| ROLL THE POTATO |
| Celebrity news you won't find anywhere else- because we made it all up. |
| Archives |
| Reviews |
 |
 |
| Anything That Can be Dreamt Can Be Made Real: The Life of Wyndham Heseltine - a biography by Eric Spartan "The biggest advantage of relentless media coverage of the lives of celebrities like Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow is that it prevents them from being smug about anything" This was how Wyndam Heseltine began his first, and as it turned out, only lecture in the media department of Staffordshire university. Present at the lecture was a young writer named Eric Spartan. Spartan befriended Heseltine, and soon decided to write a book chronicling his life and acheivements, in particular his one and only film, sixties sci-fi classic Frogstar Freddie As with a great many films, the story behind the making of Frogstar Freddie is as interesting as the film itself. In 1965 Wyndham Heseltine persuaded several wealthy entrepeneurs to invest in a teleportation device. He inveigled these gullible fools into departing with over a hundred thousand pounds. An estimated 70% of that money was spent on opium. The rest was used to produce Frogstar Freddie. Spartan's book focuses mainly on the making of the film, and Heseltine's haphazard career afterwards, during which he worked as a comic strip writer, music critic, television presenter (standing in for Melvyn Bragg on the ill-advised porn-themed episode of The South Bank Show) and theatrical producer. Spartan pulls no punches in his depiction of a man who, despite being tee-total most of his life, managed to sabotage his own career by pretending to be drunk. Spartan also provides an interesting chapter on the influence Heseltine's work has had on following generations of writers and artists, including comic book author Alan Moore. "The first time I saw Frogstar Freddie it was a revelation," Moore told Spartan. "I mean the actual story was pretty ridiculous- something about a race of mutants overthrowing a corrupt government in a post-apocalytic world- but it was filled with fully fleshed out and believable characters. It influenced my whole approach to writing." Not that the book is without flaws. Spartan quickly skims over Heseltine's childhood, and makes no mention of his arrest for statutory rape (he was released without being charged after it was discovered that he was the one that was under-age). Yet as the only book on the subject currently available, it is essential reading for anyone interested in this fascinating man. ----- Tarquin Dick |