like an artist Mann chooses certain hues
and shades of colour to enhance the
emotions created visually on screen. The
best example of this would most likely be
Article: Michael Mann
within Hannibal’s cell in Manhunter
(1986). All of the padded walls in the cell
are a bright, sterile white. This adds even
more to the threatening feel of being face
to face with somebody who has eaten
people alive. The lack of colour apart
from on Hannibal himself draws the view-
ers gaze, and makes it hard to shift the
eyes focus elsewhere. (A predicament
FBI agent Will Graham would undoubt-
edly share with the viewer).
Elsewhere, all of the films share a
washed out colour palette. This creates a
sense of reality; because the colours ap-
pear more normalised than a regular pro-
duction. This in turn makes the stories
told more hard hitting, because non of
them are fantastical, instead firmly rooted
in the real world. (Or at least Mann’s ver-
sion of reality.) Realistic colour mixed with
realistic scenarios means that when
somebody gets shot or similar, the action
actually holds weight. This may explain
why there is relatively little action in the
running time of a Mann film when com-
pared to dialogue and exposition content,
and also why he has fully embraced High
Definition shooting methods when other
directors want to stay within the arguably
unreal qualities of film.
Visually, another stylistic staple of his
films is the use of light and shadow, often
signifying safety or danger. Generally, the
more light there is on screen, the less
likely violence will occur. James Cann
steps out into the night from the light of a
house to go on a killing spree at the end
of Thief, Hanna and McCauley face off at
the end of Heat at LAX airport, with flight
landing lights being ignited and extin-
guished, and Vincent in Collateral only
goes after his last victim after cutting the
building’s power, casting it into darkness.
A lot of the music from the 80’s was
heavily electrical, effectively matching the
urban environments that were used in
Mann’s earlier films such as Thief and
Manhunter. Inevitably, since then main-
stream music has generally moved on
and evolved. However, Mann still man-
ages to evoke similar musical styles
through the use of especially composed
music, and also artists such as Moby who
utilise synthetic sounds in their work.
(Such as the song God on the Face of
the Water, in the end credits of Heat.) He
also embraces music that matches a cer-
tain mood regardless of when it was
made, and will express modernity where
necessary with it. Music for Mann differs
in relation to whether it is didactic or not.
Music that would not normally be used is
still placed if it sufficiently matches an en-
vironment and emphasises a certain
mood. This happens twice in his two of
his most recent films, Collateral and
Miami Vice, both of which feature club
scenes and modern dance music. In a
way, Mann is allowing the past to blend
with the present, and updating retro-ness
so it can once again be considered
“cool”.
It can be seen from a broad look at
Mann’s work that there are many the-
matic and stylistic consistencies between
his different films. As a male director, he
is often focused on the professionalism of
many different types of men, their rela-
tionships and how they cope with the
lives they live. He has certainly got a dis-
tinctive visual style, with his use of colour
and camera-work to include the environ-
ment as a character as well as the actors.
The music and styles of the 80’s have
moved on in popular culture, but Mann
holds onto them anyway to try and up-
date them and present them in a way
they will be accepted and considered
cool again in his films, nearly always suc-
ceeding. Undoubtedly, if an auteur is a di-
rector who has a consistent style and
recognisable film “fingerprint” underlying
all of their work, Michael Mann could not
be questioned as one; it is evident in
every single thing he has worked on
throughout his career that he has an
artistic uniqueness all of his own.
Michael Manns new film Public Enemies
is due for release on the 1st of July in the
USA, and the 3rd of July in the UK.
Alternative 49
Words by Martin Mulrooney

AlternAtive speAks to the mAn
behind the mAgic At AArdmAn
AnimAtion, leAd AnimAtor
MERLIN
CROSSINGHAM
O
ne thing that Alterna-
tive learnt during it’s
pursuit of an interview
with an Aardman em-
ployee, was this: they
are always busy. But we persevered,
and that is how this interview came to
fruition. The fact it is conducted via
mobile phone whilst the interviewee
is on a train only further drives home
our point, but we think the results
were worthwhile.
Thank you for your time. Could you
tell us abit about yourself and your
role at Aardman Animation?
No problem! I am a senior animator and I
also direct depending on the project I am
working on.
Excellent. Is it like a film where there
is only one director, or do the studio’s
projects feature several directors at
any one time?
Well, that also depend on the project! So
for example on a big feature film you
would have two directors, for a television
commercial just one director. Again, for
something short, such as a half an hour
feature, you would have one director.
With regards to my experience, it always
depends on what job I am assigned to. It
is constantly changing!
Article: Aardman Animation
Can you give an example of some-
thing you were assigned to then?
Certainly. For example on Wallace and
Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death, I was
the supervising animator, where now I am
directing a series of television commer-
cials featuring Wallace and Gromit.
Ah brilliant. What is that actually for?
It’s for N Power gas and electricity.
Great. So are these type of shorter
projects approached differently from
the longer Wallace and Gromit fea-
tures?
Well yes, in some ways, but it is basically
the same process. It is always a collabo-
rative process, and is actually treated the
same way that any other television com-
mercial would be. It evolves in a similar
way.
What is the history of the Aardman
Studio?
Long and healthy! The studio was
founded by two men, called Peter Lord
and David Sproxton. Their first work was
a superman style character that was
hand-drawn, and they called him The
Hardman, but because of the Dutch word
“aard” they thought it would be funny if he
was called The Aardman.
Ah right, so that is how the studio got
it’s name!
Indeed, thats how the name came, and
then their commercial success started
with Morph on a programme called Vi-
sionOn for children. Then, Morph became
more famous on Tony Hart’s art pro-
gramme...
SmArt!
Yes that’s one, although he was also in a
much earlier one called Take Hart with
Tony Hart that was popular in the 1970’s.
Morph was a great success due to that
programme.
So the studio actually started with tra-
ditional animation, rather than the
stop-motion it is known for now?
Yes, I mean it was only by chance that
stop-motion was one of the first things
they did. Stop-motion very quickly be-
came their staple almost, what with
Morph being stop-motion as well. It went
on from there really!
There were several films that were
popular in the mid-to-late 90s, such as
Nightmare Before Christmas, that
used stop motion, but with models in-
stead of the clay etc used at Aardman.
Is it a stylistic choice to stay with the
older methods, rather than a reliance
on quicker methods or computers?
Erm... yes! It is definitely an artistic
choice, even being able to see the thumb
prints etc on the characters really lends a
traditional feel. The only real difference
between what we do, and something like
Alternative 51
Article: Aardman Animation
Nightmare Before Christmas that you
mentioned before, is the plasticine. The
technique is identical. It is now very much
a house-style, a recognised style, that
plasticine effect. I mean look. On Chicken
Run we spent quite a lot of time moving
the thumb prints off.
That must have taken forever!
Well afterward, in hindsight after the film
was released, we sort of realised that ac-
tually, that was the thing that people re-
ally connected with and really liked.
It constantly reminds people that it is
handmade.
That’s right. Again, in the Wallace and
Gromit films, the Curse of the Were-Rab-
bit in particular, Nick Park was very con-
ciously asking us not to worry about this
kind of thing too much. It all adds to the
end product.
Alternative agrees. How much have
computers, and their evolution since
the Aardman studio began, played into
the animation produced. Are more re-
cent films, such as Chicken Run and
the new Wallace and Gromit becoming
reliant on GCI, or are viewers still see-
ing predominantly hand-crafted
scenes?
Well, we do use computers nowadays an
awful lot in any production, for things
such as special effects work. Our first ap-
proach is always what is best for the film.
The next step is simply asking ourselves
can we do it ‘in-camera’, where we do it
traditionally on a set in front of a camera.
52 Alternative
Merlin stops the motion to think his next step.
And then, if you can, is it always a sen-
sible thing to do?
How do you mean when you say
sensible?
Well sometimes you can do something
‘in-camera’, but it would cost you five
times as much as if you did it in post-
production. Again, we are constantly
asking ourselves these kinds of ques-
tions, and the answer is always what is
best for the film.
Are some things always easier with
computers then?
We have tried to have water effects
and other things using different types of
resins, but its usually easier and better
looking in these cases to just use a
computer.
Ah right then! So in the latest Wal-
lace and Gromit film, where there is
a thunder-storm, with lots of rain
and storm effects, are we right then
to say that this is all computer gen-
erated?
(Laughs) No! It is not all computer gen-
erated!
It isn’t?!
No! What we do in a case like that is
that we have the set dressed to look
wet, and where the rain drops hit on
the floor, we use little resin...butterflies,
if you like, well thats how I would de-
scribe them! This then looks like
splashes, and the rain on top is a CG

As a lead animator, attention to detail is a job necessity.
element. Obviously, this is done with high
precision to compliment the set.
So it will all fit in with the overall look?
That’s right, it is actually a hybrid of the
two.
What other animation studios does
Article: Aardman Animation
A
t this point, the phone
Aardman take notice of? cuts dead. Alternative,
To be honest, we take notice of anyone worried that the inter-
who makes anything good really! Some view will be cut short,
studios consistantly put out good work,
quickly re-dials...
like Pixar, and other studios, arguably like
Hello again. Sorry about that, we’re
Aardman, have some work which is really
not sure why the phones cut off?
good, and others that aren’t always a
It’s okay, I think the train went through a
smash hit. So you know, Blue Sky Stu-
tunnel which could explain it!
dios who did Ice-Age, even Dreamworks
who we have worked with in the past, our
Ah! So, you were saying about Studio
old partners...
Ghibli having a space set aside in their
museum to exhibit other people’s
On Chicken Run...
work...
Yes, both on Chicken Run and Curse of
Lets see...ah yes! The exhibition that was
the Were-Rabbit they fiananced for use.
on before us was Pixar. I think before that
They’re a great studio. And Kung Fu
it may have actually been Star Wars, or
Panda I saw recently... that’s an amazing
something like that. So they do have a lot
animated film! I also think we see our-
of visiting exhibitons that they must find
selves at Aardman as film-makers, so we
relative, in the visiting space. Japan is
will look at the whole film industry, all the
quite a big market now... they seem to re-
entertaining films that are coming out, we
ally like Wallace and Gromit.
won’t just limit what we notice to anima-
tion for our influences.
It’s strange the things that seem to
travel over there...
In 2006, Studio Ghibli, an animation
I know! I guess a lot of their stuff is com-
company based in Japan, did an exhi-
ing over here and influencing us as well,
bition of Aardman Animation. How did
so it makes sense in that regard.
that feel?
Well Mr Hayao Miyazaki, who is the prin-
The studio has had many famous ac-
ciple creative director of Studio Ghibli, he
tors voice it’s character, such as He-
had been a long time fan of Aardman. In
lena Bonham Carter in Curse of the
fact, we had been a long time fan of his
Were-Rabbit. Do you ever have
work as well! It was his Studio Ghibli Mu-
celebrities contacting the studio as
seum in Japan that he set up where the
fans, or does the studio usually con-
exhibition took place. It is principally of
tact the actors?
course for their own work, but they do
It’s nearly always us approaching the ac-
have another section set aside for other-
tors. This is because we usually go
Alternative 53
Article: Aardman Animation
through a casting process like almost any
other production, so for example with He-
lena Bonham Carter, we ended up with
her after quite a lengthy casting period, in
which other stars were also considered.
So yes, it is very much a process you
would find in other productions.
Do the voice actors ever visit the stu-
dio to see the animation process? Or
is it very much kept as a seperate
process?
Well, we record all of the voices well in
advance of the animation...
To give the animators something to
work with?
Sure. I mean they do often pop by to put
it in context for themselves. They will
drop in to see what is going on and have
a little giggle.
Is the relationship with the BBC impor-
tant to Aardman?
I think historically it has been very impor-
tant because the BBC were the people
who commissioned The Wrong Trousers
and Close Shave, which were two of the
films that really pushed Aardman into the
big time and allowed us to make the step
into feature film-making. I think it was re-
ally nice this year that the BBC helped
commission the Loaf and Death film and
put it on primetime BBC. They have been
a really big part of the studio’s history.
54 Alternative
All this pressure would make anyone a bit snappy!
What awards has the studio recieved
over the years?
(Laughs) Ohh... I think, for different proj-
ects, just about every single one there is
going! From Oscars, Golden Globes,
Emmys, erm... through to bespoke ani-
mation festivals, Palme d’Or’s... and
everything in between! So, we have been
very lucky with our success.
We talked before about other studios.
Does Aardman ever feel threatened by
other studios, such as the very popu-
lar Pixar studio in America?
Because they use computers?
Well, it could be said Aardman attracts
a niche market, although the latest
Wallace and Gromit that aired on
Christmas Day in the UK is said to
have had the highest ratings for many
years, so that market is certainly not
declining!
No, our market is not declining and yes
‘A Matter of Loaf and Death’ had the high-
est viewing figures for one single pro-
gramme for five years on the BBC. I am
not sure what held the record before that,
I think it was something like the Only
Fools and Horses Special or something
like that. Wallace and Gromit are still pop-
ular. They are not as popular worldwide
as something like a Pixar or Dreamworks
creation, but then again we are very con-
cious that we make films that are British
films. British films don’t always travel ter-
ribly well. As long as we don’t make a
loss on our films we are happy, and it
must be said that our big film releases
have made healthy profits.
Has the studio ever been tempted to
make a Wallace and Gromit TV series?
There was a spin-off show for the
Shaun the Sheep character.
Well, Shaun the Sheep is having another
series, series 3. There is also a spin-off of
a spin-off planned for pre-schoolers
called Timmy Time, featuring the charac-
ter Timmy from Shaun the Sheep. We
have also made Chop Socky Chooks
which was a television show for Cartoon
Network, about Kung-Fu Chickens. So,
we are dabbling in that area, but I don’t
think it’s something where we are going
to be making big television series, in the
style of Wallace and Gromit at the mo-
ment.
Well then, do you feel that the spaced
out release of the Wallace and Gromit
films allows the level of quality to be
kept high? It is also such a long
process to create each film.
Well yes, the reason they are released so
far apart, is because they take such a
long time to make!
How much footage do you get a day?
Well on average, on Loaf and Death,
each animator may have gotten an aver-
age of five seconds a week.

(Laughs) Yeh! And we had 18 animators,
so it took us 9 months to film.
That’s amazing! That’s probably what
makes it all so impressive to watch,
knowing the time and effort that goes
into it.
The animators all have to work really
hard and with great precision to achieve
the end result. It takes a long time but in
the end, it pays off.
Could you tell us some more about the
latest Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of
Loaf and Death?
It was a passion of Nick’s, for a half an
hour film that he really wanted to make.
We really do feel it is one of the best films
we have made so far. It was a fantastic
experience all the way through and we
really felt comfortable with the characters
and the story we wanted to tell. Wallace
and Gromit start their own Bakery, but
somebody is going around murdering all
the Bakers in town! It was a very funny
premise, that makes for a classic Wallace
and Gromit story.
Will Wallace ever find true love, or
does a lot of the humour depend on
his failed attempts to find a partner?
Well, he probablly never will, just be-
cause it’s funny! It adds a lot to the hu-
mour and I think as long as this is the
case it will remain this way because it’s
so clever, and allows us to try plenty of
Article: Aardman Animation
different story ideas.
Is another Wallace and Gromit film in
the pipeline?
At the moment there are no plans for
them to feature in another film but that
may change. It usually does!
If it does change, will new character
Fluffles be a reoccuring character?
She is last seen living with Wallace
and Gromit at the end of the latest film
driving off into the sunset!
I really don’t know how to answer that! It
really depends on the story, and how far
away the story is. Will it even be a contin-
uation of the same story? There are so
many question marks. I think we will just
have to wait and see!
Was the fan reaction positive to
Fluffles?
There was a moment in the new film
where it looks as if Gromit is coming to
save Wallace, and it is then revealed to
be Fluffles. That was quite a nice little
moment in the film. She has been re-
cieved positively, and after having started
out as quite a weak character at the start
of the film, she turned out to be very
strong. I think people like that in a char-
acter. Again, whether she stays or not re-
ally depends on what we need from the
next story. That will decide for us whether
Fluffles becomes a permanent resident of
the Wallace and Gromit world or not.
What is next for the studio?
We have a mix of many different things
coming up in the future! We continue to
make a lot of television commercials for
the UK market and also the German mar-
ket. We have two feature films being
made at the moment, one is a stop mo-
tion film, called Pirates, directed by Peter
Lord. Another film waiting for a greenlight
is called Arthur Christmas, which is going
to be a CGI Christmas special. But they
will take a couple of years each to make,
so they won’t be on any screen for at
least a couple of years. We also do have
a strong development slate of other fea-
ture films in development. Our Broadcast
department is working on a lot of chil-
dren’s television work...so the studio is
quite busy at the moment!
So even when the public can’t see
anything happening, there is always
something going on!
That’s right, and it’s the nature of anima-
tion being so slow. But it means we are
very busy and then everyone is sort of
wondering what Aardman might be
doing... we’re busy! And then we release
something , and people go ‘Oh we
haven’t seen anything for years!’ and it is
usually because we have been making it!
Thank you for your time!
Alternative 55
Article: Double Negative Effects

Words by
Martin Mulrooney

56 Alternative
 Article: Double Negative Effects

Creating a
monster:
Cloverfield.
alTernaTive sPeaks exclusively To sPecial
effecTs exPerT david vickery on how he
wenT abouT desTroying new york ciTy in
The hiT film cloverfield...

Alternative 57
Article: Double Negative Effects
DAVID
VICKERY
the Lead VissuaL effects
superVisor reVeaLs aLL ...
T
ruthfully, Alternative was
somewhat surprised to find
that the effects for Clover-
field, a monster movie
based in New York, were
partly created by a special effects com-
pany based in London called Double
Negative.
A few phonecalls and emails later, we fi-
nally got the chance to speak to one of
the company’s Lead Visual Effects Su-
pervisors, David Vickery, to learn more
about Double Negative.
Thank-you for your time. Could you
tell us abit about yourself and your
background?
No problem. I studied a BSC degree In-
dustrial Design at Demontfort University
in Leicester, I left with a first class hon-
ours and decided that I wanted to work in
Visual Effects, so went and studied a 1
year MA course in 'Digital Moving Image'
at what is now London Metropolitan Uni-
versity (it was London Guildhall when I
was there). Throughout my MA I also
worked part time at a Digital Advertising
company called 'Solid State Industries'
(they no longer exist) where I learnt how
to use Maya and Alias' Power Animator,
both of which are standard Industry soft-
ware packages. Once I had completed
my MA I worked freelance briefly for 'Hib-
bert Ralph 3D' on an all CG Childrens TV
show (called Tractor Tom) before getting
a job at Double Negative where I was
employed to work on Johnny English and
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
What is your role at the studio?
I am currently Double Negatives Visual
Effect Supervisor for the upcoming Guy
Ritchie movie 'Sherlock Holmes'.
Could you tell us more about Double
Negative?
Double Negative, located in the heart of
London's Soho, was set up in 1998 with a
team of 30 staff. Since then the company
has grown to 450+ staff. Through our
growth we have always sought to retain
the creative drive and involvement of our
artists through all projects, ensuring that
they have a close collaboration with
58 Alternative
clients. This approach en-
sures films both small and
large receive the same high
standard of creative and
technical service.
What films has the studio
worked on?
Over the last year, Double
Negative has completed
work on projects including:
Quantum of Solace, The
Soloist, Hellboy II: The
Golden Army, The Dark
Knight, The Duchess,
Franklyn, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day,
The Edge of Love, The Boy in Striped Py-
jamas and Rudo y Cursi. We are cur-
rently in production on, Harry Potter and
the Half-Blood Prince, The Green Zone,
The Boat That Rocked, Hippie Hippie
Shake, Fast and Furious 4, Prince of Per-
sia: Sands of Time, The Wolf Man, An-
gels and Demons, 2012, Kick-Ass and
Sherlock Holmes.
The studio is based in the UK. How
does this effect the staff when working
on films in America?
Usually we will send a couple of team
members on Location during the shoot.
This is to gather on set data that will help
us during the post production phase of
the project.
Otherwise the crew will be largely unaf-
fected by American produced films. Usu-
ally projects tend to have their Post work
done either in the states or the UK. (this
would include Sound, Editing, Grading
and Visual Effects) This makes the Visual
Effects supervisor, Editors and directors
job more manageable (otherwise they
would be travelling back and forth all the
time to review the work).
Cloverfield was fairly unique in that most
of the Editing, Sound, and grading was
done in Los Angeles and It was just Dou-
ble Negative that was based in the UK.
This meant that our VFX supervisor (Mike
Ellis) had to travel to LA for review ses-
sions with the Director 1 week in every 4.
We also had frequent video review ses-
sions with LA late into the evenings which
made our working day very long.
What is Cloverfield, the lastest film
your company’s effects feature in,
about?
The film is produced by J. J. Abrams
(Lost) and directed by Matt Reeves (The
Pallbearer). It tells the story of five young
New Yorkers who throw their friend a
leaving party the night that a monster de-
scends upon the city. The action unfolds
from the point of view of a hand-held
video camera and is a document of their
attempt to survive this surreal, horrifying
event.
How has the technology improved
over the years?
The technology we use is constantly im-
proving - computers are getting faster
and cheaper so we have more render
power. Software is continuously being up-
dated and revised (usually based on di-
rect feedback from the industry) but the
main area of development in visual ef-
fects is often within the individual facili-
ties. Our Research and Development
department are constantly writing new
pieces of software tailored specifically to
the demands of new projects. As Double
Negative has grown and the projects
have got larger we have been able to ex-
pand this R'n'D department and thus the
tools it can provide the company have
grown. We now have our own Fluid and
rigid Body dynamics simulation and ren-
dering systems, a floating point linear
colour pipeline, amazing creature anima-
tion tools and systems that allow us to

iral marketing s
any v
n one of the m
so
motional image
Pro
CLOVERFIELD USED VIRAL MARKETING TO
GREAT EFFECT BEFORE ITS RELEASE, CREATING
FAKE WEBSITES AND LEAKING BACKSTORY.
build populate and render entire cities
and completely digital environments.
How do the director and actors get in-
volved in the effects process? (If at
all?)
The actors very rarely get involved in the
Visual Effects process, the only exception
being when we need to create digital
doubles (CGI versions) of them. At this
point we would need to Cyberscan and
photograph them. The director is really
the person who we are ultimately answer-
able to on a project. He or she will have
to sign off every single shot in the movie
and until they say 'final' we continue to
address any comment they have on the
work we do. The day to day creative deci-
sions are made by us and the Visual ef-
fects supervisor, but the director has the
final say. Often they will come into the of-
fice and review work directly with us.
Did the studio collaborate with any
other studios for the project? What did
this entail? (Tippet Studio?)
There was a roughly 50/50 split of the
work between us and Tippet Studios. Tip-
pet did all the work that featured the mon-
ster and Double Negative did all the rest.
This was basically all the environment
Article: Double Negative Effects
ites.
work and destruction of Manhattan. The
only exception would be when Clover
was seen to physically interact with archi-
tecture, at which point you are seeing
Tippets work.
This meant that there were very few sin-
gle shots that needed both studios work.
We got on really well with Tippet’s crew
having met them on location in New York
and LA so it was easy to pass elements
and share resources (such as computer
models) between studios.
How long does a typical effects shot
usually take to complete?
This is a little bit 'how long is a piece of
string' I'm afraid. There isnt really such a
thing as a typical VFX shot. Every shot
has its own challenges and rewards. a
shot can take a day for a single person
(rig removals for stunt work or spot/scar
removals from actors/actresses) and
some shots can literally take hundreds of
man days to complete.
Did the studio see the film as a chal-
lenge?
Every film we work on is a challenge.
Whether it is creatively or technically.
Dounle Negative is a company that is
very passionate about the work it does.
Pass th
e sick b
ag?
A lot of the film takes place at night.
Does this make your job easier or
harder?
I would say easier, a lot can be hidden in
the dark (and lighting CG for night is a lot
easier than day). However the dark
shooting conditions often left us with very
little information to help us track the cam-
eras.
Was there anything that you were
asked or wanted to do that was impos-
sible with the current technology?
No. In CG/Visual effects right now we can
achieve pretty much anything. It is usu-
ally money and time that dicate how good
an effects is. Not the technologies and or
people creating them.
What is next for the studio?
We are working on many projects, includ-
ing the new Harry Potter and Angels and
Demons. For the full list please also take
a look at our website. www.dneg.com
Alternative 59
Article: Double Negative Effects
Led by VisuaL effects superVisor, Mike eLLis,
VisuaL effects producer, rupert porter,
and cG superVisor daVid Vickery, doubLe
neGatiVe were asked to buiLd and destroy
LarGe areas of new york froM the brookLyn
bridGe to the statue of Liberty..
The Brooklyn Bridge Sequence
I
n the Brooklyn Bridge sequence ning off the bridge to look at the devas- on the actors faces, in fact in some cases
the film’s heroes are trying to tated Manhattan or Statue of Liberty, then the only thing that was lighting them was
leave Manhattan, along with up to look at circling news helicopters spill from the green screen” remarks Ellis.
thousands of other New Yorkers, etc., all the time moving and zooming er- “However, the finished sequence, super-
by crossing the Brooklyn Bridge ratically. At times we would be looking vised by sequence leads Victor Wade
on foot, making their way along the fully at green screen, at other times we and Sean Stranks, looked excellent and
bridge amongst the crowd, getting sepa- only catch tiny glimpses of the green when the individual shots were all
rated by the chaos of other people. The screen, the frame would be almost filled hooked-up together it worked great as
camera then follows the actors as they with moving people. Normally our soft- long bursts of handicam footage and
make a desperate run to get off the ware can solve tracking problems with a amounted to about 3 minutes of screen
bridge before it totally collapses. All of degree of automation, but many of these time.”
this action is seen through the hand-held shots proved too complex and our track- Both the Brooklyn Bridge sequence and
camera at pedestrian level, right in there ing team, lead by Sam Schwier and Joel the Bodega sequence contained
amongst the chaos. Double Negative Prager, ended up tracking most of the crossover shots between Double Nega-
knew that this couldn't be shot on the shots by hand, frame-by-frame, it was an tive and Tippett Studios. As the budget on
bridge itself and that they would need to enormous task.” the movie was relatively small, co-opera-
build a totally CG bridge and environ- Another complication with this sequence tion between Double Negative and Tip-
ment. was with grading the green screen ele- pett was vital. From the very beginning
First the sequence was pre-visualised by ments. “We shot the Bridge footage in a of the project the two facilities worked
The Third Floor, then the production built full 360 degree green screen stage and very well together, immediately sharing
a 200-foot section of the walkway on a of course everything came back very resources such as on-set survey data
green screen stage at Downey Studios in green. Matt Reeves and Michael Bonvil- and photography. Constant dialogue en-
LA. The walkway surface was built with lain, the DOP, wanted to use as much sured that there was no repetition and the
about 20 feet of the handrail attached to natural lighting from the scene as possi- two studios agreed at an early stage
a single lamppost for the actor to climb ble, so, in this case, the actors were which facility would provide elements and
onto. Lighting was set to match the lamp- walking along the bridge under widely which would take any given crossover
posts that light the real bridge. Lidar was spaced lampposts, between light patches shot to Final. Ellis recalls, “We ensured
used as a basis for building the CG and very dark patches. In the dark that we shared as much information as
bridge and extensive HDR (High Dy- patches there was very little information we could.”
namic Range) texture photography was
taken of the bridge itself and the sur-
rounding environment.
CG Supervisor David Vickery and lead
artist Phil Johnson referenced archive
footage of suspension bridges under the
huge stresses caused by storm weather
and hurricanes. Double Negative simu-
lated the effect that a tail swipe from an
enormous monster might have on the
ironwork, tarmac and masses of cabling
that normally keep a suspension bridge
from falling. The simulation sent huge rip-
ples along the bridge, tearing out cabling
and causing the support stanchions to
collapse, creating some fantastic images.
When it came to shooting the live action
on the green screen stage the team knew
that tracking was going to be a problem.
As Ellis recalls, “Matt Reeves wanted to
keep the camera very dynamic, down
amongst the crown one minute then pan- The Brooklyn Bridge is completely destroyed in the film.
60 Alternative

The apartment
Sequence
like MAny of the locAtions used in the filM,
beth’s ApArtMent is ActuAlly A reAl plAce in
neW york city...the tiMe WArner center. its
destruction in the filM took A lot of tiMe,
effort And visuAl WiZArdry.
The Time Warner Center is used as Beth’s apartment in the film.
T
his sequence focuses on
the roof of a very tall apart-
ment building that has
been knocked from its
foundations and is leaning
into its sister building. The actors were
shot on a green screen stage walking out
onto a small patch of roof, to match to
this Double Negative needed to construct
a CG version of the roof which was con-
stantly shifting and settling and then add
a fully CG environment. The sequence
required a 360-degree view of Columbus
Circle on the South West corner of Cen-
tral Park in New York from about 400 feet
above the ground. Obtaining the original
photography needed to construct this
panorama was difficult and they hired a
helicopter to get as close as they could.
Article: Double Negative Effects
Ellis remembers, “We also took some
covert photographs from the restaurant at
the top of the Mandarin Hotel! The table
by the window proved to be the perfect
vantage point for the angle we needed
and the sushi was delicious!”
Double Negative surveyed and pho-
tographed the set and built their CG ex-
tension based on that information, adding
fire and sparks, gaping holes and falling
air-con units to increase the danger lev-
els in the scene. Once completed, Se-
quence Lead, Gruff Owen, passed one of
these sequences, along with a camera
track, to Tippet Studios who treated the
work Double Negative had done as a
filmed plate in order to add the monster
under attack into the cityscape they’d
built.
The handicam approach proved challeng-
ing for the visual effects team: “The idea
is that it all appears to be haphazard, so
that you might catch a glimpse of some-
thing out of the corner of your eye and
you’re not quite sure what it is,” explains
Ellis. “Hud, is very much led by the direc-
tion the other characters are giving him.
They usually see something before he
does and his friends are already running
away. The camera motion was very ran-
dom and jerky, as you would expect from
somebody in total panic who just hap-
pens to be holding a camera. No gentle,
smooth movement, the camera was all
over the place, zooming in and out in a
very unprofessional manner!”
Alternative 61
Article: Double Negative Effects
The Bodega
A distinctive visuAl motif first seen in the
film’s trAiler, the bodegA sequence stAnds
out As A memorAble And effective opening
becAuse of its believAbility And reAlism.
B
efore anyone realises
what’s happening to the
city, the Statue of Lib-
erty's head is torn from
its shoulders and sent
barrelling into the streets of New York.
The decapitated head of the Statue of
Liberty was inspired by the promotional
poster of the 1981 film, Escape from
New York, which had shown the head
lying in the streets in New York, despite
the image not appearing in the film itself.
According to Reeves, "It's an incredibly
provocative image and that was the
source that inspired J.J. Abrams to say,
'Now this would be an interesting idea
for a movie.'"
Remarks Ellis, “Matt wanted to see the
head roll past the camera, ripping up the
street and throwing up dust and tarmac
62 Alternative
in its wake. This required us to build a
CG head with enough detail to fill the
frame and for the camera to linger on the
face, exploring the scratches and dents
in its copper surface once it had come to
a stop.” The scene was shot on a small
New York set in L. A. and the set was ex-
tended using photography and matte
painting to give a "pre-destruction" view
and a "post-destruction" view. Double
Negative also built a CG version of the
street, which they were then able to dy-
namically destroy as the head crashes
past.
After Liberty’s head is thrown into Man-
hattan the viewer catches a fleeting
glimpse of the monster as it ploughs
through Manhattan knocking down build-
ings as it goes. One of these buildings
falls towards the camera, throwing up a
1
dense cloud of dust and debris. The
characters take cover in a nearby store
as the monster trashes the nearby
streets, emerging later to find a devas-
tated city.
Though Double Negative had extensive
experience of environmental destruction,
the Cloverfield work proved to be quite
different. Recalls Ellis, “… because the
building is collapsing as a result of being
knocked by an enormous monster it has
to fall in a different way.” Double Nega-
tive had already done research and de-
velopment in recreating all kinds of dust
balls coming down a street and the dust
cloud’s movement was simulated using
fluid dynamics, recreating the specific
way a huge amount of dust and debris
behaves when it's sent cascading along
a canyon of buildings.
 Article: Double Negative Effects

Sequence.

3
1 . The real location is shot, with greenscreens in place in the background.
2 . Then, Double Negative feed this information into a computer, and create the digital
effect over the real image. (In this case the Statue of Liberty’s severed head.)
3 . These two images are then layered, with the result creating a seamless blend of fact
and fiction for the viewer to witness on screen.

Alternative 63
Blu ray Review: Blade Runner: The Final Cut
Blade RunneR
T
he event of Blu-ray and
High Definition displays has
ushered in a new wave of
cinematic excellence in the
home. What is even more
surprising is how many older films have
fully embraced the format and have been
given new life in the process with the in-
creased clarity in vision and sound.
Some studios have been lazy with their
re-releases, merely increasing the resolu-
tion and slapping high-def on the box in
the hope that fans will double dip to re-
place their original DVD. A successful re-
release now needs to provide a huge
leap in quality to be worth the purchase
price.
Blade Runner: The Final Cut is without a
doubt the latter of the two.
Released in 1982, the film was set in
2019 Los Angeles, and dealt with a Blade
Runner called Rick Deckard played by
Harrison Ford. A Blade Runner is a le-
galised bounty hunter who hunts down
and kills replicants, manufactured human
beings used for slave labour, who have
escaped from off-world colonies and
gone into hiding on earth.
The film was renowned for it’s timeless
special effects depicting a future of per-
manent night, soaked in acid rain, ac-
companied by a haunting score from
famed composer Vangelis. Although not
an immediate success with critics upon
release, this futuristic film-noir developed
a cult following, culminating in a re-re-
lease presenting a final cut of the film in
2008. It is now considered a cult classic.
Although the film is 27 years old this
year, it’s visuals have aged excellently.
Neon signs buzz beneath torrents of acid
rain, perpetual night coating the neo-noir
landscape with a sense of desperation
and decay. One major concern over an
upgrade to visual fidelity for this film was
that the effects simply wouldn’t stand up
to the scrutiny of high definition. How-
ever, this has definitely not been the
case. The practical effects, utilising minia-
tures and perspective techniques, look
64 Alternative
breathtaking. What is even more startling
is that the film’s age doesn’t stand in the
way at all: this re-release, scanned at 4k
digital resolution, looks brand new. It ac-
tually surpasses some recent releases as
well, it is that good.
The film is still dark, but details pop off
the screen that were once buried beneath
a poor transfer. Even on DVD in the past,
the film had been presented very badly. It
is a relief now to see the film as it should
be seen, even on the new DVD version.
Sadly, the Blu-ray is so good that Alterna-
tive doubts anybody could go back to an
inferior version after witnessing it. Even
the newly re-mastered sound is perfect,
with not one drop of hiss or static. The
Vangelis score is more haunting than
ever, fully enveloping the futuristic
cityscape.
The fact it has taken this long for Blade
Runner to be re-released speaks some-
what ill of the legal wrangling that has
gone on since its original release. With-
out going in to too much detail, director
Ridley Scott never got to really convey
his original vision until this film cut.
The theatrical release had a studio-
forced voiceover that shattered the mood
and a tacked on upbeat ending that was
totally out of place. The director’s cut in
1992 took some of Ridley Scott’s prior
wishes, removing the voiceover and end-
ing… but was cut by somebody else. It is
only now that Scott has finally gotten his
hands on the footage and perfected it.
Admittedly, many of the changes are
minimal. Some visible wires in certain
shots of the flying police spinners have
been digitally deleted. Out of sync voices
are now perfect. (Harrison Ford’s son
came in to an identically built set, put on
his father’s original costume, spoke the
lines, and then his lips were blended onto
the older footage. The effect is seam-
less).
Finally, a major action sequence in which
a replicant is shot and falls through sev-
eral sheets of glass has been tidied up.
Originally, the cuts between the actress
and the stuntman (yes, a man in drag)
were glaring and messy. Now, the original
actress has been brought back, de-aged
on a computer, and then digitally added
over the stuntman. Again, the effect is
seamless. Thankfully, none of these
changes are unnecessary or will anger
fans: they simply perfect what was al-
ready there; a fantastic story.
Other artistic changes amount to only a
few new shots added, the voiceover still
removed, and the ending as downbeat as
ever. This is the perfect final cut. George
Lucas take note.
So is it all perfect? Not quite, at least not
here in the UK. For some unknown rea-
son, the UK Blu-ray release is only 2
disks: the new Final-cut of the film on one
disk, and the dangerous days making of
documentary on the other. (Admittedly a
fantastic special feature offering great in-
sight with over 3 hours of interviews!)
Why is this so bad then? Because the
DVD version of the film, whilst also sold
as a 2 disk edition, is also available as a
5 disk edition, containing FIVE different
versions of the film, all with their own
commentary tracks and special features.
Even worse? This 5 disk edition IS avail-
able on Blu-ray... but only in the United
States.
The upside to all of this doom and
gloom? The US Blu-ray is actually region
free, so it will work over here just fine if
you order it online from America. Also, for
people who only want to see the new edi-
tion, the 2 disk Blu-ray still contains the
best version of the film in staggering
1080p high def. Still, it would have been
nice to have the option over here like in
America, and the UK distributors should
have their heads checked: long-time fans
will surely still want the older versions of
the film in high def just for completions
sake. Some people will even prefer the
original release with voiceover and happy
ending to boot! Regardless, although it
may take a little extra leg-work, there is
an edition of this film available out there
for everyone at last. Go get it.
 Alternative Suggestion: Blade Runner The Game
BLAdE RuNNER:
THE GAmE.
A
ny game based on a film li-
cense is usually subject to
a large amount of scrutiny.
By default, it is assumed
these games will be mere
cash-ins, rather than fully realised gam-
ing experiences in their own right. Often,
and quite disappointingly, this is the case.
Therefore, it is curious that this game,
based on the 1982 film Blade Runner,
was released 15 years later. (1997)
The game Blade Runner is set during
the events of the film, although there is
very little plot crossover, apart from some
characters making cameos and some lo-
cations re-appearing. The player takes
control of McCoy, a Blade Runner who is
tracking down a group of replicants that
have escaped from a crashed transport
ship.
It is immediately apparent that West-
wood Studios has captured the look and
feel of the film and this greatly adds to
the appeal for players, and gives added
incentive to explore the environments.
Neon glares out into the rain drenched
night, with the mood created truly captur-
ing the spirit of the source material.
Gamers also get to use the tools seen in
the film, such as the Voight-Kampff test
machine and photo investigation scanner.
Using these tools really adds to the au-
thenticity of playing as a Blade Runner
and is also exciting due to the random al-
location for some non-player characters
to be/ not to be replicants with every new
game.
The characters on offer are voice acted
to great effect by a very talented cast.
McCoy is voiced by Mark Benninghofen,
who imbues the character with genuine
whit, ever observant and constantly wise-
cracking to great effect. This makes his
interactions a constant delight. Fellow
Blade Runner Crystal Steel is voiced by
Lisa Edelstein, who most people will
know now as Dr. Lisa Cuddy in the hit
medical drama House M.D. The charac-
ter Gaff returns from the film, and al-
though someone different from the
original actor voices him in the game, the
new actor does a good job at capturing
the spirit of the character.
Jeff Garlin, who many gamers will now
know as Larry David’s manager in the hit
comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm, voices
Lieutenant Edison Guzza. Here, Jeff Gar-
lin gives a great performance as a griz-
zled cop with a hidden agenda. Sean
Young as Rachael, Brion James as Leon,
James Hong as Chew, Joe Turkel as
Eldon Tyrell, and William Sanderson as
J.F. Sebastian round off the cast, repris-
ing their roles from the film. This really
adds to the experience, even though their
characters are only briefly shown.
The other characters are all well defined
with interesting personas and their own
desires and agendas. If a character is
discovered to be a replicant, they may
flee or even attack. Right clicking the
mouse button will make McCoy draw his
weapon, after which a click of the left but-
ton on a target once the reticule turns red
causes him to fire. Different types of
ammo can be bought and players can
even try to beat Rick Deckard’s score at
the LAPD shooting range.
The KIA (Knowledge Integration Sys-
tem), like the other high tech gadgets on
offer, really does work rather well. Ac-
cessed by clicking on McCoy, Clues, Sus-
pects and even Crime Scenes are all
updated constantly via a database, allow-
ing the user to truly feel like a futuristic
detective piecing together a series of
cases. Furthermore, other Blade Runners
update to this mainframe, although you
never meet them. Locations are all linked
together via a map of L.A, and McCoy is
shown travelling in the iconic Spinner ve-
hicle from the film. All of these small de-
tails give a nice sense of scale and
authenticity.
The slightly blurry characters become
well defined through the use of some
stellar voice work and animation. Also,
the clever use of panning backgrounds
as the player moves around the locations
is very cinematic and gives a sense of
place. This mean that, coupled with con-
stantly moving background animations,
the visuals are never unrealistically static
and constantly engage the player.
The sound effects also deliver, con-
stantly bombarding the listener with the
whirr of flying cars and the patter of con-
stant rain. The soundtrack perfectly re-
captures familiar tunes from the film,
emulating the original Vangelis score
well, without the new additions sounding
out of place. The game is a visual and
aural treat and a technical marvel, even
today.
In retrospect, Blade Runner is a strange
game on many levels, yet it still manages
to charm, entertain and provide a visual
thrill. Fans of the film will certainly get a
kick out of revisiting this world. It doesn’t
seem to matter than the film is now over
25 years old, as it still remains a cult clas-
sic, in turn making the game still feel rele-
vant. Newcomers to the universe could
certainly still enjoy the game, yet it is
doubtful it would have quite as strong an
appeal. The one place the game suffers
substantially is that is actually has a very
similar premise to the film, right down to
McCoy looking and dressing in a similar
manner to Deckard.
Still, this is nitpicking. For all its faults,
this game is still a fantastic, atmospheric
experience that compliments the film ex-
perience perfectly.
Alternative 65
Game Review: Ceville (Out Now!)
CEVILLE
C
eville, the new adventure
game from Kalypso, is an
oddity in gaming. You play
the self-confessed bad
guy, but he isn’t the usual
anti-hero who will have redeeming fea-
tures as the narrative progresses. The
tyrannical, pint-sized leader of Faeryanis
is only relatively good because the
game’s antagonist is even worse! He also
doesn’t progress as a character much ei-
ther, staying the same semi-stereotypical
grouch throughout the whole game.
This isn’t necessarily a negative point
however. His dry satirical humour and
dour comments only serve to make him
more interesting and enjoyable to be
around. Nobody likes to admit it, but it is
always fun to do what you would never
dare in real life. Furthermore, in this type
of fairy-tale setting with a twist (similar to
the Shrek films) stereotypical characters
can be elevated by sharp humour, which
this game has in abundance, especially
as Ceville interacts with them. It is a
pleasant surprise that something that ini-
tially could seem very generic is actually
quite original and unique.
Taking place in Ceville’s kingdom and
the surrounding area, the humorous story
tells a tale of the evil Basilious, and his
plans for a reign of terror. The already ter-
rible ruler Ceville must stop an even
worse leader from taking over, clear his
name and regain the throne. Along the
way, Ceville also befriends (or tolerates)
a girl called Lilly who is also a playable
character. Rounding off the heroes in the
game, the vein knight Ambrosius is on
the hunt for Ceville, that is when he isn’t
too busy checking himself out in a nearby
mirror, or styling his hair! The humour and
plotline in the game is wacky enough to
be acceptable within the established uni-
66 Alternative
verse without being overly silly or grating.
Sadly, the game has fairly lengthy load
times that can last up to a whole minute,
although this is counteracted somewhat
by the fact that the screens that accom-
pany the load bar give hints, tips and
general trivia that is varied and rather
useful! These loads are less frequent as
the game continues, and only happen be-
tween major areas. There is no load time
at all between the smaller connected
areas, and the camera even swoops and
pans very effectively to give the best van-
tage points for the player.
The graphics themselves are very bright,
vibrant and stylised. For every low-reso-
lution texture or slightly low-resolution
background image that may catch the
player’s eye, there are enough small de-
tails and touches that more than make up
for any shortcomings. This game harks
back to the wacky Lucusarts classics
such as Day of the Tentacle and Sam
and Max, having every screen packed
with objects. Even better, a touch of the
spacebar will indicate all the hotspots on
screen.
Furthermore, the hotspots required to be
interacted with will be shown in red,
whereas the other hotspots available to
click just for fun are shown in grey. This
system works really well and eliminates
the age-old problem of pixel hunting. It is
a great achievement for Calypso that it is
very addictive and fun to click every
hotspot regardless of importance anyway,
just to get Ceville’s sarcastic comments.
Conversations also work very well, as
Ceville’s dialogue options will be in one
colour, whilst Lilly’s will be in another. It is
a very clean, fresh interface that makes
controlling multiple characters a pleasure
rather than a chore. It is also fun to note
that the character models and animations
are great, especially for the dwarfish
Ceville, who totters everywhere with
great speed and determination!
The characters are all voiced well, with
the overacted personalities suiting the
environment. Also, conversations don’t
overrun, meaning a lot of the playtime is
spent puzzle solving. It is therefore a re-
lief that the puzzles are overall excellent,
both logical and rewarding. Some timed
sequences do exist, but there is no pun-
ishment for the player if they fail. These
puzzles can be retried as many times as
necessary, with the countdown timer ac-
tually increasing after every fail to aid the
player. Ceville and his companions can
also never die.
Save game spaces are unlimited and the
game automatically saves as well every
five minutes which is an excellent feature.
The music isn’t overly memorable or fan-
tastic, but it is strangely relaxing and
pleasant in the background as the game
is played. It certainly isn’t bad by any
means, although it is doubtful it will have
players humming when away from their
computers. The sound effects are all very
cartoony and exaggerated, adding to the
comedy-value.
It is questionable if the game really ben-
efited from being made in 3D, as it would
have probably worked really well as 2D
or with pre-rendered backgrounds. The
front cover of the game case even shows
the characters as they would look illus-
trated, which is fantastic. However, it is
certainly more financially viable and easy
to make a game in 3D nowadays, and
this cannot be held too much against the
developer.
In the end, how much the player enjoys
this game will rest on how much they buy
into the premise. It is certainly a very
funny, very well made game.
 Alternative Suggestion: Broken Sword 3 (2003)
BROKEN SWORD 3
F
or what they perhaps lack in
originality, sequels have al-
ways had an undeniable at-
traction for a gamer to revisit
characters and a world that
they have loved before and hope to love
again. It is amusing now in 2009 to re-
alise that the adventure community does-
n’t necessarily want innovation. Rather,
they want what the classics of yesteryear
had: involving stories, lush 2D graphics
and a point and click interface. In other
words, something tried and tested.
As in the original games in the series,
Broken Sword 3 has a protagonist in
George Stobbart. Voiced with great
charm as always by American actor Rolf
Saxon, George finds himself again em-
broiled in a plot that will take him all over
the globe. He is joined by series regular
French journalist Nico Collard, who is
voiced superbly by newcomer Sarah
Crook.
The game begins with a CGI cutscene,
showing George on a plane with Aussie
pilot Harry flying over the Congo. Sud-
denly running into trouble via a surprise
thunderstorm, they end up crash landing
and precariously dangling over the edge
of a cliff. The gameplay begins from here,
and this is definitely a superb way to
begin a game, giving immediate excite-
ment and involvement, whilst also easing
players into the new style of graphics and
gameplay.
The player must unbuckle George from
his seat to begin. Four options present
themselves in the bottom right corner of
the screen, with a different button corre-
sponding to each choice, for example the
usual look, use, pick up etc. Once they
have used his seat buckle and freed him,
players can guide George around the
plane with the arrow keys. The first puz-
zle involves pushing a crate towards the
back of the plane to stabilize it, allowing
the player to enter the cockpit. This is an
example of this kind of puzzle, only possi-
ble in 3D, making contextual sense. It
isn’t traditionally what is expected in an
adventure game, but it works well here. It
is a shame therefore then that the game
later relies on multiple block puzzles to
extend playing time: in a 3D world it is
annoying to have a context sensitive
jump button to get across some gaps (for
example at the beginning once you exit
the plane and venture onto a precarious
cliff face), and then have this button omit-
ted when the designers decide they want
a block to fill the gap instead.
Other innovations are not nearly as bad,
with some quick time events actually
working quite well. An early example of
this is when the player first controls Nico.
An intruder appears with a gun, via an in-
game cutscene, and at certain points the
player with have the option to use an item
or perform an action. For example, Nico
can use a nearby pan to knock the gun
away from her attacker, or later press a
button to evade a car trying to run her
down. These do work well, however there
is no continuity if the player reacts too
late or presses the wrong button; the
cutscene simply restarts. It would have
been nice to allow the player several op-
tions or allow several mistakes before a
scene would begin again, allowing it to
feel more interactive. However, what is
here works well, and it isn’t overused too
much.
The puzzles themselves are overall en-
joyable to solve, with large cartoon style
icons showing items in the inventory or
topics during conversation. The interface
is very clean and easy to understand,
and the main menu even has a section to
catch gamers up to speed with the previ-
ous instalments.
There are some sections involving sneak-
ing and running, but these are few and
far between, and are acceptable in the
context of when they occur. Adventure
purists may be put off by these sections,
but they are by no means awful, instead
being acceptable for their short presence
in the game. There is also no combat out-
side of some quick time events, which is
a welcome relief in a time where every
other game seems to involve some form
of shooting. However, the game does end
with an action section of sorts, and it
feels totally out of place. Luckily it is easy
to solve, even if it does feel unbelievable,
but it is a shame the developers could not
have found a more adventurish way to
end the game.
One thing that has certainly not changed
from the prior games is the glorious
soundtrack. As soon as the game begins,
you can tell a lot of time and effort has
been put into getting the music just right.
Sweeping and epic whilst never being in-
trusive, special mention needs to go out
to composer Ben McCullough for adding
so much to the atmosphere with his musi-
cal score.
The way the narrative weaves in and out
between George and Nico is expertly
done, and when they finally come to-
gether the dialogue crackles and sparkles
with whit and humour. Ultimately, this is
what makes the game just as enjoyable
as its predecessors. Iit is always a pleas-
ure to adventure around the world in the
company of George Stobbart and Nico
Collard.
Alternative 67
 CONTINUE BEING
ALTERNATIVE ONLINE AT

http://alternativemagazine.
wordpress.com