On Sunday 7th, Bob and I travelled into London to record our 55th interview as a project!
We are so lucky to have had the opportunity to film with Louise Gold. We spent just over two hours with her, and asked her about her time working at ATV Studios in Borehamwood when she worked on The Muppet Show. Louise told us about Jim Henson and how he encouraged his whole crew to do well, and getting to sing with Jerry Nelson, as well as when she met Danny Kaye.
After The Muppet Show ended, Louise continued with the production team across the road to EMI Elstree Studios, where they made The Great Muppet Caper and The Dark Crystal back-to-back.
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Recent Posts by howard
One Month to Go: Elstree Centenary documentary world premiere to take place on October 4th
There are just four weeks until the world premiere of our documentary! From Borehamwood to Hollywood: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Elstree is in the last stages of editing, though we still have a couple more interviews to film - including a special interview tomorrow with British Muppeteer Louise Gold!
The film tells the story of 100 years of film and television production in Elstree and Borehamwood. Covering the founding of Neptune Studios, talkies and Hitchcock at Elstree Studios, the backlot of MGM-British studios, Lew Grade and ATV, the loss of British and Dominion's studio, Roger Moore's exploits in The Saint, the LucasFilm era at Elstree, Danziger's studios, the demolition of MGM, the Gate and part of Elstree Studios and the current studios and their exciting future prospects.
You can book tickets now from www.thearktheatre.co.uk - there are screenings at 15:00 and 20:00, and tickets are FREE!
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... 35th Anniversary Crew reunion of The Shining at Elstree Studios
THE ELSTREE PROJECT REUNITES THE SHINING CREW TO CELEBRATE 35 YEARS OF KUBRICK’S HORROR CLASSIC
“Come play with us. Forever… and ever… and ever…”
When the Grady Twins said those words at Elstree Studios 35 years ago, they really meant it. And to prove it, they are returning - by invitation of The Elstree Project - on 23 May 2015 to celebrate the original release of The Shining.
Supported by the Kubrick family, Warner Brothers and Elstree Studios, “Forever and Ever: 35 Years of The Shining” will bring back many of the original crew and cast of the film to the very studio where the film was made.
Already confirmed guests are Stanley Kubrick’s wife Christiane, and:
Assistant director Brian W Cook
Camera assistant Doug Milsome
Steadicam inventor and operator Garrett Brown
Assistant editor Gordon Stainforth
Executive producer Jan Harlan
"Lloyd, the barman" Joe Turkel
Location researcher Katharina Kubrick
Camera operator Kelvin Pike
“The Grady Twins” Lisa and Louise Burns
Camera technician Mick Mason
Steadicam operator Ray Andrew
Post-production sound editor Ray Merrin
Scenic artist...
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The Elstree Project to present their work to the BECTU History Project
Tomorrow morning Bob Redman, Howard Berry and University of Hertfordshire student George Nicholls are attending a meeting of the BECTU History Project. BECTU (the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union) runs the largest oral history project in the world related to film and television production and post-production, with over 650 interviews recorded since the History Project began.
The trio will be talking about the recent interview recordings conducted by The Elstree Project, including our trip to California in December last year, the ongoing centenary celebrations, and the forthcoming documentary. They also hope to share information about the way in which the interviews are conducted and the recent collaboration with the Google Cultural Institute.
After the meeting, Howard and George are to visit the BFI to meet and film an interview with Senior Curator of Silent Film, Bryony Dixon. Bryony has researched the Neptune Film company, which opened the first studio in Borehamwood in 1914....
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The Elstree Project interviews film star Simon Pegg at Elstree Studios
Yesterday we visited Elstree Studios to record an interview with actor Simon Pegg - star of the Star Trek and Mission: Impossible franchises.
We had a great time talking about the filming of The World's End - the final film in the unofficial "Cornetto trilogy" - which was made locally in Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City, and used Elstree Studios for the studio based filming. Three pub interiors were recreated on the stages at Elstree, including the titular pub at the climax of the film.
Simon also worked on a new film, still yet to be released, called Man Up at the studios. A recurring theme for Simon appears to be the filming of scenes set in toilets at Elstree - he's filmed three so far! We joked that he should convince JJ Abrams to film a Death Star toilet scene at Elstree with Simon as the Stormtrooper attendant - after all, it wouldn't be a "true" Star Wars film if it didn't have at least...
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