Controversial Wound Movie Hits London

I've already booked myself in to view Wound at this year's FrightFest horror festival at the Empire cinema in Leicester Square.

Normally, I don't go for films in the horror genre these days, as unlike the innovative horror movies of the Seventies, the vogue for 21st century fodder tends to cater for bloodthirsty addicts of torture porn and graphic splatter violence.

But Wound, helmed by David Blyth, the controversial NZ film director is an exception.

Admittedly, Blyth's new feature film does include images of explicit violence and themes of incest and mental illness, all of which is automatically guaranteed to excite the horror festival crowd. Wound is an intelligent well made movie, which will keep its audience guessing until the climax.

'It is a psychological exploration of different shards of one's woman's mind. It deals with serious social issues,' Blyth says.


Wound, which was shot over twelve shooting days in the Auckland suburbs of Avondale and Onehunga has been described as 'an angry nightmare, hellbent on waking up the proletariat and spitting it right in its eye.'

Wound has already attracted notoriety after its screening at the New Zealand Film festival. In fact, there were even attempts to ban the movie.


Wound screenings at FrightFest: 5 p.m. on Friday August 27th and also 4.05 p.m at the Empire.

Don't all rush now!

Benefit Concert at the Great American Music Hall

Every year,  Austin de Lone organises a benefit concert in aid of the Richard de Lone Special Housing Project at the illustrious  Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. (Tickets will be on sale from Sunday August 22nd).

This year's benefit features Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe who will warble and play their musical instruments.

But what personally interests me is  the prospect of Austin  and his chanteuse daughter Caroline de Lone, who will be performing together as the opening act.

Aaaaaaah! It's so nice to see my relations (Austin is my brother-in-law and Caroline is my niece)  appear together on stage in aid of  my nephew Richard de Lone, who suffers from the Prader-Willi syndrome.

70s Style & Design Authors Ogle Frantic

The writer and journalist Dominic Lutyens has co-written with Kirsty Hislop (pic above) the most definitive reference book on the Seventies called 70s Style and Design, which was recently published by the prestigious Thames & Hudson.

Naturally, I was thrilled when Dominic and Kirsty both bought my novel Frantic, which is about the early Seventies.

'It's really effervescent!' Dominic enthuses.

He is now in the middle of producing his next book on the fashion icon Celia Birtwell, whom Karl Lagerfeld once declared to be the best textile designer in the world. Friends of Ms Birtwell, who include David Hockney (he regards her as his muse) are currently going through their archives for photos of Celia for the book.

I don't have a grand piano to put my framed photographs on, so my pics are nailed to the walls. After Dominic Lutyens came round today, he walked off with several photographs of myself. In each one of these snaps, I am dressed in one of Celia Birtwell's unique costumes, which she concocted for the 'late' Radley fashion label years before she designed for Top Shop. So thanks to Dominic Lutyens, my walls are now completely bare.