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The book is based on the documentary-feature based around the life of American broadcaster Paul Gambaccini, with an in-depth interview seen from a screen inside a TV studio by two journalists. The film demonstrates the changes in broadcasting in 30 years to a full High Definition broadcast.
Digital Broadcast was based on a 90 minutes interview the director had with Paul Gambaccini in 1999. Initially intended for an interactive TV presentation it was first released on CD-ROM for Nick Peterson's MA in Interactive Multimedia. It was released on DVD in 2006. Based on the full length version of 90 minutes: 10% (The presenter) of the film is in black and white 50% is in single colour (Blue, cyan, yellow, green, turquoise, orange and red) 40% is in full colour and HD.
Paul Gambaccini has been extremely candid in his 90 minutes interview; he has almost divulged his whole autobiography. In the book version I'm also adding a personal insight into the media world in Britain.
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The project started in January 1997 and by September 2006 the media world had changed its general mood by describing the situation of 'gangs, local tribes and the oil companies in conflict' as 'armed militants and guerrillas against the government in a war zone'. I was all very innocent about the whole project. I have been introduced to it by accident.
I have been asked to work on this project but I have equally been warned by some people to stay away from "these people". I thought the tone was a bit racist so I ignored this warning and ventured into it. Racist even so the person who warned me was a Nigerian-American.
I have interviewed someone who had taken hostage over 30 people on an oil rig and killed nearly 20, two days before I met him, I had some extreme warnings and email exchanges with heads of big oil companies, a major fall-out with my agents ("You are a pop musician trying to do Rock, trying to be a filmmaker. What the hell are you doing?"), I had some lengthy email exchanges with the main members of the media establishment in Britain and a major fall out with some of the people interviewed.
A book describing the whole project, the making of it and its reception by the media and all the players is due to be published this year. I suppose Closer to the Sun is the final chapter and perhaps the last film I will ever be involved with. I needed to do this and I'm glad I did it. I cannot forget what had happened, the threats I have received for starting the project and for ending it. By 2007 I had to end and disconnect with all the parties involved even with the friends I've made. No one can understand a process of disconnection. It's the only way forward. It's called moving on. Burning from the Inside is perhaps too desperate for the human condition; it is the human condition.
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For the record: I was 14 (in the eighties) when I was in the music world. I have been dropped when I was 19. I have enjoyed the eighties revival but I have not released a new album since 1990. I have tried in 1997, with Loudmouth but it flopped. I have composed music for my films and played some classical parts. I'm very happy with my albums, I'm still happy to mention them, but it was a long time ago. I do other things now.
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We are in the process of reopening DiaryUnlimited.com with its own search engine. We've opted for HTML5 video and unlike some big and infamous video-sharing sites we do respect copyright. Whether it is our own work or some shared or public content, everything needs to be cleared. In its heyday (1999-2001), the Diary accumulated so much content that it is high time we place it all on view. And anything regarding V.A. (Virtual Alien/Nick Peterson) and anyone connected to yours truly will be made available. The Diary started in 1990 and we even have a skeleton of the 1990 website and all the content of the Y2KDiary.com.
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The Complete Map of the Universe is the complete presentation based on the 1992 novel, Map of the Universe.
It has been divided into four feature films: Writing on the Wall, Est (E.S.T. in the UK), In and Out of Planet Earth and With a Mouth (to your Mouth).
The films were all made in the UK but only two were released in the UK.
The Complete Map of the Universe is the story of Paul X and Mary-Jane D'Arbanville. One is a mouse and one is a rat. They often reverse their respective species. They both live together in London during the nineties throughout the entire decade.
In the final part: With a Mouse (to your Mouth) it's the story of Paul X as a mouse entering someone's mouth to become a virus with a mission to permanently damage the inside of a human body.
The Complete Map of the Universe is the ultimate guide for survival in a world where a mouse, a rat and a virus are considered the enemy within.
By the time the films were ready a large amount has been leaked on the web. It has taken two years to remove most of the clips. Only a handful of clips remain and a current litigation against Youtube is still ongoing. Writing on the Wall was not released in theatres and was released on DVD and download in the U.S. in October 2011 and reached over 3000 downloads before some sites started to pirate the film. It is well acknowledged that during the heydays of web clip postings between 2006 and 2008 the Map of the Universe has achieved a phenomenal amount of hits.
The screenplays have been made available in August 2011 and are now all out of print. The films have not been dubbed but have subtitles (and screenplays) in nine languages. We believe it is high time to take this story to a higher mainstream level and we are currently seeking the best offer to publish The Complete Map of the Universe for the first time in a complete presentation. The films are waiting to be re-released worldwide on Blu-Ray witt selected theatre presentations.
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The major drawback for one's own credibility is being forced to become "too virtual", by failing to reach "nationwide" status and the mainstream. I'm still regarded as creating artist's films. But when it comes to the Underground and Art film distribution network I'm deemed too commercial.
I have recently granted a rare interview to a journalist (all links will be provided when they become available). I wouldn't say that it went well. "I don't do interviews. I don't do the BBC; they have never asked for me so why would I ask for them now? That is the question!"
It puzzled so many people why anyone would be so prolific, constantly on the move and always releasing new projects and yet at the same time 'still not rich'. One can add to this: failed to achieve mainstream recognition. Am I failing in anyways? To paraphrase George Orwell 'still working, but failing, failing, failing to get recognized'.
Different tax men told me in recent years that ‘I must have earned millions’ by now. A lot of people did earn a great deal at my expenses but I haven’t really been worried about it until now.
We seem to live in a world where some people are making all the money and some don’t. I’m however -I have been so far- contempt with just being able to create my projects, to show them to the world and be allowed to “say” all the words that I believe matter a great deal and can make a difference. Not many people can understand this and if some members of the media can feel so threatened by this concept to the point of trying to wipe me out entirely from some websites it is their problem, not mine. If they feel that the whole thing is a war, it's their problem, not mine.
I can't ignore them, I know who they are, and I’ve dealt with viruses before; I wrote a book and a film on the subject: With a Mouse (to your Mouth).
The only way is up and forward. The only way to move on is to clear the past. When there is history behind there is always a present and a thriving future.
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The screenplay to the films Writing on the Wall and With a Mouse (to your Mouth) and Est (E.S.T. in the UK) have been made available on paperback.
It is no longer a secret: I have started work on a new film: Closer to the Sun and I'm currently casting. It is a big project and as always I will see it through and this time faster than any of the films I have ever produced or directed. There are many disagreements going on; a typical phase prior to a production. It is not certain that I will be allowed to direct this film but I'm currently pushing things my way. This project is far too big to be mishandled.
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The new trend (mine that is) is to announce any news after (and not before) I've been somewhere or released anything. A change from before; I often used to announce things way before they will happen. I always did what I set out to achieve so it didn't really matter but it seems that in the process, I have been causing a few problems with some people when a certain project had taken years to materialize.
I have just returned from a series of presentations of my films in Italy, France and Germany. I've returned to London and confused many as I had some meetings with a Scottish accent. Some people tend to forget that I'm also Scottish.
The beauty of having studied Dramatic Arts is the ability to switch accents and I do it very often. I may have stretched my limits now. If I have to be a "Virtual Alien" I cannot possibly express myself in the same way as my "receiver's end". I'm the "alien" to my interlocutor.
In "Virtual Alien", the documentary about yours truly, it did strike me to create a new language and use English subtitles but I have been forced to abandon this idea. I might still produce the ultimate "zombie" alien project one day. Stay Tune!
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There is one version of Est (the film) in a condensed version available for download in some countries. It is 'condensed' as it features an edit of the 384 hours plus that was the main Est TV show of 2002. It has been carefully studied and vetted for its explicit content by many different boards of classifications and agencies.
I firmly believe that it can still be shown on a big screen but the distributors are still pondering on the subject. Some have argued that the long intro could hypnotized people and even be dangerous. I think they are thinking too hard.
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An audio book, podcast and radio feed for the documentary-features Digital Broadcast and Burning from the Inside will be available in December. This has been unavailable since 2005.
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The screenplay to the films Writing on the Wall and With a Mouse (to your Mouth) will be available in December in limited edition on paperback.
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There are specific reasons why my films have taken longer to reach the big screen (Many have not reached this status yet). Even if all the films are different especially if we compare Speed of Light to Burning from the Inside; I have never chosen the genres. They just followed one another. There are a lot of similarities between Est and Burning from the Inside. In Burning one of the 120 plus members of an African tribe (ethnic Nation) that I have interviewed was the head of a gang who a few days before the filming had taken hostage some oil workers on an oil rig and nearly killed everyone in the process. This is as violent as some of the scenes in Est or Speed of Light. Of course Burning has inspired me to create Closer to the Sun.
I document life and life is a violent concept.
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It is a general policy not to number the postings on this site as they re-appear in DiaryUnlimted.com and various other sites with a different numbering system. We merely post here the relevant news within the month.
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All the books previously mentioned (the screenplay from my films) are no longer available. It was a first edition print run.
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Est (E.S.T. in the UK)
The powerful mind control techniques used in this TV game show may seem shocking to some but they are real. They do exist and some are even legal in the UK and the U.S.
Locking people up is nothing new and locking people in the dark was very common in the middle ages.
I can understand that the film and the TV show may have been too hot to handle for some. The therapist plays with the contestants' mind and forces them to do anything he wants. Gradually the contestants are completely controlled and overwhelmed and submit to anything without even being conscious of it.
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Writing on the Wall this dark comedy set in London in the Nineties has been filmed in 2004 and only completed this year. As the film is supposed to be washed with music from the nineties the process of sorting out the songs has generated yet another delay. Some people are trying to take over the film. Being at the beginning of the nineties revival, who is going to take over the film?
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As I move on in time, whether in the virtual or non-virtual world, I'm always puzzled by some "Media analysts" who can't read or are struggling to comprehend how the world functions. I do not mean about the state of the world today, although they don't seem to understand it either. The world has always been the same and nothing is what it seems. My puzzlement is about the likes of Youtube who keeps on lowering the ratings for those who refuses to pay or have some ghastly ads floating about. They also trigger many other sites to malfunction and it often causes confusion for media analysts in the way they compile their statistics.
As a result we do not have any official sites anymore anywhere. To counter the problem we have worked tirelessly to move our DiaryUnlimited site into a video sharing site. Unless many other sites we do respect people's privacy and copyright including our own and we do not fake the ratings. Do I really care? To a degree that some sites keep on displaying ghastly Google ads over a clip, that some of the clips are cropped even pixilated. That also stems by the speed some agencies work without controlling the result. At least "our own site" will display the genuine article.
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My films are not currently available in the UK. This is ironic since they have all been made there.
They will be re-released at some point. A friend showed me recently that he has bought a copy on DVD. After a close inspection I've noticed it is yet another pirated version. I'm touched that people are keen to see the films and want the films to be shown on a big screen. It's all to do with the right timing and going through some of the "politics" and bypassing some people who for some reasons seem to be scared of me. I have been contracted to "create" a certain amount of films and I completed them all. A large amount of clips have been made available. Not an accurate representation of the content but a taster nonetheless.
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I'm not planning on directing Closer to the Sun. I have merely written the screenplay.
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I have not been amused but one U.S. TV company and another one in England who 2 years ago were so keen to profile yours truly and my new body. No one could understand how anyone can lose 28 Kilos/62lbs within three months just by hiking. They needed tangible proofs and I needed to swear under oath that I didn't do any surgery. I told them to f.off. As more and more people can see me hiking my own marathon in the Alps or in the mountains of Delaware and Washington states (a minimum of 3 hours a day) I may be planning my own documentary on the subject. I also intend to ridicule these idiots who do not understand the power of Mother Nature. Nature tends to work in mysterious ways! Above all else: I didn’t lose all this weight for "them" but for myself. Between 2000 and 2005 I put on all this weight (the world of Motion Pictures is unforgiving) and I was extremely keen to tidy a few things up, chief among them: trimming my body weight.
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I would love to get in touch with the many people I had the privilege to work with over the years. However my process of "disconnection" in order to move on to new projects is creating a pressure that is such that I need to transform myself each time and have to live a different life. But we never know: if there is a revival...
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Est is the universal title of the film in all the languages available so far (English-American and Australian, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Swedish) but in English (UK) dots needed to be added to the title to counter a general "mispronunciation" problem. E.S.T. stands for Electric Shock Treatment.
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I'm aware that my films are now difficult to get hold of, the genuine article, not the bootleg versions or some versions seen on Ebay. The current policy of film distribution in Britain is not pretty to say the least and with the current dictatorship that we have in Britain at the moment some of my films are still censored.
I've stopped doing showcases, gigs and various presentations. All my films are currently available for download in the U.S. and in Japan.
The screenplays to most of my films are available now anywhere in the world including Britain. I had a hard time fighting Ebay and some online retailers that have been caught selling unauthorised versions, like the proof versions. Like demos we have for film and music they always tend to re-appear somewhere (and severely multiplied).
We are revamping this site. The site has been created and conceived by Tom Norwood in 2007. We have been working on establishing an "official site" for each film and each album.
I have stated in Virtual Alien the extremely ambitious feature documentary about myself, starring myself and directed by myself depicting the period of 1987-2007, that I didn't regard my albums as "concept" albums as they weren't any defining theme. I never choose any of the titles. However my films are perhaps "concept albums" as I have conceived them in a way that my music (and other music) have been combined together with the footage within a defining theme.
The actress Dolly di Rosso as Jane in the purgatory before going to Heaven in my film: Writing on the Wall.
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I have been told that all the screenplays that I have recently made available on books were rather a lot to take in, all at the same time.
It has been years since the films have actually been produced; except for The Y2K File and Closer to the Sun (I have not even started on this one). There are some people that still don't even know about the films, so now they know. I understand for the media agencies and the publisher and the distributors it may be a lot. So much so that some books have even been published with the wrong content but I believe it has been rectified now. If not, and some may still be in circulation may I ask to kindly consider the content as being an extension of my proverbial gobbledygook? At least the covers look great!
Make it what you will!
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The screenplay to the following films are out now in most retailers (Itunes Bookstore, Amazon.com (In the U.S. and Canada first then in various countries), Sony Bookstore, Barnes & Noble) Paperback and Ebook.
Speed of Light
Two brothers land on an island and discover a huge and derelict warehouse. They discover what could happen at the speed of light. It’s a tale of two stories colliding throughout an entire night. Two stories lived at the same time, but with a slightly different content. (Adult content)
In and Out of Planet Earth
Paul X has killed a man or thought he did- who made his life a misery. Unable to live with the guilt he tries to jump into a river to end his life. Inside the river, deep underwater he will live sixty minutes 'in and out of planet earth’ facing his victim and delving on the best method to kill someone. Deep inside water he encounters the same life he led before but amplified tenfold. The violence, the sex and the man he really killed.
The Y2K File (Film)
An Opera Murder Mystery Thriller
‘The Y2K File’ is the story of Knock-Knock. He has just lost his parents and his brother in a fire that had devastated the family house. Eager to move away from his frightening past he moves inside a big house in North London, a short walk through the forest. The house used to be inhabited by a family of thirteen who mysteriously disappeared.
When Knock-Knock was living in the house, a few events started to unfold; events that will terrify Knock-Knock, already traumatised by the death of his parents and his brother.
Everyday he will confide a report of the events to a website, the Y2K Diary.
The story starts at the dawn of the new millennium. (Film scheduled for 2012)
Closer to the Sun (The latest film)
Four investigators are assembled by an insurance company in New York to examine a claim for accidental death of six oil workers on an oil platform, off the cost of Nigeria.
The team has 24 hours to investigate the claim. It slowly transpires that it wasn't accidental death but that the oil workers have been taken hostage by local terrorists, a common occurrence that often goes without victims and in this case six men had died.
How to approve the claim when there are so many overwhelming evidences against it? The trouble is for a reputable international insurance company dismissing such a claim would place them at odds with the real problems in the country, place them on the spot as an unlikely human right witness and will compromise a whole system with ramifications to powerful Western governments and multinational companies. They have accidentally walked into highly dangerous grounds...
Virtual Alien on Ebook for Kindle
On paperback
Screenplay from the interview-documentary feature about the work and life of the artist Virtual Alien. 1987-2007.
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Est (E.S.T. in the UK) out for download (U.S. only for the moment) and some DVDs "V.2010" are available in small quantity in Europe.
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As I move on and progress in my work I do meet many people. Many great ones and many that I try to forget.
In films, like in music some projects are so intense that they still linger on even twenty years later, especially when all the Art that we have created keeps on popping in every now and then.
Sometimes I have a say in a new release and sometimes I do not even know that something has been re-released. It is worse when some clips of my films appear on Youtube with a different music on it. That really gets me. Uploading samples is one thing, but mish-mashing everything is not. I had a hard time approving and disapproving clips on Youtube or elsewhere. It's still on-going.
It's hard to disconnect from a whole team after having worked constantly for one year or two. There is a process of total disconnection that I need to go through. If this process didn't take place, I wouldn't be able to move on and keep on going. It's the only way to survive.
I have explained all this in: "Virtual Alien" the feature-documentary (available for download -U.S. only- and the screenplay of the film is available on paperback and E-book (Sony/Kindle/iBookstore) from the 12th of August 2011).
In the past I even had to fall-out with some people on purpose just to be able to disconnect. Sad in a way and most people don't understand. OR your progress OR you don't. It's called moving on. Some people only have one life and some people have many. I intend to have as many as possible and each and one of them will live for ever. After all, every single life I and other artists created have been scattered over the web.
All the people that I have met, greatly admired or greatly resented, every person I have ever worked with are within a file for everyone to meet and admire.
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Finally: The Complete Map of the Universe project featuring Est, In and out of planet Earth and Writing on the Wall is set to be released on BluRay (pending Hollywood's willingness) as one interactive film. The original version only included sequences of each film. It was all based around the E.s.t. TV game show and the other films where all part of the contestants' own stories.
Writing on the Wall is scheduled to be released in theatres but I have no control over this. When I do have the dates I will post them in here.
Each film will be available for download individually -some are already- . Subtitles are available in 11 languages (French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Japanese, Chinese and Korean.
Speed of Light will also finally be available in full, with the missing 42 minutes of footage added. The film has not been dubbed but subtitles are now available in 11 languages.
There are talks to re-release the full feature length version in theatres but the talks are still on-going.
Books
The Y2K File (the diary) is still available. It features a presentation of the film of the same name but where we only use the same design, name and search engine in it and not the whole content.
The film is an opera, murder, mystery and thriller. Based around the music of Bach (Toccata). Some played by yours truly and some great musicians and partially recorded in Italy last winter. The complete list of the cast and the musicians will be available in September.
The screenplay for the films: In and Out of Planet Earth and Speed of Light will be available on the 31st of August (Paperback and Ebook).
The screenplay to my brand new project Closer to the Sun will also be available on the 31st.
Google and Youtube
It's not a secret that I'm not keen on this organisation. We are slowly trying to control and re-organise the mess there is on Youtube. We can't avoid being there.
Each time we complained to Youtube, Youtube either deleted things which is often what we have asked or zeroed the ratings. Touchy, touchy! This Google! Of course you can Google the problem, it is well known.
No. I'm not bothered if Youtube still bloody leave a clip's rating to three views even though when it is embedded on other websites it shows a few hundreds, a few thousands and a few hundred thousands even.
It happens on some sites, not all of them. If you refuse to pay to get the ratings or have the bloody Google ads on top of a clip then you are on the lowest of the lowest. I'd rather be triple 0 (000). With Youtube you're damned if your in and you're damned if you're not.
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I have been in London recently for a brief amount of time. I made some comments about it in my DiaryUnlimited site. All I have to say is that I'm not ready to move back into London and I don't believe I ever will. Now that it is out of the way, I have a few announcements to make.
For what it's worth we (I and various distributors) have finally decided and agreed to re-release all the albums. This will turn up in the usual places between now and August.
In August, the soundtrack to the films: The Y2K File and With a Mouse (to your mouth) will also be released. I'm still hoping for a cinematic release of the films and I'm around New York at the moment to push things in that direction.
For all of my harsh critics and those who are still wondering why I keep on working without gaining any major hits: firstly there is more to life than chasing major hits all the time. I had a few, a long time ago and as long as I have something to say I will keep on going.
My musical career may have been over by the time I was 16 (or 17 to be more precise) I still make a living out of (from that period) despite an enormous cut by the tax man when I was 18.
Some people liked my music then and over the years and some followed me with the films. For everyone who wants to be entertained and informed I will keep on working. And above all else I do work for me; selfishly.
Some people produce holiday snaps that are uploaded on F.Book and I create my snaps every day and with the help of a few geniuses, we have created our own F. Book: DiaryUnlimited.
Some will get it. Some don't. I won't wait for some people to get it, I have to move on, continuously.
We may, may not have a Blu Ray release for all of my films, it is still being debated. Meanwhile by August all of my films will be available for download and not only in the U.S. By August all the screenplays will also be available.
For all of you who like to see "holiday snaps" from a demented and deviated alien from outer space in a galaxy where I can understand what is going on(On Earth it is rather all too confusing).
My snaps, the one called "feature films" include some brilliant actors and technicians. I really needed to emphasise this. I may not see and get in touch with all the stars I have met before or work with, but I tend to engrave them somewhere so that there will always be there: on films, on books and on music.
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"I'm a ghost. I do not exist. I have never achieved anything on earth, at least the things I have claimed to have done. I'm invisible. I do not exist".
According to some websites who decided that since I do not exist, and contrary to some evidences that some links are "genuine enough but...", I still cannot be the person that I'm claiming to be.
I'm at a deep loss as to what person I'm or I was supposed to be.
Anyway what would one expects with an artist name like mine (Virtual Alien that is).
Isn't the case that some people for wont of jealousy or competition -who would want to be jealous or compete with me? That's beyond me- tried in vain and for years to wipe me out of the internet or to bar me of the mainstream media?
Some clever dicks tried to infiltrate some search engines with the "Attention Dangerous Download" (ADD) mentioned in red.
Any tricks will do. I do not exist. I'm virtual. Anyway since I'm virtual I can easily crawl around where ever I want, whenever I want and for how long I want. I still have many things to say and do. Work to complete and create. If some people don't like it they can just ignore me.
Some people are not very bright. They leave traces of where ever they are and what ever they did. Some are even proud of what they did. When they have tried to destroy someone, they boast about it. So I know who they are and why they did it for and in some cases for what purpose.
Isn't Mahatma Gandhi who said: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you and then you win".
I'm pleased to notice that there are still some people that still see me as a threat. I thank them as it means that I'm not so bad after all.
Sometimes, one needs to be reminded.
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Est (the film of the TV series) and Speed of Light are out now for download in the U.S. and Canada.
It will be available on BluRay from September.
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Album: King of the World. (Re-mastered and Re-loaded)
The King of the World album re-mastered has been re-launched. It is now available on Amazon and Itunes. Originally released in 1992 and recorded in 1990.
Back in 2007 when the album was first released on download many people complained about the cover. The cover has been pixelated. It was actually supposed to be so. The original album was only a photograph of the face of Yours Truly (Virtual Alien) in blue. There was no artist name and no title of the album on the front.
Since it was a ‘virtual release’ (download) instead of a physical release it has been decided to pixelate the cover. So it wasn’t an accident. It was like that on purpose. Spot the difference:
Original photography by Yves Lereshe.
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Audiobook Film Album Soundtrack
In 2005 we divided and edited a soundtrack album audio book of the feature documentary The Complete map of the Universe, the documentary on the Est TV show. We edited out the long pauses of silences when the contestants were asleep (silence doesn’t really work well on an audio recording).
In 2007 we devised an album for Writing on the Wall and In and Out of Planet Earth, as the tracks were presented and distributed as a song/audio recording. It was amazing when some cable radio channels did broadcast the audio to cinemas and theatres. The Premiere of the film that has yet to be taken place! In many ways it was an Avant-Premiere, it’s first, partial –audio only- theatrical release.
An audio book is like a radio play. It’s more than just a podcast as it contains all the music and in my films, music is always omnipresent.
We distributed two documentaries as podcast only –not audiobook-, Burning from the Inside and Digital Broadcast (an interview with Paul Gambaccini) in 2004. The Podcasts as a radio show went very well.
The audio book soundtrack albums have also been used as a podcast and played/broadcast as a whole album/podcast.
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The Dance album was co-produced by David Gray of BabyFox and first released in January 2003 and just re-released.
It comprises several re-mixes from David Gray Inside Story On, Inside Story Off and The way you make me feel (Y2K Mix).
Well Red and the original version of Inside Story feature as an instrumental in their original eighties' mix.
Song from In and Out is an extended House Mix by Nixon R from 1995 in the spirit of the nineties House Music.
The Edge of Love features in its original 1990 techno mix. The cover is "Yours truly" by Tom Norwood.
Available on Amazon and Itunes. I understand many people only know me by the dance remixes and various techno productions and I have been labelled a 'techno' artist as a result. As much as I like to dance the bulk of my work is in Alt Rock, jazz and classical music.
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We have started a channel on the iBookstore from Apple.
The Y2K File book is available now.
The Debut (Anthology) compilation album is available now.
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It will be announced very shortly when my feature film Writing on the Wall set in the nineties in London and starring Mark Joseph will be released. The filming started in 2005 and it's really overdue. But being set in the nineties and bang on with the nineties revival (just started) it may be just on time.
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I'm also touched -in a way- when people get angry when they can't see my films often believing that they may not exist. Fear not!
I understand the frustration of many when I devoted the last three years re-editing my films and during this intervening time many people turned their backs on me often in a way that I truly find deplorable.
In order to move on I had to disconnect with most people. Many people stated on some sites that I was dead and some that I was a ghost or even that I never existed in the first place.
You're damned if you're omnipresent and damned when you retreat.
10 years ago when there was some revival for my albums I have been asked to tour and I didn't. I was directing films -and very glad I did it in this precise moment in time-. Back in 2007 I could have toured again and I didn't. There is nothing worse for a music company than an artist refusing to tour. Apart from some basic problems such as a) I do not sing anymore and b) I became too fat -the world of film making is very cruel- I have received some vitriolic attacks from many quarters.
I still compose music and play the piano and the guitar every day to the point that I'm ready to perform some concerts but mainly classical pieces, the music performed in my films.
Yes I have officially lost 30 kilos/66 pounds/4st 10.1lb by hiking so I'm back to the size where I was in the nineties so I would be perfectly fit to tour. I'm thin again. Like always whatever I do I won't please anyone and some people accused me of having had extensive surgery. Some agents requested a medical check. I very politely declined (F.Off).
I can understand that I may remain a bit of a mystery to many and they all wonder how I can constantly move on all the time, in spite of not having had many major hits in recent years. Well: hard work is the key. I work all the time and I'm a creative person. I create. I do not spend my time criticising or bitching around like many. What comes around, goes around, that's all I'm saying.
And the more I move on with new projects the more I realise that I was right. One book is moving well in one country then one film is finally being recognised in another. Besides I wouldn't say that I'm alone with my projects, far from it. Each film includes a myriad of extremely talented actors and crew members.
It's all a matter of time. I'm not concerned about mainstream media. I have been friends with many but when I decided to become a recluse many turned their back on me. They didn't get it. I won't waste my time trying to make them understand. Other do get it and I'm happy for this.
Many can't accept the fact that someone was once in music then switched to films. I won't tell them that I can do other things too. They will only panic!
I remember an eminent broadcaster from the BBC (a clue: he is in one of my films) told me that I have been unlucky in music. Unlucky because I started early (at 14) and my producers were not interested in me or my albums. They were only interested in some of the songs and they used them commercially to a point of 'no return'. By using them in cable-run radios for supermarkets in many countries, playing the same song four times a day, using my songs in TV commercials and heaven knows what other use. According to this broadcaster both my credibility as an artist and therefore my albums -when they were first released- have been severely compromised.
Yes and no. Who would say no to have been given the chance to release 12 albums to date -even if some were compilations- and recorded about 400 songs.
The music may not have been Beethoven but I would never deny that I was a part of it. In fact I'm very proud of it.
My news for the month of March may well seem like some Trivia, but it is sometimes necessary to emphasize a few points.
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My 1997 ill-fated album: Loudmouth is due to be released on the first of May.
At the time of releasing the album -back in the days- soon after launching the first single Be Bop the record label dropped the album and myself in the process. Not the very first time I have been dropped, I may add.
The Black and White Side is also due to be re-released for the first time since 1995 along with Devil Inside, the 1989 album.
Writing on the Wall is now scheduled to be released in January 2012 but there will be a selected release in November 2011 in selected theatres.
I understand that we have been too slow to release the film when we had the chance, too busy perhaps completing other projects or the vagaries and pains of all the paperwork involved with the production of a film. We started the project in 2004 and it is now complete and believe me I would want nothing more than having it released.
Many people have turned their back on me because of the slow-motion process and the time it took. I have no answers for how long it can take. I wish it would have been faster but I wasn't ready to show a half edited film just for the sake of being on time. Being there, done it.
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I always tend to link to the obvious sites when there are plenty of sites where my music is available. One of the sites: Play.com You can sample the "Debut" album, a compilation released in 2009.
Amazon.com War of Love the 1988 (best selling album).
CD Universe, the Virtual Alien Presents: Old Nick album on CD and Mp3
FNAC in France, the CD album.
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Most of my films are available on download anywhere in the world. With the huge amount of websites involved it is not always possible to compile a list but we are working on a page to display a list. For Blu-Ray formats we will have to wait a while longer.
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Another year has gone by...
Another year of intensive red tape but hey there is light at the end of the tunnel. All my films will be available soon. Very soon. Soon cannot be soon enough. Having said that I'm probably the most pirated director. The amount of pirated DVDs available is unbelievable. As far as a few months ago a few sites offered some of my films for download. There are nice pirates but these people selling my films are not nice. Always buy a DVD with seal of approval. My film collection will be available soon and when it will be, it will be announced in here.
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With a Mouse (to your mouth)
The film is a not a new film as such. It was due to be released in 1997. It was supposed to be my first feature film but the production company collapsed soon after its production. This has left me with a bitter taste in the mouth. It became an obsession of mine to complete this film even though I had so many to complete. Yes the film is in 3D, real 3D.
Yes it seems that everyone is raving about 3D -I'm a bit past it- it was thirteen years ago!
Yes I was still bitter about the setback but now the film will be released next year. I still want the guy responsible for this delay to swallow a copy of this film.
Yes little did I know that my next documentary feature Digital Broadcast filmed in 1999 would see the light of day in 2006 with little fanfare or acclaim. Who could have predicted that my interviews with 133 members of a Nigerian tribe for the documentary feature Burning from the Inside would haven taken five years then another two before a first release? (Production: 1999-2004 and finally released in 2007).
I could have never anticipated the BBC's refusal to even consider the film just because it was a black and white documentary. They can't show black and white apparently.
Then the thriller Speed of Light was refused by many on the grounds that my movies take too long to make and that I had burned myself with Burning from the Inside; a "political" documentary.
The film isn't political, stupid! It is historical and topical. It's different.
Speed of Light (2007) took two years to create, produce and "be" distributed for the first time.
But hey: Quick Step Beyond and Scary Monsters were made in 2001 and they could have been a feature. They were intended as such but too many people inside the co-productions wanted the films to be "shorts" in the end. That is to say I had a job to do at the time and I did it. This in turn placed on hold my already heavy schedule.
What about In and Out of Planet Earth (2008)? Est the TV show (2003) and Est (2010) the movie (just released)? It doesn't count for nothing! AND Yes I'm pleased to say that "Writing on the Wall" has been completed and will be premiered in New York in October 2011! (Filmed in 2005!).
By the way: Est (in the United States) is E.S.T. in the UK. Otherwise no one can pronounce it over there. In fact in most languages the title is now E.S.T.
The Y2K File (completed), this thriller is set to be released in 2012. This last film is a very different kind with a different production. Yet it does count. All my films count. I did them from scratch and I've taken on many roles for that purpose. So in real terms it hasn't taken that long. I wouldn't say that is has been easy but nothing is.
And the question many have asked: where and when can we see the films? The short answer is at the moment apart from the official trailers and the pirated clips floating around in space, no one can. It is not up to me to decide. I've only got one date for Writing on the Wall in 2011. All the DVD releases have been sold out and now discontinued. I'm told there have been a large amount of pirated copies around and they are easy to spot. I don't see the point of this but I do see the point of people wanted desperately to see my films. I've created my films for that purpose and they will be available soon. BluRay and download, I'm told. They are still working on the foreign versions.
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The feature film Writing on the Wall has two extra films. One is an hour long interview with the makers of the film going around the same places featured in the film. The film is in the same format as Speed of Life the documentary-making of Speed of Light. It is a spoof of the main feature with scenes from the main film. I'm not a fan of this type of formats (making of) but it does explain a few things about the film. The spoof-docu of Speed of Light was apparently so hilarious that it seems appropriate to enhance the dark aspect of Writing on the Wall in this way. The third film is an interactive presentation of all the graffiti collected for the main project. Since a handful of graffiti have been shown in the film, (the collection is over a 1000) it did seem appropriate to create a separate film.
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After a short release in selected digital theatres back in June, "Est" the film version of the 2004 TV show "Est" is now out on DVD.
The documentary-feature "The Complete Map of the Universe", the documentary about the whole project will be out in spring 2011.
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The Edge Book has been selected by Barnes and Noble:
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august.2010
With a Mouse (to your mouth)
This feature film was supposed to be my first film in 1997 but has never been released. It is now scheduled for 2012.
"With a Mouse to your mouth" is the story of two friends who spend a week, day/night crossing London inside a black cab and reading a science fiction book. In the story their imagination is so powerful that they are able to become the characters from the book and re-create new and better realities around them in 3D and in blue (In real 3D. Need 3D glasses).
The book is the story of X. X is a little germ entering someone's mouth. X's vision is somewhat blurred. Its vision is in 'distorted 3D'. The mouth is the ultimate frontier between the inside of a creature and the rest of the universe. It is the border control. There is a long process before reaching the heart of the body. X aims to re-produce itself into the heart of the body just like a little mouse. When inside the body, X the germ can see, feel and breeze exactly what the creature's body sees, feels and breathes. It's often thrown out randomly. To be a germ is the ultimate fulfillment like multiple orgasms. A germ can dictate and control a whole body and there is very little anyone can do.
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august.2010
Est FACTS...
1. It is a TV show. The contestants must be locked into a room, in the dark for a period of one month. Every day they are psychoanalyzed or audited.
2. Initially intended to be broadcast on the Sky network in the UK in 2002, but seeing the pilot show the producers panicked as it was deemed too controversial.
3. Series one, two and three became instead a webcast. It generated over thousands of downloads as part of the Y2KTV set (Before Youtube existed!).
4. By 2005 nearly all the episodes and clips ended up on Youtube. We had requested all the clips to be deleted but some remained.
5. Some of the clips that we didn't include in the TV show, the infamous footage when the contestants had a shower, went to the washroom ended up on X rated sites.
6. The initial reception in the UK was lukewarm to say the least due to Britain’s extremely 'conservative' and controlled film and media market. This is not the sixties, seventies or early eighties but the Y2K years.
"It's like breaking through an iron curtain". Fortunately, an "iron curtain" never lasts. It's a question of time" and then a new wave of filmmakers can finally break through it.
7. "Est" was first conceived in my 1995 novel "Map of the Universe". Inside the novel there was a chapter called: "In and Out of Planet Earth" and "Writing on the wall". The films are not really related and my ex-agents suggested five years ago to compile a film called "The Complete Map of the Universe" with footage of the three films. I always thought the whole project was a bit confusing. "The Complete Map of the Universe" is a documentary on the films, not a feature film as such.
8. "Est" is now a film (the film of the TV show) with actors, not real life contestants. The TV series is 720 hours long and perhaps some of the scenes are too horrendous to be shown so I'm not sure what is going to happen with this.
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august.2010
In and Out of Planet Earth
In this film, there are three scenes that have mortified the censors; three scenes that I'm extremely proud about.
The first one is the so called "explicit sex scene". I thought about including the "Making of it" in the DVD but many said that it might spoil the storyline.
The storyline makes a reference to the reproduction of the animal world underwater and the main character Paul X dealing here with his emotions recalled a scene with his girlfriend -a pure analogy-. The scene has been created in pure "cinematic" style. The actors wore a tight costume of a "fleshy" color, some effects over the footage and some "grunting" in voice-overs and an added line in Tarantino's style (F.Y.B. or F.U.B.) and the whole process has been blown out of proportion.
It was merely a "cinematic/theatrical" piece; nothing real there. I'm aware that this scene along with the one in "Speed of Light" and "Est" may not lift my reputation but out of 14 films, there are just a few scenes that "some people" uploaded on "some websites" and reached many millions of hits -apparently- (as I refused to check it out).
In Hindsight: brilliant! It means that my abilities as a filmmaker to re-create the realities of life have worked.
The second part was in the scene: "The Life of a Jellyfish". There is a jellyfish floating over the main character Paul X with a few "grunted" voices. Here again far less shocking than a documentary on the Discovery Channel.
Third and final "shocking" part was yet another analogy between some underwater creatures -like the octopus- that has the ability to suck its fingers. Enter the "Thumb sucking" scene. The character Paul X describes his girlfriend fondness of the practice -and mine until a few years ago and I say this unashamedly-. Paul X quiet rightly describes this practice "like smoking a cigarette or taking drugs. Which one do you prefer?" It is a hilarious scene (with some female grunting in the background) for people with a sense of humour of course.
Nothing explicit and nothing that deserved the 'R' or '18' certificates. It's just a story like any other story.
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july.2010
Virtual Alien
Virtual Alien is a documentary-feature about yours truly out earlier this year. It features bloopers, screeners, trailers, archives footage and rough cuts.
The content has been heavily censored by my producers.
In this interview I'm garbling on for nearly an hour (78 minutes in total) about my humble debut in the business from an early age to the year 2010. All of it presented in 'sophisticated' yet slightly pretentious BW or WB.
I rarely ever give TV interviews so 'something' needed to be done urgently.
I started working on this presentation in 2007, but got lost in all of my work.
It is heavily censored in parts as my producers removed all mentions to politic or religion. It doesn't leave much (these days). Apparently an un-censored version might be released in the future.
As a result of this editing some end cuts were quiet abrupt and very funny in parts. But it does state so on the label: "rough cuts". What can one expects?
It is a trip down memory lane. I delve a bit into my relationship with my actors and why I tend to give some more freedom. I explain why I find it very hard to work with the same actors or team and why I had often fallen out so many times with so many people in the past. It needed to be said and I said it.
DVD available at Amazon
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june.2010
The Original Edge Magazine.
The Edge is a project that was never meant to happen. It started and continued by accident. It went on for a long time even though every year we said it would be the last (and I really wanted it to be the last). Some things are just uncontrollable.
For the first time a compilation with a summary of this magazine that I created and run from 1987 - 1999 has been assembled together. I owed it to a lot of people to release this book. Now that I have done this, I can finally move on.
130 pages in color, paperback and Ebook format. PRICE: $22.40
Ebook-Kindle
Paperback
SONY Reader
Available on the Apple Tablet Bookstore along with the first two volumes of The Y2K Files. You need a Tablet to access the Bookstore link.
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june.2010
The Y2K File. Volume 2.
The second volume of that decade of diary entries is OUT NOW. 250 pages in color.
Ebook-Kindle PRICE: $64.00
Paperback PRICE: $64.00
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june.2010
Burning from the Inside
I have been asked time and time again: how did I manage to interview 120-plus members of a Nigerian tribe in the extremely volatile oil region?
Patience is the mother of all virtues. That's the short answer.
Never let yourself be intimidated by anyone included the big oil companies! I’ve initially included 'them' in my project. I did set out to interview some of the chairmen and biggest shareholders. At the beginning everything went smoothly then all of a sudden they became very agitated, obnoxious and threatening. They messed me about. The more they pushed me around and the more I carried on. I became unstoppable and they tried to stop me many times!
The project was rejected by everyone. The BBC panicked. Some executives complained stating that the BBC cannot show a documentary in black and white, some other executives were simply panic stricken; the project was too political. The Film Council in Britain was far more concerned to spend their budget on improving their own offices so we didn't even present any request for help.
In hindsight I'm extremely proud of this film. The feature only includes a summary of the 500 hours plus of interviews condensed within about 70 minutes.
I have met some extremely courageous and great people. I met the current president of Nigeria who took power recently in a peaceful coup.
I can see quiet clearly the damage the likes of BP did to their country and in light of what they did with the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and how they are trying to cover the damage by choosing their own team to assess the damage.
I know it's hard to dig oil, I've tried and we are all using energy. This doesn't mean that a gang of idiots must be allowed to ruin the planet!
The project started in 1999 and was completed in 2004.
The subject matter cannot be more different than my other projects. That is a bit of a problem for a lot of people, not least in the media world. The ability to move on to new directions and horizons seems to frighten many. Stagnation is never an option.
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