Christopher Fowler - Film Freak

[dem bones]

Christopher Fowler - Film Freak (Doubleday, 2013)

The Man In The White Suit: courtesy STUDIOCANAL films, ltd.

Blurb
It's the late 1970s and twenty-something Christopher Fowler is a film freak, obsessively watching lousy films in run-down fleapits. He longs to become a famous screenwriter and put his dreams on the big screen, and so heads for Wardour Street, Britain's answer to Hollywood, with an armful of terrible scripts.

But he's made a spectacular mistake. He arrives just as the nation's filmmakers are being brought to their knees by arrival of video and the destruction of old movie palaces. The only films being made are smutty low-budget farces and TV spin-offs. Instead of being asked to write another Bullitt, Chris finds himself churning out short films about boilers and nylon sheets. Somehow, against the odds, he finds success - although not of the sort he'd expected.

From the sticky Axminster of the local cinema to the red carpet at Cannes, Film Freak is a grimly hilarious and acutely observed trawl through the arse-end of the British film industry, which turns into an affecting search for friendship and happiness.

"I didn't allow myself the dream of being a writer, so I decided to get into film, however obliquely. Unfortunately, I should have been in Hollywood instead of London, where I emerged at the time when the only English film in cinema's was Mutiny on the Buses ... Sample review: 'Will fail to provoke a smile even with fans, if there are such people.' ......"

Another from the shelves of the ideastore, curse them! Have not seen Mr. Fowler's autobiography, Paperboy, so don't know whether this is a continuation or a separate project, but Film Freak is a riveting, frequently hilarious but sad read. As ever when sworn not to begin another book when I already have too many on the go, I dived straight in and did 70 pages as a taster, leaving The Resident throbbing, fit to explode. It's a life told in anecdotes and reflections on popular culture, encompassing .... everything: punk (he seems to have liked Rotten & McClaren, loathed every other aspect of the scene), Steptoe & Son, Norman Wisdom, Tony Hancock, The Blitz Club, The Brittas Empire, disco, Soho's gay scene circa 1978 and Wardour Street in the early 'eighties through the satanic reign of Thatcher, etc. Actually, if you've read and enjoyed Mr. F.'s horror story, Norman Wisdom & The Angel of Death, chances are, you will love this above life itself.

More to follow if I ever get my brain to go again.

[jepersonoatcake]

Grabbed a copy of this pronto and love it to pieces.

"Acid test for parents: if you wonder whether your son is gay, ask yourself if he really enjoyed the "Can You Read My Mind" sequence in Richard Donner's Superman."

[dem bones]

Oct 7, 2013 3:00:28 GMT jepersonoatcake said:

Grabbed a copy of this pronto and love it to pieces.

"Acid test for parents: if you wonder whether your son is gay, ask yourself if he really enjoyed the "Can You Read My Mind" sequence in Richard Donner's Superman."

Hello again, oatcake!

Film Freak effortlessly qualified for the prestigious 'dems' best non-fiction of 2013' listing, but nobody should be put off by that unwarranted humiliation. It's as much a love story/ tribute to his late friend and mentor, Jim Sturgeon, as it is celebration of a career in and out of the film industry, and the final chapter is an absolute choker. Had no idea that Mr. Fowler was responsible for Alien's world famous tag-line "In space no one can hear you scream" (for 'ludicrous horror fantasy' Phantasm, he came up with "If this one doesn't scare you, you're already dead," while filth fiend Roy 'Chubby' Brown's answer to George Lucas, U.F.O. - The Movie, escaped lightly with "Don't ask to see the Captain's log!")

The author was interviewed about his Bryant & May novels, The Invisible Code in particular, on last Monday's Crime Thriller Club. You can catch it on iplayer if you're quick (he comes in approx 20 minutes into the show). Tonight's episode (BBC3, 21.00) has behind the scenes at Midsomer Murders, and Phil Davis in the studio talking Whitechapel.