IS IT BAD TO LOVE THE ROGUE ONE? THE RESURRECTION OF CGI TARKIN TWEAKED

#WATCHWITHCUSHING! 'Is it wrong to love THE Rogue One? Well, here's a confession, I am very fond of this film and have a lot of respect for what Industrial Light and Magic and Guy Henry achieved in the finished film. We've posted a feature about this today at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE . .. For those not up to speed with what happened four years ago...here we go! In the 2016 anthology film '#RogueOne', archive footage and a digital scan of Cushing's life mask made for the 1984 film Top Secret! were used to create a 3D CGI mask which was augmented and mapped to actor Guy Henry's face. Henry had studied Cushing's mannerisms many years previously for the lead role in British TV show 'Young Sherlock', but insisted on a screen test as he was not comfortable that his vocal imitation was accurate, stating he sounded more like "Peter O'Toole than #PeterCushing". 

THE ILM team searched through hours of footage to find suitable material of Cushing to build from, footage from 'A New Hope' was lit very differently to the lighting used in 'Rogue One' and had to be digitally changed. The more they manipulated the lighting to match the other actors in the scenes the less like Cushing the character model looked, which meant creating a balancing act between "a digital figure" and "one who looked precisely like Cushing". The owners of Cushing's estate were heavily involved with the creation and had input right down to "small, subtle adjustments".

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THE RESULT, which has been called "one of the most complex and costly CGI re-creations ever", received a mixed response. Recently, Derpfakes who is quite the dab hand at creating some quite stunning CGI creations and sharing them for critiques on YouTube. Here for your analysis, is his tweaking and nudging, of the ILM job on Tarkin's appearance in 'Rogue One' (2016) ... There are some interesting chances... for some I am sure, there will be little difference. Later, if you like me have always thought the ideas and concepts of 'Star Wars' were very original and new, join us later 😉 - Marcus

THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY TODAYS WATCH WITH CUSHING!

BEFORE we begin a BIG shout out to . . Romina Bond, Kornelis Kalsbeek, Scott Brookman, John Bramwell, Marcia Loisel, Jeffery Kubitz, Jim Morrow, Michelle Lynn Brooks and Lyn Barnes .. . who I hope are going to very much enjoy another Peter Cushing #SherlockHolmes episode this evening.. and I hope you do too! 😃The Boscombe Valley Mystery is one of my favourites from the 1968 BBC television series and it's today's FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE Cushing seems to have much more fun making this episode and their is some amusing bits of business with him and Nigel Stock's #DrWatson too. Director Viktors Ritelis seems to have the right touch for Cushing's style as he directed this and two other episodes of the series, 'The Musgrave Ritual' and 'The Solitary Cyclist'.

SADLY, BOTH EPISODES were victims of the 'BBC great '#junking, wipe and reuse' exercise of the 60's, 70's and 80's. Although the practice was once very common, wiping is now practised much less frequently and since the establishing of an 'archival policy' for television began in 1978, BBC archivists and others have over the years used various contacts in the UK and abroad to try to track down missing programmes. It is hoped maybe one day, the missing #PeterCushing Sherlock Holmes episodes will be found . .and we can enjoy them all! Meanwhile, I trust you are all safe and well and your holiday weekend, finds you and yours in good spirits 😀Please stay in, stay well and safe 😀 - Marcus

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THE 1960'S DR WHO TARDIS IS A 'WRITE' OFF IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE!!

BACK IN THE MID 1960'S Peter Cushing appeared and starred in not one but TWO feature films, as Dr Who. 'Dr Who and the Daleks' (1965) and 'Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD. When I say, Dr Who please do not for all is sacred, mistake THIS Dr Who for the BBC Doctor Who that has been gracing our television screens for the past ?? years, also that Doctor and tv show, well... originally ran from 1963 to 1989. There was an unsuccessful attempt to revive regular production in 1996 with a backdoor pilot, in the form of a television film titled Doctor Who. The programme was relaunched in 2005, and since then has been produced in-house by BBC Wales in Cardiff. Also as dedicated viewers of said tv show and Doctor Who often tell me, 'The first film 'Dr Who and the Daleks' features a much different Doctor from the one we currently know, on tv. 

TO START WITH, he is entirely human. Barbara Wright from the tv show is no longer his granddaughter's teacher, but another granddaughter of The Doctor himself. Still with me? William Hartnell, tv Doctor Who was quite  annoyed at being passed over for the role of Dr Who and that Peter Cushing was cast in the role. The reason? Cushing was seen as a better known face to the cinematic world and therefore more capable of launching Dr Who to a wider audience, in was a children's film and family entertainment. Cushing does actually play the part with more warmth and childish humour than the famously grumpy Hartnell, and is for all intents and purposes a fantastic Doctor. So yup Cushing's Dr Who certainly IS NOT canon. Cushing himself always maintained that his Doctor was a proper Doctor, though not necessarily the First One, that he was so clearly based on. 

BUT CUSHING'S Dr Who did have a pretty neat TARDIS! It looked the same as the one in the tv series, but this one in TWO films and BIG SCREEN was ..IN COLOUR! Like the Tardis, all the DALEKS were in colour for the first time too! What a blast and . . what a COUP! 😉 Not THE Doctor, but full colour TARDIS and stars of both shows and films, the DALEKS as well.. for the first time!

THE INFLUENCE of the colour DALEKS did I am sure, go some way to what would soon become an international hobby... making YOUR OWN DALEK! Even though the TV series promoted some spin off full colour covered annual books for the kids at Christmas, it was only when the films displayed to the public and fans, DALEKS in FULL COLOUR and presented on a BIG SCREEN, that anyone had the opportunity to see them up close, moving in FULL TECHNICOLOUR, for the first time. . . and THE TOPS OPENED, to reveal a scaly thing on the floor ! Magic! 😀😊😉

THE DALEKS LOOKED AMAZING, but as a five year old boy, the thing that interested me the most, was THAT TARDIS! Looking at it now, as an adult, it does look uncannily like someone has thrown the contents of a dodgy self employed cowboy electrician's van onto a film set, to me at that time it was MAGICAL both INSIDE and OUT. After the films were wrapped, so was the interior of the time machine. But the exterior, of course survived! 

IT SEEMS THE TARDIS had survived and was finally purchased by a 'wood-turning-and-machine-company' who... 'can supply everything for the woodworker from machinery, hand and power tools to hundreds of accessories and of course the one thing that all woodworkers require – Timber' .... in Somerset, England! Well, sadly wood-turning, screw drivers, any chisels or DIY and all things that go buzz are all very uncharted lands to me. I know as much about any of these things, as I do brain surgery. Though, I have watched Cushing's 'head-work surgery' in 'Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed' quite a few times! On finding this company and trying to figure what their connection was to Cushing's olde Tardis, it still took me a quite while to fathom out what it actually was they were selling! Unlike their vast variety of tools on offer, sadly I am not that sharp!

THEN THE PENNY DROPPED . . PENS! Or indeed, Pen Blanks: 'Pen blanks are little pieces of wood common to the pen turning industry. Many other wood workers find these pieces of wood to be perfect for their niche, they are  easy to turn and finish and are very tactile when fashioned into a writing instrument'. So, these are strips of wood, pieces of the tardis, that can be turned on a machine and used for the barrel of a pen! YOU WRITE with it! Hmm an interesting hobby, if that floats your boat or flies your Tardis!

SO HOW DID THIS COMPANY, come up with this idea, it's weird choice to arrive at when in fact they have a WHOLE piece of movie Doctor Who sorry... Dr Who . . movie history in their possession? Then came the bad news in the product description: 

'Doctor Who Tardis Plywood pen blanks. This is the very first Mk1 Tardis that was created for Peter Cushing for the film 'Dr Who and the Daleks' and was originally constructed in 1965'.  

'Can we just point out that this Tardis was in terrible condition, the sill fell off in transit and when we moved it on its own wheels the actual door fell off. Sadly it's been left outside and as it's a 54-year-old film prop it wasn't designed for the outdoor English weather, we've managed to salvage what we can and these are the first blanks available from what must be one of the most iconic and well known film-related prop.'

'These plywood blanks we would only recommend for the more experienced turner, I've made a dozen or so now and I found you cannot put any pressure when turning, so takes time plus you must have sharp tools.The blanks measure 5 inches x 20mm x 20mm and come complete with a certificate.'

MY GOODNESS! 😕  How depressing reading was that? 😔😑 So THAT is what has happened to the Cushing's Dr Who Tardis! Cut up into 5 inch pieces!!? Blimey! Well, I guess 'tis better than what happened to so many painted glass matts, props and goodies during Hammer films move from Bray studios in the 1960's. That was a lot to do with SKIPS, and I am not referring to the dance or gym rope kind! At least, there is something I can have and hold, the TARDIS in the body of something useful and to keep in my pocket.. to eventually leak in my jacket pocket! Can I STILL write? Do I have £44.99 in my piggy bank savings? Never mind, all is good! Now where do I buy a wood lathe and a sharp chisel? - Marcus Brooks

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NEWS : BRITAIN'S FIRST FRANKENSTEIN MUSEUM READY FOR CREATION!

IT WAS THE ROLE THAT nailed #PeterCushing to the movie map and made both him and Christopher Lee into household names, with a mini budget movie produced by an even smaller UK film company called, #Hammerfilms. Jimmy Sangster wrote a scaled down script of the classic novel by Mary Shelley, #Britishfilm director, Terence Fisher called the shots, and 'The Curse of Frankenstein' not only hit huge box office success, it also changed the style of horror films and rebooted the Frankenstein film. Peter Cushing would go on to appear in a further FIVE Frankenstein films for Hammer.  'The Curse of Frankenstein' also presented Christopher Lee as an often child-like but savage 'monster-creation', his appearance compared to that of the traditional Universal #BorisKarloff Jack Pearce make up artist style, was quite a different. Hammer films continued their #Frankenstein series, but again in a different style to the Universal horror films, in a clever turn, they created a focus on adventures of  The Baron himself, instead of the '#TheMonster'. It was a brilliant and box office friendly plan, as not only did the audience get a different creation for every new story and title, but also Cushing's amazing Baron for the price of one ticket!

FOR DECADES the character of Baron Frankenstein has fascinated audiences with new theatre, television and cinema productions being produced every year. And it is maybe this and the fact that that the company behind the Frankenstein Museum , #Bath Attractions . . is based in the very city where #MaryShelley wrote the iconic 'Frankenstein' novel in 1818! READ ON . . .  

PLANS ARE BEING DRAWN UP for ‘Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein’ to celebrate the author’s “extraordinary life and her most lauded work” - much of which was penned in the Somerset city. #Bath Attractions Ltd are planning to convert Grade II-listed offices in Gay Street - a few doors up from the Jane Austen Centre - and hope it could open later this year. The  planning application says: “Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein is a new multi-sensory, fully immersive family-friendly visitor attraction proposed for the City of Bath, and the UK’s first attraction dedicated to #MaryShelley and her novel, Frankenstein, one of the world’s most famous, iconic and lauded creations.

“Exploring her complicated and tragic personal life, literary career and the novel’s continuing relevance today in regards to popular culture, politics and science, the attraction aims to deliver a sophisticated, entertaining and visceral experience like no other, and one which we hope the city of Bath can be proud of.”

THE AUTHOR'S LINKS to Bath are commemorated on a plaque at the site of 5 Abbey Church Yard, where she took lodgings arriving in the city in September 1816, then named Mary Wollstenecraft Godwin. It was there that she wrote much of #Frankenstein , which was published anonymously in 1818 and is now regarded as the world’s first #sciencefiction novel.

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SHERLOCK HOLMES TAKES ON THE MASKS OF DEATH! #WATCHWITHCUSHING #WATCHPARTY!

DON'T THINK FOR A MINUTE THAT YOU CAN'T take another post of a Cushing Sherlock Holmes adventure? Snap out of it.😉😀 This one... is different 😉 #SirIanMckellen was 75, when he made that amazing Mr Holmes feature back in 2015. #PeterCushing was 71 when he appeared in what would almost be his 'swan song' for the big screen, and he pours just about everything he has in it 😊'Sherlock Holmes and the Masks of Death' (1984) is a pretty clever film, with a very cool cast to help make it work. 

THE THREE FACES OF Peter Cushing's Sherlock Holmes 

'The Hound of the Baskervilles' (Hammer films 1959)

Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC Television series of 1968

Cushing's Holmes in semi retirement in 'Sherlock Holmes and the 

Masks of Death (1984)

THERE ARE MANY very nice touches in this film and despite Peter's obvious age and his belief he was too old to play it, it works, helped by Cushing's good friend, John Mills who fills the role of Dr Watson confidently and with a few well timed 'matured-creaks and groans'. Roy Ward Baker directs also Ray Milland, Anne Baxter and #AntonDiffring are all lovely to watch and help put the cherry on what could have been quite a stale and mouldy cake! 

I VERY MUCH LIKE the story in this film. At times it's bleak, quite dark and uses one of the 'world's darkest of times' to under pin the evil and threats' in this #Sherlock and #Watson drama, written by Hammer's Anthony Hinds and N.J Crisp. It is a shame Cushing thought himself not fit enough or capable to nail another Holmes film, which was planned for production after this one. But, he did wait while Tyburn were trying to source funding.  

CUSHING MADE '#Biggles' (1986) while waiting, which would be his last cinema role. I think he more than managed to do his last Sherlock justice and finally bow out from one of his most accomplished and always most confidently performed roles in his long and varied career. I hope you enjoy this too 😊Marcus

CATCH UP on ALL the PCASUK '#WATCHWITHCUSHING! 'watch parties' at the FACEBOOK UK PETER CUSHING APPRECIATION SOCIETY FACEBOOK PAGE HERE!

'NO IMAGINATION NO HORROR!' SHERLOCK WATCH WITH CUSHING NOW LIVE!

#WATCHWITHCUSHING! OVER AT The FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE we have lanched our #WATCHPARTY for today, with ANOTHER dip into the 'Sherlock Holmes' BBC television series, 'A STUDY IN SCARLETT' with Peter Cushing again in the role of Sherlock Holmes 😊

#WatchWithCushing! 'Where there is no imagination, there is NO horror!' so says Peter Cushing's Sherlock Holmes in 'A Study in Scarlett', in this episode from his 1968 BBC television serial. Cushing had taken on the role for the BBC when Douglas Wilmer's Sherlock, left the series. It would not be a pleasurable experience for the actor, and when he and Wilmer were later united on the Hammer/AIP production of 'The Vampire Lovers' (1970), Cushing remarked that he would sooner spend the rest of his career sweeping Paddington Station than to work for the BBC again under similar circumstances. Cushing would later argue that the strain affected his performance, indicating a preference for his earlier, less hurried portrayal of Holmes in Hammer’s 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' (1958).

WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO CUSHING, however, I disagree – where his earlier performance is a bit mannered, he seems far more relaxed and comfortable in the role in the BBC series. Sadly, many of the episodes no longer survive – but the ones that do show just how effective Cushing really was in the role. 'A Study in Scarlet' wasn’t the first of the series that he did for the BBC, but it is the first in continuity of that surviving episodes. WHICH Cushing Sherlock portrayal do you prefer, the 1958 Hammer Baskerville or the BBC series? Stay Safe, Stay Inside, Stay Well Everyone 😉 - Marcus 

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CONE OF SILENCE : PCASUK FACEBOOK WATCH PARTY NOW LIVE!

PCASUK #WATCHPARTY! FOR A BUDGET of just £139,360 about £3,400.00 today, Aubrey Baring Productions got a LOT of film for their money, plus a very good cast! 'Cone of Silence' aka 'Trouble In The Sky', currently LIVE at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE as our latest 'Watch-Party' post,  is a 1960 British drama film that was directed by Charles Frend and starred Michael Craig, Peter Cushing, George Sanders, and Bernard Lee. Quite a big step away from what had occupied Cushing for the past four years at Hammer films, the role of Captain Clive Judd, gives us a view of his range we had not see for sometime. The story centres around an investigation into a series of crashes involving the fictional 'Atlas Aviation Phoenix' jetliner

SHOT AT SHEPPERTON STUDIOS, budget constraints led to the production using some miniatures to depict airfields and aircraft, although principal photography took place at Filton Airport in North Bristol, UK with the cooperation of the Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd. 'Cone of Silence' is loosely based on 1952 plane crash in Rome and subsequent investigations into the structural integrity of the de Havilland Comet airliner. . and how even the highest skilled of people can sometimes get it all very wrong! Still awaiting a blu ray release, this is a film that would look quite special in monochrome. . . as would many of Cushing's black and white feature films from this period... and why the recent Indicator blu ray release of 'Time Without Pity' looks so impressive! 😀 - Marcus

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