I was rubbish at Maths at school, so it would have been wonderful to have to something like Lou Abercrombie‘s book AMAZING MATHS when I was a wee lad. Lou tells me about this new book and her fab children’s novels, FIG SWIMS THE WORLD and COMING UP FOR AIR and how she’s inspired by water.
And if that wasn’t enough, listeners/viewers also get a sneak peek at a special Deep Dive I recorded a very long time ago when director Jon Wright and I answered listener questions on the making of our film UNWELCOME. That Deep Dive goes live on Friday, which is the same day as the film’s release in the UK! Which are you more excited about…???
I love this new poster art for UNWELCOME! The film is out on 27th January in the UK and 17th March in the USA (not sure elsewhere, so please check local listings!). There are more details here.
And here’s the trailer if you haven’t seen it already…
A rare thing these days: an in-person interview for the podcast! I got to meet the delightful Christian Cameron in the bowels of Hachette’s big publishing castle near Blackfriars Bridge. We discuss worldbuilding, research, and learning to write without doubting yourself (something I’m not sure I’ll ever get the hang of). Also, before the interview, Me and Mr D discuss AI and how it might impact authors over the coming years…
Just one month until you can see this handsome devil in action in UK cinemas…
Just to be clear… this is before I went into hair and make up…
This pic appeared in the new issue of Empire magazine and it’s the first clear look at the malevolent redcaps who cause so much chaos in the story. The original designs for the redcaps came from the wonderful concept artist Paul Catling, and they were brought to life by the genius of Shaune Harrison’s prosthetics, Paddy Eason’s VFX, and second unit director (and redcap wrangler) Rick Warden.
This is how this redcap is described in the original script…
A BIG NOSED REDCAP - two foot tall and standing on skinny legs with an oversized, misshapen head. Its eyes are milky-white and skin is like burned bacon. Tufts of hair sprout from odd places and its jaw juts out revealing razor sharp rows of teeth. It wears a tanned skin cloak stained dark red and a dagger on a belt.
Film is a collaborative medium, so there are plenty of others who helped bring this critter to life. Do check out their names on IMDb here. It never fails to amaze me just how much work goes into making movies, and the best way to see their incredible work is on a big screen so I really hope you can make it to the movies on January 27th! (I think we’re out in the US in March… not sure about the rest of the world yet, but I’ll bang the drum here when I know more).
It’s just been confirmed that Unwelcome (that monster movie I wrote) will premiere at the Sitges Film Festival next month! This is particularly exciting as the festival is regarded as one of the best horror/fantasy festivals in the world, and I’m really excited (and mildly terrified) to see it with an audience.
Mark Stay Writes 