When Carol Wright got in touch with me about recreating this scene. I was very excited, it’s one of my favourite films. So here we have it. Shot at the back of the cafe in Pearson Park on a cold day in January, andwiched between Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music and Made in Dagenham we have Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona.
The story in a nutshell is that Americans Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) arrive in Spain for a summer vacation at a friend’s (Patricia Clarkson) Barcelona home. Visiting an art gallery, they meet seductive painter Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), who invites them for a weekend of food, art and sex. Sparks really ignite when his fiery former lover (Penélope Cruz) arrives on the scene, making for a very crowded house.
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Thelma and Louise
It’s the day after the projections in Bridlington Priory and on the Spa. I get into my car now affectionately known as ‘Skip’ for obvious reasons. I have twelve Hullywood shoots booked in today and I’m looking forwards to all of them.
It’s dark as I drive towards Fraisthorpe beach to meet Tracey and Ella Dent-Brown.
I park up and recce the beach car park. I find a spot and admire the view glad that I squeezed the step ladder into the car along with a PA, for tonights Ceilidh with the Hessle Ceilidh Band, a guitar, a hurdy gurdy, border bagpipes, djembe, a green screen and assorted remnants of meals grabbed between shoots.
The light is liminal we are between night and day in the distance a car approaches. It must be Tracey and Ella. I wave to them and they pull up into the position I need the car to be in. We fine tune the position of the car close to the cliff edge. Tracey and Ella are on fine form and there is a lot of banter as we set up the shot. We try a few different angles and then we make this image.
Weird Science
I’m at Hull University Chemistry department Professor Mark Lorch and Phil Bell-Young are very excited! They have been shopping for props. Phil chuckles as he stuffs a very old fashioned Boyes bra with socks and then sticks it on his head. We’d been talking on twitter Mark had spotted Priscilla when we were projecting in Beverley, said hello and explained his idea for a Hullywood shoot at Hull University’s Chemistry Lab.
Mark is preparing the scene we are shooting in a very logical and systematic manner. It’s all going swimmingly until some students wander into the lab and clock their Professors with bras on their heads – mark waves them out saying ‘we’ll explain later,now go away’.
The scene is from Weird Science, the 80s teen Sci-Fi flick about a pair of Nerdy social outcasts who are publically humiliated in school which persuades them to make their own ‘dream women’ in an attempt to boost their popularity.
Mark Lorch – Research Chemist, Professor of Science Communication and Associate Dean in the Faculty of Science and Engineering. @mark_lorch on twitter. (He is a serious scientist, honest!) Phil Bell-Young – Science Outreach Officer, Faculty of Science and Engineering. @Philby91 on twitter (He is a seriously weird scientist).
They are both mad as a box of frogs with as much energy as small child on Skittles. As they say in some parts of Yorkshire ‘Well met!’.
Projections in Bridlington
The Hullywood Icons are coming to Bridlington.
Projections in Bridlington Priory and on Bridlington Spa (south beach wall) Friday 20th Jan 6pm -9pm all are welcome the event is free!
Since their launch at City of Culture’s opening event images from the Hullywood Icons series have gone around the world. People from Hull and East Riding have recreated their favourite Hollywood moments in Hull and East Riding.
Bridlington 6pm-9pm Friday 20th January.
Bridlington Priory internal projection 6.00pm – 9.00pm
Bridlington Spa 6.00 to 9-00pm external projection on South beach wall side of building.
Supported by The Arts Council Grants for the Arts, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Hull2017.
Poltergeist
Jon Campling is a really nice man you may know him as The train stopping Deatheater in the Harry Potter blockbuster Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and King Regis in Final Fantasy XV oh and the guy from those Specsaver ads.
I first met Jon at the premiere of The Hullywood Icons at the St John’s Hotel way back at the end of December. Sean McAllister had tried to get us together for a Hullywood shoot earlier that day. Preparations of the film for it’s premier that night had got in the way of us meeting.
Jon said he would be back in a few days time to see Made in Hull so we rescheduled. I was quite surprised when Jon said he would like to be Carol Ann from Poltergeist.I put a call out for a suitable location and Robert Jamieson featured in Trains, Planes and Automobiles, offered his flat and sourced the necessary rug. We just needed to find a special tv. Another call out on Facebook and Catherine Goble star of The Matrix, produced the hernia inducing 1980’s TV we were all set to go.
Arriving at Richard’s flat we set up quickly. Les Drake was there to video and everyone pitched in with arranging the room to resemble the scene.
Jon describes his Hull roots here:
‘I was born in Hull 1966 Eastfield Junior, Kingston High school, then an apprentice at Brough Bae. I also dj’d in Hull at the Newland Park Hotel amongs others. Though I was always a keen actor. I decided to go to drama school after joining Hull Truck Youth Theatre run by the Brilliant Actors from Remold Theatre Company.
Then many years later… I stopped the Hogwarts Express in Deathly Hallows 1.
When I asked Jon why Carol Ann he looked at me smiled and said
“I’ve always loved the film and that ‘they’re here’ TV static scene is a classic horror film moment, and I thought it would be reasonably easy to recreate at short notice and… I knew I had the hair for it. Oh and Sound of music had gone!”
Superman
It’s lunchtime on a very busy saturday photographing the Hullywood Icons. It’s my last shoot of the day. Later I have to hang a projection screen in St Mary’s Church and set up our indoor cinema screen with Lampie Tim and Sound man Chris Broadwell. I park up easily in the Minster car park. I phone Ellie Newton-Syms. She and her partner Mark who appears in Back to the Future are in the Minster. We meet and talk all things Hullywood on the way to the distinctive white telephone box.
The images have gone around the world on BuzzFeedNews. Mark was instrumental in the unprecedented 4 page spread in the Hull Daily Mail working in the paper and pitching the idea to his team. We arrive at the phonebox. It’s bright but bitterly cold Ellie takes her coat off. It’s a tricky shot we need the minster in it but the angles are wrong. We play with a few ideas and make this image.
Shaft
Kofi Smiles is a busy guy he’s presenting for the BBC as the face of Hull 2017 and plays with Hull band Bud Sugar. We’ve been exchanging texts FB messages and grabbing quick conversations in and around Hull City of Culture we finally got together to make this image early on saturday morning on a back street in uptown Hull near Queen Victoria Square. Kofi got tooled up with his Shaft props bought from the pound shop. A turtle neck jumper borrowed from his dad. A coat from the charity and a fake moustache origin unknown. Kofi busted some Shaft moves with great style. I have to choose which one I like the best. Here it is. I knew it the moment I pressed the shutter button.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Emma Grainger is sitting with her friend Sue Caulfield aka Cat Woman in the beer garden of The St John’s Hotel near Beverley Road in Hull. She has a heavy long coat on. She say’s she’s nervous I look across at Sue, she gives Emma a cuddle and says you’ll be fine. We go into the public bar. It’s 6-00 pm the bar is empty. Emma takes her coat off, gets into character and we make this image.
The Great Gatsby
Darren Squires has created a special cocktail for the Hullywood Icons Exhibition which is happening on the 17th of February at the Hip Gallery. He wanted to create a Hullywood Icons image to celebrate the occasion . Here he is starring in The Great Gatsby. The incredients of the Hullywood Icons cocktail called ‘The Iconoclast’ are a closely guarded secret which be revealed after the event.
Book your ticket for the opening event on the 17th Feb 2017 here
Hullywood Icons 