Well at last I have succumbed after much cajoling to create my own Hullywood Icon. The temptation to do a selfie in the bell tower of Holy Trinity was great but after researching the 1939 version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame starring Charles Laughton I realised that the mise-en-scene was everything as the film had one of the largest and most extravagant sets ever constructed. Following a serendipitous meeting with Reverend Neal whilst shooting Cosette from Les Miserables in Trinity Square on a cold December morning I approached Holy Trinity Church to recreate a classic moment from the film.
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Eraserhead
When Kate Macdonald asked me if she could be The Lady in the Radiator from the cult David Lynch film Eraserhead I thought blimey that’s a bit out there but what the hell let’s give it a whirl.
Kate explained that she had scene the film whilst a living in a flat which resembled the kitchen in Withnail and she was about 18 the first time she watched it and under the influence of various things and remembers the jacket potato she was trying to eat resembled the baby in the film. She was determined to watch it when ‘straight’ but said it was still as weird! The meaning attributed to the mysterious Lady in the Radiator (Laurel Near) was that she represents the Grim Reaper and sings to Henry an eerie song of heaven and of how “everything is fine” there. It can be stated that the radiator itself is representative of Henry’s thoughts of self-destruction and that he sees death as a source of freedom from his living Hell.
This view seems to be confirmed at the film’s shocking climax when Henry kills his baby in act of release and mercy. He is then met by the Lady in the Radiator in a brilliant flash of light and dies in her arms. In this act, Henry has finally embraced Death and accepted it into his life, giving him admittance to his own personal heaven and freedom.
Many thanks to Paul Jackson at the Adelphi for letting us use the stage there for the shoot.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Liz dees asked if she could be the White Witch from the Chronicles of Narnia played by Tilda Swinton and that she had a ‘brown haired boy’ lined up for the shoot imagine my amazement when I arrived at the shoot to find Charles Huckvale dressed as Edmund Pevensie played by Skandar Keynes in the film. You may recall Charles starred in ‘The Wild One’ shoot with Bandanarama,
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of fantasy films from Walden Media, based on The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of novels by C. S. Lewis. From the seven novels, there have been three film adaptations so far—The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008) and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)—which have grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide among them.
The series revolves around the adventures of children in the world of Narnia, guided by Aslan, a wise and powerful lion that can speak and is the true king of Narnia. The children heavily featured in the films are the Pevensie siblings, and a prominent antagonist is the White Witch (also known as Jadis).
Dirty Dancing
Amy Burley contacted me about recreating a scene from Dirty Dancing with her husband James… it was a bit breezy but well worth the effort…
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 American musical romance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, directed by Emile Ardolino and starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the lead roles, as well as Cynthia Rhodes and Jerry Orbach.
Originally a low-budget film by a new studio, Great American Films Limited Partnership, and with no major stars (except Broadway legend Orbach in a supporting role), Dirty Dancing became a massive box office hit. As of 2009, it has earned over $214 million worldwide. It was the first film to sell more than a million copies on home video, and the Dirty Dancing soundtrack created by Jimmy Ienner generated two multi-platinum albums and multiple singles, including “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”, which won both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song, and a Grammy Award for best duet
The Wizard of Oz – take 2
Jane Green, Grant Davison and Rachael Hindle got in touch about recreating a scene from The Wizard of Oz, Pearson Park seemed like a good place to recreate the scene in which Dorothy, the Lion and the Tin Man meet the mighty Oz. You may recall Emma Palmer was pictured earlier in the series pictured as Dorothy outside the city of culture offices with a real yellow brick road you can see the post here.
Back to the Future
Mark Westwood and Ian Bond got in touch with me about recreating a scene from 80’s cult sci-fi film back to the future we met in a car park near Kingswood late one evening to create this Hullywood moment, Ian very kindly volunteered to put the flames in the shot. I love it when that happens…
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science fiction adventure comedy film[5] directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox as teenager Marty McFly, who is sent back in time to 1955, where he meets his future parents in high school and accidentally becomes his mother’s romantic interest. Christopher Lloyd portrays the eccentric scientist Dr. Emmett “Doc” Brown, Marty’s friend who helps him repair the damage to history by advising Marty how to cause his parents to fall in love. Marty and Doc must also find a way to return Marty to 1985.
Gone with the Wind
This was fun I’d had a Rhett Butler (Gareth Alexander) almost from the beginning of the Hullywood Icons project and I had been waiting for a Scarlett O’Hara and with only a week to go Amy Jennison got in touch a match made in heaven for Hullywood. Many thanks to Wilberforce House Museum:Hull Museums for providing the perfect location for this shot.
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American epic historical romance film adapted from Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel Gone with the Wind. It was produced by David O. Selznick of Selznick International Pictures and directed by Victor Fleming. Set in the American South against the backdrop of the American Civil War and Reconstruction era, the film tells the story of Scarlett O’Hara, the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, from her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes, who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton, to her marriage to Rhett Butler. The leading roles are portrayed by Vivien Leigh (Scarlett), Clark Gable (Rhett), Leslie Howard (Ashley), and Olivia de Havilland (Melanie).
Brave
Madeleine O’Reilly asked me if she could be Merida from the blockbusting animation Brave for Hullywood Icons. We met by the humber bridge to create this image..
Set in the Scottish Highlands, the film tells the story of a princess named Merida who defies an age-old custom, causing chaos in the kingdom by expressing the desire to not be betrothed.
Brave (young Merida)
Aoife Garland is a big fan of the animated film Brave here she is in Pearson Park as the young Merida.
Hullywood Icons 