quentin budworth

The Karate Kid

| Quentin Budworth

When my nephew James Lowe rang me up and said hey uncle Quentin I want to make one of those Hullywood pictures it made me smile. He was brought up in Hull and he is always good for a laugh. He teaches in China now. It was his last day in the UK before returning to work. We had to move quick we arranged a time to meet on a bitterly cold wet day during the Made in Hull event. The light had gone already and I was worried we wouldn’t get the shot. On the jetty near the Minerva Pub.
James stripped off we dried the top of the condensation covered bin and made this image.

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I’ve shot a few family members for the Hullywood Icons series they are Amanda Lowe my  ex wife and good friend as Mary Poppins,  Amelia Budworth daughter number 1 as The Girl with a Pearl Earring , Zebedee Budworth as The Big Lebowski and Sarah Winn as Rocky.

Quadrophenia

| Quentin Budworth

I arrive at the Raine Club in east Hull. Anna Dinsdale is waving me in. Documentary film maker Les Drake is capturing my arrival. Anna who played Audrey Hepburn in Hullywoods Roman Holiday ushers me into the club. There are  22 men and women of a certain and delightful age dressed up in their finest mod gear. The atmosphere is amazing, it’s a bright sunny morning in January but it feels like a bank holiday weekend in Brighton. Spirits are high and we know we are going to have fun.

I grab a quick cuppa and Anna starts to organise the guys and girls outside the pub, there is a lot of laughter and banter and we make these images.

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Tony Mainprize, Paul Dinsdale, Rich Brumby, Chris Murphy, Jaime Eton, Karl Knott, Ian Rimmington, Gary Cook, Paul Garmston, Anna Dinsdale, Michelle Donno Melton, Tony Clark, Reverend Andy Simpson, Thomas William Pawson,  Martin Gibbs, Jack Rimmington, Pete Jones, Brian Stubbs, Susan Sewell, Frank Melton, Jez Cooper, Pete Brown

One of the actors in Quadrophenia was from Hull his name  Garry Cooper.

Buzz Feed News

| Quentin Budworth

You know things are happening when your super cool teenage daughter, hi Carmina, rings you up and then your other  daughter, hi Amelia, rings you up 5 minutes later and tells you that you are the lead story on  BuzzFeedNews.

For those of you who don’t know, BuzzFeed is the leading independent digital media company delivering news and entertainment to hundreds of millions of people around the world.

We are the lead story this weekend in which 24  of the Hullywood Icons are featured in their piece which BuzzFeedNews

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The Stepford Wives

| Quentin Budworth

I look at myself in the mirror god I look rough, the surgery from yesterday’s op has bruised and swollen, I look like Robert Di Nero in Raging Bull or Rocky Balboa on a bad day. I’ve been doing paperwork and admin since 3am, it’s now 6am and I have an appointment to meet The Stepford Wives at Tesco’s Super Market in the St. Stephens Shopping Centre in Hull. I pack my car with the gear I need for the day, a step ladder, PA gear my laptop, bits and pieces for tonights projections at Beverley Minster and St Mary’s Church my car always untidy resembles a skip.
I arrive at St Stephens and i’m greeted by a cheery Nick Carolan, I clock the name and ask, hey Nick your not related to Turlogh are you. He smiles and says how did you know. I am a direct descendent of turlogh O’Carolan the family dropped the ‘O’ years ago. I smile Turlogh O’Carolan is my favourite composer from the Irish Tradition an 18th century blind Harper the stuff of legends and exquisite musical beauty.
I grab a coffee. I’m a little early and at 8am I go down stairs to meet Jo and her friends who are recreating a still from the  movie they look amazing strangely out of place in their 1970’s dresses and summer hats, it’s the middle of January in Hull, the year is 2017. A few early shoppers stare, Nick takes me on a recce of the aisles we choose a suitable one, full of shiny plastic bottles, the Wives have filled their shopping ful of consumer branded items. We go to the aisle a strange procession; step ladder, 70’s glamour, shopping trolleys and smiling shop manager . I climb my stepladder and we make this picture.

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The Stepford wives are: Jo Cole; Kay Gamble, Carol Johnson, Sarah Jenkins, Rachel Iveson, Melissa Brolls and Jo Franklin. They are thoroughly modern Hull women from Hull who love irony and have a great sense of humour.

Stepford Wives I salute your creativity, humour and Irony. Nick Carolan Tesco’s Manager at St.Stephens I thank you for letting us cause chaos on the soft drinks aisle early on saturday morning in Hullywood.

 

Hats off to Nancy and Kevin Young

| Quentin Budworth

Kevin and Nancy Young are amazing Hull characters and really nice people. They talk about their  Hullywood experience  in this lovely piece from the Holderness Gazette a paper published east of Hull in the incredible area known as Holderness. Where at certain times you can see huge North Sea Ferries traversing wheatfields.

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Surgery, Buzz Feed and the I Newspaper

| Quentin Budworth

I came out from surgery this morning feeling a little shaky to receive a call from BuzzFeedNews and the I Newspaper and have spent the afternoon sorting out content for these substantial pieces  both publications are big fans of the Hullywood  and the Hullywood Icons.

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Here is the link to the Buzz feed feature BuzzFeedNews

If you see me over the next week or two I haven’t been in a fight I have had what they think is a BCC (Basal Cell Carcinoma removed from near my eye – the surgeons has done a great job but I look rough.

I will be resting tonight and shooting in Hull and projecting in Beverley at the St.Mary’s tomorrow saturday the 14th. The Icons film for the Minster and St Mary’s has been edited to take into account the sensitivities of the potential audience so please don’t be disappointed if you are not include it’s not you just your props – guns knives etc.

Desperately Seeking Susan

| Quentin Budworth

I use the sat Nav I know Hull well. I’ve worked in the city since 1996. I’ve never been to the Humber Social Club on New Bridge Road. I pull up outside. Jo, who played Lisa Minnelli from Cabaret, is  at the door waiting for me. She waves, I grab the camera bag and go in. Sharrelle Rigg, Shazza to her friends, is waiting here she is dressed in 1980’s clothing and drinking tea. Jo asks if I want a cuppa and I say yes, strong with milk, leave the tea bag in, I like it strong.

We talk about the shoots for the Hullywood Icons. Jo and Nancy and Shazza are all good friends they meet up a couple of nights a week to go for a meal or to the pub. Jo and Nancy are already Hullywood Icons.Today it is Shazza’s turn to have her Hullywood moment.

We go into the toilets in the snug. There is a hand dryer, we look at the shot on Jo’s mobile phone and I explain that we can flip it in post production so Shazza is facing the right way just like in the movie still.  I do a couple of test shots and then boom we have it. Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan.

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We drink our tea, chatting, the phone rings, it’s James Hoggarth from BBC Radio Humberside:

“Are you free to do an interview saturday morning 8:50? Talk about the projections at Beverley Minster and St Mary’s what your shooting Madonna ? Where? What does she think of the Humber Social Club?”

I look across at Shazza she smiles and I reply: “I’ll ask her.” I pause for effect “she says the tea is great and they have spotless loos”.

Shaun of the Dead

| Quentin Budworth

My day starts very early dealing with correspondence, updating the blog and grading images. I head in to the Old Town, Hull. The weather forecast for the day is awful, it’s snowing in North Yorkshire and there is a bitter east wind in Hull.

I’m running late, I get stuck behind a learner driver, I pull over and call John Jackson apologising. I get to the Lion and Key on the Old High Street. John stands across the road taking shelter from the wind with his girlfriend in a doorway. He looks remarkably like Simon Pegg.

He takes his coat off explaining that he has already spoken to the girls in the pub and they are fine about us doing the shoot here. He also mentions that he was stopped by security guards at St Stephen’s Shopping Centre for carrying a cricket bat. He chuckles and we start to set up the shot.

It’s early and cold it takes a few minutes for us both to warm up, me shooting and John getting into character.

I get the shot and rush to pass him back his coat it is bitterly cold and he is only wearing a white short sleeved cotton shirt.

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Later on  I meet  Adie the landlord of the St John’s pub and he says ‘we’d love to do Shaun of the Dead in the pub when you’ve got time’. I think to myself I know just the man.

Busy day tuesday…

| Quentin Budworth

The day started well with a meeting and great coffee with the irrepressible Freddie Garland. Plans are afoot to bring the Hullywood Icons to life in the autumn, then Thieving Harry’s near the Marina for a cuppa, chance meeting with the remarkable John Moss who runs C4DI and is on the board for City of Culture, chatting about all things 2017, the spirit of Hull, secularism in the middle east, cycling and the press coverage for the Made in Hull event. Message received from Hullywood Tweeter Emma Palmer about feature on the I website, talk  scheduled for 1-30.

Meet up with Darren Squires to talk about the ‘Iconoclast’ Cocktail for the opening event, we do Darren’s photo shoot, then on into town to see the blade, quick meeting at the BBC, then a quick dash to PC world interrupted by 2 phone interviews. The scheduled one for I website and the Withernsea Gazette polar opposites of the media spectrum in terms of outlook and audience. Give up on finding a little take around computer as I have to get back to Queens Gardens to photograph Richard Vergette a playwright and actor who I was at college with many moons ago.

Back to Beverley to babysit my 2 year old grandson Azrael for a couple of hours, chill out watching CBeebies, thankful that my phone has died hours ago. This is just a normal day in Hullywood.

Pictured below the ‘Iconclast’ cocktail created by Darren Squires for the Hullywood Exhibition Opening event on Febuary 17th at Hip Gallery book your tickets here:
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