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Competition: Win London Kills - Series 1 on DVD

London Kills - Series 1 is released on DVD on July 1st

And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on DVD to give away.

Synopsis
From the creator of Suspects comes gritty, gripping new police drama London Kills. London's best detectives take on its worst crimes in this slick and thrilling mystery series which sees the world’s most exciting city as the backdrop for a string of killings – all investigated by an elite murder squad.

Hugo Speer (The Full Monty, Britannia) stars as the brooding head of department DI David Bradford, who returns to work after three months compassionate leave, after the disappearance of his wife. Tensions arise as he clashes with the ambitious DS Vivienne Cole (Sharon Small – The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Trust Me) who has been running the murder squad in his absence. The crack team includes seasoned detective DC Rob Brady (Bailey Patrick – Bodyguard, Eastenders) and big-hearted trainee TDC Billie Fitzgerald (Tori Allen-Martin – Unforgotten, Pure), whose inexperience may get her into trouble. Guest stars include: Jennie Jacques (Vikings), Glynis Barber (Night & Day), Laurie Brett (Eastenders) and Frances Tomelty (Catastrophe).

Delving into the gruesome metropolitan murders that are all part of his day job, David  must grapple with the constant pain of not knowing what has happened to his loved one. As suspicions are raised, he has to put his personal issues aside to focus on his job and learn to trust his colleagues….but can he solve the case closest to him?

Created by crime TV don Paul Marquess, known for his work on The Bill, M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team, Crime Stories and Suspects, London Kills is the perfectly polished result of the passion and expertise of a true police procedural aficionado. Shot documentary style on hand held cameras, this nail-biting drama will keep you on the edge of your seat.

London Kills will be available on DVD and digitally to download and keep from iTunes, Amazon Prime Video and Google Play.

Buy from Amazon Here (Opens in a new window)

For your chance to win just answer the question below.

COMPETITION CLOSED


Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 08-07-19
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Competition: Win Inspector Montalbano - Collection 9 on DVD

Inspector Montalbano - Collection 9 is released on DVD on July 1st

And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on DVD to give away.

Synopsis
OUR FAVOURITE Sicilian detective Inspector Montalbano returns for his final enthralling series of intrigue, drama and fine food, set against a stunning sun-drenched backdrop.

The final episodes of the hugely popular, long-running drama will be served up on digital and DVD as Inspector Montalbano Collection 9 courtesy of Acorn Media International, following its run on BBC4.

Based on Andrea Camilleri’s bestselling books, the show is a TV ratings hit and stars Luca Zingaretti as the eponymous much-loved icon of contemporary detective drama.  The series has all of the thrills of Scandi-noir, but with fine food, Sicilian culture and the warmth of the Mediterranean sun.

Salvo Montalbano is a sharp, unconventional detective who must fight to succeed within Italy's precarious justice system, alongside his trusted colleagues. The final two feature length delights find him amidst a refugee crisis, tying up some murderous loose ends and tackling a triple blast from the past.

Buy from Amazon Here (Opens in a new window)

For your chance to win just answer the question below.

COMPETITION CLOSED

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 08-07-19
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

South Africa's Port of Durban

High tide of plastic in South Africa's Port of Durban last month. Over 300 tons of plastic garbage was found in the harbor after flooding.

Operation: Dry Tank

It was a peculiar experiment, but someone had to do it...

World Record Penny Pyramid - 1,030,315 pennies Guinness World Record

This is the last video showing the construction of the New World Record Penny Pyramid according to the Guinness Book of World Records.  This beats the previous record which used 100 people and was built in Lithuania.  I constructed this by myself over the course of 3 years to the day.  In real time I spent a total of 1.8 year building it and took approximately 425 days off during the construction.  Please share this video as I think it would be amazing to see massive views on this.

Interview with Sam Ingraffia

Though best known as an actor, the star of the new YouTube series The Amazing Return of Sal & Junior (see it here)  moonlights as a very successful screenwriter. Actor Sam Ingraffia tells us about his other, little-known vocation.


Hi Sam, you’re a very busy actor – not to mention a gifted one. I wanted to ask you about the other hat you wear though, writer. When did you first begin writing?

SAM: It was the late 70s, and I had just started as an actor. I was a member of a small theater company in Los Angeles. The Artistic Director threw out a challenge to every actor. He gave us two weeks to write a short play. I wrote one in a week and turned it in. I then proceeded to forget about it, never thinking it would be chosen for a workshop production. The memory of hearing actors say my words for the first time is still etched in my brain.


And do you remember the first screenplay you wrote?  

SAM: The first screenplay I wrote was an adaptation of one of my plays. It was called “39 Goodbyes.” The play had been produced a number of times in L.A. and New York and people suggested I try turning it into a film.  I did, but the play was better than the screenplay.


What was the first screenplay to be produced?

SAM: t was called “Random Shooting in L.A.” It was about a guy who wanders around the city with a video camera randomly filming people. He captures little snippets of people’s lives --  some loving, some violent, some just plain weird.  It never made any money but killed at film festivals.


For many actors, the decision to write and/or direct their own material has to do with the fact that they consider it the only way they’ll be offered the types of roles they want to be playing. Did that factor into your choice to write?

SAM: I did think about writing roles for myself. I’ve even tried it a few times. Ironically, I think I’m better at writing for other actors than I am for myself.


I imagine having worked on such big productions as The Falcon and the Snowman and Barry that you were able to learn a lot, just from being on set.  Did you pick up any writing tips though, along the way?

SAM: Steve Zaillian, who adapted the book for the film “The Falcon and the Snowman” was on the set every day. I would sit quietly and listen to him and John Schlesinger, the director, talk about shaping the beats of a scene, character motivation, subplots, what exposition should be cut. It was like a Master class in screenplay writing.


Blue Telescope sounds intriguing. What can you tell me about it?

SAM: A father dies and his three sons return home for the funeral. All three guys, now middle-aged men, have very different takes on growing up with the old man.  Plus, it deals with the roles we all play in the family unit. No matter how old we are, we are always the “baby” of the family, or the “older brother.”

Do you find you gravitate towards writing certain types of films? 

SAM: No. I try to come up with interesting stories, then I think about what genre or medium best serves it. I’ve written historical dramas, action adventure, horror, scifi and comedies.


What have you written that you also appear in? all of them?

SAM: I wrote a play called “Starfire” that was based on my relationship with my dad. I played him as a young man. I wrote a short film called “A New Finish.” I played one of the leads. It was about veterans with PTSD, trying to stay alive as house painters. I wrote an Internet series called “Shoot To Kill.” I play a serial killer who has never been caught. And I have a new Internet series that’s doing really well on YouTube called “The Amazing Return of Sal & Junior.”  I play Sal. The premise is based a pilot I wrote for Universal Studios thirty years ago. 


Is their a script, or scripts, plural of yours that you’d love to see come to fruition?

SAM: I have a screenplay called “The Secret President” which I think is very timely.  In 1918, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson had a massive stroke. He couldn’t walk or talk and was almost blind. His young, beautiful wife Edith launched one of most amazing cover-ups in U.S. history. For almost two years, she took over the duties of the president, at a time when women were not even allowed to vote.

I also have another script called “The World’s Fastest White Man.” The picture of Tommie Smith and John Carlos standing on the medals platform at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics with leather-gloved fists raised, is one of the most iconic pictures ever taken. People forget there was a third person in the picture. Peter Norman. Norman won the silver medal and supported Smith and Carlos in their protest. He was ostracized in his home country of Australia and was never permitted to participate in another Olympics. The three men connected by that one magic photo, remained friends and comrades their entire lives.


Why should actors learn how to write, too?

SAM: You can write projects for yourself, which can help your career; think Stallone and Billy Bob Thornton. As an actor, you spend a lot of time waiting for the phone to ring. Writing can be another creative outlet. Most of the things you need to learn as a writer, you’ve already covered as an actor: What does the character want? Who or what stands in his/her way? Breaking scenes into beats. And probably the most important reason is you learn how hard it is to write a script. As the actor, you must give the script the same kind of commitment and effort that the writer put in writing it.