Category Archives: Movies

Cop on the Edge souvenir postcards

While in HMV a few weeks ago, browsing around the Blu-Ray section, I was torn between Kick Ass and Scott Pilgrim. With my love of Edgar Wright’s films I opted for Scott Pilgrim, as I hadn’t seen it, and was, in some small part, swayed by the inclusion of exclusive postcards for Scott and each of the evil exes. This small, inexpensive, addition seemed like a good idea, and I remember Metrodome doing a similar thing a few years ago with their Transformers DVDs when they included postcards of the cover illustrations.

This started me thinking. Even the tenth anniversary of the cult-classic (because that’s what the news reporter from HTV Wales called it) Cop on the Edge has been and gone, there’s always the twentieth, twenty-fifth and so on. Collectible postcards of the characters or artwork seems like a good idea… well, an idea nonetheless.

So how much can postcard printing cost? The DVD authoring was done by Eddie Keaton, so that’s all taken care off. The cover design is also done in-house (yeah, I know, it shows) so there’s really no other expense. Even the website itself is over 10 years old, so has something of a web presence already.

All that’s left is the cost of any crap that we want to throw in with it (I say crap in the most loving sense because, postcards aside, the film ain’t gonna be save by freebies).

All that remains is what to include on the postcards, and how many? Naturally there’s the iconic (or derivative, you decide) cover art itself (below). Then there’s the original flyer that was made to promote the screening, way back in September of 1998… Christ I feel old. How about character art? We still have all of the original stills somewhere… I think.

The possibilities are endless (if you consider less than ten endless).

Anyway, I’ll leave you with the trailer and the 10th Anniversary DVD cover – while I go and investigate the costs for postcard printing.

Cop on the Edge IX DVD cover tenth anniversary edition

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1950’s style public service announcement about SEO

Have you ever wondered just what ‘SEO’ actually is, but were afraid to ask? Fear not, for this video, in the style of a 1950’s public service video, will tell you just what ‘SEO’ stands for, and what it can do for you.

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Watch the SEO advice video on YouTube

The funny thing about this video, from a technical point of view, is that in order to get the video to look aged, with hairs in the gate and scratches, I had to export it from Adobe Premiere Pro (where it was edited) and import it into the rather basic Windows Movie Maker – which had loads of cool filters.

I feel cheap and dirty after doing that – but so long as you don’t tell anyone, I’ll be OK.

Lord of the Rings Blu-Ray giveaway!

One of the websites I work on, WhatDVD.Net, has given away some great DVDs and Blu-Rays over the years – but this latest competition (launched today) has what must be the best prize ever offered by the website. The latest prize on offer over at WhatDVD.Net is for all three Lord of the Rings films on Blu-Ray (released next Tuesday in the USA) as well as a bag of LOTR goodies.

Lord of the Rings prizesThe bag of preciousss goodies contains seven bookmarks, each with different characters from the three films, a LOTR scented candle, a New Zealand Jade necklace, a Return of the King pendant and a pack of LOTR playing cards.

There’s also a final mystery prize being shipped over from Warner Brothers now, and it will be added to the prize pot next week.

If all of this sounds right up your street, check out the competition and enter now.

When I met Duncan MacLeod, the Highlander

I’ve been sifting through some more images lately and I’ve come across these two photos from several years ago. One is from Collectormania in Milton Keynes and the second is from the London Sci-Fi Film and Comic Con.

At Collectormania I met Beatie Edney, who played Heather MacLeod in the 1986 film Highlander. Here is the photo of the Highlander sword I bought that day, where Heather has signed the blade for me. This was a logistical nightmare actually, as the convention in Milton Keynes was held in the shopping centre, and despite buying the sword at the convention, I wasn’t allowed to just ‘whip it out’ without having security there to oversee it.

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In fact, if I remember correctly the security guards had to remove the sword from the tube for me and I was only allowed to stand by it, without touching it, before they put it back in the tube.

adrian-paulThe second photo is from London a year or so earlier where I met Adrian Paul, who played Duncan MacLeod in the TV series Highlander. He doesn’t seem to have aged either, but then he is immortal, so I guess he wouldn’t have.

I’ve been watching through the Highlander TV series lately and it’s awoken a desire to dig out my long coat, choose one of my swords and head onto the streets for some head lopping action.

I must resist, that is really frowned upon round our way.

Ernie Hudson and me

I found some old photos today while backing up a website, and came across this one of me and Ernie Hudson from Ghostbusters.It was taken a few years ago, 2006 I think, and is from one of my trips to Milton Keynes and Collectormania. I think this is the year I also bought the Highlander Claymore sword. I’ll try and dig out a photo of that too.

Ernie was great though, such a friendly guy. Mind you, he looks happy!

Ernie Hudson

Child Support Agency hang up on me

This phonecall follows on from the one I made a video for last year, it was just a few hours later. The Child Support Agency had set up a DEO with my employer for £550 per month, far more than I should be paying, and more than enough to mean I couldn’t pay the mortgage on what was mine and my-ex wife’s home.

They had already admitted their mistake in what they described as an ‘administrative error’ moments earlier in the previous phone call, but couldn’t see how their taking £550 per month from me in any way jeopardised my home as I couldn’t afford my mortgage. I guess everyone at the CSA can afford to have amounts that large taken from them and still make their mortgage payments.

My attempt to communicate this to them fell on deaf ears, especially when they realised I was recording the call.

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