Shovelled Up

I am not unhappy to be limping out of 2024, whilst we are not being shat on by tories for a bit, the time is approaching to don our sou’westers to prepare for President Tango to empty his bowels over the planet.

In other news, it was back to Budapest in March to reunite with my Wick Squad to put ‘Ballerina’ back on her points. I can report that Ana de Armas is a delight and just as beautiful as you could imagine.

There was no time to go home for a costume change before I headed to Bovingdon UK to shoot with Alex Garland on ‘Warfare’, a 5 week whirlwind shoot all set in a cinder block house in Fallujah. With 2 handheld cameras, 2 boom operators and 16 actors fully loaded with military kit it was an oddly intimate experience.

It’s rare that I get to work alongside 3 of my favourite directors in a single year but after I wrapped with Chad Stahelski and Alex Garland, Francis Lawrence enticed me up to Winnipeg for a Stephen King project called ‘The Long Walk’ with another stellar cast of young actors.

Working and becoming friends with the new generation of actors such as Cailee Spaeny, Cooper Hoffman, Michael Gandolfini and Joe Quinn is the reason I still love my job after all these years, that and my appreciation for bad coffee. 

It seems incredible that this is the 5th year that we have produced our small mounted prints for Christmas, I wonder if anyone has the whole set? I thought this casual moment before Monty drives in with a couple of blues perfect. As usual, it is a very limited edition. 

Try not to get arrested. 

Chin chin,  

MC

R.G. v R.G

Richard Curtis asked me if the cast of #withnailandi still got on well when I joined him on #abouttimemovie. I replied “of course” and this was the result ! It was sadly the last time I photographed#richardgriffiths #oldvic #richardegrant

Rare Sighting

A rare sighting of Miss Blennerhassit waiting for the juke box to arrive! This is the only image I have of her, I must have detained in the pub next door during her coverage! Cin Cin #withnailphotos #withnailandi #murrayclose

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

My lovely pals, 1st AD,  Peter Kohn and 2nd AD, Kathy Sykes, were loitering with no intent outside the Int. Camden Flat set and I needed some stand-ins . No one thought these steps would have such legacy!   MC

1986 Vintage Negatives

It’s not very often that I take the Withnail original negs out of storage so it’s a special occasion today.   A client has requested a specific image that will now get scanned and printed and I get to wonder about the longevity of film emulsion given that I made these images in 1986.  I won’t be around in another  40 years to see if my digital images survive but I bet these Kodak Plus X negs will be… 

Time for a cheeky one,

Cin Cin. 

MC

Taken from the programme from Withnail & I at the Birmingham Rep, May 2024

Tabloid news....

We had to disappoint a number of Withnail punters this year as we sold out of this image as a mounted limited run so we decided to make it available as an 11 x 14” limited edition 100.  Please note that these won’t be available for dispatch until January 2024.   Chin chin, MC

Wine stains not included...

We’re getting to the end of another year which surprisingly wasn’t spent in Berlin but Budapest where I shot ‘Alien: Romulus’ for Scott Free Productions and was reunited with my pal Cailee Spaeny who you’ll starring in ‘Priscilla’ and ‘Civil War’ very soon. 

The spectre of Withnail loomed large this year and I got to photograph Richard E. for the poster of ‘Death of a Unicorn’ in Budapest. The last time I photographed his handsome chops was for Richard Curtis on ‘About Time’ and although we don’t see each that regularly the years melt away when catching up on who’s done what in Withnail World!

It turns out that we have been busy this year… Bruce has finished writing his theatrical production of ‘Withnail & I’ which should have its premiere next year in Birmingham.  Any casting suggestions?

Titan Books published Toby Benjamin’s Withnail and I book ‘From Cult to Classic’ which is the definitive account of the film and features interviews with all of us who haven’t shuffled off and allows me and my images to bask in the sun once again. 

The cover of the book is a black and white photograph of Iconic PhotoShoot #2 on the steps outside Withnail’s flat and I thought it quite decent so I have made it the Christmas small mounted print for 2023 with a very limited run.  (Wine stains not included!)

I hope you all survive another year, with all this worldwide devastation there’s little to stop us reaching for the gin before noon..

Chin chin,   MC

It's all in the name

With these bloody actors on strike I haven’t had many victims to photograph but I’ve finally had time to sort my Withnail archive out.  I realised that this piece of genius doesn’t have a title.  I’m looking for suggestions, if I pick your pathetic attempt you’ll receive an 11 x 14” print of it.  Results will be announced here on Sunday.  Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments below or on FB.  Cin cin, MC

***UPDATE***. The winner is Philip James with ‘Are You the Actor?’  We’ll be in touch to get a print sent out to you. 

Pour a glass and enjoy the link...

When Toby approached me about being part of this book frankly, I was sceptical.  I’ve had many of these books pitched to me over the years and they pretty much all run out of steam, money or interest. 

I’ve seen the proofs for this one and I think it’s the definitive source for Withnail fans and I can hazard a guess that this will be the last boom that so many of us will contribute to.

Get a ticket and hear Bruce and get your book signed, there’s plenty of boozers nearby!  MC

****UPDATE****

I was sorry to miss this fabulous event.  It is always a pleasure to hear Bruce talk about Withnail.  My excuse on this occasion was a bit more meta in that I was photographing Richard E. Grant in Budapest.  Pour a glass and enjoy the link.  MC

Link to Q&A below:

https://youtu.be/rvfobXCKpH4?si=00f71GtYA84xQilv

UNCLE MONTY'S SUMMER SOIREE

It’s time again for the annual Withnail screening at Sleddale Hall aka Uncle Monty’s Cottage.  This fabulous annual event has been hosted by Picnic Cinema and provides a brilliant opportunity for fans of Withnail to get together and behave inappropriately.  Let’s hope it doesn’t rain.. Chin Chin!  MC

CRABS

Our lovely friends at Rebel Reel are having a screening of our favourite film at Dungeness Beach so if you fancy hanging out with people who are mainly from London and critiquing some of my work why don’t you drag your lazy arses there…  MC

Christmas comes early for Withnail fans

Having just approved the layouts for this book, I can honestly say this is the definitive book on our beloved ‘Withnail & I’  I encourage you all to pre-order on the Titan website.  Sadly not free to those that can afford it. MC

Authorised by author and director Bruce Robinson, who provides an exclusive foreword, Withnail & I: From Cult to Classic charts the extraordinary journey of a beloved cult film from being ‘just thoughts really’ to becoming a permanent feature in any list of the Best British Films ever made.

For the first time the surviving players have been interviewed for this book about their parts in the making of the movie, and the lasting effect it had on their lives. Bruce Robinson offers detailed insights into his creative process and influences, while new interviews with the film’s stars Richard E Grant and Paul McGann provide personal insights into the impact that making and living with Withnail & I had.

Illustrated throughout with never-before-seen photography and archive material, and featuring contributions from famous fans like Sam Bain, Margaret Cho and Charlie Higson, this is the definitive, must-have book on Withnail & I.

RELEASE DATE 5th September 2023

Come play with us Danny....

Not Withnail related….but I am proud to be part of this amazing book about the making of ‘The Shining’  which was the film that began my career…  MC

In 1966 Stanley Kubrick told a friend that he wanted to make “the world’s scariest movie.” A decade later Stephen King’s The Shining landed on the director’s desk, and a visual masterpiece was born. This definitive compendium of the film that transformed the horror genre features hundreds of never-before-seen photographs, rare production ephemera from the Kubrick Archive, and extensive new interviews with the cast and crew. Available to purchase on the Taschen website.

Where's My Radio Show?

If anyone fancies listening to me rabbit on about my career and Withnail & I.  Tune into Janice Forsyth’s show on BBC Radio Scotland- through BBC website.   Tomorrow 13:30 March 20th.

UPDATE:  You can have a listen here…

Withnail goes to Edinburgh…

GALLERY CLOSE, EDINBURGH

MARCH 16-APRIL 16TH 2023

www.gallery-close.com

Excited to let you all know that I am having an exhibition of my Withnail Photographs at the Close Gallery in Edinburgh.  It’s not some dodgy insider job it’s a pure coincidence we share a surname.  There will be all of your black and white favourites and few deeper cuts. 

PORTRAITS OF CINEMA

I had a fantastic weekend in Seattle giving an Artist talk at the Leica Store in Bellevue.  I always enjoy answering questions that people may have about my prior work and sharing some of the funnier moments.  It was a great turnout particularly considering it wasn’t raining and was a beautiful Autumn day.  There was only 1 person who was aware of Withnail so I had to do a quick overview which is hard without a glass of wine in your hand!  

                                                                           MC 

What a piece of work...

In January Alex Garland called me out of the blue and asked to meet. Now, this is filmmaker I have wanted to work with so it was a bloody good start to 2022. His project is about two photojournalists in a combat zone.   I got to give Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny a photographer’s insider tips and appeared as a grizzled war photographer alongside them, hopefully I’ll make the cut… 

My Hunger Games family reunited in June for ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ in Berlin with a new cast of players. As one of the very small group who worked on all of the movies it’s a very special assignment for me. 

But before departing my studio I discovered an image of Richard from the Hamlet scene in Regents Park. It’s never been published so I thought it would be in good taste to release it into the world as our festive offering. Hopefully it will provide some distraction from all the shit that keeps raining down!

They are not selling Boris wigs in Woolworths just yet so Chin Chin my dears.

MC

And the Winner is......

Sorry about the delay in announcing the competition winner but I had to go to New York by mistake and got snowed in.  I had the most marvellous time reading everyones suggestions and it was bloody hard to pick just one but here it is… Simon Whittle in a rare moment of sobriety came up with thIs beauty.  'A Weekend’s Indulgence' which will be known for ever more as the title of the photograph. It was a hoot doing this perhaps we’ll do another one in the future.  We’ll be in touch with Simon to get his address.  Chin Chin.  MC

Deep Dive into the Archive...

Having been invited to exhibit my Withnail images again, my hand was forced into a deep dive of the black and white negatives shot in 1986.

This entailed anchoring myself at a light box with a bottle or two for a few days with a 1960’s soundtrack. It’s been a while since the originals were taken out of the archive and it unlocked some great memories and unearthed some overlooked gems. 

Here’s a taster to enjoy, it’s untitled as yet, and I’ll be adding some additional photos to the website very soon.

Chin chin,

MC