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Exorcism: The Hidden Truth - here I look into the real story behind The Exorcist. That of a young boy called Roland Doe who was exorcised at age 14.

Why did Kubrick leave the USA? I explore some of the reasons why on this podcast.

Fernando Piloni

Fernando Piloni is a Brazilian actor who has truly travelled the world. His dream of acting picked up and put back down a few times, till he conquered his fears and ended up working on the hugely successful, A Haunting in Venice.

Acting in Brazil, Spain and now London, he’s an actor who has mastered his art with skill and dedication – absorbing and revelling in the the different training methods in those areas.  He has overcome obstacles to propel him even further ahead and open opportunities, specifically in theatre.

He’s recently appeared as Vincenzo Di Stefano in A Haunting in Venice which sees Kenneth Branagh at the helm as Poirot. I was keen to chat with Fernando about this experience – what did he learn from acting alongside Kenneth Branagh?

Maja Bloom

Speaking to Maja Bloom was an absolute delight, she truly is a multi-talented performer.

From acting to singing and stand-up, there seems to be nothing she can’t do. Maja tells me about her childhood and journey into performing. Gifted from a young age, she followed many paths to success, one being a path to the wizarding world of Fantastic Beasts. How cool is that?

As the dark witch, Carrow, she appeared alongside Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Mads Mikkelsen in Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald and, more recently, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

1920’s wizarding is full of the glamour you’d expect from such a colourful decade. If you haven’t caught up on these films, then please do.

As the Harry Potter TV series gains momentum it doesn’t look like JK Rowling’s wizarding empire is slowing down any time soon. It would be great to see Carrow back behind the wand somewhere in this universe. Who knows? We might!

Christian Svensson

From Australia to Las Vegas

I'm so delighted to have Maria Tran back on The Mighty Dragon. Now based in Vegas, Maria has been super busy (and that's an understatement) with multiple projects.

One being working alongisde Tim Roth in Last King of the Cross, a big budget Australian series based on the book by John Ibrahim. She talks to me about her character, Madame Tien, and the inspiration she got creating this formidable character.

Maria talks too about her feature film Echo8, her plans for a trilogy and forging the path for women filmmakers to break through and shine. In their own right.

It's always so refreshing speaking to Maria, her positivity is infectious and she really deserves all the success!

Jeppe Beck Laursen

The Last Kingdom - what a truly, brilliant series and now a truly brilliant film (The Last Kingdom`: Seven Kings Must Die - released last month on Netflix).

With anticipation, well, to be frank DREAD, of this wonderful storyline coming to an end. I watched absolutely spellbound as the final part of the story unfolded. What a great ending too, what way do you think Uhtred chose?

In the end scene, I spotted one of my absolute favourite characters (and all-time greatest baddie), Haesten, feasting in Valhalla - I knew I had to reach out to see if I could interview the man behind this dark, intriguing character - Jeppe Beck Laursen.It was an absolute pleasure to chat with Jeppe not only about Haesten but how he got into acting, his life, hopes and ambitions.

We of course talk about The Last Kingdom and a deep dive into the enduring fascination of Viking drama.I meet Jeppe's dog too cutely named Han Solo - something us 1972 kids have in common is Star Wars.

Will we see Jeppe in a future Star Wars series? Tune in to find out...

Phillip E. Hardy is back on The Mighty Dragon!

It was a pleasure to catch up with a writer buddy of mine, Phillip E. Hardy. Phillip was previously on The Mighty Dragon back in 2020 talking about the enduring fascination of Dracula (link below in Resources).

It’s a great time to catch up as Phillip has just adapted Hemingway’s Sun Also Rises into a screenplay. We talk about this and his upcoming movie Purgatory Station starring Bob Gunton as Horatio Grimes. Phillip also manages a Facebook screenwriting group, Screenwriters Talking Shop. This is a super-friendly, helpful and supportive group and a great resource for all writers serious about their craft.

While I had Phillip I grilled him on best practise as a screenwriter and the question we all want to know, how to get your script read as an un-repped writer.

Questions:

Resources:

Purgatory Station

Phillip E Hardy - IMDb

Michael Rockefeller

Inktip

Phillip E. Hardy, Dracula Interview - The Mighty Dragon

Sun Also Rises - Hemingway

It was an absolute pleasure to have Vegas-based filmmaker Deborah Richards back on the blog.

It’s been a year since we last spoke where Debbi was in post production with Move Me No Mountain, her first feature film. A year down the line now, the film is on Amazon Prime! What an achievement!

We discuss lessons learnt while filming Move Me No Mountain, the audience perception on homelessness since the movie release, the order of shooting in the Vegas heat and Debbi’s plans for a movie ranch, YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT, A RANCH! - sounds phenomenal, plus much, much more.

It's no surprise that Debbi is booked up solid with exciting new projects - returning to her roots in flair bartending and also venturing into horror with the delicious title "Scissor Mouth"!

I truly can't wait to see what else is happening in Debbi's world, her empire is expanding and life is looking rosey for this dedicated filmmaker. Debbi really deserves all the success in the world.

Grab your own copy of Move Me No Mountain which is on Amazon Prime NOW. Leave a review too!