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Topic Summary

Posted by: Jon Sorensen
« on: May 27, 2025, 07:28:01 PM »

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
Posted by: Iain Fisher
« on: May 24, 2025, 08:34:49 PM »

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
Posted by: Jon Sorensen
« on: April 02, 2025, 07:58:24 PM »

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 Sorensen

Posted by: Jon Sorensen
« on: December 05, 2024, 01:44:55 PM »

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
Posted by: Jon Sorensen
« on: August 15, 2024, 10:16:38 PM »

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
Posted by: Jon Sorensen
« on: May 03, 2024, 07:34:28 PM »

Hi, Iain,
This photo of myself, Ken and Lisi Russell surfaced in my files.

Fun times. Thought you guys might like it. It was a mask day.

I'm on the road again and will check in later in the year when I resurface.

Take care of yourselves. Keep Your Sense Of Wonder.

My Very Best

Jon

www.jonsorensencreative.com
Posted by: Iain Fisher
« on: February 06, 2024, 05:44:34 PM »

Hi Jon,

Thanks for all these.  I have watched a few of the videos, all good stuff, music and stunning imagery.  I liked the Edinburgh reference, I always though of Edinburgh as a city of various levels.

Clouds of Glory is better than my copy.  I was at the BFI filming (Melvyn Bragg was there).  Good seeing it on a large screen and an even better copy but still still with some damaged film.  The  BFI said their copy was very fragile, but is the best copy still around.

Iain
Posted by: Jon Sorensen
« on: January 03, 2024, 11:16:00 PM »

There is now a link here for anyone interested to download a file I have done of Ken's wonderful Lake Poet films, "Clouds Of Glory". My pleasure. Both 50 minute films, "William and Dorothy" and "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" are on here. Enjoy.

The link is here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/zs2k1fnctpl0z4jovazw0/Jon-Sorensen-Clouds-Of-Glory.zip?rlkey=lw8gabqe0qouhx8w4rbmulh6v&dl=0

That covers it. Have a great year, guys.

Jon Sorensen
www.jonsorensencreative.com
Posted by: Jon Sorensen
« on: December 19, 2023, 07:51:52 PM »

Yep, just to reassure you, Iain, it was me who posted the rattle below. Me and the internet. I think I accessed your site pressing the wrong buttons. Pretty par for the course. So, no, it's not Donald Trump under a pseudonym. Take care, guys.
Jon.
Posted by: Sorensen
« on: December 19, 2023, 06:41:59 PM »

Hi, Iain, A brief visit to wish you and all here the very best for the New Year. Progressing on all my projects. In the spirit of Ken, new music films on my site below. Things are going to vastly change on the planet and I feel we are in the throes of Robert Fuest's wonderful 1973 film "The Final Programme". In some ways, this is not a bad thing. Bob was a visionary and so was Ken. We need more iconoclasts, otherwise film production will die from a glut of Marvel superheroes and cretinous commercials. Ken loathed commercials and said they were shaping the world in their own image, and he said that this image was a rotting death's-head. New blood will come out of CGI and related technologies bringing new ideas and a whole new movement of production with them. Ken and Bob would have approved and probably joined in. The television, movie and commercial models have been out of date for 25 years. I am excited about the future and watching all the wonderful work to come. Having said a mouthful, I wish you all the very best and leave a big hug and a wee smile. Keep up the great work, Iain. I aim to put those two "Clouds Of Glory" films of Ken's up on my site in the New Year and will let you guys know when it's done. It's a beautiful planet. Keep Your Sense Of Wonder! Take care of yourselves.

Jon Sorensen
www.jonsorensencreative.com
Posted by: Iain Fisher
« on: June 01, 2023, 01:44:36 AM »

The book sounds great, and can't wait.  Keep us posted, and podcasts welcome.
Peter Cushing's dressing room is a good place to get inspiration, from all the Hammer films to Star Wars.
For those who don't know Jon directed a film Alien Blood which is certainly Ken influenced, and the DVD has some good extras.
Posted by: Jon Sorensen
« on: April 28, 2023, 07:56:41 PM »

Hi, Iain. The bio book has grown to be a much bigger project and is delayed by about a year. I certainly will be covering "Alien Blood". In the interim period some bio/travel podcasts may emerge as I move around and I will possibly point you to them on here, for anyone who may be interested. The book I am only going to be doing once, so I may as well get it right. There's a lot of material. More than I could have predicted. Also, I recently watched again Ken's two "Clouds Of Glory" films on Wordsworth and Coleridge, on a DVD given me by Ken himself. Took me back to seeing them first on my loaned tiny black and white TV set wrapped in my sleeping bag in Peter Cushing's old dressing room at the old Bray Film Studios where I camped out for my first four months in 1978 whilst working on "Alien" (1979). I really ought to put them up on YouTube or even on my own website so that people can see them again. They still make me marvel. Just wonderful and still vivid the effects they had on me as we built spaceships and aliens so that "in space no-one could hear you scream". Do take care of yourselves. I send my very best and a wee smile. Keep your sense of wonder!
Posted by: Iain Fisher
« on: September 08, 2022, 01:23:10 AM »

Do you cover Alien Blood- I hope so !!!
Posted by: Jon Sorensen
« on: July 08, 2022, 03:25:33 PM »

Hi, Iain,
Hope you are all well. Am bringing out a bio book on 21 June 2023. Reminiscent of Derek Jarman's "Dancin Ledge" in feel, it will range across the part Ken played in my life, also working with John Boorman, Ridley Scott, Jim Henson, my experiences in film to include my own projects. My travels, and my life in supernature and the paranormal, which has followed me since my somewhat mystical Scottish childhood. Called "Imagine", I do hope this may be of interest, and I send you all my very best for now and a wee smile. Do take care of yourselves. In the spirit of Ken, keep your sense of wonder!
Posted by: Jon Sorensen
« on: April 04, 2021, 11:28:21 AM »

Thank you very much indeed, Iain.

I am away from today.

Again, if you are a fan of the original Alien (1979), which Ken was, the aforementioned podcast interview will be available in late April I am told, on the Perfect Organism site, and I-Tunes and all such.

https://www.perfectorganism.com/[/i]

All my very best, I send good thoughts and a wee smile.  :D

Jon Sorensen

www.jonsorensencreative.com