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Production Notes by Gareth Preston
Winner of the Documentary (White Rose Trophy) Award in the HVCC 2009 Annual Competition

Download MPEG Quality Film (8mins approx, 140mb, - Windows Media Player) View Selected Photographs Read Edward Bulwer-Lytton the official blogspace for the first author of our age Click on selected item above to view This all began with a book that my sister Gail leant me, "It Was A Dark and Stormy Night - The Best (?) from the Bulwer-Lytton Contest" It was a funny book but what stayed with me was the amusing introduction which included a potted history of the Victorian author. For a few years the idea stayed with me that here was an ideal subject for a light-hearted history item. As a writer myself, I was interested not only with what he wrote, but the sobering way in which his success had been almost erased by the passing of time. Since "That Friday the 13th Feeling" had proven a fairly popular download, as had "The First Step", there seemed to be an audience for these kind of presenter-led documentaries. Originally my vision was a modest one. A single days filming at a local location involving me, some photos and a few friends holding placards. But Westlake folk never like to do anything by half measures, so Kevin encouraged me to research and write a more adventurous script, which he then embellished with many more visual flourishes. During my research I was delighted to discover that Edward Bulwer Lytton had had an even more interesting life than I'd thought and it contained all manner of entertaining connections, including the one about Bovril. Location wise, this was an ambitious film, with two stately homes, the Black Bull pub in Maudsley, Lancashire and finally Kirkstall abbey in Leeds being used for some reshoots. Lisa's talents as a costume supervisor were also stretched, in providing a large array of Victorian clothes out of her collection, with all of us doubling up roles at least once during the movie. I think the clothes in this film look really good and help the recreations enormously. Andrew filled the part of Edward admirably and had great patience over the various days of filming. On our first location day we spent much of the day working around tourists, and a large wedding reception that was being held at the site on the same day. Undetered we choreographed some quite tricky scenes here, the most difficult for me being one where I talk about Edward and Charles Dickens, whilst Andrew and Jonathan in character were approaching from the distance. Unfortunately we had to film it six times due to me either drying up, or the pair walking into me before I had reached the end of my spiel. However the complex quotes scene, filmed last of all in the fading sunlight and expected to be a difficult sequence, went much more smoothly. This day also saw Jonathan wearing our first full attempt at realistic crepe facial hair and I thought it suited him quite well! Knebworth House, Edward's former estate, were very helpful in allowing us not only to film there for free, but showing us around the grounds and letting us in before the place officially opened. I think the film gained a lot from being able to use his real home. Through explaining what we were filming to curious visitors who would happen across us, we had an unexpected effect on sales at the souvenir shop, which almost sold out of EBL handbooks, something which had never happened before! My first piece to camera took a lot of takes but I sped up across the day. In the afternoon we began to split our resources. Whilst Kevin and I filmed the talking sequences, John and Andrew filmed various shots of EBL walking in the grounds and details of the house. One part of the grounds you won't be seeing in the finished film is their recent acquisition of life-sized dinosaur models. I climbed over the fence and stood amongst plastic wolves and a triceratops, whilst discussing his fantasy novels, but the footage wasn't up to standard and would later have to be reshot. Between the arrival of winter and my commitment to the annual pantomime followed by a variety show, work of the film halted over the next few months. However spring saw a renewed determination to finish the project. Hilda, a fellow am-dram member, was landlady of a pub and she kindly let us film there on a quiet Monday. We turned the pub's snug into Edward's study, used the beer garden for several more presenter scenes and used the Victorian-esque exterior of The Black Bull to film the Hustings and the arrest of Rosina Bulwer Lytton. Three of the bar staff generously donated their time to dressing up and playing the extras. It was a pleasant, almost relaxed day of filming but it had a sting in the tale when my car's gearbox was destroyed on the journey home, requiring a breakdown collection. Our friend Alistair Lock kindly provided his resonant voice to record extracts from EBL's most famous novels, after Kevin pointed out that for a bio of a writer, we hadn't actually given much in the way of his writing. Finally, came some reshoots at a disconcertingly snowy Kirkstall Abbey just outside of central Leeds. A veteran Westlake location recogniseable from La Dette Des Remords.Then back at Kevins an interesting experiment was undertaken to film the rain effect for the opening sequence. Kevin had an ingenious solution for this, involving a black towel, a torch and a shower. It's been an enjoyable experience making this film and stretching myself a bit more as a presenter. It's also humbling that so many people have given up their time and energy to realise my slightly eccentric notion. Many thanks to all of them! Contact Us Latest News Links Film Reviews Site Credits Profiles Green Room