vhey

Hullywood Icons Preview Event

| Quentin Budworth

I need to say a big thankyou to everyone who attended and was involved in the Hullywood Icons Opening Event and Exhibition preparations:

THANK YOU! YOU ARE ALL STARS!

The opening event of the Hullywood Icons show at HIP Gallery in Princess Quay Shopping Center was extraordinary in so many ways here are just a few

400 tickets were issued via Eventbrite on the night over 400 people attended.

GF Smith supplied all the prints for the exhibition going above and beyond all expectations.

Many of the Hullywood Icons came in costume giving the event a really great celebratory feel.

Bandanarama played an incredible set halfway through the event adding to a really great party atmosphere.

There were cocktails (thanks to Darren Squires), Nibbles supplied by Furley and Co and Wine  and glasses supplied by Majestic Wines. Only one broken glass all night! The drinks flowed and the party happened in fine style!

The silver screen was supplied by Tim Wall and installed by his son Ben Wall. Tim also worked on the external projections in Hull, Beverley and Bridlington with sound man and Landrover wrangler Chris Broadwell.

Thanks to the The Chain Gang (The Mayors of Hull, East Riding and beyond) and to Sean Chaytor who’s speech was fantastic. You guys know how to party.

To Anna Dinsdale who made the remarkable thank you speech and gave me the wonderful book present on behalf the Hullywood Icons which I love and will treasure.

I  have to say a special thank you to the remarkable Alan Raw for curating the images, going the extra mile on my behalf to make the exhibition happen. To all the HIP Gallery volunteer for working so extraordinarily hard to hang the exhibition and prepare the space. I need to thank the volunteers from the Creative and Cultural Company and HIP Gallery. Special thanks to Creative and Cultural Company volunteer Ellie Hardy who grabbed so many great shots on the night and over the opening weekend.

To Furley and Co for the after party venue I say a big thankyou.

I need to say thankyou also to Les Drake who is making a documentary about the Hullywood Icons and was filming on the night.

To GF Smith for sponsoring the print and to the Arts Council for funding the creation of the work through their Grants for the Arts Scheme.

So to everyone involved in the opening and exhibition I say a heartfelt thanks. You have all gone the extra mile. Hull is a great city and it’s people are without doubt it’s greatest asset.

 

 

 

 

The Seven Year Itch

| Quentin Budworth

A seriously big hitting Hullywood Icon image today Lucy Joy as ‘The Girl’ played by Marilyn Monroe with her partner Mike Lines as Richard Sherman, played by Tom Elwell.The Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American romantic comedy film based on a three-act play with the same name by George Axelrod. The film was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, and stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, reprising his Broadway role from the play. It contains one of the most iconic images of the 20th century – Monroe standing on a subway grate as her white dress is blown upwards by a passing train. The titular phrase, which refers to declining interest in a monogamous relationship after seven years of marriage, has been used by psychologists.
Given that we have no subway system in Hull we have had to go with the prevailing easterly wind that comes off the north sea to recreate this Iconic Hollywood moment.

20161206-20161206-l67a5498-mike3-dark

The Wild One

| Quentin Budworth

Charles Huckvale contacted me about recreating the character of Johnny Strabler played by Marlon Brando in a scene from the 1953 film The Wild One with his band mates from the fantastic Hull based street band Bandanarama. This was the biggest Hullywood Shoot so far featuring Charles and 16 ‘Wild Ones’ and took place as the light was going outside the legendary Rayners Pub on Hessle Road one wet November afternoon. After the shoot the band got out their instruments and burst into an impromptu performance of Tequila much to the surprise and delight of the locals.

The Wild One is a 1953 American film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is most noted for the character of Johnny Strabler (Marlon Brando), whose persona became a cultural icon of the 1950s. The Wild One is considered to be the original outlaw biker film, and the first to examine American outlaw motorcycle gang violence.

l67a0350

Bandanarama  as ‘The Wild Ones ‘ Brendan Walsh, Rob Jenkins, Nathan Kirby, Cindy Hall, Mac Jordan, Dave Ellis, Jim Watkin, Charles Huckvale, Steven Walsh, Mel Haynes, Phil Codd, Adrian Johnson – Harley Davison Ian Mitchel – Apus Productions Liz Dees – Apus Productions “Flock” by Foolsize Theatre – Liverpool (The Guys with The Handle Bars) Chris Murray Joanne Tremarco

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

| Quentin Budworth

Freddie Garland got in touch with me about recreating a scene from Breakfast at Tiffany’s her favourite childhood film. We settled on 1884 Dock Street Kitchen on Dock Street in Hull as a location and created some gorgeous images of Freddie Garlanda as Audrey Hepburn playing Holly Golightly.

L67A3056-3.jpg

 

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a 1961 American romantic comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and written by George Axelrod, loosely based on Truman Capote’s novella of the same name. Starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, and featuring Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Martin Balsam, and Mickey Rooney, the film was initially released on October 5, 1961 by Paramount Pictures.

Hepburn’s portrayal of Holly Golightly as the naïve, eccentric socialite is generally considered to be the actress’s most memorable and identifiable role. Hepburn regarded it as one of her most challenging roles, since she was an introvert required to play an extrovert.There has been speculation that Holly Golightly is a call girl, which has caused controversy.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s was received positively at the time, and won two Academy Awards: Best Original Score and Best Original Song for “Moon River”, which was also selected as the fourth most memorable song in Hollywood history by the American Film Institute in 2004. The film was also nominated for three other Academy Awards: Best Actress for Hepburn, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Art Direction.

One of Freddie’s favourite song is Moon River you can hear it here:

Gregory’s Girl

| Quentin Budworth

Gregory’s Girl is Alison Whitfield’s favourite film she enlisted husband Gary Whitfield to play Gregory which he did with much aplomb. Here Alison talks about why she loves the film.

‘Gregory’s Girl is pretty much the perfect film. Great individual performances and sublime comedy moments. it highlights how friends can create good things for each other and that the best fun in life costs nowt. Gregory although previously besotted with Dorothy, embraces his unexpected date with Susan with positive results’.

Here we recreate the lying down dancing and whistling moments from the film…l67a2804

l67a2777

 

Dr No

| Quentin Budworth

Sarah Rose Crawford got in touch with me about recreating Bond girl Honey Rider’s (Ursula Andress) famous emergence from the sea scene in Dr. No on Hessle Foreshore. The weather was spectacularly good in the bright early November sunshine but a long way from that of Jamaica where the film was made however this is Hullywood and we made good.

honeyride1r

 

For the first Bond girl Honey Ryder, Julie Christie was considered, but discarded as the producers felt she was not voluptuous enough. Just two weeks before filming began, Ursula Andress was chosen to play Honey after the producers saw a picture of her taken by Andress’ then-husband John Derek. To appear more convincing as a Jamaican, Andress had a tan painted on her and ultimately had her lines redubbed by voice actress Nikki van der Zyl due to Andress’ heavy Swiss German accent

Star Wars

| Quentin Budworth

67 year old Jean Todd is a huge Star Wars fan – her favourite character is Princess Leia – we chose a location overlooking the Deep to create this Star Wars scene. L67A2203.jpg

Cast Away

| Quentin Budworth

Jim Wardlaw suggested that we recreate the scene from Cast Away starring Tom Hanks on Hessle foreshore with the Humber Bridge in the background . I asked Jim why Cast Away and he said it was really difficult to find characters in films with beards so the character of Chuck Noland was a godsend. We hadn’t reckoned on the biting ice cold wind but Jim was an excellent sport and we got on with the shoot despite the wintry conditions. The film also features ‘Wilson’ Hanks side kick in the movie.

l67a2120

Tomb Raider

| Quentin Budworth

Raimonda Kirtiklytė got in touch about portraying Lara Croft in Tomb Raider for the Hullywood Icons series she has been a big fan of both the game and the movie since being a teenager and recalled getting in from school and playing the game for hours at a time. As she says I love Lara Croft and particularly Angelina Jolie’s portrayal of her.

l67a1927