Seumas Next
Encyclopedia
Seumas Next is an Australian-born film maker presently living in London. He is the co-founder of film-production company Occidental Films and distributor Hollywood Arthouse.
, South Australia
before moving to London in 1987. He left university to form the dance band the Long Time Boys, producing a Millennium track, "On the Third Stroke", featuring the voice of the Speaking Clock
, Brian Cobby
: the world's first 3-minute 12 inch".
During this time in London and in collaboration with Professor Mandelbrot
he created a series of Fractal
paintings based on Mandelbrot's Chaos Theory
.
and John Hughes (his favourite films include A Clockwork Orange
and Weird Science
), Next began writing screenplays with his school friend Stephan Kern and they set up their production company, Occidental Films, and a distribution company, Hollywood Arthouse.
After producing a series of short-form art films in London between 1992 and 1996, they wrote and co-directed their debut feature film, Iced Lolly
(1997), a film that made history by becoming the first all-digital feature film when it was projected straight from a computer server before an audience of 600 in Adelaide on 15 March 2003.
In 2004 they directed their debut feature documentary Mullets and Bars
, exploring American stereotypes and starring John Washington VII (the ancestral nephew of George Washington
). Mullets and Bars was nominated for best documentary at its premiere at the thirteenth Raindance Film Festival
in London in October 2005.
Mullets and Bars was planned to be the world's first animated feature documentary but the conversion costs proved prohibitive.
In 2007 Next, Kern, and Mark Wilenkin began production on How to Make a Film which they have billed as "the world’s first instructional feature film", starring the world's foremost film-makers and gurus, (including Elliot Grove
, Dov S S Simens, Syd Field
, Chris Jones
, John Truby
, Mike Figgis
, Irvine Welsh
, John Landis
, Sandra Hebron, Lord David Puttnam
, Alki David
and Jan Harlan
amongst others). How to Make a Film will be released in early 2011.
In 2009 they produced Henry the 9
, a controversial film that depicted the assassination of the British Royal Family and Prime Minister in a terrorist attack that only Prince Harry survived. Prince Harry (real name Henry) is crowned King Henry IX and, suspending parliament, takes absolute control.
A rough-cut of Henry the 9 previewed at the Covent Garden Hotel
in London on 24 June 2009, the 500th Anniversary of Henry VIII's Coronation. Seumas dedicated the film to his great uncle Henry Norris, beheaded by Henry VIII for his alleged affair with Anne Boleyn
.
Early life
Next was born in Melbourne and grew up in AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
before moving to London in 1987. He left university to form the dance band the Long Time Boys, producing a Millennium track, "On the Third Stroke", featuring the voice of the Speaking Clock
Speaking clock
A speaking clock service is a recorded or simulated human voice service, usually accessed by telephone, that gives the correct time. The first telephone speaking clock service was introduced in France, in association with the Paris Observatory on 14 February 1933.The format of the service is...
, Brian Cobby
Brian Cobby
Brian Cobby , is a British actor and telephone exchange worker who in 1985 became the first male voice of the British speaking clock.In 2004, Cobby guest-starred in the Doctor Who audio drama The Creed of the Kromon....
: the world's first 3-minute 12 inch".
During this time in London and in collaboration with Professor Mandelbrot
Benoît Mandelbrot
Benoît B. Mandelbrot was a French American mathematician. Born in Poland, he moved to France with his family when he was a child...
he created a series of Fractal
Fractal
A fractal has been defined as "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...
paintings based on Mandelbrot's Chaos Theory
Chaos theory
Chaos theory is a field of study in mathematics, with applications in several disciplines including physics, economics, biology, and philosophy. Chaos theory studies the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, an effect which is popularly referred to as the...
.
Film career
Inspired by such greats as Stanley KubrickStanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
and John Hughes (his favourite films include A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange is a 1962 dystopian novella by Anthony Burgess. The novel contains an experiment in language: the characters often use an argot called "Nadsat", derived from Russian....
and Weird Science
Weird Science (film)
Weird Science is a 1985 American teen comedy film written and directed by John Hughes and starring Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, and Kelly LeBrock...
), Next began writing screenplays with his school friend Stephan Kern and they set up their production company, Occidental Films, and a distribution company, Hollywood Arthouse.
After producing a series of short-form art films in London between 1992 and 1996, they wrote and co-directed their debut feature film, Iced Lolly
Iced Lolly
Iced Lolly is a film that made history by becoming the first all-digital feature film when it was projected straight from a computer server to an audience of 600 in Adelaide, South Australia on Saturday 15 March 2003....
(1997), a film that made history by becoming the first all-digital feature film when it was projected straight from a computer server before an audience of 600 in Adelaide on 15 March 2003.
In 2004 they directed their debut feature documentary Mullets and Bars
Mullets and Bars
“Mullets and Bars” is a feature-length documentary by Seumas Next and Stephan Kern that explores American stereotypes and stars John Washington VII ....
, exploring American stereotypes and starring John Washington VII (the ancestral nephew of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
). Mullets and Bars was nominated for best documentary at its premiere at the thirteenth Raindance Film Festival
Raindance Film Festival
Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates from various cities including: London, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin and Brussels...
in London in October 2005.
Mullets and Bars was planned to be the world's first animated feature documentary but the conversion costs proved prohibitive.
In 2007 Next, Kern, and Mark Wilenkin began production on How to Make a Film which they have billed as "the world’s first instructional feature film", starring the world's foremost film-makers and gurus, (including Elliot Grove
Elliot Grove
Elliot Grove is a Canadian-born film producer who founded both the Raindance Film Festival in 1993 and the British Independent Film Awards in 1998.- Biography :...
, Dov S S Simens, Syd Field
Syd Field
Syd Field is an American writer who has become one of the most popular screenwriting gurus in the movie industry. Field has written several books on the subject of screenwriting, and holds workshops and seminars around the world that help aspiring and professional screenwriters produce the kind of...
, Chris Jones
Chris Jones (filmmaker)
Chris Jones is a British filmmaker and author.Chris Jones was a feature film director at the age of 21. He is also the co-author of The Guerilla Filmmakers Handbook. He teaches a variety of filmmaker courses from his Ealing Studio location....
, John Truby
John Truby
John Truby is a screenwriter, director and screenwriting teacher. His first feature film as writer/director was All-American Boy. He has served as a consultant on over 1,000 film scripts over the past three decades, and is also known for the screenwriting software program Blockbuster .Truby argues...
, Mike Figgis
Mike Figgis
Michael "Mike" Figgis is an English film director, writer, and composer.-Personal life:Figgis was born in Carlisle, England and grew up in Africa. Figgis for several years had a relationship with the actress Saffron Burrows and cast her in several films...
, Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh is a contemporary Scottish novelist, best known for his novel Trainspotting. His work is characterised by raw Scottish dialect, and brutal depiction of the realities of Edinburgh life...
, John Landis
John Landis
John David Landis is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer. He is known for his comedies, his horror films, and his music videos with singer Michael Jackson.-Early life and career:...
, Sandra Hebron, Lord David Puttnam
David Puttnam
David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, FRSA is a British film producer. He sits on the Labour benches in the House of Lords, although he is not principally a politician.-Early life:...
, Alki David
Alki David
Alkiviades "Alki" David is a digital media entrepreneurknown for his adoption of social media as a marketing vehicle, such as FilmOn, Battlecam and 9021go.com. David has also appeared in feature films, including The Bank Job, and on UK TV.-Background and family:David was born in Lagos, Nigeria, to...
and Jan Harlan
Jan Harlan
Jan Harlan is a film producer and the brother of Christiane Kubrick, Stanley Kubrick's widow. He was born in Karlsruhe, Germany on May 5, 1937....
amongst others). How to Make a Film will be released in early 2011.
In 2009 they produced Henry the 9
Henry the 9
Henry the 9 is a British film completed in 2010 and directed by Seumas Next, Mark Wilenkin and Stephan Kern . Controversially, Henry the 9 depicts the assassination of the British Royal Family and Prime Minister in a terrorist attack that only Prince Harry survives...
, a controversial film that depicted the assassination of the British Royal Family and Prime Minister in a terrorist attack that only Prince Harry survived. Prince Harry (real name Henry) is crowned King Henry IX and, suspending parliament, takes absolute control.
A rough-cut of Henry the 9 previewed at the Covent Garden Hotel
Covent Garden Hotel
Covent Garden Hotel is a 5-star hotel in London, England. It is located near Seven Dials in the West End, a short walk away from the Royal Opera House, and is surrounded by some 21 theatres. The hotel is part of Tim and Kit Kemp's Firmdale Hotels.-Style:...
in London on 24 June 2009, the 500th Anniversary of Henry VIII's Coronation. Seumas dedicated the film to his great uncle Henry Norris, beheaded by Henry VIII for his alleged affair with Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
.