Savage Messiah: Ken Russell > Savage Messiah: Ken Russell
Music Videos by Jon Sorensen
Jon Sorensen:
Thanks very much for all that on my films and videos, Iain.
Yep. I'll be out here chipping away on the new feature length, like Gaudier-Brezka and the marathon chiselling of the marble statue in Ken's "Savage Messiah".
There is a marvellous documentary out there called "Alien On Stage" (2020). About a community theatre project mounted by some Dorset bus drivers. Someone then sponsored the production for one performance in the West End. See the film. By the end you will be cheering for them like everyone in that West End audience. Serendipitously, I have been invited to attend a Q & A with the troupe at a showing of the documentary in a few months and see the film all over again. Like Gandalf amongst better informed Hobbits I am looking forward to it and meeting them enormously. You must see the film. It reflects the creative spirit and the determined and loving teamwork that went into the original film, which itself was handmade and did yeoman work on a penny budget and you will appreciate that I am sure. It has a huge handmade heart, and as you are also a theatre man, I am sure you will like it. Enjoy!
Having said that, take care and thank you again, Iain. I'll pop up with info as and when it is appropriate, but my all means, in the upcoming lengthy productive interim, you may wish me luck.
Keep Your Sense Of Wonder, guys.
Jon
www.jonsorensencreative.com
Iain Fisher:
I do like Alien Blood, and play it on DVD every so often. Your commentary was exceptionally good and helpful for people wanting to make a first film. I also saw Alien Blood on Dutch TV with Dutch subtitles. It is on Amazon (DVD and Prime Video) with a different cover from my version.
I also liked your talk on working on Alien, so good insights. And your two related films- the maritime Alien and the romantic Alien.
When you can tell us how the new film is coming on.
Iain
Jon Sorensen:
Hi, Iain,
A few words. I am embarking on another feature film project. It has been 25 years since
"Alien Blood". That movie is still out there and the US Distributors have just renewed its' contract,
so it's like Dracula in that it simply refuses to die and walks on, astonishing for an indie film I was sure would be gone in a year.
I know you are a fan of that "Russellesque" feature. This new script will amalgamate two stories I
have wanted to make into a film for many years. I will post here occasionally on updates. It's all highly visual stuff and will be ready when it is ready. But there it is.
Thanks so much for flying the flag for Ken, (and others), and please do keep up the great work.
Stay well, Iain, and all of you Keep Your Sense Of Wonder.
As a matter of passing, the two recent music shorts of my site you will find are "Pets" and "Warp", but there is a fair ton of them in the Ken Russell music/visuals spirit.
Take care of yourselves,
Jon Sorensenwww.jonsorensencreative.com
Jon Sorensen:
Hi, Iain,
A podcast has gone up featuring a couple of hours of conversation between myself and
"The Broken Halo", a new podcast series dealing with the "creative life". The thread includes some
of my film experiences and a warm sharing exchange about my own biographical life and creativity.
It may be of interest to a few here. In any event, my very best, as usual, and keep your sense
of wonder. Keep up the great work. The link is below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xFtx6BwyI8
Jon Sorensen
www.jonsorensencreative.com
Jon Sorensen:
Hi, Iain.
ALIEN (1979) never dies. And why should it? 45 years on we are on the eve of a new incaranation called ALIEN: ROMULUS.We defintely created a classic monster. A film we are all very, very proud of, the alchemy and team in its' production was unforgettable. But, as I say in the interview, "You can only do something for the first time once". Ken never did sequels. So what of this new film? Since they constantly ran a 35mm print of our orginal during the shoot and post production referencing our lighting, sets and camera set-ups, it sounds like a flattering emulation. As Gaudier-Brezka said in Ken's "Savage Messiah" when he was caught copying old masters, "Better a good copy than a bad original". But in this case, the original is a classic which looks even now like it was shot last week. So, apart from Disney's commercial instincts, do we really need another version and why do the fans crave more "Alien". Six sequels with all the good books laying around waiting to be filmed? Perhaps G.K. Chesterton was close when he said, “Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, ‘Do it again,’ and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. Grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony.” Below is a link to a download for any who might be interested. It contains an interview I gave years ago about my time on ALIEN. Plus two short recent CGI conceits of mine from my website, both "Alien" related, "Sailors" and "Brides". You see, the original underlying themes of ALIEN were that, like Lovecraftian lore, the aliens had an intelligence and a long culture. Hence the two CGI shorts. The notion was of a creature who took the basic nature of its' host, its' parent. In the case of ALIEN it was man. And we are definitely the realkillers, not the Alien. Witness Gaza. So it was born a savage on the Nostromo Kane's son was out to pick a fight. Of course, by part two, we were onto big guns and Vietnam tropes, excellent though they were, but the culture and history of the species never materialised since. "I admire their purity", to paraphrase the android Ash in ALIEN. I'm being taken to see this ALIEN: ROMULUS by two sweet diehard fans of which there are Legion. I am sure it will have merit. I hope they had fun doing it. But we'll no doubt have yet more Facehuggers and gore galore. I guess we will never see the science or the love within this species. Speaking of SPECIES, that is the Ken connection. He turned down another sci-fi after ALTERED STATES. I asked him which film that was. He could'nt remember. So we went through a list. I said "SPECIES". "Yeah, that was it", said Ken. It would have been cool to see him work with Giger, who was himself a cultured and sensitive man, just like the ALIENS. It was a wonderful time in the industry, and speaking of which, in hand is another short CGI music by me referencing a film I did photographic and visual effects for, one of my heartfelt absolute favourites, "The Watcher In The Woods". It'll appear when it's ready. That film was also made by Disney. Not the Disney we have now, but the Disney we had back then. The real one. The one who sent you a Christmas card if you had done work for them. I worked on that 45 years ago too, including hand drawn FX animation, front projection and Bette Davies, and a wonderful English director called John Hough. A film about a dimensionally displaced girl who played ring 'o roses with her friends and ended up far from home. A wonderfully English movie too. Another anniversary. That covers it. Thought I'd drop by. Keep watching the skies and keep your sense of wonder. And you're welcome. I think the two ALIEN fans taking me along to see this new one are simply fascinated to see if I'll burst into tears. I'll try to exult the monotony.
The link to download the file is here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/zfxeeoxw39vhihadaciw0/On-Alien-2024-Jon-Sorensen.mp4?rlkey=knja62l01h0pjv6ceipbxch91&st=4janorlz&dl=0
Very Best,
Jon
www.jonsorensencreative.com
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