The Actors Have Landed

The Pilot is here.

"This is gonna take crackerjack timing, H. Let's blow this scene. Get everybody and the stuff together. Ok? Three,two,one..."

Hello, acting fans, and welcome back to the Blog. As once said by the great Orson Welles “Films are not finished, they escape” which is true of what we have in store for you today. This one got away.

Let’s get straight to it; it is a BIG day here at the H&H production, yes ,the pilot episode is up and alive. Alive I tell you, ALIIIIIVE!!
It’s been a long hard road, path, hill. dale, and river, oh, and lake. Through clouds both physical and metaphorical (flippin' Yorkshire weather). Wow, I mean it’s been two years (well, about that) from conception to getting this done but the first fruits of our labour has paid off, dropping straight off that tree and we have the first full episode! The Pilot has landed! Oh yeah, Groovy.

We do spoil you lot but don’t worry we are busy working on the rest of the episodes and they will be following shortly.

Me, myself and my co-creator and co-actor Christopher Haigh, really do all sincerely hope that you enjoy the Premiere Episode of 'Harcourt & Haigh: Actors at Large', and that you find it funny.
If you do indeed find yourself laughing at least one sock even half off then please feel free to post it, send it, show it to any one you think will like it. Tell all (and maybe even sundry) about it and then get them to do the same. Ppppplease, pretty please actors cannot live on bread alone - we need booze too, and Views, Lots of Views!
Post it to anywhere that you think other people will like it. Heck, shout about it from the hilltops if you like, with a BIG Thank you from us, H&H ourselves.

Well, that’s our Blog for now until the next time sit tight, hold the fort and keep the home fires
burning. And if we’re not back next Wednesday…………. Well, erm, call us on it.

TTFN

Vernon Harcourt

Pick-me-Up

Pick ups, never forget about them.

Hello, Acting Fans, and a big 'HELLO!' to everyone overseas that reads/views, yes, looking you in Sweden, the USA and rest of you out there in the big wide world (We're shouting it louder in case you don't speak English because, well, that's what we do when we're abroad anyway). And BIG 'thank you' to you all as well!
Right, back to it and on with the blog, well, what have we done this week, folks? This week we could only get our familially-entangled cameraman over for one day this week (yep, it’s starting to become awkward as Chris and I itch to get on with the rest of the series - the perils of the zero budget filmmaker, dontchaknow) so we unfortunately couldn’t do the full intended shoot that we were planning to do (*Sigh*). We did manage a pickup shoot for the end of the [SPOILERS] Additional Scene footage (Come on, you didn’t think is was going to tell you exactly what it was, did you?). Here's a hint:

During the course of the day, a breakdown in communication led to confusement of where we were suppose to be meeting up (so the day in itself was a bit of a Comedy - of Errors, shame we didn't get to film them), though besides getting the Pickup we got into discussion of some more planning of what's next, so the time wasn't totally wasted. We will be getting on with the next webisode soon, thanks to Mr. Birdsall's generous loan of his DV camera, and be sorting out some more Additional Scene footage hopefully next week. As Ol' Churchill (the Prime Minister, not the Insurance Dog) used to say: "KBO!"

TTFN

Vernon Harcourt

 

This Is Just a Tribute

This week see's a couple of historic milestones for us here at H&H Productions, one of them a little sad.
So let's start with the bad (and now pretty old) news first, this week sees the anniversary of the death on 24th November, 1991 of (IOHM*) one of the 20th century's finest showmen, Farrokh Bulsara AKA Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen. As late 70s/early 80s kids Freddie and Queen were at the forefront of our formative Pop Cultural experience and, of course, besides great hit tunes as geeky 70s/80s kids he (& the rest of Queen) also provided the soundtrack to not one but TWO firm favourite cult films:

Forget Star Wars (remember it started off as Lucas' pitch for a Flash Gordon film) plus Max Von Sydow, Peter Wyngarde AND Brian Blessed in one film - no computer-controlled FX models can compete with that sort of cast. Anyone who disagrees gets the Bore Worms.
And then the film that spawned a far-spanning franchise of infinitely reducing returns but it's so good we forgive it it's rubbish sequels:

A sad day but a great one to remember the talent of the man and as he himself once sang, the show must go on. So long, Freddie and thanks for all the tunes.

While we're talking about 'shows going on' that brings us to the happier news. This week also saw the anniversary of a groundbreaking television series that first hit the TV screen on 23 November, 1963. That day BBC 1 broadcast the first episode 'An Unearthly Child' and two unwitting schoolteachers and the British public were introduced to a certain mad man (who's not really a man) with a blue box.
Despite the hiccup of being laid low in the 90s (yeah, thanks a lot, Michael Grade, we don't think *shaking fists towards London*), thanks to Russell T. Davies and BBC Wales the Doctor has enjoyed a wildly successful revival these past few years. Here at H&H we are always ready to salute the sort of fiction that stops staring in the kitchen sink and gets you to look out the window at the stars above, so Happy 48th Birthday DOCTOR WHO, long may you transcend Time and Space!

(The only November broadcast Christmas advert that we support, plus it's for charity, innit?)

A Happy Whonniversary to you all!

Stay tuned for more Harcourt & Haigh-centric news next week,

TTFN

Vernon Harcourt

&

Chirstopher Haigh

* = In Our Humble Opinions but of course, you figured that out, didn't you? After all, You're not total n00bs are you? What, you ARE?!

Location, Location

Welcome to the Pressure Cooker, as series filming draws nearer and nearer we scrabble to get things together for shooting (but that's another post).
In hand we have the Costume Test Shoot, a couple of Promos in the Can and a 'Behind the Scenes' short, in front of us - everything else.
Today, however, we would like to take the time to say, 'Thank you'. Filming somewhere that belongs to someone else is a privilege not a right and we are extremely grateful (to the Max!) to the providers of our first two locations.

Simon Shaw...AKA Proprietor X (Formerly Weapon HX)

Location number 1 for the 1st Promo is favourite local haunt The Piece Hall, specifically the shop of our chum (and Promo Co-Star) Simon Shaw: Legacy Comics.
Many thanks to Simon for letting us behave in a criminal fashion in his work environs (and, as we promised Simon, we only partially destroyed it).
Despite our shenanigans Legacy Comics is still open for business supplying your favourite Four-Colour Gentlemen's (or discerning Ladies') Relish.
In fact if you're in the West Yorkshire area and like a bit of Cosplay (dressing up to you and me) be sure to check out Legacy's annual Halloween Havoc competition.

"Now witness the power of this fully STOCKED and OPERATIONAL Comic Shop!"

We'd also like to thank Steve & the rest of the crew of Halifax Kitchen Company Limited for supplying the Location of Promo No.2 by permitting two strange blokes who walked in off the street (and a couple of chums) use of one of their display kitchens to double for [!!!REDACTED FOR SPOILERS!!!]. Thanks to all of you there, the offer of cups of tea, though refused, was greatly appreciated. In fact our learned colleague Matt even asked us what we "had on you" (don't worry the negatives are in the post).

Halifax Kitchen Company Limited

Our appreciation knows no bounds but we must press on, we've got Props to make and Scenes to Take.

TTFN.

Christopher Haigh