The second D+C Film Show, created by Devon film maker Alex White, has in-depth interviews with two of Devon’s renowned filmmakers: Elizabeth-Jane Baldry and Carrion film Director Ashley Thorpe, in a ‘Fairytales and Nightmares‘ Special.
“Elizabeth-Jane has been inspiring the whole town of Chagford to get involved in filmmaking while giving new life to traditional tales – specifically Victorian fairy tales. A classically trained harpist Elizabeth has also been collaborating with Oscar winning artist Alan Lee (Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy) in designing the costumes.
And Ashley Thorpe this year picked up the best independent filmmaker award at this year’s media partnership awards and has been hailed as leading the British Horror revival with his Victorian inspired Penny Dreadfuls.”
The in depth interview with Ashley touched upon such subjects as the methods used to create the animations, the scoring (by Mick Grierson), self-distribution (the downloads), the recent Media innovation award and the inspirations and reasons for making them – “I got to this point where I almost felt exhausted…that most of the films out there are regurgitating similar things. So, to re-invigorate my enthusisams, so I went back to the beginning of horror as populist entertainment and naturally looked to the Victorian penny dreadful’s.”
“And most of the things, Scayrecrow especially, are based upon the ‘chapbooks’ which used to be sold pretty much by the gallows – as these guys were being hung – it was like : ‘There’s Dick Turpin….now read the comic!’ and they’d hang this guy as people were reading his life story, y’know…so Highwaymen and neglected ghost stories…
Ashley Thorpe interviewed by Alex White
especially the screaming skull, very famous ghost stories but no one has really made films about it…so it’s basically going back to the beginning and looking at the stuff that’s been left behind really, and trying to take those things and try to stay true to the original story and at the same time trying to give them a spark and hopefully make them entertaining for the 21st Century audience.”
The complete interview can be viewed via the Devon and Cornwall film site and is vieweable in HD via vimeo here.
“Just sit back and take in the fairytales and nightmares of the Devon filmmaking experience” – Lee Morgan