Category: Matthew Cooper Director

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When the Earth Gives up the Dead (2022) – Principle Photography has WRAPPED

When the Earth Gives up the Dead (2022) is a wrap – the live action sequences at least are now in the bag – this, the third film in my Lovecraft Trilogy (which includes ‘Markham’ and ‘At the Mountains of Madness’) is now moving into a heavy post production phase that will include loads of exciting SFX sequences as well as some knock-out old school Stop Motion animation provided by the Warehouse Transmedia Wrecking Crew.

Below are a few behind the scenes shots from our last day of shooting.

Behind the scenes on ‘When The Earth Gives Up The Dead’ Directed by Matthew Cooper

Keeping checking back for more exciting updates.  

Matthew Cooper has been a script writer for hire and UK script consultant for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award-winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

His directorial debut, the rubber reality horror thriller ‘Markham’ was released in 2020, his second feature film as director ‘At The Mountains Of Madness’ hit the screen in 2021. You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here.

You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb.

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When the Earth Gives up the Dead (2022) – preview images drop

Hey hey, as regular readers will know I’m busy as a bee at the moment shooting When the Earth Gives up the Dead (2022) which is my third film as a director and the final part of our low budget Lovecraft trilogy, which I started filming all the way back in 2019.

This, the final film of the three is going to be a bit of a surprise to some with much more action, and even a touch more humour than ‘Markham’ and ‘At The Mountains of Madness’.

This film, had the biggest budget of three films we’ve made, and the longest shooting schedule. Remember you can still purchase ‘Markham’ or ‘At the Mountains of Madness’ on DVD click here.

The shoot continues into the spring – and all being well When the Earth Gives up the Dead (2022) will be out sometime in the late summer of 2022.

For now, here’s a few images from the film – which stars Tony Coughlan and Ashe Russell.

Keep checking back for more info…

Matthew Cooper has been a script writer for hire and UK script consultant for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award-winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

His directorial debut, the rubber reality horror thriller ‘Markham’ was released in 2020, his second feature film as director ‘At The Mountains Of Madness’ hit the screen in 2021. You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here.

You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb.

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Shooting now on When The Earth Gives Up The Dead…

When The Earth Gives Up The Dead (2022) the latest feature film from Matthew Cooper Director is currently shooting.

The film will be the third in a low budget horror trilogy based on the work of H.P. Lovecraft.

As you can see from the photos we’re having a BLOODY good time making this one.

As a director Matthew Cooper likes to run a efficient, creative and fun set, and these days we keep an eye on our carbon footprint when shooting too, and look to minimise pollution and waste too.

The film is due for release summer 2022 – keep checking back for more info…

Matthew Cooper has been a scriptwriter for hire and UK script consultant for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award-winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

Matthew is also a director of feature films including the rubber reality horror thriller ‘Markham’ which was released in 2020. Matthew’s second feature film as director ‘At The Mountains Of Madness’ was released in July 2021.

You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here and find his broadcast credits on the IMDb here.

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Dark Eyes of London put their focus on Matthew Cooper director

David Dent is a horror and fantasy films critic who has set himself an incredible task of cataloguing every British fantasy film from 2020 onwards across on his blog Dark Eyes of London.

While doing this, David came across my feature debut as a director Markham (2020), which he was enthusiastic about.  He then followed this up with some very kind words about my second film At the Mountains of Madness (2021).

David has been so supportive that when he launched his Dark Eyes of London fanzine in print, he feature both films in the first issue, and myself and the team are really honoured to feature in the fanzine – because apart from anything, the magazine is a brilliant read.   

 
With the world wide web appearing many moons ago printed fanzines kind of died a death – but it’s so nice to actually have a printed copy of something (and I say this as a digital first person).


I remember buying horror fanzines like Deep Red back in the 80s and this magazine is along those lines.


If you want to buy a copy its £3 and you’ll have to track down the author on Twitter – David Dent – Dark Eyes of London – Twitter handle (@darkeyesofldn)


Also in the mag are directors Louisa Warren (Curse of the Scarecrow) , Tom Lee Rutter (The Pocket Film of Superstitions) and Charlie Steeds (Death Ranch).


I guarantee you’ll end up buying some DVDs or streaming some films you’ve never heard of – which is kind of the point.

You can buy Markham on VOD here. You can also buy At the Mountains of Madness on VOD here.

If you want to purchase either film on DVD click here.

Matthew Cooper has been a script writer for hire and UK script consultant for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award-winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

His directorial debut, the rubber reality horror thriller ‘Markham’ was released in 2020, his second feature film as director ‘At The Mountains Of Madness’ hit the screen in 2021. You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here.

You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb.

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PHASE IV (1974)

My feature debt as a Director confounded a few viewers–  when Markham was released in 2020, it wound up on a few torrent sites quite quickly- one person watching the film illegally gave it 5 stars out of 5 and left a message on the torrent board which read – ‘I’ve never seen another fucking film like it.’   Well, maybe that guy (or gal) might want to watch PHASE IV (1974)

Phase IV is a film directed by Saul Bass.  It’s a small contained sci-fi about ants taking over the world.  But this isn’t ‘Them’  (1954) – don’t expect to see stop motion creatures crunching on military hardware. Instead Phase IV is a visually stunning, cramped and claustrophobic film, that will make viewers uneasy and entertained in equal measure.

There’s not much of a plot to mention, and some of it won’t make much sense – but it will be compulsive viewing.

Saul Bass is a bit of a legend in the film world. He  was a graphic designer by trade, and somehow ended up designing the title sequences for many classic films – from Martin Scorsese’ Casino right back to The Seven Year Itch. Sometimes the title sequences of the films he worked on were better, more interesting and more creative than the films themselves.

So, Saul had a cult following and a reputation for being visually exacting and super creative, but Saul only ever directed one feature film, so PHASE IV is they only fully realised film we have from him, and it’s a trip – and hints at what a talent he could have been given further commissions.

But like my debut film Markham – some reviewers at the time had never seen a fucking film like it! And that kind of put a stop to Saul’s career as a director right there...

Over the 47 years since the film was made, its built up a big cult following. The trailer is below, and I’d recommend you see it, as soon as you can.

Matthew Cooper has been a scriptwriter for hire and UK script consultant for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award-winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

Matthew is also a director of feature films including the rubber reality horror thriller ‘Markham’ which was released in 2020. Matthew’s second feature film as director ‘At The Mountains Of Madness’ was released in July 2021.

You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here and find his broadcast credits on the IMDb here.

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Welcome to Wakeywood -Backstage at an XR/VR/Unreal Engine event Production Park in Pontefract

Its official!  The Pontefract / Wakefield area in Yorkshire is the new Hollywood – I’m not making this up!

I spent a couple of days last week at the Backstage Academy on the rapidly growing Production Park in Pontefract, which is home to the  some fabulous students, some super engineers, some amazing sound stages and the about to be world famous XPLOR Innovation Centre. Which is a £6m+ Backstage Academy project, partially funded by the European Regional Development Fund, and based on Production Park. 

What do these guys do?  Well, they make the unreal possible – they make reality virtual, and  they lead the way in XR and VR production in the UK.

Everybody has seen how Disney has used game Software ‘Unreal Engine’ to create the world of ‘The Mandolorian‘ – with everything shot on sound stages that are basically huge TVs, the walls, the floor and the roof of the stage, all reflecting a reality that can be manipulated with the touch of a button.

Lighting can be controlled within this virtual reality, and cameras specially designed to work with the software can create a real sense of movement, actual spatial reality, and a photo realistic representation within the studio itself – so the actors, can see and feel the universe in which they’re performing (making this software so much better than old school greenscreen or chroma key for performers).  These VR soundstages are changing production, and they’re changing where production takes place.

The UK has always had great film and TV technicians – but up at Wakefield at the Production Park – they have great film and TV technicians AS WELL as engineers well versed in the build and manufacture of these VR stages. They’ve also got students trained especially to run these stages (which often need a couple of dedicated servers and a crew of at least four or five highly trained people to get the most from the stage.) These students are doing degree level learning ON THESE STAGES…

So Wakefield is becoming a VR/XR film production hub – because the expertise is here in Yorkshire. But there are other reasons why this new tech is becoming so popular.

The environment is on everyone’s mind, and rightly so. Film producers and production companies are beginning to get asked about ‘Carbon Footprint’ and the days of huge convoys of production trucks (or 747s flying cast and crew across the globe) are beginning to be frowned on.

It won’t be long until films need to balance their carbon footprint. And that’s where XR/VR production comes into its own…

In the next few years (or even RIGHT NOW) it will be possible to shoot ANY type of film /TV show or series ENTIRELY on a sound stage in Wakefield. The same way that Disney Shot The Mandolorian – but the Mando is fantasy – XR/VR productions can make REALITY look real too – and when producers get wise to that – the WHOLE show can be on the same XR stage – no need to jetset, no need for convoys of crew to each location – the whole play can be put on right here (in Wakefield).

I recently moved from Leeds to Wakefield – partly because I’m keen to get involved in one of the biggest shifts this industry has ever seen.

Welcome to Wakeywood. You read it here first….

Matthew Cooper has been a scriptwriter for hire and UK script consultant for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award-winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

His directorial debut, the rubber reality horror thriller ‘Markham’ was released in 2020, his second feature film as director ‘At The Mountains Of Madness’ hit the screen in 2021. You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here.

You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb.

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Tip of the hat to Phil – the genius behind Mad God

After the two low budget horror films Markham and At The Mountains Of Madness one of my upcoming projects requires a lot of old school stop motion effects and miniature work.  I’m looking forward to getting my hands dirty one-frame at a time – but any sort of stop motion work is a huge undertaking.

One of the last great practitioners of stop motion animation is Phil Tippett – Phil was the AT-AT man on Empire Strikes Back as well as the genius behind Robocop and Starship Troppers amazing special effects.

But almost in secret and in his spare time between Hollywood projects Phil has been working away on his own feature length stop-mo epic.  Mad God has been 30 YEARS! That’s right -30YEARS- in the making, but from the trailer below it looks like it will have been more than worth the wait.

I just hope that my project using these effects doesn’t take as long to finish.

Matthew Cooper has been a scriptwriter for hire and UK script consultant for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award-winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

His directorial debut, the rubber reality horror thriller ‘Markham’ was released in 2020, his second feature film as director ‘At The Mountains Of Madness’ hit the screen in 2021. You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here.

You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb.

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At The Mountains of Madness (2021) – Horror Feature film – Buy on DVD or VOD

‘At the Mountains of Madness’ is one of horror author H.P. Lovecraft’s most famous tales of terror. It was said to be one of the great un-filmable novels.  Well, not anymore…

In 2021 scriptwriter and director Matthew Cooper, released  his take on the tale of terror and madness.

Finally, somebody had managed to film ‘At The Mountains of Madness’

Watch ‘At The Mountains of Madness’ (2021)

You can watch the film now on VOD below or buy the DVD on the director’s website.

At The Mountains of Madness (2021) from Matthew Cooper on Vimeo.

Matthew Cooper has been a scriptwriter for hire and UK script consultant for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award-winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

His directorial debut, the rubber reality horror thriller ‘Markham’ was released in 2020, his second feature film as director ‘At The Mountains Of Madness’ will be released in 2021. You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here.

You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb.

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Pre-order ‘At The Mountains of Madness’ (2021) RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!

When super talented Hollywood big shot, Guillermo del Toro put together the proposal to film his long cherished ‘dream project’ – an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s ‘At The Mountains of Madness’ – the budget was over $100 million dollars.   With the kind of budget, you’re nearly talking serious money.

Unfortunately for Guillermo, the studio bean counters thought 100 mill was way too rich for their blood, and his project remains unmade.

When me and my team decided to film an adaptation of ‘At The Mountains of Madness’ our budget was below £2,000.  That’s probably not enough to cover the biscuit bill for a Hollywood production, but, myself and a select few dedicated actors and technicians completed our version of Lovecraft’s’ story in Feb this year (it was even shot during lockdown 2).

Pre-Order At The Mountains of Madness

You can now pre-order the low budget horror feature ‘At The Mountains of Madness‘ on Vimeo.   It’s out for all to see on 28 July.

The DVD will be available soon for fans of physical media.

You can pre-order on Vimeo below:

Watch At The Mountains of Madness (2021) Online | Vimeo On Demand on Vimeo

Matthew Cooper has been a scriptwriter for hire and UK script consultant for over 20 years. His short film script ‘Family Style’ won the first ever Lloyds Bank Channel Four Script Writing Challenge in the UK in 1993. The film was commissioned by Channel Four and starred a then unknown actor called Ewan McGregor.

Matthew went onto write award-winning episodes of Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Eastenders (where he wrote the episode where ‘Alfie’ told ‘Kat’ he loved her for the first time). Matthew has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a scriptwriter.

In 2020, Matthews’s first film as a director, the low budget rubber reality horror film ‘Markham’ was released. The innovative independent production was nearly two years in the making, shot partially on Super 8mm film, and was almost entirely improvised by the actors.

You can find out more about Matthew’s work on his website and follow him on Twitter and Instagram too.

https://www.instagram.com/matcoop23/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1247639/?ref_=tt_ov_dr

http://www.matcoop.co.uk/

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At The Mountains of Madness (2021)- trailer drop

Directed by Matthew Cooper – ‘At the Mountains of Madness’ will be released in July – here’s the first trailer drop.