I recently caught up with Stuart Morriss, the man behind the hugely successful Misty Moon Film Society. For several years now, Misty Moon has brought together the very best of classic horror and comedy film stars for celebrations of their work. I wanted to find out more...
- First of all, can you tell me a little
about the history of the Misty Moon Society and how this venture
started?
Misty Moon Exhibitions and Events was
created in 2009 as a small arts and craft fair at St Hilda’s Church
Hall in SE London.
Misty Moon then went on to hold
critically acclaimed exhibitions at a small local gallery, where we
exhibited work by local and international artists. The work was
on the dark and quirky side of life. Adrienne King star of the
original Friday the 13th, came to Misty Moon to exhibit her paintings
and to meet her fans. It was at this time The Misty Moon Film
Society was born.
Adrienne put her name to Misty Moon
and supported us in our development. We started to hold cosy evenings
with actors and actresses from cult TV & Film with a limited
audience of 40. The evenings include a Q&A hosted by Misty
Moon’s outrageous MC Chris Collins, an autograph and photo session
and a meet and greet with the guests.
The audience and guests love Misty
Moon because of the intimate experience they get. As we say to
everyone, “It is like going to a friend’s house for a couple of
drinks and to chat about your favourite film”.
The
guests we have had include: Danielle Harris, Ken Foree, Michael
Berryman, Lynn Lowry, Fenella Fielding, Robin Askwith, Richard Kiel,
Kate O’Mara, Nicola Bryant, Katy Manning, Louise Jameson, Sarah
Douglas, David Barry, Linda Regan, Anita Harris, Brian Murphy,
Madeline Smith, Caroline Munro, Sally Geeson, to name but a few.
Our
Honorary Patrons are Hammer Babe Judy Matheson, Emma Dark and David
Barry who played Frankie Abbott in “Please Sir” and “The Fenn
Street Gang” and our President or "El Presidente" is
Robin Askwith
- You feature a mix of comedy and
horror film stars in your events at Misty Moon, if you had to choose
your favourite genre which would it be and why?
I think
my favourite genre is classic horror, I love the 70s & 80s
American slasher films like Halloween and Friday the 13th. I have
been watching "Scooby Doo Where Are You" cartoons recently
and I think that is where my love from horror must have originally
come from, watching Scooby Doo as a child ?
- You
have hosted a number of events featuring stars of many classic
British horror films. I confess I know little about this genre - if
you could recommend a classic horror film for a newcomer to the
genre, what would it be and why?
My
favourites are the original Halloween, The Fog and the original
Friday the 13th. British horror I like Lust For A Vampire and
The Woman In Black.
- Your
current patrons include David Barry and Judy Matheson. What does it
mean to have people like them supporting what you do?
We have
had some great patrons since we started including Nicola Bryant from
Doctor Who, Sally Geeson and Danielle Harris. Having a guest
that really enjoys the gigs we do and then puts their name to us and
helps promote is unbelievable and makes us feel so proud and honored.
The patrons also try and come to some of the gigs.
- Robin
Askwith is a regular collaborator, best known of course for the
Confessions films. What is he like to work with?
Robin is
fabulous and has now become our President. He is a great friend
and we talk most days on the phone. What you see is what you
get with him. He is the cheeky chappie that we all know and
love and we have toured his show with him over the last couple of
years and we are going to Darlington with him in September for the
show.
- Several stars of Carry On have made
appearances at Misty Moon Events in recent years - are there any
elusive actors and actresses from the series you'd love to work with?
Jen and I went to Jim Dale's one man
show at The Vaudeville Theatre last year and we met him afterwards.
He knew of Misty Moon because of our work with Fenella Fielding and
it really humbled me. I would love to do a show with him.
- Some
of your most recent events have taken place at the Phoenix Artist
Club in Soho - what's that venue like to work in?
The Phoenix Artist Club is now the
regular home of Misty Moon. It is so theatre and showbiz
related and is so Misty Moon. The staff are so friendly and
attentive andwe have a geat working relationship with them.
- You
have hosted several events with Fenella Fielding over the years -
What is she like to work with?
Fenella
first came to us 4 years ago and I thought it couldn't get much
better than that. 4 years down the line we have held 20 gigs
with Fenella and after last week's sell out show at the Phoenix with
her we are embarking on a 8 week West End run with Fenella at The
Phoenix starting in November. Fenella is a true legend and a
very dear friend.
- The Misty Moon is running an
International Film Festival later in the year - can you tell me a bit
more about that?
Misty Moon supports art in all it's
various forms and our tag line is "Where Art & Film
Collide". The festival will screen 5 or 6 indie films that
made it through to the final and will be judged on the night by our
celebrity judges Perry Benson, Brian Murphy, Dominic Brunt, Judy
Matheson, Linda Regan, Nina Muschallik and Emma Dark. A bit
like The X Factor, they will give their views on each film and then
the audience will choose the winner. This will be held at The Cinema
Museum on Saturday the 29th October in time for Halloween.
- Do you
have any events lined up that Carry On fans and fans of classic
British comedy should look out for?
We have
on the 15th October "George & Mildred The Movie Reunion"
at The Cinema Museum where the film will be screened and then a Q&A
with Brian Murphy, Norman Eshley, Nicholas Bond-Owen and David Barry
and our special guest MC is Linda Regan. We are also working with
Fenella over the Autumn and our production of "A Day In The
Lives Of Frankie Abbott" starring David Barry is at The
Edinburgh Fringe Festival & Camden Fringe Festival this month and
at The Phoenix Artist Club in September. We are also just
confirming a date for a "Citizen Smith Reunion" at The
Phoenix early next year with Mike Grady, George Sweeney and Tony
Millan.
-
Finally, a couple of Carry On questions - first of all, who is your
favourite Carry On star of all time?
Sid
James
- And
also, I have to ask, what's your favourite Carry On film?
Carry On
Screaming
Thanks once again to Stuart for taking time out to answer my questions. You can follow Misty Moon on Twitter here and you can visit their website here
You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook
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