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27th FEBUARY 2006
SMALL GODS
A REMINDER...
BBC RADIO 4 WILL BE BROADCASTING ITS ADAPTATION OF SMALL GODS
AT 11.00 - 11.30PM ON 28th FEBRUARY, 7th, 14TH AND
21st MARCH.
IT HAS BEEN DRAMATISED BY ROBIN BROOKS, DIRECTED BY
GORDON HOUSE AND PRODUCED BY CLAIRE GROVE.
15th FEBUARY 2006
TERRIFIC TREAT WITH TERRY PRATCHETT
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Fourteen-year-old Euan Macrae from Tain,
Ross-shire, who lives with Ewing's Sarcoma, had
a fantastic day to remember last week (Wednesday
8th February) when his literary wish
to meet celebrated best selling author Terry
Pratchett was granted by Make-A-Wish Foundation
UK, the charity that grants wishes to children
and young people aged 3 to 17 living with
life-threatening illnesses. Having read all 44
of Terry Pratchett's fantasy fiction books, Euan
is certainly a huge fan of the author and he was
very excited to meet his hero during a special
trip to London.
An excited Euan was accompanied to London by his
parents, Karen and David Macrae. Make-A-Wish
arranged for the family to stay at the Langham
Hotel, and it was from there that they and Terry
Pratchett, with his PA, Rob Wilkins, travelled
by limo onto the Soho Hotel to attend a press
conference. Euan, who wasn't the least bit
nervous, immediately began asking Terry
questions about his books and instantly seemed
to connect with his favourite writer.
Sky One and RHI Entertainment are to produce 'Hogfather',
one of Terry Pratchett's best-sellers, starring
David Jason and scheduled for transmission next
Christmas. Euan and his parents attended the
press conference where a full audience were
treated to a presentation from the producer,
director and Sky One's drama commissioner. The
room was then open to the media for questions
about casting and location and Euan certainly
joined in. During refreshments, several of the
media at the press conference asked Euan
questions about his extraordinary knowledge of
Terry Pratchett's books, evidently fascinated at
the intelligence of this very bright and
likeable young man.
After the press conference Euan and his parents
were whisked off again in the limo, accompanied
by Terry; his PA, Rob; agent, Colin Smythe; the
producer, Rod Brown and director, Vadim Jean;
who were all exceedingly helpful, to an
exclusive visit to The Mob Film Company studios
at Bow. During the limo journey Euan and Terry
chatted non-stop like old friends. Terry was
clearly impressed by Euan, especially when on
several occasions Euan questioned various
scenarios and even suggested different endings
for some of his books!
When the party arrived at the studios, Euan
became totally absorbed in everything on show,
studying in detail the various drawings and
scaled models of the castle that will be
featured in the televised production of 'Hogfather'.
As a token of his admiration, Euan presented
Terry with a bottle of whiskey distilled locally
in Scotland. To Euan's astonishment, Terry then
invited Euan to be his guest at the Discworld
Convention to be held in Hinckley in August. For
the first time that day, Euan was speechless!
During lunch Euan unsurprisingly managed to
recover his conversational ability and couldn't
stop talking to Terry and asking questions, so
powerful was his delight to be in the presence
of his favourite writer. Before the goodbyes
between Terry and Euan, there was one more
surprise as Terry presented Euan with a big bag
of Discworld goodies, contributed to by various
friends and companies.
'Our trip to London has been fabulous,' says
Karen Macrae. 'It has been entirely stress free
and meeting Terry Pratchett, who is so
approachable, has been unbelievable for Euan.'
Beaming from his delightful day out, Euan
couldn't have agreed more, saying, 'Terry is
great, he's really very witty!'
'It was an absolute pleasure to meet such a
remarkable young man as Euan,' says Terry
Pratchett. 'We had a very enjoyable day together
and I wish him all the very best for the
future.'
Make-A-Wish Foundation UK is the leading UK wish
granting charity with one simple aim - to turn
the wishes of children and young people aged 3
to 17 living with life-threatening illnesses
into reality. With the help of hundreds of
volunteers, corporate, celebrity and individual
sponsors around the country, Make-A-Wish has
granted nearly 4,000 wishes since it began in 1986
and is currently granting as many as 10 wishes a
week. Originally founded in America, Make-A-Wish
Foundation is now established in 32 countries on
five continents.
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8th FEBUARY 2006
SKY ONE - HOGFATHER - PRESS BRIEFING
TERRY, EUAN MACRAE & A WHITE LIMO |
ELAINE PYKE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, SKY ONE)
& ROD BROWN (PRODUCER, THE MOB FILM CO.) |
TERRY, EUAN MACRAE
& VADIM JEAN (DIRECTOR, THE MOB FILM CO.) |
EUAN MACRAE, TERRY
& A QUARTER-SCALE MODEL OF HEX |
PRESS RELEASE
Sky One and RHI Entertainment to bring Terry
Pratchett's HOGFATHER to the screen.
- Terry Pratchett's best-seller to be a 2 x 120"
film
- David Jason to play role of Albert
- World's first live action / CGI Discworld film
- The Mob Film Company commence filming in
Romania
Sky One and RHI Entertainment are delighted to
announce the commission of
Terry Pratchett's worldwide best-selling fantasy
fiction novel, Hogfather. The project
marks the first ever live action / CGI film of
Discworld and its characters, and the
2 x 120" HD film airs on Sky One in Christmas
2006. RHI Entertainment have secured
the international distribution rights.
Terry Pratchett has sold over 45m books
worldwide and is the UK's second most
popular author based on book sales, selling 2.5m
a year (3% of the total book trade).
The British author's Discworld books are
translated into 35 languages and he has won
numerous prestigious literacy awards, was named
an Officer of the British Empire for services to
literature and commands a huge fan base across
the globe.
David Jason (Only Fools and Horses, A
Touch of Frost) has been confirmed for the
key role of Albert in the film and further high
quality casting will be announced over the next
few months.
David Jason said: "I am thrilled to be taking
part in Hogfather - I am a huge fan of
Terry Pratchett's books and to play the part of
Albert is going to be great fun."~
Elaine Pyke, Sky One's Drama Commissioner said:
"Having been in development for nearly a year I
am thrilled to announce this two part commission
with RHI Entertainment for the first live action
adaptation of a Discworld book. Terry Pratchett
is one of the most successful authors of our
time and his fantasy fiction will strike a chord
with Sky One viewers. With the award winning Mob
Film Company producing the series and the Moving
Picture Company producing the computer generated
effects, Hogfather is sure to serve up a
visual feast this Christmas."
Joel Denton, President and Distribution for RHI
Entertainment, said "We are delighted to be
working with Sky and Mob to bring this fantastic
Terry Pratchett novel to a global television
audience. We hope to continue to build our
presence in the UK by producing more large event
mini-series that utilizes UK talent and
bestselling novels."
Hogfather is adapted for the screen and
directed by Vadim Jean {Leon the Pig Farmer}
and produced by Rod Brown {Dream Team, Goal}
and Ian Sharples {The Virgin of Liverpool}
for the Mob Film Company. Elaine Pyke {Dream
Team, Hex} executive produces for Sky One
and Robert Haimi Sr. {DynotopiaI} is the
executive producer for RHI Entertainment.
Hogfather is set to transmit on Sky One
at Christmas 2006. |
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