A Runners Recap: Making Breaking Lights

So, it has happened again, another short film written and directed by Mr H – His first film was called Black Fields, a fantasy horror where we follow four, battle weary warriors of different tribe’s, home. Tired, fatigued, and eager to escape bloody warfare, they seek a supposedly easier, faster route to salvation, across the Black Fields, a diverse yet haunted land where their presence does not go unnoticed. It is not long into their journey where they pick up a shadow, a spirit drunk on malice with cruel intentions that can manifest itself in both the material and spiritual worlds. All the warriors can do is flee when they realise their weapons cannot cleave demonic flesh, running deeper into this entity’s territory – We wrapped Black Fields back in July, as far as I am aware it is nearing the end of post-production and soon will be released onto DVD and Blu-Ray. H was hoping for a premier screening in selected cinemas upon release, I certainly was looking forward to seeing the crew again, but what with the effects of this global pandemic, it is unfortunately not going to happen, but my fingers are indeed crossed. I was a Runner in that film, a Producers and Directors assistant simply put, my job entailed an extra set of hands on and off set, starting early in the morning till late at night, everything from the small tasks such as feeding the cast and crew, maintaining cleanliness around the accommodation to assisting with larger jobs such as fitting the actors into costume, moving equipment, sound capture and organisation, anything H and his Producer Dave needed, I’d be on it immediately. I thought it would be a one-time thing, initially I thought that this would be a one-time great experience to work in film again, to see a part of the country I had not seen before, to work with actors and other interesting people, for a chance to meet one of my favourite YouTubers (Mr H) who talked about my favourite franchise (Alien), but I was mistaken. It wasn’t long after wrapping on this fantasy horror when I was called back by the Producer, asking me if I would be interested in H’s next project called Breaking Lights? Without a moment’s thought I said “Yes, absolutely yes, I’m so in” and that leads us to here my friends, having just finished on H’s second short film. Grab yourselves a drink guy’s, I’ve decided to go with a ginger ale tonight as I write another Runners Recap of an H Production. This won’t be a meaty article but I hope you enjoy.

The film is called Breaking Lights, a Lovecraft inspired psychological horror that explores the descent into madness, the dangers of depression, suicide and a ghostly, sinister presence that manifests itself inside a cursed idol from another place. This is arguably the polar opposite of Black Fields, it’s only tie is that it sits firmly inside the horror genre. You follow a man, a lonely man who has lost the respect of his friends, lost his passion for his work and his whole family are no longer part of his life. Driven to the brink, to the precipice of madness, he emotes the last few days of his story, shares with us his controversial epiphanies and his nightmarish discovery of the idol, which would appear to be driving his actions toward the darkness, but I will let you interpret this film in however way you want when you see it, that is the beauty of art, I just hope your experience is a positive one – The cast is significantly smaller than the last project, as already specified we follow not four characters this time, but just the one with the exception of one quick scene, making this a far more personal viewing. The man’s name is unknown, his name is unimportant, a lot of people I believe will be able to relate to him regardless. I think we’ve all to some extent been pushed to the edge, and I think this is why this short film is so powerful, for what if you were tipped over the edge? What IS important is the message of the movie which is one of sadness and the desperate cling for hope. The man, the main character is played wonderfully well by a fella named William Delaney, who quickly became a real trooper in my book, for we shot the whole film backwards from the end to beginning due to weather, and without going into spoilers (I do need to be careful) the end involves the rough sea. Will had to traverse across a small section of Devon’s coastline, at Black Rock, wearing nothing but a white shirt, office shoes and thin black trousers, need I remind you that we are in England, mid-November, shooting late into the day, no sun with the tide rolling in at an alarming rate. I was cold BEFORE I had to wade through the sea at waist level with a microphone, following Mr H who was directing, clutching onto the camera for dear life at times, doing our absolute best not to fall or stagger. It was risky as fuck because one slip up under those conditions would have likely ended the entire production! Good thing we kept steady feet, but Will was out there for hours with very few layers, he refused to blanket up between takes and carried on until the scene was finally called, but that was only half of the battle – From what we were told by locals and scouting prior online, the walk should have only taken fifteen to twenty-minutes from the parking lot to the coast, to where that incredible angled cliff protruding from the sea was located, but in reality it was pushing forty minutes! We were now not only lugging the gear UP hill this time, but we were soaked through from the waist down. It was bitterly cold especially for our actor William, but he nailed it and did so with such enthusiasm, never once did I hear Will whinge, complain or rudely snap a question, and the same goes for Mr H and the rest of the crew, high spirits were maintained throughout and that is something to celebrate, because it so easily could have been reversed. Besides the coastal shooting at Black Rock, there was only one other scene that required us to be absent from the house, the house we were all staying in and simultaneously filming in. I was not present for this take so there is little I can say about it, I was required elsewhere, but if you have ever visited North Devon, there are many narrow streets and old winding cobbled roads, perfect from what I was told for the ominous atmosphere that H was hoping to capture. I would have loved to have seen all of the outdoor scenes, but during this time I was tasked to organise the equipment room and prep it to shoot the pub scene, the only scene where there are other actors present, Tommo and Chris White.

Tommo, I have worked with before, never caught his second name, but we all knew him as Tommo, the ironman, the bodybuilder. Not only does he appear in Black Fields as Bjorn, the mighty Viking warrior who wields a grand war hammer, but he was also in a movie called Tribal. I’ve not seen Tribal…Yet…But if you have, he is the bad guy who appears at the end, not the guy you want to meet down a dark alley I’ll tell you that! In Breaking Lights, he is our main characters friend, and does his best to break up a fight where money is owed. What can I say about Tommo other than he is an utter champ to work with, such a charismatic guy and absolute joy off the set, I’ve had many good conversations with Tommo, a few good heart to hearts, I have a lot of time for him, a true gentleman, calls me Dunc the Hunk. I am curious though as are most of the crew because Tommo persistently refuses to label himself an actor. From what I’ve seen, this guy is good, he comes across as fearless, is endlessly patient, wants nothing but to do well and to get involved, whether his scene is large or small he gives it his all, and that is what is needed I suppose in the art of movie making. If I am involved in making my own trailer again or short film in the future, it is likely I will be calling on this friendly chap. I like Tommo, and although his role in Breaking Lights is small, I know you will enjoy his acting. Do let him know if you can, he will greatly appreciate it, as will Mr Delaney. The other actor is a lad named Chris White who trained in RADA. He plays the guy who manhandles our lead actor, sifting him for owed money. Chris has done some stage work before, this comes through in his performance, he is extremely emotive, he has a powerful singing voice I can see him performing on stage and in some musicals in the future. Just like Tommo, he worked well with us, fit in like he had been here from the get-go, we too shared some late night chats and is currently working on a piece of music to go with the film. I will continue to follow his work, his musical talents and acting career in the future.

With Black Fields I assisted with the construction of some sets, we were mainly shooting outdoors in the New Forest and the forest itself provided all the realism we needed. In Breaking Lights, I was asked to help with the pub scene and the writing on the wall’s scene. I was instructed to fit white wallpaper across the entirety of one large wall so our actor William Delaney could scrawl across it using charcoal without damaging the real wall behind it. Before I go on, I best describe the house we were in, so you’ve a better idea of what it was like. The house was very spacious, about six bedrooms, two bathrooms, two living rooms, a kitchen where I spent most of my time fuelling everyone with tea and biscuits, a garden for H’s dog Jasper to explore and a utility room. It was a nice place, very simplistic, a house that looked like it had been left alone since the early nineties, it reminded me of my Grandparents house, the one I used to visit once a year in Suffolk when I was a child, cosy but not a young persons sort of place. Nevertheless, it did the job, it fit the part perfectly especially when we were filming from the outside, when the lights were slowly going out behind Will following our actor throughout the corridors, as if the house itself was possessed by the idol. There was a haunting touch to it, and I cannot wait to see the results of everyone’s hard labour. When it came to the writing on the wall, I did make a suggestion to Dave, I showed him a teaser trailer from the sci-fi horror game Dead Space 2, if you’ve seen that specific trailer you’ll know that it begins with a sort of living Rorschach inkblots that form into twisted Necromorphs. My idea was that we take the craftsmanship of the idol and have Will scrawl similar symbols onto the paper. I have a feeling that this is what H wanted in the first place, but I am just relieved that the wallpaper held together for as long as it did, for the sticky tabs I used did not do a grand job of holding the weight of the paper up. Dave and I had to reinforce it with cello-tape and just hoped it would be able to withstand the erratic scrawling. Fortunately it did, we got some pretty wicked shots, some of which are already up online for all to see, and from what I can tell, people are excited about this, the level of quality H and the crew are going for is exquisite. Everything has been considered before we shoot a scene, we make absolutely sure that nothing will compromise the director and the actor, to create the best most realistic shot possible to captivate and engage your love of movies. I know, through and through that all of this effort will pay off and we’ll deliver something special.

H is a director with vision, he is not afraid to get his hands dirty, not afraid to wander waist deep into the freezing ocean or get onto his hands and knees in the mud for the perfect angle. It’s inspiring because so many are not willing to do that, so many want the grand results without the sacrifice and I am sorry to say this but, good movies come with sacrifice, most good things do, they go hand in hand. Not only does H write the scripts, but he is willing to adjust on the spot if necessary if something is not quite working. Sometimes the words do not marry with the visuals or the story being told does not sound as powerful when it’s voiced outside of your head, so he is able to quickly adjust and figure out what is best for the specific scene. When we were filming the monologue scene for instance, H put a lot of emphasis on William to nail this, for if he did not capture the power of the message, then the rest of the movie would fall to bits, it was all riding on this moment. We were up until the early hours, Alex, our videographer was passing out as he held the shade, Dave was nodding off for the light was dim, I was dropping off on the landing outside while H and Will worked on and on. This is what passion entails, this is what dedication looks like, this scene was important and had to convey a message, this is what separates a great artist from a mediocre one, a great artist will push for excellence and will not settle for ‘that’ll do’ BECAUSE IT WON’T DO! H is not relying on spectacle to translate his narrative, he is relying on story, a formula which seems to have been slowly crossed over typically with other movies of gigantic budgets. I like to think this is what I am made of, I’ve only a few instances in my life to draw upon but I feel like I share H’s passion for the craft. It is inspiring to see H work with his actors and us, not only is he a friendly chap, a genuine guy who gives a shit about the work, but he does his best to understand those he leads, because movie making is a collaborative process, a love hate relationship, he understands this, he appreciates us, and that is why I am keen to work with him again, it is why I put in as much effort as I can whenever I am called upon, because I know the importance of what we’re doing. H is a great guy and I hope his movies bring him all the success. I love Dave, his Producer, Dave is as dedicated as H, without Dave an energy would indeed be lost. Everyone has a part to play, we’re a squad. I am so incredibly happy that I have gotten to know such hardworking, friendly guys, I am so happy I got in touch when I did, that I took that risk, and I look forward to what is to come, as should you be, because we are trying to bring you nourishing content, content which gets you thinking and talking. I’ve learned a lot while working with this crew, doors have opened, creative juices are flowing, ideas are circulating and I’ve enjoyed almost every moment of these projects which will continue in 2021.

This article was written from my own perspective as the Lead Runner. If you would like to know more, I do recommend you watch ‘The Making of’ documentaries found in the special features section of each DVD/Blu-Ray. They are recorded and edited together by our talented Videographer, Alex Hunt where he covers EVERY aspect of the making process. Like myself, Alex’s day starts early and finishes late, he is often filming us on and off set capturing us at our worst and our best. The documentaries will include interviews and extensive behind the scenes footage which I believe are well worth your time.

For your best source, do check out Mr H’s YouTube channel, follow his Twitter and Instagram handles and if you can, support independent film makers and writers who dare to take risks. This does not necessarily mean you should follow us, although donations and subscriptions will be appreciated, but please support your favourite YouTuber, your favourite author or film maker, they will thank you. All relevant links are below, I hope you have a great day. PEACE!

Oh, just a heads up before I sign off, if you decide to purchase a Hardback or Paperback copy of my book, The Ancestral Odyssey: The Utopian Dream, thank you. I recommend you buy new and not second hand. This is not a marketing trick to make me more money, I actually make very little when a copy is sold, no, the reason being is because earlier this year I re-released The Utopian Dream after finding fault with some of the content, and decided to pull it down and make slight adjustments, removing clutter, straightening out the structure and cleaning up the odd typo overall creating a better, far more enjoyable read. The story remained the same so do not worry about its integrity if you’re an older reader. I also recommend you purchase the Paperback Edition Volume One to Volume Three, although the Hardback is glorious I had to squash the text to fit it within the spine, it also is rather heavy, so to save you some minor struggles, I encourage you buy the Paperbacks or Kindles. Love you guys, catch you laters.

E-Mail – taotome@outlook.com

Twitter – @MegasTeque

Author Page UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B01JMZ2BE6

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My Promotional Material YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-nc_VEmC27AIz6pP51UVkQ?fbclid=IwAR26b3631qny1hSdZJx0iASzDUhTptqKI-NszWisWfRkB_uNFVBAGyZATLM

My Promotional Material Bitchute – https://www.bitchute.com/channel/x9K5vwi2SsNu/?fbclid=IwAR2JpxeNGCSbYxTEuuI5D1EiUtbq5CaBiDF2LtUlXAs9K97_w8m0YRmjEBg

Mr H Twitter – @MrHreviews

Mr H Reviews Channel YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmxfZa-sV27MUDqy-iJIsfA

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William Delaney Twitter – @ismaithlom

D.W.Gill

Two Sides of the Same Coin

Hey folks, today I would like to talk about villains. This is an important topic for me because I love exploring the psyche of the antagonist. I could write chapters on this subject, so I am going to try and keep this article self-contained for the most part at least because I’ve a lot on my mind, I would like to highlight some key aspects of what makes a successful villain without branching off into other topics along the way like I usually do. You guys are busy people too and would probably prefer it if I stick to the one thing this time I’ll do my best – Yes I have gone back and read some of my old work and reached this conclusion myself, I tend to rant – With that being said, I would like to offer you…Yes you…My thanks. I was alerted by WordPress a little while back notifying me of my viewing stats, they have gone up. I do not usually check to see who is reading my stuff, I glance at it from time to time I suppose I am interested to see what parts of the globe light up but even if it was only one person reading my articles or if only one person was reading my book, I would still do what I do, because I love what I do. There is so much to explore and to think about in this one short life we lead, and I use my writing as an outlet to express myself. I made the decision to translate what I saw into a book of epic proportions at the age of eighteen, I knew that after College I could not simply put this away and go and do something else, I had to carry on, I remember it as clear as day in fact, sitting on those steps near my exhibition, an exhibition I spent years creating for all to see and now it was over, but it was only truly over if I decided it to be. This is what I am here to do. I encourage everyone in fact to search for their niche in life whatever that may be, it does not matter what it is, it could be anything, so long as it is not hurting anyone else or anything, go and find that one thing that you want to do, find what you’re passionate about and strive to make your own dent in the universe. If you are unsure about what it is you are doing, ask yourself these questions and answer honestly; Do you want to do it all the time? Are you excited about what you can potentially achieve? Is it something you want to nurture every day? Do you go to bed excited about it and equally excited when you get up? But more importantly, you should not want a holiday from it, no, you take it on holiday with you! That is one of the most important things to think about and is the reason I laugh when I hear people say “I love my job” yet at the same time they cannot wait to just run away. That is the big difference between the passionate people who take risks, and those who simply work for money because it’s easy, because it’s safe, because the road is clear. If that is the life you want to live, if that is what you’re here to do then fine, but the fact of the matter is that most people are too afraid to take the dark path, they’d rather be safe and it may indeed lead you to security and safety, but once you get there you’ll look back and think what if? For those who take that dark path may not make it, they may stumble, they may fall risking humiliation and crisis, but in a way that is the same as where adventure leads, adventures are never easy, the hero often faces trials, he often meets powers he cannot overcome, the risk of failure and retreat is great, but if you make it, if you keep going, if you choose to follow what it is you were put on this Earth to do, you will end up living a life that most people admire, you have to be wise and you have to be brave. You may not be a howling success at it but at least you’ll know what you’re supposed to be doing, it certainly makes the daily chore of life, the day to day endless grind a whole lot easier, by simply knowing that you’ve something waiting for you when you get home after that long, bothersome shift at work or knowing that once you’ve finished that arduous drive along the boring motorway there will come a moment where you can relax into what your purpose is. I do encourage you to go out there and find your purpose, really what have you got to lose? You’re here for three score years ten and you’ll be lucky to get through that smoothly, as far as we know this is our one shot, this is the one time we’ll be here, for fuck sake make it count! Don’t get totally derailed by the events of the world, don’t let it take power over you because you are important, your ideas and what you can contribute is important more so than you know and I implore you to find it, don’t put off your purpose. Once you’ve found it, going back to how you were is almost impossible, like taking the red pill you can’t just go back, which leads me to that dreaded question I was asked not so long ago, they asked; What will you do when all five of these Episodes are completed, what happens when you’ve finished The Ancestral Odyssey? The answer to that question is, I don’t know, I’ve been thinking about it, I guess I’ll have to try something else when all of this is said and done, what that is could be anything at this point, but I’ll find that out on the day. I’ve finished Episode One-The Utopian Dream, I am nearing the end of Episode Two-Rise of The Black Doves, I’ve a somewhat clear idea on how Episode Three-Seeds of War will turn out as with Episode Four-Rainbow Dawn and do not get me started on Episode Five-The Chosen Kindred because simply thinking about those events gives me a lap of excitement. I have already failed guys, I have already ranted, I will do better next time, I hope. Grab yourself a drink, this will not be a long one, but I will do my best to explain what I think makes a great villain, enjoy.

I believe that one of the key aspects into what makes a compelling villain, are his or her own motivations, when they’re made to serve a purpose, to add a meaningful dimension to the narrative you’re constructing. A good villain is more than just a position to be filled and a box to tick to make scenes happen. Villains written with their own journey, their own character and mission in mind, that directly conflicts with your protagonist or protagonists is tantalising stuff, readers are hungry for this sort of material for a great villain is often a bigger selling point than your hero, a hero is not much of anything without worthy opposition. Yes, it is easy to create a villain who wants world domination, it’s easy for creatives to raise the stakes to ridiculous proportions, it’s a quick seductive tactic to insure the importance of your heroes success, but rarely does this methodology work. This idea of ultimate destruction has been done to death, it has become tedious and to my mind is bordering the lines of laziness, unless written with an adept hand it can still be served with a justified impact, you just need to be a master at your craft before you go down this path. However, before one goes this way, I will advise you to rethink this common trope, because you are missing out on something wonderful, you’re missing out on a treasure trove of ideas and a wealth of topics that can assist with your story, your characterisation and your world-building. Exploring your villain’s motivations that counter your hero, allows you to see a different side of the same coin, it will encourage you to know your creation in the utmost detail. If you do this correctly, if you set up your world in such a way that isn’t flawless and create a villain who can slip through the cracks, who looks at the systems, the heroes in a different way, the pool of your story will grow deeper and wider, it will instantly become far more realistic, something almost tangible with a mind of its own. An example I usually use when discussing this, is from a religious angle or a political angle. Religion typically comes from ancient texts, they are full of scriptures, poems, teachings and lessons in life, man’s first attempt to explain the world and for that it deserves credit. Some of the stories contained within are quite beautiful, some are indeed quite thought provoking and hold great meaning and value, others not so much, others are freakish and ghastly. These texts may present themselves as Gods word, but any thinking person of the modern world, someone with an education, who practises critical thinking regularly, will be able to debunk stories presented as gospel, stories considered even to this day to be historical fact when clearly they are not. I am not here to talk religion, but if you need a classic example of this, think of the story of Noah’s Ark, a story which on the surface is cool and interesting, I’ve read it times over and enjoyed the movie with Russel Crowe, but when you actually start to think about it, it just isn’t true, and I know that many religious people will say to me, ‘Duncan it’s all metaphorical’ there are still droves of people who believe it as fact, who don’t care about the science, they just like it because it’s part of their religion, my point is, is that there is a problem in God’s holy book, and there are thousands of issues I’ve just expressed the one, all of this calls into question as to whether or not people should take The Bible, The Hadith or Quran as it’s presented, the word of Gods and prophets and I am sorry, I just don’t! In the US you’ve two major political parties, Republican and Democrat, both parties want what is best for everyone, both want to prosper but the differences come through the execution, they too are a side to the same coin essentially and each side comes with sets of ideas not everyone agrees with due to a whole list of things, from birth place, certain experiences, their history, everyone has a political leaning, everyone has their view on religion and can provide you with reasons as to why they feel strongly toward said views. This is the reason why you never bring up these two subjects when sat around the dinner table or when out with friends, because the moment you do, your once healthy, happy, friendly dialogue will spiral into a whirlwind of bullshit. I actually had an uncomfortable dialogue very recently which resulted in unnecessary tension, they didn’t know any numbers or facts, they didn’t know the names of the certain people I was referring to, they thought I was listing off conspiracy theorists yet they themselves do not even know who Alex Jones or Rachel Maddow are, instead they called me names, labelled me and refused to engage, they preferred to shout and scream which has become the norm these days, but quite simply they haven’t been paying much attention of late, they just recycled go-to arguments, arguments which hold little water, arguments reported by a severely biased mainstream media. I’ve little faith in the mainstream media these days, big tech included because it has been shown to report one side of the story, I always suggest you broaden your search, listen to BOTH sides to assist with your opinions. I’ll leave a link below to a source I trust if you’re curious as to where I get my news, but save yourself the trouble when arguing with people who simply have no desire to listen, pick you battles carefully and do your best to empathise with someone who disagrees, have a conversation, and politely persuade them of your argument if you can and move on. With this in mind, think of your villain as the person who disagrees, colour it in with the world and rules in which you’ve created, add flavour with their sense of style and do not be afraid to give the villain the upper hand, do not be afraid to be bold and inspire empathy toward the antagonist, doing so will result in your audience feeling challenged, it will trigger their thinking and get them to question themselves. Readers and movie goers tend to like this, it tickles them. When a villain perceived to be an absolute savage turns out to be someone the common man can empathise with, creates meaningful friction and gets you a step closer to understanding the other sides motivations, it’s not just mindless.

This is just the basics alright, but so often I see the fundamentals being ignored. It is partly the reason as to why I am writing this, but now let’s take it one step further, let’s advance and get a little more interesting, class is now in session ladies and gentlemen and I am going to start by asking you a very simple perhaps off the cuff question but please bear with me, and that is:- ‘What is the movie Jaws about?’ Before you answer, have a proper think, and consider this next question:- ‘What is Darth Sidious’s greatest power?’ Darth Sidious is The Emperor from Star Wars if you didn’t already know. I use Jaws and Star Wars to explain this segment because they are popular and the likely hood of someone not knowing about either film is extremely remote. If you’ve not seen these movies, if you have no idea what I am talking about, message me directly, there is help out there, you can still be saved, you’re going to be okay…Hopefully you’ve given some thought to my questions, I am hoping that you know what I am about to say because so many people only see what is right in front of them when actually, there is more going on than meets the eye, and this reason alone is why some works of art withstand the test of time and others do not despite their grand spectacle most are pumped full of these days, story it seems has been replaced with spectacle and it should be reversed, story comes first, always it must come first.

Jaws, and you may look a gasp at this is, not about the shark, and The Emperors greatest power is not shooting lightning out of his fingertips. If you thought this then I am afraid you missed the point. Brody, the main character in Jaws played by Roy Scheider, is or was a big city cop in New York. He moved to a small town on Amity Island having grown tired of, from what I gathered from the plot, unable to make a difference. He hates the water, the film does indicate his fear of water quite a few times brought on by a traumatic event (drowning) when he was a younger man, and every time it is brought up he closes down, becomes uncomfortable or grows defensive. This leaves you with the question:- Why did he move to an island in the first place? If you look carefully, when the shark claims its second victim and everyone runs into the water to get their loved ones out, Brody does not put a foot in, his feet do not even get wet. So, what is this all about? The more you think about it the less it becomes about the big fish and more about his character, maybe it is about Brody coming to terms with his worst fears? Maybe it is about him resolving a traumatic experience which has left him scarred and that means going out into the water, to face an authority, an apex predator that just ‘does,’ similar to that of a mindless, merciless criminal by the likes of which he has never seen. Out there in the water he is not the Chief of police, he is not the authority, the shark is, the shark is an embodiment of his trauma that he has chosen to overcome.

In Star Wars, arguably the most powerful character is The Emperor, Darth Sidious. Unfortunately, his character was compromised in the prequel trilogy, why they decided to give him a lightsabre (as with Yoda) was a ridiculous notion. To my understanding, Force users such as himself had transcended the use of such weapons, as Vader points out in A New Hope; “The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of The Force.” Later, The Emperor was brought back and utterly ruined in the sequel trilogy for reasons I will not go into here because – Look, say what you want about the prequels, they were bad but not nearly as damaging as the sequel trilogy, the sequel trilogy as stunning as it looked, was not only executed horribly, their characters were made of cardboard wallowing around in a non-sensical plot, it did nothing but divide the fan base, it was an utter sin what happened to Star Wars – But at least the prequels had somewhat of a focus, at least George Lucas was at the helm and had an idea as to where it was all going, sure he may have been a bit drunk behind the wheel and had too many toys on Adobe Photoshop to play with, but he was a man with a vision, he gave a shit. The sequel trilogy had no idea what it was doing, Force Awakens got off to somewhat of a good start, Last Jedi dialled back the movie industry as a whole, and Rise of Skywalker spent half its time repairing the damage. All you need do is watch them to see this, I am not going to spend an article breaking this down further, the internet has already done so and continues to do so. Right now, I am talking about The Emperor as he appears in the original trilogy, the best three which everyone loves, and one reason why people loved them, was that there was more going on than just the spectacle, there was substance here, there were relatable characters and a plot with a message. Star Wars has always been about family, the duels, the battles, the powers are secondary when compared to the message of the importance of family. This is where The Emperor’s greatest power lies and was lost in Rise of Skywalker, he was able to turn Anakin Skywalker, a good man and father, against his son, it was never the lightning, the Force pushes or the lightsabre’s, it was his ability to corrupt the unconditional love family members have for one another to the point where Luke, was able to turn this around. For the most part the prequels lacked any character investment, there was a little going on in Revenge of the Sith with Obi-Wan and Anakin, but it really hammers home in the original trilogy, in Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. There is more than just a battle taking place, more going on than two men hitting light sticks together, it is a struggle to regain control of what makes us human and part if not the most important thing humans have on our side, is our love for one another, particularly the bonds between family and The Emperor infects that. 

Villains do not necessarily have to be in the form of someone or something. In the movies and the book world they often come across as such things, but there is usually a deeper meaning behind their presence that gives them more to think about. A villain can be one’s own anxiety or bouts of depression, it can be disease, even the passage of time can act as an obstacle. There is so much to explore here but it is fair to say, the villain is as important as the hero, for one would not exist without the other.

I’ll leave it there for now, do check out my Twitter if you’d like to see one of my own villains drawn by the same artist who drew The Star Callers, the protagonists for my up and coming book titled – ‘Episode Two. The Ancestral Odyssey: Rise of The Black Doves.’ Episode One. The Utopian Dream is out and available for purchase, the links are below, but please, if you are going to buy it I recommend The Kindle Edition or Paperback Edition Volume One and buy it new and NOT from another seller or worse e-bay. Over lockdown the first book went through a soft edit, I didn’t change the story but I did clean it up, I stretched out the kinks, removed some clutter, fixed the odd typo and re-released it in 2020. Check out The Soft Edit link below for more information. I chose not to make a note of this anywhere else but here. I must admit the launch of Ep1-Dream was a disaster because I was inexperienced, like with George Lucas I had all the pieces just no clear understanding of how to use them, which is why I always advise if you decide to buy my work, buy it new because I want you to have the best experience possible. If you’re wondering who the beautiful woman is in this Blogs header picture, it is a picture of the lovely Holly Yohanne, she played my villainess, Cephie Melias in the Live-Action Trailer found on my YouTube and Bitchute, a project I am still very proud of. Cephie is the lead villain in Ep2-Rise, to my mind she is a worthy adversary for our Star Callers in this next instalment, an embodiment of all their worst fears so to speak, powerful, wild, unpredictable and malevolent, although she is not without meaning, there is reason to her, there is purpose here I do take my own advice and I think you will be very impressed with the results that follow.

Look forward to Ep2-Rise, it really is going to be something, and I will talk to you guys again soon. Thank you and PEACE!                

E-mail – taotome@outlook.com

Twitter – @MegasTeque

Author Page UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B01JMZ2BE6

Author Page US – https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01JMZ2BE6

My Promotional Material YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-nc_VEmC27AIz6pP51UVkQ?fbclid=IwAR26b3631qny1hSdZJx0iASzDUhTptqKI-NszWisWfRkB_uNFVBAGyZATLM

My Promotional Material Bitchute –https://www.bitchute.com/channel/x9K5vwi2SsNu/?fbclid=IwAR2JpxeNGCSbYxTEuuI5D1EiUtbq5CaBiDF2LtUlXAs9K97_w8m0YRmjEBg

The Soft Edit Article – https://taoscribe.wordpress.com/2020/05/26/the-soft-edit/

News Source – https://www.youtube.com/user/Timcasts

D.W.Gill