AUDIO CD: BIG FINISH: HOLMES AND THE RIPPER COMING APRIL

Hot on the heels of their previous Sherlock Holmes audio releases (David Stuart Davies' one-man plays Sherlock Holmes - The Last Act and Sherlock Holmes - The Death and Life), Big Finish is rolling out a full-cast adaptation of Brian Clemens' play Holmes and the Ripper. The cast features Nicholas Briggs (Dr. Who voice of the Daleks) as Sherlock Holmes and Richard Earl as Dr. John H. Watson, alongside India Fisher (Katherine Mead), Lex Shrapnel (Netley),  Samuel Clemens (The Stranger), Matt Addis (Sir William Gull), Ian Brooker (Assistant Commissioner Anderson), Beth Chalmers (Mrs Hudson), David Peart (Lord Salisbury), and John Banks (Saunders). For details on the cast click here.

Synopsis:

 
The grisly serial killings of prostitutes and vulnerable women in Victorian Whitechapel, dubbed by the popular press as the work of ‘Jack the Ripper’ are the talk of London, and from deep within the smog-ridden slums, yet another piercing shriek is heard.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr John H. Watson are drawn into one of the darkest plots ever to shake the foundations of England. There are freemasons, conspiracies and plots at the highest level of the establishment.

But for Holmes, there is a uniquely personal element to this new and terrifying case…

This 2-disc CD set (or download), will be available April, 2010. For further details visit the Big Finish Sherlock Holmes website. Be sure to check out the audio trailer!

AWARDS: SHERLOCK HOLMES ON THE RONDO HATTON CLASSIC HORROR AWARDS BALLOT

The Eighth Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards are in full swing and surprise, surprise Sherlock Holmes, in a variety of forms (Film, DVD, Comic Book), has landed on the ballot.Voting is open to everyone, so go along to the Rondo Awards website and cast a vote for Sherlock Holmes, along with a slew of other great horror nominees today!

For Best Movie of 2009:
- SHERLOCK HOLMES. The Guy Ritchie directed feature film with Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as Watson.

For Best DVD TV Collection:
- BBC SHERLOCK HOLMES. Peter Cushing stars as Sherlock Holmes alongside Nigel Stock as Watson in the North American DVD release of the 5 remaining BBC episodes of the 1968 television series.

For Best Horror Comic Book:
- VICTORIAN UNDEAD. Written by Ian Edginton with art by David Fabbri, this Wildstorm series pits Holmes and Watson against a legion of undead zombies.

COMIC: WILDSTORM'S VICTORIAN UNDEAD #3 RELEASED JANUARY 27, 2010

The third issue of Wildstorm's VICTORIAN UNDEAD comic book mini-series pitting Sherlock Holmes against a zombie menace in Victorian London hit comic shops earlier this week. In this latest issue Mycroft Holmes, after rescuing his brother and Dr. Watson from an underground zombie attack in issue 2, explains some of the suppressed background to the newly awakened zombie menace and before the issue is through we find Holme, Watson and Mrs. Hudson facing a new outbreak on the very doorstep of 221B Baker Street!

Simply put, this series is turning out to be a fascinating and well-conceived read and is fast becoming my all-time favourite original incarnation of Sherlock Holmes in the comic book medium. Fun story by Ian Edginton and great artwork by Davide Fabbri! Highly Recommended!

TRAILER: THE ASYLUM'S SHERLOCK HOLMES MOVIE TRAILER

Coming to DVD on January 26, 2010 is The Asylum's straight to video film SHERLOCK HOLMES. The film stars Gareth David-Lloyd (Torchwood's Ianto) as Watson, Dominic Keating as Spring Heeled Jack and Ben Syder as Sherlock Holmes. For more on SHERLOCK HOLMES visit The Asylum website. To order the DVD through our Amazon USA store click here.

DVD: NEW CANADIAN INDIE SHERLOCK HOLMES FILM ANNOUNCED

Press Release received Saturday, January 16, 2010 (Posted entirely as received without editorial comment):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The game's afoot! - A New Sherlock Holmes film is in production in Kingston.

While post-holiday audiences are still flocking to the cinema to take-in Hollywood's new Sherlock Holmes movie, something quite exciting is afoot much closer to home.

Kingston, Ontario will be standing-in for Victorian London over the next few months, as the world of consulting detective Sherlock Holmes is brought to life for a new film project, produced with the kind permission of the Conan Doyle Estate.

Several years ago, Kingston-based actor Anthony D.P. Mann shot an amateur short-film version of the Holmes mystery "The Hound of the Baskervilles" in town, which has been seen around the world. He admits that the previous production was incredibly flawed "for several reasons, including mistakes made by a first-time film-maker, and my lack of resemblance to the part!" (Mann was significantly overweight at the time, and not in very good health).

Fast-forward several years later, and now Anthony's getting a chance to bring his beloved character (which he has previously played on Montreal radio and stage) back to life on the screen in an exciting and original mystery entitled "Sherlock Holmes and the Shadow Watchers". Having honed his acting and film-making talents in the interim - and taken 100 pounds off in the process - Anthony is confident that this new production will be met with great interest when it is released on DVD and digital download in Summer  2010, thanks to a revived interest in the Sherlock Holmes adventures in the wake of the new Hollywood film starring Robert Downey Jr, and the fact that this film is being made with the permission of Conan Doyle's representatives.

Casting is now completed, and filming commences for a three-month block the first week of February.  The film's official website is now "live" (www.sherlockholmesadventures.ca), and will feature regular video updates and other assorted goodies as the film nears completion. There are already photographs, a video, and detailed information about the movie to be found.

Interest in this production has already been very encouraging (for instance, some sponsorship has been provided by Peterson Pipes of Dublin) and we hope that both local, foreign, and Sherlockian media will assist us in making an "event" out of this unique project. Anthony would love to chat with you about the film, and the remarkable road it has taken to get here - conquering serious health issues, negotiating with the Conan Doyle's estate, and his continuing pursuit of a dream. We can be reached for inquiries at:

Email: info@sherlockholmesadventures.ca
Websites: www.sherlockholmesadventures.ca / www.anthonydpmann.com

BOOK: NEW EDITION OF BENDING THE WILLOW IN THE WORKS!

Fans of Jeremy Brett and the Granada Sherlock Holmes series who have been struggling to find a reasonably priced copy of David Stuart Davies' excellent study BENDING THE WILLOW on the secondary book market can breathe a sigh of relief. The fine folks at Calabash Press (Christopher and Barbara Roden) have just announced that a new edition is in the works.

You can reserve a copy, or ask for further details by emailing bendingthewillow@gmail.com or join the Facebook page by clicking here.

Copy info for the previous 2002 edition:

"Jeremy Brett's portrayal of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective is widely recognised as the best yet seen.

Before his untimely death in 1995, Brett had made the part his own, all the time battling against the manic depression which had plagued him for many years. Bending the Willow examines how this brilliant actor channelled the demons of his debilitating illness into his iridescent portrayal of Sherlock Holmes.

In this fascinating and perceptive study, David Stuart Davies draws on the many conversations he had with Jeremy Brett and key people involved with the Granada Television series and the stage play The Secret of Sherlock Holmes. The result is the first detailed assessment of all of Jeremy Brett's performances as Sherlock Holmes."

 It's a great book and belongs in the collection of every Jeremy Brett or Granada Sherlock Holmes fan.

AUDIO CD: SHERLOCK HOLMES MOVIE SOUNDTRACK RELEASED

If you enjoyed Hans Zimmer's brilliant score for Guy Ritchie's SHERLOCK HOLMES film you'll be pleased to find that the original soundtrack has now been released to CD and is also available in a variety of MP3 downloads.

To order the soundtrack CD via Amazon USA click here.

Track List:

1. Discombobulate

2. Is It Poison, Nanny

3. I Never Woke Up In Handcuffs Before

4. My Mind Rebels At Stagnation

5. Data, Data, Data

6. He's Killed The Dog Again

7. Marital Sabotage

8. Not In Blood, But In Bond

9. Ah, Purification

10. Panic, Sheer Bloody Panic

11. Psychological Recovery.....6 Months

12. Catatonic

PRESS: FORGET THE PURISTS, CALGARY PUBLISHER KEEPS HOLMES EVOLVING

Back to Baker Street

Forget the purists, Calgary publisher keeps Sherlock Holmes evolving

 

December 21, 2009 

By Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald 

Photograph by: Christina Ryan, Calgary Herald

 

Charles Prepolec did not want to add to the perception that Sherlock Holmes fans, or Sherlockians as they call themselves, are rigid and overly protective of their territory when it comes to interpretations of the famous detective.

But the Calgarian admits he has found it necessary to enforce at least one rule when gathering short stories for collections that mix Arthur Conan Doyle's famous Baker Street investigator with horror scenarios: Do not bring a certain serial killer into the mix.

"No Jack the Ripper stories," says Prepolec, one of the editors of Gaslight Grotesque: Nightmare Tales of Sherlock Holmes (Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, 336 pages,$16.95) "We see him in short stories so often, and novels. No Ripper stories."

After all, having Holmes face the historical slasher isn't exactly a new idea. With an encyclopedic knowledge of all-things Sherlockian, Prepolec and co-editor J.R. Campbell can rhyme off the more notable attempts to bring the two Victorian icons together. The 1979 film, Murder by Decree with Christopher Plummer and 1965's A Study in Terror with John Neville were among the high-profile trips to that particular well.

So if you want to get your story into one of the collections, you will need to find Mr. Holmes a more original opponent.

"There are some things you have to avoid," says Campbell, who also contributed two stories to the book. "Your stories still have to be exciting. There's a lot of pastiche that tends to be more style over storytelling. You have to avoid that. There's a lot of stories that bring in a historical person. Which is fine . . . if they have a place."

With the Christmas Day release of Sherlock Holmes, a high-octane blockbuster featuring smirking Yank Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role, it could be argued that this latest release of short stories is perfectly timed to cash in on what could be a full-blown resurgence.

But Prepolec and Campbell are hardly bandwagon jumpers. Gaslight Grotesque is the fourth book that has been put together featuring creepy Holmes tales and the second to be published by Calgary-based genre kings Edge Publishing. They are working on a fifth. Both are members of Calgary's Singular Society of the Baker Street Dozen, a group that has been getting together in one form or another since 1987 to discuss the constant evolution of Doyle's character in the pop-culture consciousness.

And both have fairly high standards when it comes to what they'll accept as additions to the Holmes legend. The 13 tales come from a wide variety of authors who hail from Canada, the U.K., the U.S. and Australia. The book has gotten some high-profile shout-outs from Canuck sci-fi king Robert J. Sawyer and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.... (click to read the full article at the Calgary Herald)

 

MOVIE TIE-IN: ROBERT DOWNEY JR VISITS HIS WAX EFFIGY

ROBERT DOWNEY JR MEETS HIS DOUBLE AS MADAME TUSSAUDS LONDON INTRODUCES HIS NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES FIGURE

London, 16^th December 2009 – Robert Downey Jr came face to face with himself when his new Madame Tussauds wax figure paid him a “visit” at Claridges yesterday.  The Hollywood star is portrayed as legendary detective Sherlock Holmes from the new Warner Bros film, Sherlock Holmes, which premiered on Monday.   

The figure depicts Downey Jr in the strikingly modern spirit of the film, dressed in a replica of one of the movie costumes, with penetrating stare and tousled hair.  The figure will star at the world famous attraction in a set inspired by the film – complete with some very contemporary interactive twists for guests to enjoy.

For more on Madame Tussaud's London click here.

AUDIO: AUDIOFILE MAGAZINE LISTENERS' GUIDE TO SHERLOCK HOLMES

AudioFile magazine has put together some interesting material on various audio programmes, largely of the audiobook variety i.e. one person readings,  featuring Sherlock Holmes. The site currently offers some behind the scenes audio interviews  with readers David Timson, Simon Prebble, Ralph Cosham and dramatist Yuri Rasovsky. AudioFile magazine also currently offers a free download of three stories  - Silver Blaze, The Adventure of the Stock-Broker's Clerk, and The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans - courtesy of Naxos AudioBooks. 

To check out the AudioFile Magazine Listeners' Guide visit AudioFile Magazine's site here.

Illustration by Hemesh Alles copyright Naxos AudioBooks