Discworld Monthly - Extra Issue 267 May 2019 - A week of Clickies, Stuff and Talks
↑≡1. Editorial
Wow, what a week!
We started the week on a massive high with the Europeon Premiere of Troll Bridge on a beautiful, balmy bank holiday, just down the road from Discworld Monthly headquarters in the South Wales town of Llanelli. (We had a huge amount of fun listening to people try to pronounce Llanelli) .
Tuesday and Wednesday found us in London for the Worldwide premiere of the new Good Omens TV series. Trips to A. Z. Fell's Book Shop in Soho, The Garden of Eden at Waterloo Station, the SouthBank centre to see the fans attending the Neil Gaiman talk and a trip on the London Eye had us exhaustedly heading back to Swansea on the train very late on Wednesday night.
We returned to Llanelli on Thursday, via a weird diversion to Caerphilly Castle to see the dragons, for the Carmarthen Bay Film Festival Awards Ceremony where Troll Bridge was nominated for best short film.
We sadly ended the week on Friday by dropping off our various friends and guests at Cardiff Airport and Train Station. The rest of the weekend passed in a bit of a blur.
It was an incredible week, just one I wouldn't want to repeat too often. Some of us are not as young as we used to be. You can read all about our adventures in more detail in this extra issue.
We'll be back at the end of the month with a normal issue and promise to include a proper review of the full series of Good Omens.
If you have something you'd like to chat with other fans about, why not send us a readers' letter, to info@discworldmonthly.co.uk
Jason
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Jason Rincewind Anthony-Rowlands (Editor and Wizzard) info@discworldmonthly.co.uk
Rachel Anthony-Rowlands (Doesn't like holding snakes, Sings like a Nun) rachel@discworldmonthly.co.uk
Richard Massey (Skyping Failure)
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↑≡2. Sunday And Monday - Troll Bridge European Premiere
By Rachel Anthony-Rowlands
The Troll Bridge European Premiere happened on Monday 27th May 2019.
It attracted approximately 350 fans from all over the country and was also attended by Daniel Knight, Don Bridges, Christian Bloch and Anna Huber from Snowgum Films.
On the Sunday night, about 35 of us including the Snowgum Films team rocked up for dinner in the Hungry Horse opposite the Ffwrness Theatre and whilst they were warned how mad Discworld Fans are, we shocked them all in how much we eat, drink and have a huge amount of fun. I want to thank Vicky Lear for her kind words and gifts of Awards to Daniel, Christian, Don and ourselves. Whilst we never expect it, it is always wonderful to have our work appreciated.
I was lucky enough to be the person who rallied the crowd who came out with us that night and also I was unlucky?!?! enough to host the Premiere and the Q&A the next day.
From my perspective, from the moment we knew the European Premiere was going to happen on our doorstep, I wanted to show SnowGum Film just how much their film is loved by the Discworld fandom and I think you all helped us did just that.
Monday morning, Jason, Daniel and myself headed down to the theatre to discover lots of fans already drinking coffee in the theatre's cafe. After a quick tour of the theatre, we looked outside to see a huge amount of Discworld characters arriving. The sun shone brightly on the bright colours of the characters and very soon the cameras started appearing.
The theatre quickly filled up and it was time for the film to start.
I had a couple of tasks to do, one was to request that the audience held their applause until the very end of the credits as Martin Pearson's song during the credits continues the story and should be listened to with as much attention as the film itself gets. My other task? To place a photo of Terry, front and centre facing the screen. If it wasn't for him, none of us would have been there so it was only right to make sure he had his seat!
I'm not going to give any spoilers here, but if you get a chance to see Troll Bridge on a big screen GO AND SEE IT! It looks absolutely stunning on a cinema screen and the sound is amazing.
The John Hefin Lifetime achievement award was also presented at the Premiere. Daniel Knight had the honour of presenting John Morgan with the award. John used to work for the BBC making the adverts for programmes. Here is the showreel that was shown at the premiere.
The Q&A I cannot comment on. I was sat in the interviewer seat doing my best to remember what I was meant to be doing. I think it went well, only those who watched it can say. It is online to watch for those of you who weren't there - CBFF Q&A Facebook Video
After the Q&A there was a signing of souvenir cards. The queue was enormous and the signing lasted for at least an hour. It was a sight to behold and lovely to see how much the fans wanted to meet the crew from Snowgum. Terry would have been very proud!
The best part for me personally, was when Daniel admitted it was the premiere he had hoped for, being surrounded by fans who loved every frame on the screen. I couldn't have wished for more than that.
After the mammoth signing session we all headed to the pub for drinks and food until they kicked us out - many many hours later.
We know huge amounts of photographs were taken by fans as well as some by the press. If you took photos, do get in touch with us via email as we didn't take any and would love to see them! email us: rachel@discworldmonthly.co.uk
↑≡2.1 An Attendee's Perspective - Troll Bridge
A review by Vicky Lear
So the last week in May was a good time to be a Discworld Fan. There was the big premiere of Good Omens in London and Troll Bridge's European premier in Llanelli. As a long time Discworld fan, who has not a lot of money, I had to choose London or Wales.
Now I know Good Omens was a big production, done on a large scale with big stars, but I chose Troll Bridge.
I chose Troll Bridge because I wanted to support Daniel Knight (the Director and genius behind TB) . I had been at various conventions and seen clips of this as he was making it, even had the privilege of watching some of the clips as Terry watched along too. I backed Troll Bridge which was crowd funded, and I am so glad I did.
On the 27th of May at the Ffwrnes (pronounced Furness - thank you Rachel!) Theatre in Llanelli in Wales, there was an odd sight for the locals to see. Many Discworld fans including myself arrived to see Troll Bridge in costume! This was great fun especially as we had a "Cohen" a Troll and many other characters. We were all very excited to be there to see how Troll Bridge had turned out and you could feel the excitement in the air.
The film festival organisers took full advantage of this and got the press to take photos of us all. When everyone was there we had roughly about 400 people who turned up to support Troll Bridge. I am sure this was the biggest audience that any film in the festival had!
We were all let into the big auditorium and sat down to wait for the film (and Q&A) . We watched a gentleman get his lifetime achievement award for his advertisement work he had produced for the BBC – not really something we had expected to see but Daniel presented him his trophy and he was a nice guy.
Before the film started Rachel from Discworld Monthly stood at the front of us all and gave us a little but so valuable instruction. That was to listen to the song at the end of the film before going mad clapping and I am so glad she told us about this. Don't want to spoil it for anyone, but trust me you need to hear the song at the end, it is brilliant and funny.
Then Rachel did something which I thought was so touching and lovely. She said that we weren't going to watch Troll Bridge alone. In her hand she had a picture of Terry leaning on the Treacle Mine Road sign. She lovingly placed this on the front of the stage facing the screen and said Terry is going to watch it too. I am sure everyone in the room felt this was a really nice thing to do and it did feel like Terry was joining in as well.
The film opened just as it does in the book (see A Blink of the Screen page 199) and continues on through the story bringing it to life in the most wonderful way. It was epic to see it on the big screen and to finally watch it all. We were lucky and got to watch the 27 minute version. (most film festivals ask for a much shorter version)
Now I really do not want to spoil the story for anyone who hasn't read it but I do really need to point out some outstanding elements. Don Bridges was brilliant as Cohen and brought some real emotional depth as well as the expected humour to the part. I had read the story before many times, but seeing him act it made me really see the struggle the character was going through. I actually got quite emotional at one point, which took me by surprise in a nice way. The epic views of New Zealand's landscape really added Drama. Christian Bloch's animation of the Horse and Mica the Troll really blew me away. Again no spoilers but just look at the detail in Mica's face and you will see what I mean! Anna Huber who animated Beryl did a wonderful job too. Beryl was much more staccato than Mica but it worked for the character and gave her a more comic element.
Due to the fact that the animators were so good at there job you actually forgot you were
watching animation and lots of credit to Don Bridges here as he must have been talking to himself a lot during filming but it was put together seamlessly.
Now onto Daniel Knight, the man is a true film making genius. On top of that he is an extremely nice guy. It is his talent and vision that has driven this project through 17 years (yes that shows you just how dedicated he is!) He had a vision and Terry had a story which have been combined beautifully to produce a visual delight which (if you have backed it) we can enjoy forever.
Over the years I know he faced many logistical hurdles, but he never gave up and he deserves all the praise we can give him for this.
Don't take my word for it though go order your copy, Troll Bridge website trust me you won't regret it.
Back to the actual film, as it finished we all did as Rachel had asked and listened to the song. This was brilliant and finished off the story nicely. Then as we discworld fans do, we whooped and clapped and showed how much we loved it.
The Q&A with Rachel was really informative and we learnt lots of background things about the film. For example that Don had to spend hours in make up to achieve the Cohen look. That some shots were filmed using helicopters and that the horse was really a movie star!
I really cannot stress how much I enjoyed being part of Troll Bridge's European Premiere and to top it all off Daniel, Don, Christian and Anna all signed our tickets which took well over an hour. Thanks for doing that you wonderful people!
I also want to say Thank You to Discworld Monthly, you got us all there Guys. Without your promotional skills and knowledge the Discworld would not be spreading it's love to all of us new and old so once again THANK YOU! We love you guys we really do! (well I do at least!)
↑≡2.2 Troll Bridge Premiere - Another Opinion
By David Moger.
After doing so well in the Irish Discworld Con Maskerade doing a skit on Troll Bridge I couldn't really miss this.
We had a wonderful time throughout our stay in Llanelli, from the meal Rachel booked for about 30 of us, when we were joined at our table by Don Bridges and Anna Huber, through to breakfast at the local Wetherspoons on Tuesday morning along with about a dozen other loonies.
Before the film started we gathered outside the theatre. There were a good few people in costume, and there was plenty of opportunities for photos, although none taken by me as I couldn't cope with a camera as well as my troll costume. I was very impressed with the photo of us in costume ranging along the front of the theatre.
Inside, and on to the main event. What can I say about Troll Bridge? I have been lucky enough to have seen it three times and I can't get enough of it. It is true to Terry's short story and Don Bridges is the image of Paul Kidby's Cohen the Barbarian. The moment where Mica realises that the person attacking him is Cohen is great viewing, and the reaction of the audience at that point was wonderful.
After the film Daniel Knight, Don Bridges, Anna Huber and Christian Bloch signed show cards for probably 95% of the audience, and they were at it for over an hour.
It was great seeing Daniel again and meeting Don, Anna and Christian, and finding out more about the remarkable behind-the-scenes things that were necessary for the film to be made. Don told us how he was watching a CGI scene coming together which was being worked on in real time by five people in different continents.
Troll Bridge is a great achievement and we were all very disappointed that it was not recognised at the awards later in the week. I am sure it will get awards in the future, but it needs to get into film festivals, so find your local film festival and let Snowgum films know. And of course back the film - Christmas presents for all of your family.
Apart from the film, the most memorable thing about the couple of days in Llanelli was for me the people we met. Lyn and I have only been coming to Discworld events for less than a year, starting with the Shed of Doom and the UK Con last year. It feels like we have been around for years and we have been made very welcome by everyone we have met. After every event I seem to have a big bunch of Friend requests on Facebook.
Finally, my thanks to Rachel for organising the extra bits around the film which got a lot of us together the nights before and after the film. What would our band of loonies be like without her and Jason to whip us into line. Be nice to them.
↑≡3. Tuesday - Good Omens World Premiere
By Jason Anthony-Rowlands
Through the love of Terry's works I've been extremely lucky in the past having been invited to a few premieres but nothing could have prepared me for the world premier of Good Omens. A large part of London's Leicester Square had been cordoned off and laid to a green carpet (to support the Garden of Eden theme) . Crowley's Bentley was parked up and thousands of fans were waiting in anticipation to see the series stars. Amazon had pulled out all the stops. Edith Bowman interviewed the cast and crew about the series. The gates were opened to the guests and we made our way into the huge Oden Luxe cinema.
We had tickets in the stalls and were quickly guided to the very front row. We sat just a couple of seats from two reserved seats in the dead center of the row. On closer inspection we discovered Terry's hat and scarf and a bag of popcorn on one of the seats (the other being reserved for the Terry's hat's guardian) . It seems that Neil had a very similar idea to the one that Rachel had the day before that Terry should be watching the film with us.
We were shown the first two episodes of Good Omens and then a sizzle reel that showed off what was still to come. Finally, Edith Bowman and several of the stars, showrunner Neil Gaiman, director Douglas MacKinnon and exclusive producer Rob Wikins came on stage for a question and answer session.
And then it was all over, the cast and crew were quickly ushered off to an after show party so several of us headed off to a local italian restaurant for dinner and drinks.
We'll talk about the TV series in the next issue but sufficient to say it's well worth watching. Watching it now if you can get Amazon Prime or if not it will be on the BBC near the end of the year. Seriously if you can get a free trial of Amazon - do it!
I've seen the future of Discworld adaptations and it is on the television. What Good Omens has proved is that now is the time to make amazing quality television that just a decade ago would have been impossible. We really do live in amazing times.
↑≡4. Wednesday - The Garden of Eden at Waterloo Station
By Rachel Anthony-Rowlands
We rambled over to Waterloo Station where The Garden of Eden stood.
Here the luscious green tree laiden heavy with red tempting apples was surrounded by a seating area and fake hedge fence with the entrance archway emblazoned with the Good Omens logo. Stood outside that archway were Angels and Demons tempting you with apples or toffee apples printed with the Good Omens logo. If was very dependant on whether you were inherently good or bad as to which you got.
We were escorted in to meet the amazing snakes they had there. Now I am not a fan of the humble snake. I don't know why but they put the fear of wossname up me. I think it stems from the time I was bitten by a slow worm (yes they do bite!) . Jason, Daniel and Graham insisted I sat down and have this beautiful snake placed in my hands. To be fair to the handlers , they were fantastic about me not being very happy about it, and quietly made sure I wasn't going to throw it in the air and run! Jason seemed very at home with the snake in his hands and Daniel was totally fascinated with it. I still can't see the attraction myself.
We took photos, took another apple for being good and then headed off.
But I was going to go back. I had heard that the Chattering order of St Beryl was going to show up later that afternoon to sing and so ventured back to The Garden of Eden with some other friends in tow to see them sing. It was wonderful to meet them for the third time and hear them perform.. They really can belt out a tune! Some were trying to pull me in with them to sing as they could hear I knew the words. They sung three tracks, stayed for a load of selfies, and conversions to the dark side and then disappeared again.
They really were one of the highlights of the Good Omens Publicity tour for me. I saw them four times in two days. The last being at the Southbank centre that evening.
Go and buy their album!!! We did!
↑≡4.1 Wednesday - Neil Gaiman at Southbank Centre, London
By Andrea Richardson
[This report had spoilers in it for those who haven't seen the TV series yet, don't say we didn't warn you - Rachel]
Neil Gaiman in conversation with David Tennant and Michael Sheen, presented by Kirsty Wark
I will preface this review by saying quite a lot of what was discussed over the evening has appeared in many interviews, newspapers, videos, and online over the last few weeks. This is to be expected as the G.O. juggernaut has flooded the world with promotion, so for those that have read it before, I apologise, but hopefully some bits will be of interest. Also, it will contain spoilers for anyone who has not yet seen all the TV series.
I was one of several DW fans who got tickets to see this Q&A style evening with the co-author of "Good Omens", Neil Gaiman, together with two of its stars, David and Michael. The evening was presented by Kirsty Wark, and she did a good job of keeping the evening moving. An initial introduction before the main event produced the first applause of the evening when Terry's name was mentioned. They welcomed us all and invited us to have "a hell of a time in heavenly surroundings".
As well as being signed in BSL, the evening was subtitled on a big screen. This produced laughs from the audience on several occasions when typos crept in, especially one for "Crowley" which turned up as "owl owl".
Neil initially talked about Terry's email asking him to take this project on in 2014. It definitely made me well up hearing him talk about it, and you can tell it still hurts to talk about his dear friend. As soon as he got back from Terry's funeral he sat down and began writing, but nothing seemed funny. He missed him all the time. If got stuck he couldn't call Terry and say "What shall I do?" or if he wrote something funny he couldn't tell him "Hey, I wrote this funny bit". He said Rob Wilkins had been a great support and he would text Rob for advice. He definitely felt Terry when making it, especially during the bits Terry originally wrote. Insisting that Agnes Nutter was kept in the series was because of Terry, so when budget constraints meant cuts being made he put his foot down on that. Neil said he could hear Terry objecting to the cut, adding "Everything Terry said began with F and was very short".
Michael said he had read the book many years ago as a young man, along with many other Gaiman and Pratchett works, and over the years he and Neil had become good friends. He began to relate a tale of their first dinner together but decided it was too long, but you can hear the full story at the David Tennant podcast
Later he was sent an early draft of the script by Neil, indicating he wanted Michael to play Crowley. He quickly realised he preferred and related more to the character of Aziraphale. Neil had come to the same conclusion, but didn't have the courage to tell Michael. They had an awkward dinner and finally admitted this to each other, and so Aziraphale was cast.
Neil said he wanted David Tennant for the part of Crowley when writing Episode 3. The scene in the church when Crowley is hopping around on consecrated ground made him realise he could not picture another actor in the role. Unlike Michael, David had not read any Gaiman or Pratchett, and the first thing he knew about it was when the final script landed in front of him.
The audience were now given a real treat as Michael and David read the "drunk/dolphins" scene together. It was fascinating to watch them switch into character, with David lounging across his chair.
David was asked about his snake-like contact lenses, and he said they were prescription lenses and did become very painful at times.
Neil said he loved watching Crowley's fashions change, whereas Aziraphale stayed almost the same through the series. He said they have a proper "bromance".
All the men agreed it was very hard work but great fun on set. David and Michael said especially if one if their acting hero's was due on set, and they could work with so many amazing people.
Neil said he was surprised by how many people wanted to get involved in the show. John Hamm agreed immediately – literally. Neil sent him an email asking if he was interested and within minutes he replied just saying "Yes". Nick Offerman has a fairly small role, and at one point Neil thanked him for his time travelling all the way to film. Offerman replied he would have been prepared to buy his own plane ticket and say half the lines just to be part of the show.
Michael said the worst time was filming at the airbase, which was miserable, cold and wet. David was bitten by the dog on set.
Neil explained that the Isle of Skye features a lot in the series, saying "it kept interfering in nice ways". Director Douglas Mackinnon is from there; the family of Neil's wife (Amanda Palmer) are from there, and Neil and his wife have a house there. Frances McDormand (the Voice of God in the series) had emailed Neil asking to rent their house. Neil said he replied "No, you can have it, provided you play God in my new series". She replied saying "That would be good – it will confirm something my family has long suspected". There is also a nod to Skye with the Talisker whiskey which Crowley is getting drunk on.
Neil said his favourite scene was the magic act at the party, as Michael and David began to improv, and just kept going. Also the walk in the park at the end, which was filmed at a long distance, so they were using earpieces to hear the actors. He was shocked to hear Crowley telling Aziraphale how fat he looks, what a bad actor he is, etc. He then realised it was Michael brilliantly impersonating David!
Neil said he loves that there will be jokes and references that will go over the heads of younger kids and anyone who has never read the book.
He was very happy to have three of the League of Gentlemen involved – Shearsmith, Gattis, and Pemberton.
Michael said the costume fittings often make the character and even if they had an idea of how they wanted to be, it was once the costumes were on that it really worked.
Neil stated that in the titles all the characters have David and Michael's faces. He said he couldn't include the Other Four Horsemen due to time and money, but they'd been written and cast. They never made it to the final read. However the deleted scene is in the script book. Another scene that sadly got cut was Crowley pouring tea into a BT system to bring down the mobile phone network.
Neil ended by saying that they often "went back to the beginning in the end", staying true to the book when changing things just didn't work. He said it "doesn't look or feel like anything else" and "I made it for Terry and the fans of the book".
This wonderful Q and A was followed by questions from audience members.
Were there any pranks on set? Neil said no, but he recalled Terry being big on pranks. An example was, if at a book signing Terry was brought Good Omens, and someone mentioned Neil, he'd sign it and say "Give Neil a message – tell him it is Staircase Nine" (or other random phrase) . Neil would then get people telling him "Terry said to tell you…." at odd times.
Will there be a DVD and any extras? Neil would not be drawn on this but said it will happen at some point. [We can confirm a DVD and Blu Ray Release will happen and the soundtrack is out now - Rachel]
Are there any sneaky tributes in the series? Lots! Look out for Terry's hat, his book display, and many other things.
Were you worried how people would react? David said he wasn't until the table read when he was sat next to Nina Sosanya (Sister Mary Loquacious) who was shaking like a leaf. He asked her why and she said she was a huge fan and made it clear how important it was. He then realised how much pressure there was to get it right. He said he had an incredibly creative experience, and just hoped fans "liked our version, and hopefully they won't murder us". Michael added it's the first book adaptation that has taken such a long time to reach the screen.
Is there anything you'll take from it? Michael said he's always felt if you were having too much fun it can't be good, but this time he enjoyed it so much he realised you shouldn't be afraid to enjoy it.
Neil said as showrunner it was his first experience and the first read was awkward, but David and Michael suddenly gelled. It was like learning to dance. Michael agreed they "adjusted to each other" and said he could only think of the two of them together now.
How did you persuade Queen to use their music? Neil said Brian May loved the idea and after some initial wrangling they agreed to allow their music to be used, and it has been included in a way true fans will spot.
Someone then asked if Michael and David would read the "gorillas makes nests" line, which they duly did.
A question was asked of Neil if he read Marlowe's "The Jew of Malta". Neil leapt on this and said there is a scene where Jews discuss the evil they've done that day, which is where a proto-Crowley started. Neil added that Terry has had the original idea called "William the Antichrist" (borrowed from the Just William stories) . Neil had expanded the idea with an angel. Then Terry introduced a black jacket and glasses and gave him his answerphone message. So Crowley and Aziraphale started as one person but became two.
Next question: Who is your second favourite character (Crowley and Aziraphale being the first) . David said Madam Tracey. Neil said Nina as Sister Loquacious, but added the Miranda Richardson séance scene is very funny and includes Johnny Vegas so he loves her in that scene.
Is the ice cream scene in it? Yes. Neil said "we kept a lot of old style stuff as it just worked, like the answerphone".
How did you decide what objects to focus on? Neil said the bookshop and the Bentley were vital. David added the car was "a bugger to drive".
Neil ended by saying this whole thing had taken up nearly five years and he was looking forward to being a retired showrunner and going back to writing.
This was a wonderful evening with fellow fans and I loved every minute.
↑≡5. Thursday - Carmarthen Bay Film Festival Awards Ceremony
Written by Jason Anthony-Rowlands
On Thursday we all got dressed up and Rachel and I attended the award ceremony for the CBFF along with Daniel Knight, Don Bridges and Christan Bloch of Snowgum Films. We thoroughly enjoyed the buffet meal and the company of another film maker Muriel Naim whose film Janek/Bastard, won the Best Foreign Short Film. We watched as the various different award categories were given out. We were waiting for the best short film category for which Troll Bridge had been nominated. Sadly, Troll Bridge was pipped to the post by a film called Gingerbread by Kendell Courtney Klein (we hadn't seen any of the other films so can't comment on its particular merits) the team were not too upset as this is the nature of film festivals.
The final award was for Best of Festival. Arfon the MC for the evening explained that this award was given to the film with the best audience reaction. We felt that Troll Bridge would have this in the bag as after the 350 plus people that attended Troll Bridge the next biggest audience was 15 people. So you can imagine the surprise in the room when Against the Wall was announced as the winner. The silence in the room lasted almost four seconds before a round of "Whats?" could be heard before people remembered their etiquette and starting applauding the winners.
We spoke to the winners after the ceremony and they were obviously delighted to have won but very confused as to why Troll Bridge didn't win, especially as they attended the Troll Bridge screening themselves and saw the response it got from the audience. I've written to Kelvin Guy, the festival CEO asking for comment but as of yet have not received anything in response.
I'm not experienced with awards ceremonies but the reaction from the room suggested that something had gone very, very wrong. We have seen video footage of that final award being announced and it's painful viewing, I fail to see how an award which was announced as being a purely audience based award could go to a film with one twentieth of the audience. As you can see above, the audience at Troll Bridge were very happy with what they had seen. I personally can not understand how each of the 15 people at the screening of the other film were 20 times more happy than those that saw Troll Bridge.
We ended our evening in a bizzare sequence, trips to two different pubs, then an emotional goodbye to Don Bridges then onto Tescos and then Mcdonalds then home. Whilst events at the awards had been disappointing, we ended the night at four in the morning having reflected on an amazing week and some hysterically funny times that we had in the company of Don, Daniel, Anna and Christian from Snowgum Films. - Rachel
↑≡6. Friday - Sunday A.Z.Fell BookShop & Escape Room Experience
Location: 19 Greek Street, Soho, London
Fans of the book may have recognised the bookshop 'A.Z. Fell and Co.' when it appeared in Greek Street in Soho, with the show's 1934 Bentley Derby Coupe parked outside.
Modelled on the character Aziraphale's run down bookshop hideout, the unassuming facade might well have been overlooked by those not in the know. However on entry it quickly became clear that this was no ordinary bookshop as it was a five-floor immersive experience and exhibition
It was only open to the public for three days, opening on Friday 31st May and closing at the end of the day on Sunday 2nd June.
↑≡6.1 Discworld Monthly's Visit - Press Day (Two days earlier)
By Rachel Anthony-Rowlands
As we were in London the day after the World Premiere of Good Omens, [note for timeline, this was Wednesday - I have to say this because we didn't know what day of the week it was at this point - Rachel] I decided I should take our band of Merry men and head down to Greek Street to press our noses against the window of the pop-up bookshop as it wouldn't be open for another two days.
As we turned the corner onto Greek Street it became apparent that we were pushing our way into a press day. The Chattering Order of St Beryl were doing the splits by the side of Crowley's Bentley and various press and A.Z.Fell Book Shop operatives were milling about outside.
Now not one to push ourselves forward, we chatted with the bookshop's version of Crowley and the next thing we know Billy, the head of the experience had come outside and was chatting to us. He remembered that I was one of three people who emailed him about it all and as we were press he let us in.
I was surprised at how narrow the building was. The ground floor was not much wider than our hallway and was full of bookcases and things that looked like props from Aziraphale's shop such as the till. There were two staircases here. One leading up and the other leading down to Hell. We were lead upstairs to the top floor (three flights up) to the Good Icons Exhibition by Lorna May Wadsworth. I noted on the way up that the staircases were lined with photographs from the set, mostly of Neil with members of the cats and that each landing had something from the show. On some it was a bookcase filled with books, others had just a bowl of sherbert lemons.
The Good Icons exhibition was beautifully presented which you can see for yourself in our images below.
We saw sketches from the set as well as portraits of Neil, Michael and David which we given postcards of to take home with us.
We then headed down a level to see the props and costumes from the series. To be able to almost touch and smell many of the costumes was a delight and whilst we know the room wasn't finished, it was wonderful to get to see the majority of it with no-one else there.
We unfortunately weren't allowed in the escape room as David and Michael were filming some bits in there for promotional purposes. But we did get to go to Hell!!
The guy playing the demon in hell was so much fun, he had me in stitches and we had the pleasure of adding some hellish things to the board there. We even got Daniel to sit in the bath!
On our way out we thanked the guys who were running the whole experience and went on our way.
Photos are on our Facebook page in this Album
↑≡6.2 Escape Room Experience and Pop-Up BookShop
By Graham O'Mara
The pop up book shop of a Mr. A. Z. Fell opened to the public on the end of days. (May 31st,the day Good Omens premiered) .
I had managed to score a ticket for the escape room, purely by chance, and therefore I went to Soho on the 1st of June.
Upon arrival, I was met by a demon and an angel outside the bookshop. We were then let in and was greeted by a seller of books who asked us "is there any book you are looking for in particular?" The group of 5 of us replied "The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter" , one of us was then handed a special letter to carry and then we were shown into Hell (better known as the basement) .
In Hell we met Ligur (it was dark, it might have been Hastur) he asked a few questions and eventually we worked out that he wanted us to ask him about the book. He escorted us up to the 1st floor, where a certain angelic bookshop owner was waiting.
We read from the letter, and then had to follow a few clues to do with books.
We managed to find and place certain items of importance to both Aziraphale and Crowley on a cupboard which then opened a secret box. This led us to a divine circle on the floor, and instructions of certain books to press to unlock the hidden room. There was a loud thump as the door to the secret room opened.
In the secret room, there was a table set for tea, with some nice biscuits to eat. (you know, the pink ones) and a message from a creator. Neil himself (via video) congratulated us all, told us to enjoy a biscuit and asked the book shop owner to present us all with a copy of the good book.
After the successful exit, we were free to roam the building, looking at props and costumes from the show. It was amazing to see such things so close you (don't) touch them. Lots of photos were taken.
There was also a display of the artwork by Lorna May Wadsworth for Good Icons. Some sketches of the crew and cast, as well as several renditions of Neil, David and Michael. The largest picture was of Neil, though even this was a copy, as at about 5 feet tall, it was small enough to get in the building. The original is now on display at Phillip Mould's gallery, as are all the other pieces. The whole experience was fantastic. All the people working in and around the shop stayed in character the whole time. Oh, and as a bonus Crowley's Bentley was sitting outside the door, and if you asked nicely, you could sit in it and pretend you were a driving devil.
↑≡6.3 Good Omens Escape Room – Greek Street, London
A Nice and Accurate Report by Karlyanne Bantock
Our adventure began on our arrival at the A Z Fell & Co Bookshop where we were greeted by a very familiar looking prim and proper Angel who checked us in, united us with the rest of our escape room team and gave us our first instructions (find the bookseller and subtly ask for a certain book) . While we waited a similarly familiar Demon was walking around oozing nonchalance and trying to tempt children with Lemon Sherbets.
Our turn came to enter the Bookshop, and we met at the counter the very grumpy bookseller who berated us for not being discreet enough, and for having to hold a letter for us. He handed them over and ushered us towards some stairs where we descended to hell to meet a pair of gloriously snarky demons lounging in a bathtub. We were told to take a ticket (632) and a seat as we would have a long wait, so might as well get comfortable and look at our clues (a letter and a set of prophecies) . After battling the bad lighting and a member of the team who wouldn't read the clues out despite being asked, we solved the first clue, selected our demon, and were then lead upstairs to the Library where our main challenge awaited.
There were four clues left so we divided them between us, and with some subtle help from the friendly librarian character we found 4 books, assembled the pictures, followed the directions, unlocked the secret bookcase door, and found our way through to another room. Here we found the book we sought, the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. Our success was celebrated with tea, biscuits and a short video of Neil Gaiman congratulating us. Finally each of us were given our very own copy of Good Omens (TV Series tie-in cover) . After our adventure we looked around the rest of the exhibit, including the vintage Bentley parked on the street outside.
As a veteran of escape rooms I was very pleased with how the whole thing was put together. The clues and tasks were complex enough without being impossible. The props, books, clues and activities used were either taken from the TV show and book or were very heavily inspired by it (including the angel wing mug which is something I need in my life) . The pacing was really good for the timescale, and it worked really well with the small group size. The only downside was that we could only do it once!
↑≡7. What else is happening?
The Good Icons Exhibition has already opened in Pall Mall and is open until next Tuesday. It is full of the artwork that we saw at the A.Z.Fell Bookshop and is well worth a visit if you are in London.
Good Icons Exhibition
Tuesday 4th - Tuesday 11th June 2019: Neil Gaiman : Good Icons - Art Exhibition by Lorna May Wadsworth
Location: Philip Mould & Company, 18-10 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5LU
An Exhibition of artwork produced by Lorna May Wadsworth of the scenes and people involved in the Amazon Prime production of Good Omens.
All of the original artworks are available to buy on their website Good Icons
Saturday 29th June: Edinburgh International Film Festival
All six episodes of Good Omens will be shown on the big screen at the VUE OMNI CENTRE
as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
It's an amazing opportunity to see the whole series on the Big Screen.
The showing will be on Saturday 29th June 2019 1pm - 7pm and tickets sold out in a day.
Anyone who has tickets they can no longer use can return them to their box office and they can then make them available to people who can make it.
They will also be operating a returns queue on the day of the screening at the venue, so there is a chance to attend the screening if any tickets are returned on the day
For more info head over the event page on Facebook
↑≡8. Good Omens - Music, Soundtrack, DVD Releases, Vinyl and Playlists
We'll start with Music and Playlists.
The Good Omens soundtrack is now available to purchase as a digital download.
The Chattering Order of St Beryl have been entertaining us all with their parodies and choral recitals live at various events around the world and on social media.
They have also released an album for digital download.
Michael Sheen has also put together his Apocalypse Playlist for Good Omens which is his personal selection of music for the end of the world.
You can listen to it on:
* Amazon
* Spotify
* You Tube
DVD and Blu Ray releases
We currently don't have dates for the DVD and Blu Ray release but a possibly slip up shows a date of June 2022. Personally I'd be surprised if they make everyone wait that long, but it will probably be a year at least to allow the BBC to get it out on their network first and then out for syndication before releasing out on disc.
We do know that there will also be a special SteelBook release of the Blu Ray edition.
These are being released by the BBC. as to their availability in other countries, we currently have no clue.
Pre-order links.
DVD - R.R.P. 22.99 GBP
Blu-ray - R.R.P. 27.99GBP
Blu-Ray SteelBook - R.R.P. 39.99GBP
Radio 4 Good Omens Special editions
New CD Edition
Back in April, they re-released Dirk Magg's BBC Radio Four dramatisation of Good Omens on CD with a new cover and an additional 40-minute afterword in which Dirk Maggs talks about adapting Good Omens, working with Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett which gives the listener a fascinating look behind the scenes of the award-winning series.
Priced at 22.50 GBP it is available at all good bookshops and through our affiliate link below.l
Vinyl Edition
There are TWO editions of this beautiful Vinyl edition of Good Omens: The Radio Four Dramatisation both priced at 99GBP
Standard Vinyl Edition
This beautiful edition of the Radio Four dramatisation of Good Omens contains four 180g heavyweight black and white vinyl - includes a laser-etched Side B which are presented in illustrated wallets inside a rigid, bound 16 page book, with exclusive sleeve notes written by Neil Gaiman and Dirk Maggs. It also contains 15 Tarot style character art cards.
Exclusive Signed Vinyl edition
This Amazon Exclusive includes a print signed by Neil Gaiman and is limited to just 500 copies.
The unique four 180g heavyweight black and white vinyl - includes a laser-etched Side B - are presented in illustrated wallets inside a rigid, bound 16 page book, with exclusive sleeve notes written by Neil Gaiman and Dirk Maggs. Also includes 15 beautiful Tarot-style character art cards.
↑≡9. How many versions of Good Omens?
There has been a huge amount of Books published to tie in with the release onto Amazon Prime of Good Omens the TV series. I hope I managed to catch them all so you can pick and choose which you would like to buy if you haven't already done so.
PAPERBACKS
Black Waterstones Definitive Text edition
First up is a special edition of the paperback of Good Omens.
It's specially designed cover and end-papers are exclusive to Waterstones.
It is also the first to contain the definitive text of the book which we believe is the same text that will be in the new Definitive Illustrated Editions .
We have a copy of this one to give away in this month's competition.
ISBN: 9780552176729
Price : 8.99GBP
* before anyone says anything Foyles is owned by Waterstones and thus has the same special editions.
Tv Tie-In Paperback Cover.
This is the standard text of the novel, with the poster image for Good Omens featuring David Tennant and Michael Sheen on the cover.
It can be purchased in many different places, in many different languages, we've seen it in supermarkets and bookshops as well as online.
The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Script Book
The standard edition is available from all good bookshops and if you were lucky enough to attend any of Neils events where the script book was part of the ticket price, you got this one signed by Neil. (we'll be giving one of these signed ones away next month!)
The Paperback version of the Script Book will be available in the US as of the 11th June 2019.
Waterstones also has not just one but TWO exclusive edition of the Good Omens Script book.
One is the standard edition with bonus material exclusive to Waterstones.
Priced at 20GBP it is available from Waterstones.
Limited Edition
This is a stunning limited edition of 1000 copies only. It has white cloth boards with gold foil detail, endpapers printed with gold metallic pantone, a marker ribbon, head and tail bands, and sprayed edges.
It contains extra material: four exclusive bonus sequences with introductions by Neil Gaiman and 'Scribbles on Set' from artist Lorna May Wadsworth - a series of bespoke black-and-white sketches from the Good Omens set.
Priced at 30GBP it's available from our Waterstones Affiliate link
The Nice and Accurate Good Omens TV Companion
The Nice and Accurate Good Omens TV Companion is your ultimate guide to navigating Armageddon. Through character profiles and in-depth interviews with the stars and the crew, stunning behind-the-scenes and stills photography of the cast and locations, and a fascinating insight into costume boards and set designs, you will discover the feats of creativity and mind-boggling techniques that have gone into bringing an angel, a demon, and the Antichrist to the screens of people everywhere. This book will take you inside the world of Heaven and Hell (and Tadfield) and is set to shatter coffee tables around the world.
Good Omens Illustrated Editions otherwise Known as the Definitive Good Omens.
The Definitive Good Omens (Illustrated) : Standard Hardcover
The Definitive Good Omens (Illustrated) : Slipcased Hardback
The Definitive Good Omens is also due out in three limited editions published by Dunmanifestin.
Due for release on 20th June 2019
The Definitive Good Omens - Occult Edition published by Dunmanifestin
Limited to 1655 copies
This edition features a new revised text, approved by Neil Gaiman and the Pratchett Estate, which clears up many typos and errors from previous editions. Presented in a hardback in a clamshell box, with metallic red page edges, 17 full-colour illustrations with additional pencil illustrations and a numbered tipped-in sheet signed by Paul Kidby.
Paul Kidby Price includes P&P within the UK 102GBP
Price 95GBP without P&P
The Definitive Good Omens - Ineffable Edition published by Dunmanifestin
Limited to 666 copies
Stunning hardback in a deluxe presentation box, with gold page edges, 20 colour illustrations with additional pencil artwork. Numbered tipped-in sheet signed by Neil Gaiman and Paul Kidby. Separate folio of Good Omens ephemera.
Paul Kidby Price includes P&P within the UK 302 GBP
Price 295GBP without P&P
The Definitive Good Omens Celestial Edition published by Dunmanifestin
Limited to 24 copies
This edition features a new revised text, approved by Neil Gaiman and the Pratchett Estate, which clears up many typos and errors from previous editions. Leather-bound hardback in an artisan presentation box, with gold foil page edges, 17 full-colour illustrations with additional pencil illustrations. Each copy individually hand-printed and bound. Named tipped-in sheets, each corresponding to a letter of the Greek alphabet, signed by Neil Gaiman & Paul Kidby. Separate folio of Good Omens ephemera.
↑≡10. Competition: Good Omens (Waterstones Exclusive)
On our way to see Endgame at the Cinema we popped into Waterstones in Swansea and picked up two copies of the Waterstones exclusive edition of Good Omens with the newly published definitive text (with all the typos corrected) . We kept a copy for ourselves and got one for you lovely people to win.
In order to win a copy of the Good Omens' Waterstones exclusive paperback you need to answer the following question and send it along with your postal address to competitions@discworldmonthly.co.uk by 20th June 2019.
| Q. | What became of the Convent of the Chattering Order? |
Your address will only be used for sending out your prize should you be the lucky winner. Once prizes are sent out all address details will be destroyed. Entries received after the closing date or sent to any other address will be ignored. No more than one entry per person will be accepted - multiple entries will result in a ban from the competition. Failure to answer the questions or provide your postal address will prevent you from being entered into the competition. Answers to the questions must not be posted to any websites before the competition ends. The judges' decision is final. The competition is open to all readers.
↑≡11. The End of Days
This month's special issue was brought to you by a talking horse, a bunch of nuns and a snake that Rachel didn't like holding much.
The deadline for submissions to issue 268 (it was 267 but we did this extra one) of Discworld Monthly is Thursday 20th June 2019.
↑≡11.1 Supporting Discworld Monthly
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↑≡11.6 Small Print
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↑≡11.7 Thanks
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↑≡11.8 The Final Word...
*Rachel here*
We may not be perfect designers, or award winning journalists but we do our best to keep you all entertained and informed about all things Terry. We do have some ethics though. We like our news to be current, up to date and factual with a solid source. We don't like posting rumours but occasionally the source it comes from is 98 percent solid so we will tell you it's a rumour and confirm it when we have a 100 percent confirmation. Our own articles are written by us for us only. You won't find articles from other publications here unless it's a formal press release about an adaptation, book release or event or something we actually wrote for someone else unless they begged us to publish it (OK not begged but some of our lovely friends do ask us occasionally to boost something) . [NB I say we are not award winning but Discworld Monthly did win Website of the Month for Issue 3 back in a different century. It would be nice to win something much more recent, or even just get acknowledged #justsaying]
Whilst you keep reading it, we'll keep on writing it because we love Terry's books just as much as you do.
For Terry