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Martin Freeman is one of Britain's best-loved actors. After being
cast in bit parts and cameos - such as The Bill (his first onscreen
role) and the beat-boxing Ricky C in Ali G Indahouse - he made his
big break as Tim Canterbury in The Office. Freeman was later cast,
among other roles, as the mundane character of Arthur Dent in the
sci-fi movie adaption of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and,
labelled an 'everyday' bloke by journalists, began to run the risk
of being stereotyped. However, in 2010 he completely turned his
career around when he took on the role of Dr John Watson in the
incredibly successful Sherlock. His biggest role followed as he
portrayed Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit trilogy and, in recent years,
Freeman has shown a dark edge to his thespian skills by portraying
Richard III in the West End and Lester Nygaard in the critically
acclaimed US drama series Fargo. An intensely private man, Freeman
is in a long-term relationship with the actress Amanda Abbington,
whom he met on the set of the 2000 Channel 4 TV movie Men Only and
who played his on-screen partner in Sherlock. The Unexpected
Adventures of Martin Freeman explores the rise to fame of this
unassuming actor, how he has successfully managed to avoid the
pitfalls of stardom, and how he has become one of the greatest
actors of his generation. It is a must-read for any fan.
J.J. Abrams is one of the most successful director-writer-producers
working in Hollywood, and now that he is being offered the chance
to visit a galaxy far, far away to direct the long-awaited Star
Wars sequel, his reputation is set to shoot ever higher. Much like
his hero Steven Spielberg, such has been Abrams' success that he
has himself become something of a brand, especially since his
popular revitalisation of Star Trek as producer of the 2009
blockbuster, as well as its 2013 sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness.
However, in the early nineties Abrams began his career writing
relatively average movie scripts, such as Regarding Henry and
Forever Young, before moving into the world of TV with the
college-based drama Felicity. It wasn't until the spy series Alias
that his career truly launched. Since the early 2000s, Abrams has
dominated genre-TV with the success of cult shows such as Lost and
Fringe. At the same time, he found time for the big screen,
directing Mission: Impossible III and his personal homage to
Spielberg, Super 8 as well as producing the innovative monster
movie Cloverfield. Then, not content with distinction in these two
fields, 2013 saw the release of his first novel S. with Doug Dorst.
While Abrams sceptics note that not everything he has been involved
with has worked - after a number of his TV shows have been
cancelled and some of his films have received mixed reviews -
there's no question that Abrams is one of Hollywood's most powerful
people. Set to dominate the world of SF for years to come, this is
the first biography of the cult legend.
Iron Maiden first appeared at the Reading Rock Festival in 1980
when Paul Di'Anno was fronting the band and Dennis Stratton was on
guitar. They appeared second on the bill to UFO on the second
night. Undoubtedly for Maiden's Steve Harris there was nothing but
respect for the headliners with UFO's Pete Way being one of
Harris's biggest bass guitar influences. Also on the bill that day
were two future Iron Maiden members - Bruce Dickinson, then the
lead singer with Samson, and guitarist Janick Gers of White Spirit,
who were brought in as a replacement band. By 1982 when Maiden
returned to Reading it was naturally as the headlining act on the
Saturday evening. The band had gone through significant changes to
the line-up, most notably with Bruce Dickinson now fronting them,
which coincided with their rise in popularity. Incredibly it would
be another twenty-three years before Maiden returned to Reading, by
which time they were in their third decade and had become the
undisputed giants of metal. Their longevity also stood out as most
of the other major acts that performed over the three days had only
appeared on the scene over the previous few years and none could
boast a back catalogue quite like Maiden's. With a large collection
of photos by Alan Perry and memorabilia from the gigs plus
narrative from Iron Maiden biographer Neil Daniels, this book is a
wonderful celebration of Maiden's unforgettable appearances at this
British institution.
Bang Your Head - Heavy Metal Shots is another jam-packed collection
of metal reviews for die-hard head-bangers from the author of the
acclaimed Reinventing Metal - The True Story Of Pantera And The
Tragically Short Life Of Dimebag Darrell. In his latest bumper
sized collection, seasoned metal writer Neil Daniels has packed
together literally dozens of album reviews that date back many
years. Daniels covers the full breadth of the genre from the
legendary Judas Priest to Metallica and Megadeth via Anthrax, Iron
Maiden and Motorhead. The book also features reviews of albums by
Destruction, Krokus, Fight, Diamond Head, Tygers Of Pan Tang,
Saxon, Tokyo Blade, Riot, Satan, Sepultura, Type O Negative,
Wolfsbane, Exciter, Kreator, Iced Earth as well as Rob Halford,
Glenn Tipton, Bruce Dickinson, Ross The Boss, Lemmy, "Fast" Eddie
Clarke and Rob Zombie, amongst lots of other artists in the crazy
world of heavy metal. It is a treasure trove of reviews and a noisy
celebration of the loudest and heaviest music in the world. Bang
Your Head - Heavy Metal Shots is a 5x8 282 page paperback and
eBook.
Get Your Rock On - Melodic Rock Shots is another juicy collection
of AOR and melodic rock reviews for die-hard rockers from the
author of the acclaimed Don't Stop Believin' - The Untold Story Of
Journey. In his latest bumper sized collection, seasoned rock
writer Neil Daniels has packed together literally dozens of album
reviews that date back many years. Daniels covers the full breadth
of the genre from the legendary Whitesnake to Europe, Aerosmith,
KISS and Journey via LA Guns, April Wine, Lillian Axe, MSG, Frank
Marino, Meat Loaf and Queen plus Thin Lizzy, Telsa and Jim
Steinman, amongst lots of other artists in the glorious pomp filled
world of AOR and melodic rock. It is a treasure trove of reviews
and a grand celebration of rock 'n' roll. Get Your Rock On is a 5x8
312 page paperback and eBook.
In his latest collection of articles and reviews acclaimed rock
author Neil Daniels turns his attention to the world of genre
films, TV and books. In A Dark Room encompasses Daniels' reviews of
Hard Case Crime pulp novels and modern genre films, chiefly,
thriller, action and fantasy. Also featured are lengthy articles on
Alan Moore film adaptions, superheroes on the big and small screen,
and contemplations on horror and western cinema. Daniels' Unlocked
Box cult TV pieces, which were originally published in Fireworks:
The Melodic Rock Magazine, are also included in this collection.
The book is rounded off with a series of interesting interviews
with acclaimed genre writers, authors and journalists such as David
Langford, Roz Kaveney, David Bishop and Kim Newman, amongst others.
In A Dark Room is a handy collection of writings for fans of genre
films, TV and books.
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