Photos from the making of the CFZ 'Owlman' movie, Aug 1998. With Jonathan
Downes, Richard Freeman, Maxine Pearson, Graham Inglis, and Eve, a naked witch.
The Owlman and Others
All photographs on this website
are © Nichola Goodman 1998
Directed: Ben Cusden
Produced: CFZ
Screenplay: Jon Downes
Loosely based upon the 1997 book "The Owlman and Others",
this is a ridiculous film which has very little to do with the book
on which it is supposedly based.
But, as Jon Downes says, 'I hate films which deviate wildly from
the book on which they are supposedly based - but as I wrote both the
book and the screenplay, who cares?'
If you liked the book you'll probably hate the movie and vice versa. The grooviest of you will grok both in their fullness. You HAVE been warned...
Four years after his momentous book was written Jon Downes (the author of "The Owlman and
Others") and his ladyfriend Miss Maxine (played with wit and aplomb by
Maxine Pearson), are sitting outside an Exeter pub in the throes of the
sort of lovers tiff which usually precedes the abject finale of a
relationship.........
Jon has been boring Maxine for months about his book. Despite good
sales and reviews, he has blamed it for his nervous breakdown his
divorce, and the fact that Tony Blair is an insufferable knob-end.
Maxine has had enough! She delivers an ultimatum. She insists that
the two of them go to Cornwall to see the places described in the book
so Jon can prove to himself that the whole affair was a delusion. Jon,
however is adamant! 'I don't care what you say - I'm not going
back to bloody Cornwall!'
Could there possibly have been any other result to an argument between
a beautiful blonde lady and a fat cryptozoologist? Of course they end
up going to Cornwall! As they drive through the verdant Cornish countryside,
swelling music accompanies the credits, and for a moment the gullible
viewer is fooled into thinking that he is watching a classic western
like THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE.
The illusion is almost immediately shattered when all but the most gullible
viewers realise that the immortal John Huston never made a low budget art
movie featuring a twenty year old Ford Cortina driving along the A30.
Their romantic idyll is soon to be shattered, however. There is a villain
(well in fact TWO villains) in the film!
Unbeknownst to them, they are being pursued by a camp cowboy journalist
(Richard Freeman) and his pre-op transexual Nazi sidekick (Graham Inglis)
who are intent on proving that Jon made the whole thing up!!! This is
where the movie starts to get silly. Just after the first excerpts from
the synopsis were posted on the Internet one of Jon's correspondents in
the US commented that after reading the screenplay he was sure that "Jon
had been drinking too many of those big beers again" , a claim which
no-one in the CFZ camp has even attempted to refute! Ben Cusden has (almost
alone amongst the Directors that Jon has worked with) not complained about
Jon's alcoholic input! Perhaps this is because he drinks even more than
Jon does!
It was this part of the film (which is after all, at least in part a
tribute to Jon's two favourite film directors - John Waters and Leni
Reifenstahl) that prompted one of the cast (who shall remain nameless)
to claim that the production values of this incomparable movie
"make 'Pink Flamingos' seem like 'Citizen Kane'!!"
This is a claim of which the producers are justly proud and which we
hope sincerely that we can live up to...
. .
RICHARD: "I'm standing hee-yuh outside the house of the notorious pervert and Cryptozoologist
Jon Downes. He's written this book "The Owlman and Others". Owlman, my ass; there ain't no
such thing! Well, he's not here at the moment: he's driving around Cornwall with his travelling
companion, Miss Maxine. We're going to follow them and show him up for the
shyster and sham artiste he is!!!"
This is where a Camp Icon is born!!
Maybe we should point out here, however, that Richard don't wanna be a camp icon (or so he claims). We don't think he has any choice in the matter!
We have a sneaking suspicion that this is the beginning of a mass market
in posters, T shirts and various other items of tasteless memorabilia!
If the pairing of Richard and Graham (who are, believe it nor not) along
with Jon, in real life two of Britain's most famous Cryptozoologists
does not gain them a fevered and devoted following amongst certain sections
of the community, then my name ain't Albert the Fish!
Jon and Maxine drive happily across Bodmin Moor, stopping for a photo opportunity. By the way this picture (and indeed this scene as a whole) was shot by Dozmary Pool
allegedly the spot where the 'Lady of the Lake' gave Excalibur to King Arthur. This has nothing much to do with the film
but does allow Richard's character (who, by the way is neither named nor based on anyone living
dead or undead) to make mocking remarks about King Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Tintagel and various other items of the Arthurian iconography.
During the film Richard's character is vile about practically everything else that the Cornish people hold dear!
In one scene he even mocks the epitome of Cornish haute cuisine in a sequence which will undoubtedly get him banned from every eatery between Launceston and Land's End!
He has asked the designers of this web site to point out that he actually loves Cornwall and is only acting (honest!!!).
"Ugh - what kind of half-assed Taco is this?" he minces and pouts,
whilst spitting out the half masticated remains of a Cornish Pasty.
"What do they put in this... dog food?"
Making the film was amusing on several levels, but filming this scene
in particular caused a great deal of consternation amongst the local
folk who are (one supposes) quite unused to seeing strange-looking men
stripped to the waist and clad only in a Nazi cap and armband mincing
around their local landscape, ostensibly filming an incredibly camp cowboy....
This web site ain't just a collection of stills from the movie but it also is an excuse for us to show off some of our private snap shots from the filming. Making a film, even such a ridiculous one as this is a long drawn out process and whilst we were sitting around on Bodmin Moor
between takes Jon and Richard shared an amusing moment whilst Graham and a dog called Frankie chilled out in the back of a car.
As Richard came out with another annoying bon mot about King Arthur ("King Arthur and the KNIGHTS of the round table - more like King Arthur
and the FAGS of the round table" ) we can take a chance to meet the film crew themselves. Left to Right: Jon Downes, Ben Cusden (Director), Christian (Second Unit Camera), Mark (Camera)
Nigel Wright (Sound)....
As the film progressed it became obvious that with Richard we had a nascent film icon in our midst. Despite his protestations that he is as straight as something very straight indeed, Ben
and Jon spent an inordinate length of time planning further cinematic projects in which Richard's undoubted
talent for over the top camp acting could be utilised to the full, and his reputation as one of Britain's foremost cryptozoologists be ruined for ever..
Whilst on the right we see Richard preening himself in his most disgustingly narcissistic manner on the left we see the most glorious piece of character acting
in the movie. Ben Cusden, insisting that as Alfred Hitchcock always had a cameo part in each of the movies
he directed, then he should do the same. Therefore, in a sequence directed by Jon, ben plays the part of the
notorious Lemonade Man of Ponsa-'where the fuck is that'-nooth. This is a semi-legendary character who jumps out at unwary travellers exhorting them to
buy lemonade from him for no apparent reason!
After a series of misadventures Jon and Maxine (with Toby the Dog) finally reach Mawnan Old Church where they not only deliver a piece to camera but unwitingly stumble upon the most magickal
experience of the film to date
_
Deep in the woods surrounding Mawnan Old Church they unwittingly stumble upon an arcane magical
ritual featuring Muzzlehutch the Magician (Richard Freeman in a gloriously Heterosexual role) and an unnamed skyclad witch (Eve Strange)..
For various reasons (not unconnected with the fact that the woods surrounding Mawnan Old Church are a popular tourist site during the summer months)
the magickal invocations of the Owlman himself were filmed at a secret location away from the church. Because the folk involved are REAL
magicians and because the invocation that was performed was a real one, we at the Centre for Fortean Zoology would not be particularly surprised to find that sightings of a bona fide
feathered humanoid fuigure start to happen at the location where the filmed invocation actually took place.
Ritual
magick is after all a very strange and serious thing!
Here we would like to say that although there is a definite amusing (even farcical) element to this film, the project itself, as is the book on which it is based is a very serious thing! "Doc" Shiels, our mentor, and the man
without whom the book and film (and probably even the Owlman - make of that what you will) would probably never have existed, once told us that
the best way to avoid the curse of psychic backlash was to keep a sense of humour. Making a film like this is the best way that we know of obeying his advice!
_
_
The Owlman and Others
All photographs on this website
are © Nichola Goodman 1998
Directed: Ben Cusden
Produced: CFZ
Screenplay: Jon Downes
Loosely based upon the 1997 book "The Owlman and Others",
this is a ridiculous film which has very little to do with the book
on which it is supposedly based.
But, as Jon Downes says, 'I hate films which deviate wildly from
the book on which they are supposedly based - but as I wrote both the
book and the screenplay, who cares?'
If you liked the book you'll probably hate the movie and vice versa. The grooviest of you will grok both in their fullness. You HAVE been warned...
Four years after his momentous book was written Jon Downes (the author of "The Owlman and
Others") and his ladyfriend Miss Maxine (played with wit and aplomb by
Maxine Pearson), are sitting outside an Exeter pub in the throes of the
sort of lovers tiff which usually precedes the abject finale of a
relationship.........
Jon has been boring Maxine for months about his book. Despite good
sales and reviews, he has blamed it for his nervous breakdown his
divorce, and the fact that Tony Blair is an insufferable knob-end.
Maxine has had enough! She delivers an ultimatum. She insists that
the two of them go to Cornwall to see the places described in the book
so Jon can prove to himself that the whole affair was a delusion. Jon,
however is adamant! 'I don't care what you say - I'm not going
back to bloody Cornwall!'
Could there possibly have been any other result to an argument between
a beautiful blonde lady and a fat cryptozoologist? Of course they end
up going to Cornwall! As they drive through the verdant Cornish countryside,
swelling music accompanies the credits, and for a moment the gullible
viewer is fooled into thinking that he is watching a classic western
like THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE.
The illusion is almost immediately shattered when all but the most gullible
viewers realise that the immortal John Huston never made a low budget art
movie featuring a twenty year old Ford Cortina driving along the A30.
Their romantic idyll is soon to be shattered, however. There is a villain
(well in fact TWO villains) in the film!
Unbeknownst to them, they are being pursued by a camp cowboy journalist
(Richard Freeman) and his pre-op transexual Nazi sidekick (Graham Inglis)
who are intent on proving that Jon made the whole thing up!!! This is
where the movie starts to get silly. Just after the first excerpts from
the synopsis were posted on the Internet one of Jon's correspondents in
the US commented that after reading the screenplay he was sure that "Jon
had been drinking too many of those big beers again" , a claim which
no-one in the CFZ camp has even attempted to refute! Ben Cusden has (almost
alone amongst the Directors that Jon has worked with) not complained about
Jon's alcoholic input! Perhaps this is because he drinks even more than
Jon does!
It was this part of the film (which is after all, at least in part a
tribute to Jon's two favourite film directors - John Waters and Leni
Reifenstahl) that prompted one of the cast (who shall remain nameless)
to claim that the production values of this incomparable movie
"make 'Pink Flamingos' seem like 'Citizen Kane'!!"
This is a claim of which the producers are justly proud and which we
hope sincerely that we can live up to...
. .
RICHARD: "I'm standing hee-yuh outside the house of the notorious pervert and Cryptozoologist
Jon Downes. He's written this book "The Owlman and Others". Owlman, my ass; there ain't no
such thing! Well, he's not here at the moment: he's driving around Cornwall with his travelling
companion, Miss Maxine. We're going to follow them and show him up for the
shyster and sham artiste he is!!!"
This is where a Camp Icon is born!!
Maybe we should point out here, however, that Richard don't wanna be a camp icon (or so he claims). We don't think he has any choice in the matter!
We have a sneaking suspicion that this is the beginning of a mass market
in posters, T shirts and various other items of tasteless memorabilia!
If the pairing of Richard and Graham (who are, believe it nor not) along
with Jon, in real life two of Britain's most famous Cryptozoologists
does not gain them a fevered and devoted following amongst certain sections
of the community, then my name ain't Albert the Fish!
Jon and Maxine drive happily across Bodmin Moor, stopping for a photo opportunity. By the way this picture (and indeed this scene as a whole) was shot by Dozmary Pool
allegedly the spot where the 'Lady of the Lake' gave Excalibur to King Arthur. This has nothing much to do with the film
but does allow Richard's character (who, by the way is neither named nor based on anyone living
dead or undead) to make mocking remarks about King Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Tintagel and various other items of the Arthurian iconography.
During the film Richard's character is vile about practically everything else that the Cornish people hold dear!
In one scene he even mocks the epitome of Cornish haute cuisine in a sequence which will undoubtedly get him banned from every eatery between Launceston and Land's End!
He has asked the designers of this web site to point out that he actually loves Cornwall and is only acting (honest!!!).
"Ugh - what kind of half-assed Taco is this?" he minces and pouts,
whilst spitting out the half masticated remains of a Cornish Pasty.
"What do they put in this... dog food?"
Making the film was amusing on several levels, but filming this scene
in particular caused a great deal of consternation amongst the local
folk who are (one supposes) quite unused to seeing strange-looking men
stripped to the waist and clad only in a Nazi cap and armband mincing
around their local landscape, ostensibly filming an incredibly camp cowboy....
This web site ain't just a collection of stills from the movie but it also is an excuse for us to show off some of our private snap shots from the filming. Making a film, even such a ridiculous one as this is a long drawn out process and whilst we were sitting around on Bodmin Moor
between takes Jon and Richard shared an amusing moment whilst Graham and a dog called Frankie chilled out in the back of a car.
As Richard came out with another annoying bon mot about King Arthur ("King Arthur and the KNIGHTS of the round table - more like King Arthur
and the FAGS of the round table" ) we can take a chance to meet the film crew themselves. Left to Right: Jon Downes, Ben Cusden (Director), Christian (Second Unit Camera), Mark (Camera)
Nigel Wright (Sound)....
As the film progressed it became obvious that with Richard we had a nascent film icon in our midst. Despite his protestations that he is as straight as something very straight indeed, Ben
and Jon spent an inordinate length of time planning further cinematic projects in which Richard's undoubted
talent for over the top camp acting could be utilised to the full, and his reputation as one of Britain's foremost cryptozoologists be ruined for ever..
Whilst on the right we see Richard preening himself in his most disgustingly narcissistic manner on the left we see the most glorious piece of character acting
in the movie. Ben Cusden, insisting that as Alfred Hitchcock always had a cameo part in each of the movies
he directed, then he should do the same. Therefore, in a sequence directed by Jon, ben plays the part of the
notorious Lemonade Man of Ponsa-'where the fuck is that'-nooth. This is a semi-legendary character who jumps out at unwary travellers exhorting them to
buy lemonade from him for no apparent reason!
After a series of misadventures Jon and Maxine (with Toby the Dog) finally reach Mawnan Old Church where they not only deliver a piece to camera but unwitingly stumble upon the most magickal
experience of the film to date
_
All photographs on this website
are © Nichola Goodman 1998
Directed: Ben Cusden |
| Four years after his momentous book was written Jon Downes (the author of "The Owlman and Others") and his ladyfriend Miss Maxine (played with wit and aplomb by Maxine Pearson), are sitting outside an Exeter pub in the throes of the sort of lovers tiff which usually precedes the abject finale of a relationship......... |
| Jon has been boring Maxine for months about his book. Despite good sales and reviews, he has blamed it for his nervous breakdown his divorce, and the fact that Tony Blair is an insufferable knob-end. Maxine has had enough! She delivers an ultimatum. She insists that the two of them go to Cornwall to see the places described in the book so Jon can prove to himself that the whole affair was a delusion. Jon, however is adamant! 'I don't care what you say - I'm not going back to bloody Cornwall!' |
| Could there possibly have been any other result to an argument between a beautiful blonde lady and a fat cryptozoologist? Of course they end up going to Cornwall! As they drive through the verdant Cornish countryside, swelling music accompanies the credits, and for a moment the gullible viewer is fooled into thinking that he is watching a classic western like THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE. |
| The illusion is almost immediately shattered when all but the most gullible viewers realise that the immortal John Huston never made a low budget art movie featuring a twenty year old Ford Cortina driving along the A30. |
|
Their romantic idyll is soon to be shattered, however. There is a villain
(well in fact TWO villains) in the film! Unbeknownst to them, they are being pursued by a camp cowboy journalist (Richard Freeman) and his pre-op transexual Nazi sidekick (Graham Inglis) who are intent on proving that Jon made the whole thing up!!! This is where the movie starts to get silly. Just after the first excerpts from the synopsis were posted on the Internet one of Jon's correspondents in the US commented that after reading the screenplay he was sure that "Jon had been drinking too many of those big beers again" , a claim which no-one in the CFZ camp has even attempted to refute! Ben Cusden has (almost alone amongst the Directors that Jon has worked with) not complained about Jon's alcoholic input! Perhaps this is because he drinks even more than Jon does! It was this part of the film (which is after all, at least in part a tribute to Jon's two favourite film directors - John Waters and Leni Reifenstahl) that prompted one of the cast (who shall remain nameless) to claim that the production values of this incomparable movie "make 'Pink Flamingos' seem like 'Citizen Kane'!!" This is a claim of which the producers are justly proud and which we hope sincerely that we can live up to... |
. .
|
RICHARD: "I'm standing hee-yuh outside the house of the notorious pervert and Cryptozoologist
Jon Downes. He's written this book "The Owlman and Others". Owlman, my ass; there ain't no
such thing! Well, he's not here at the moment: he's driving around Cornwall with his travelling
companion, Miss Maxine. We're going to follow them and show him up for the
shyster and sham artiste he is!!!" This is where a Camp Icon is born!! Maybe we should point out here, however, that Richard don't wanna be a camp icon (or so he claims). We don't think he has any choice in the matter! |
|
|
We have a sneaking suspicion that this is the beginning of a mass market
in posters, T shirts and various other items of tasteless memorabilia! If the pairing of Richard and Graham (who are, believe it nor not) along with Jon, in real life two of Britain's most famous Cryptozoologists does not gain them a fevered and devoted following amongst certain sections of the community, then my name ain't Albert the Fish! |
|
Jon and Maxine drive happily across Bodmin Moor, stopping for a photo opportunity. By the way this picture (and indeed this scene as a whole) was shot by Dozmary Pool
allegedly the spot where the 'Lady of the Lake' gave Excalibur to King Arthur. This has nothing much to do with the film but does allow Richard's character (who, by the way is neither named nor based on anyone living dead or undead) to make mocking remarks about King Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Tintagel and various other items of the Arthurian iconography. During the film Richard's character is vile about practically everything else that the Cornish people hold dear! In one scene he even mocks the epitome of Cornish haute cuisine in a sequence which will undoubtedly get him banned from every eatery between Launceston and Land's End! He has asked the designers of this web site to point out that he actually loves Cornwall and is only acting (honest!!!). |
|
"Ugh - what kind of half-assed Taco is this?" he minces and pouts,
whilst spitting out the half masticated remains of a Cornish Pasty. "What do they put in this... dog food?" Making the film was amusing on several levels, but filming this scene in particular caused a great deal of consternation amongst the local folk who are (one supposes) quite unused to seeing strange-looking men stripped to the waist and clad only in a Nazi cap and armband mincing around their local landscape, ostensibly filming an incredibly camp cowboy.... |
|
This web site ain't just a collection of stills from the movie but it also is an excuse for us to show off some of our private snap shots from the filming. Making a film, even such a ridiculous one as this is a long drawn out process and whilst we were sitting around on Bodmin Moor between takes Jon and Richard shared an amusing moment whilst Graham and a dog called Frankie chilled out in the back of a car. |
| As Richard came out with another annoying bon mot about King Arthur ("King Arthur and the KNIGHTS of the round table - more like King Arthur and the FAGS of the round table" ) we can take a chance to meet the film crew themselves. Left to Right: Jon Downes, Ben Cusden (Director), Christian (Second Unit Camera), Mark (Camera) Nigel Wright (Sound).... |
|
| _ |
|
For various reasons (not unconnected with the fact that the woods surrounding Mawnan Old Church are a popular tourist site during the summer months) the magickal invocations of the Owlman himself were filmed at a secret location away from the church. Because the folk involved are REAL magicians and because the invocation that was performed was a real one, we at the Centre for Fortean Zoology would not be particularly surprised to find that sightings of a bona fide feathered humanoid fuigure start to happen at the location where the filmed invocation actually took place.
Ritual magick is after all a very strange and serious thing!
Here we would like to say that although there is a definite amusing (even farcical) element to this film, the project itself, as is the book on which it is based is a very serious thing! "Doc" Shiels, our mentor, and the man without whom the book and film (and probably even the Owlman - make of that what you will) would probably never have existed, once told us that the best way to avoid the curse of psychic backlash was to keep a sense of humour. Making a film like this is the best way that we know of obeying his advice!
|
_ |
_ |
|
|
I would not like anyone to think that this was an excuse for us to print
a gratuitous picture of Eve's (admittedly lovely) buttocks. Perish the
thought! Here we should, I think, say a few words about Eve. Not the least being that EVE STRANGE is her real name and not one made up for the purposes of the movie. As her boyfriend Marco said recently - her name could not be any more perfect! |
|
Unfortunately we spent so long filming the invocation sequence within
the dark woods that by the time we got to do the group pic we hadn't
really got enough light. But here goes -
L-R Ben, Richard, Jon, Eve, Maxine, Graham (in owlman costume) The films of His Owliness himself will be posted on this site in a week or so... |
|
|
|
|
|
Whilst Jon and Maxine are at Mawnan Old Church undergoing a quasi-mystical
experience, the two villains are also travelling towards Mawnan Old Church
for their appointment with destiny! However, on the way they get lost, and whilst they are poncing about on Maenporth Beach attempting to impress the locals with their knowledge of Celtick culture they get a well-deserved come-uppance!
|
|
|
|
|
The film continues with the story of Jon and Maxine's trip around Cornwall. They encounter Morgawr the Cornish Sea Dragon (played rather convincingly by 'Cuddles' - the Two Toed Amphiuma who resides in a tank on the landing of Jon's house in Exeter). Also during their travels they meet the ghost of Max Ernst, Two 'Men in Black' (who are haunting a public lavatory in Plymouth), a paranoid zookeeper with a mutilated wallaby (Nigel Wright), two sleazy tabloid journalists (TBA) and a kick-boxing Vicar (TBA). The film reaches a ridiculous but terrifyingly bizarre 'climax' (we use that term wisely) in the grounds of Mawnan Old Church when the camp cowboy, the pre-op transexual Nazi, Jon, Maxine and the wizard all get our just deserts....
The real problem is that we have now run out of money.
D'ya want to see the rest of this film?
Is this the sort of thing that you think should be more widely available on British television?
If so, petition the commissioning editors of the TV station of your choice or indeed anyone else that you can think of. If you think that you can contribute in a more concrete fashion (with loans of cash or equipment) please e-mail us at [email protected]
OK, we are asking for charity, but this is a special case and the Arts Council won't touch a project like this with the proverbial bargepole! A movie like this doesn`t fit in with our beloved Tony's vision of "Cool Brittania". If it did, we wouldn't be wanting to make it!
This is a film that desperately needs to be made. YOU can do your bit for both art and forteana by helping us realise its potential!
Cover illustration by Gareth Davies |
|
"...An excellent book." - Lionel and Patricia Fanthorpe.
"It would be unfair of me to reveal Jon's conclusions on the entire affair; however, I found myself agreeing with his assertions and would implore anyone with even the remotest interest in reports of mystery beasts roaming the wilds of Britain to secure a copy of Jon's book at the earliest opportunity. A must buy! And if you ever hear above you the beating of strange and powerful wings, tell Jon. He may put you in his next book!"
- Nick Redfern (Author of A Covert Agenda and The FBI Files - both published by Simon and Schuster)
ANOMALIST AWARD WINNER 1997
What The Anomalist said:
"The director of Britain's Centre for Fortean Zoology has produced a
delightful, brew-soaked, surrealistic, fortean romp about the sightings
of - and shennanigans surrounding - a big, feathered "birdman" reported
in Cornwall in the mid-1970s ... I can't help but recommend this ...
illustrated volume, which also happens to deal with the Loch Ness
Moster, UFOs, witches, ghosts, faires, and a host of colorful characters
like the infamous Doc Shiels."