Exclusive AUTUMN movie set report

I've just posted a report from my visit to the set of the AUTUMN movie. Click here to read it.

AUTUMN Set Visit and Book Signing

After a few delays I'm finally off to Canada this week to visit the set of the AUTUMN movie. We're also squeezing in a book signing on Thursday 13th December. The details are...

Hosted By: Renegade Motion Pictures
When: 13 Dec 2007, 19:00
Where: Prohibition Bar
696 Queen St. E
Toronto,
Canada

It would be great to meet any fans who are in the area!

The AUTUMN movie - first footage now online

Footage from the first 8 days shooting of the AUTUMN movie is now online. Click here to watch!

A long overdue update...

If you're reading this then thanks for sticking with me through the last five months or so of virtual silence. My family and I have had a difficult year and various things have happened which have kept me away from my desk for far too long.

That's not to say I haven't been working! In fact, I've been busier than ever recently and I thought it was about time I emerged to bring you up to date with what's been going on.

The Autumn Movie
Wow. What can I say about this one? I'm incredibly excited about the movie. I've been speaking to Steven Rumbelow, the Director, over the last couple of weeks and the project is shaping up to be something very special - unique and true to the book. I can't say much at the moment, but keep checking the website regularly for announcements. Filming begins in Canada today - Monday 22nd October - and continues through November. I'll be visiting the set towards the end of the shoot and meeting up with the cast and crew. Renegade will be updating their website and blog with behind the scenes footage and much more shortly and yes... I'm told they'll soon be putting out a request for zombie extras! By the way, if you still want to invest in the movie you've got until Halloween to do so. More information can be found here.

Autumn Books
I hope you've seen the Autumn: Disintegration update by now. Yes, I know, it's many, many months behind schedule but, as I said earlier, it's been a difficult year. Better to take my time and get it right rather than rush the book and disappoint you. Be assured - Disintegration is coming, and I hope to be able to make an announcement about the release date by the end of the year. In the meantime, new Echoes will be regularly added to the site.
   To tie-in with the release of the fifth Autumn book, Infected Books will soon be releasing a strictly limited edition, individually numbered and signed hardback set of the entire series (including an expanded version of Autumn: The Human Condition which will be revised to include the new 'Echoes' dedicated to characters appearing in Disintegration). Featuring specially commissioned exclusive artwork and re-designed interiors, the books will be limited to 500 copies of each volume. More details will be available very soon. In the meantime, you can register your interest here and get release dates and ordering information sent to you as soon as they become available.
   And that's not all. A brand new and completely free on-line Autumn novel (tentatively titled King of the Dead) will be serialized exclusively on www.theinfected.co.uk from early 2008. www.theinfected.co.uk will also be undergoing a major facelift shortly. Feel free to submit any zombie-themed photographs or artwork!

Dog Blood
Is now in development and is shaping up nicely to be a bloody and violent end to the Hater story. The book should see the light of day in the first half of 2008. By then I hope to have more news about the Hater movie also.

Recent Releases
You may have already seen a couple of other recent releases. The teen horror anthology 666: Number of the Beast includes an original story of mine - 'Grandma Kelly' - a cracking little tale of terrified teenagers, reanimated grandmothers and the end of the world! Number of the Beast is available now, as is Herbst: Beginn - the beautiful German language edition of the first Autumn novel.

Other Projects
There's plenty more in development. In late 2008 expect to see an anthology of short stories I've been putting together over the last couple of years. Early next year I'll also be co-writing a screen adaptation of another one of my books. That's right - a third Moody movie! I should be able to announce more details in the very near future.

So there you have it! Once again, I'm sorry for the delays and lack of news recently but I hope this update has whetted your appetite. Watch out for more regular updates coming soon, starting with the Autumn set-report in late November / early December.

Thanks again for sticking with me, and please continue to do so. It will definitely be worth it!

AUTUMN movie poster poll

The team over at Renegade are asking fans to choose their favourite AUTUMN movie poster. Cast your vote here...

28 weeks later

I finally got to see 28 weeks later this week. When 28 days later was released in 2003 I received a huge number of emails talking about the similarities between the film and the Autumn books. At the time I said (and I still believe) that this was purely coincidental although there’s a little bit of me that clings on to the belief that someone, somewhere might have come across my books on the net and taken some inspiration from my story. Who knows. The theme, the overall tone and the some of the locations were certainly similar.

I’ve had a large number of emails asking about the new film, particularly a line in the opening scenes where an old man tasting wine says “I smell raspberries... vanilla... a faint touch of autumn.” Just coincidence, I’m sure!

I was a huge fan of the first half of 28 days later. The opening part of the film was stunning. I thought it was a brilliant concept, had great performances and was made with a superb visual style. Unfortunately I think it fell apart as soon as the soldiers appeared and the whole thing went downhill rapidly until it reached one of the most disappointing movie climaxes in living memory. I wasn’t looking forward to the sequel and my expectations dropped even lower when I first read the synopsis. A dead UK is ‘re-booted’ by the good old USA. It was obvious from the start that things would eventually go wrong and the rage virus would return, but it all seemed a little simplistic and underwhelming. I was genuinely pleased when the first reviews of the film started to appear and the word was good. In fact, the word has generally been better than good.

I enjoyed the film hugely, as much as I enjoyed the first half of the first film, but I left the cinema feeling short-changed again.

28 weeks later has all the ingredients of a strong sequel. The audience is already familiar with the premise so there’s no need to waste time with the back story and it’s straight into the action. It carries over the intense and immediate visual style of the first film and there are some truly nightmarish images to be seen – piles of bagged bodies on street corners, snipers firing indiscriminately into crowds of terrified survivors and protective-suited soldiers prowling the streets with flamethrowers to name but a few.

My main gripe with the film, however, was the plot and the various assumptions and conveniences which drove the story along at the expense of its plausibility. Here are a few examples (spoilers below):

• The country has been destroyed by infection and disease. Do you really start rebuilding it from the centre of the capital city? Wouldn’t a medium sized coastal town be more appropriate? London is a dangerous and unpredictable place at the very best of times...!

• With so much at risk and such a biological threat to contend with, how do two children manage to escape from the protected area and get into the rest of the city? Are we to believe that the military really that inept? (I don’t want an answer to that question – we’re talking about a fantasy story here, not trying to draw any parallels with reality)

• How did the mother manage to make it back home undetected?

• I know he hadn’t seen her for weeks and he thought she was dead and that he’d let her down etc. etc., but would Don and his wife really indulge in a game of tongue hockey while she was strapped to a hospital bed. Oh, and would the janitor really have authority to get into such a secure area, and would he be able to do it unchallenged?

• When the inhabitants of District One are locked into a secure area when the Rage virus first returns, how feasible is it that Don manages to get in through a ‘back door’?

• And finally, if it’s such a struggle for the children and the army medic to get to the tube station near Wembley, how does infected Don manage to get there ahead of them?

I wasn’t intentionally looking for holes in the story, but they were so numerous and so obvious that I couldn’t help myself. But, like most good horror films (and 28 weeks later definitely WAS a good film), if you suspend your disbelief for long enough you’ll enjoy the ride.

So, in a nutshell, I thought the performances were great, the visuals were stunning and I had a blast watching the film. I enjoyed it a thousand times more than I ever thought I would and I can honestly say I’m looking forward to the inevitable 28 months later. Maybe someone would let me have a go at writing it...?!

Just to finish this long-overdue post off, I’ve just watched the trailer for Will Smith’s I am Legend and I can’t help thinking that it’s going to be appalling. I’d like to be able to write a positive review of it later this year but I somehow don’t think that’s going to happen. As I’ve said elsewhere, Matheson’s hugely important and influential novel deserves so much more than this...

The AUTUMN movie - video teaser

The team over at Renegade have created a very short teaser video which you can see below.



Share certificates and autographed movie posters are currently being sent around the world to the many AUTUMN fans who have invested in the movie. With photography due to begin shortly time is running out to grab an infected piece of the action! For anyone who missed it, click here to find out how to get involved.

I hope that as many people as possible can share in this incredible project. It's shaping up to be something really special...!