Dreamscape – Toyah Willcox Fansite

Exclusive interview with Simon Cox, director of Kaleidoscope Man

You’ve just returned from the cinema and what an experience: the music, the action, the story, the special effects and those edge-of-your-seat moments! If you’re an independent filmmaker or film fan you might dream one day of making such a film. So you’ve decided to make to make a feature film, not only that, but fund it independently, gather a wonderful team and five hundred supporters from around the world. Simon Cox, director of sci-fi feature film Kaleidoscope Man, has done just that. I was intrigued to find out more , so I caught up with him.

JT: What was the moment you decided to embark on making a sci-fi feature film ?

SC: I’ve wanted to make an epic sci-fi movie since I first saw the original Star Wars when I was 13. I came up with the initial idea for Kaleidoscope Man back in 1999 after I’d finished my first feature Written in Blood (1998). I had no idea it would take me nearly 20 years to make!

JT: How did you go about getting the team together to make K – Man?

SC: Having worked in TV and film over the years, a lot of the people I’ve brought in were people I’d met along the way. I also found a few local people who have since joined the team. Our cameraman, Gordon Hickie, shot my first feature film (Written in Blood) and he now shoots Holby City, Casualty and The Inspector Lyndley Mysteries.

I found the cast via acting agencies apart from Toyah Willcox who I met at a film meeting a few years ago.

• Continue reading the interview at D&C Film. Browse Dreamscape’s Kaleidoscope Man news archive. (Photo © kaleidoscopeman.com)

It’s the 4th of July so we had to do something cool for US Independence Day. So, of course, Stuart Mulrain sat down with audiomeister Dirk Maggs to remember Independence Day UK. Caution: contains envy-inducing photos of Dirk sitting in fighter planes…

In 1996, Independence Day became the smash hit blockbuster of the summer, spawning the usual array of tie-in TV specials, toys, books, magazines and games. Perhaps the most interesting tie-in though is the BBC Radio audio movie Independence Day UK, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on Sunday 4th August 1996 and depicted the events of the alien invasion from the view point of the UK.

The audio movie starred Radio 1 DJ’s Nicky Campbell & Mark Goodier and astronomer Sir Patrick Moore as themselves, along with a cast that included Colin Baker, Toyah Willcox, Simon Treves, Peter Serafinowicz and Toby Longworth as RAF Pilots and William Hootkins as Orson Welles.

• Continue reading at Garbage-File.

Dreamscape’s Toyah news for April, May and June 2016 has now been archived. Click below to browse the past – Now close to 16.5 years of retro Toyah news, updates and info. Bonkers!!

• Fife Free Press: Toyah was the cover star of FFP’s “The Weekend” at the end of May – This accompanied the article: Rewind and Pause… at the Eighties!

• The Weekend: Toying With Us: Punk Princess is looking forward to rewinding to the ’80s – See a larger version of this cover here…

• Hound: Browse more on set and behind the scenes, photos from Hound, the new film Toyah is currently shooting, here…

• The Fine Times Recorder: Toyah gets up close & personal: Dorchester Corn Exchange welcomes Toyah Willcox for an evening of acoustic music, up close and personal on Friday 8th July – Continue reading…

• Dorchester Arts: What’s On: Household name, pop icon, TV presenter, and stage/screen actress (Calamity Jane, Cabaret, Peter Pan, Jubilee, Quadophenia) Toyah comes to Dorchester with her Acoustic, Up Close & Personal show – Continue reading…

• Grassington Festival 2016: Toyah onstage yesterday at the Last Night Party in Yorkshire – See the photo here…

• Under The Bridge: Great photo of Toyah with Nicole Rebelro, at the Under The Bridge Acoustic, Up Close & Personal date last month – See the photo here…

Great photo of Toyah and Gary Shail on the set of Hound: “Toyah Willcox has started filming historic drama HOUND. Corsets, pin curls and poetry!”. (Photo courtesy of DAA Management)

Sure, there’s a movie sequel out now called Independence Day: Resurgence. Of course, it’s missing a lot of weird over-the-top charm that made the first movie fun. Thankfully, there’s a better option out there.

Independence Day UK is an hour-long radio play that aired on BBC Radio 1 in 1996, about a month after the original movie premiered in the US. It was meant as a way to promote the film in the UK, and combined the events of Independence Day with Orson Welles’ The War of Worlds. It’s very weird. (All the involved names are doubtless much more familiar to the UK than to anyone else. I apologize in advance for being incurably American)

Independence Day UK has actual BBC broadcasters playing themselves. Well, themselves as they would be if there was a giant alien invasion. So the first half of the play is “UFO Watch,” with actual British presenters Nicky Campbell and Mark Goodier. Oh, and the astronomer Patrick Moore, who had the very strange task of trying to introduce anything remotely scientific into an Independence Day property.

• Continue reading at io9. Further info on Independence Day UK at toyahwillcox.com.

Toyah is interviewed in today’s print edition of ‘The Sunday Post’ – 10 Toughies For Toyah is included in their “In10 Magazine” – We put some hard (and some easy) questions to an 80s icon…

Quadrophenia: Sky Select HD: Monday 4th July: 0.10am
Quadrophenia: Sky Select HD: Saturday 9th July: 2.30am
Quadrophenia: Sky Select HD: Thursday 14th July: 2.25am
The Who wrote and produced this energetic story of a young man disillusioned with his life in 1960s London. Phil Daniels excels as the alienated anti-hero Jimmy Cooper. Director: Franc Roddam. Starring: Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Toyah Willcox, Philip Davis, Mark Wingett, Sting, and Ray Winstone. (Sky Select HD is on Sky Channel 312)

Tomorrow night Toyah, and Marc Almond, play the Last Night Party at the Grassington Festival 2016 bringing the 15-day event to a sensational, music-filled, close. They will appear at the Festival in the Field Marquee. Click below for further info and ticket booking link.

Our Last Night Party will end Grassington 2016 off with pop and a fizz as internationally acclaimed icon Marc Almond headlines – Almond has sold over 30 million records Worldwide with a solo career which sprang from his success with Soft Cell.

The legendary Toyah is supporting Marc Almond. From punk princess to high priestess of TV, Toyah Willcox is a uniquely gifted performer. Charismatic, outspoken and impossible to categorise, she is one of Britain’s iconic household names – an award‐winning rock legend as well as a much‐loved actress and music composer.

• Browse all of Dreamscape’s Grassington Festival 2016 news. Visit the festival website.