Deborah Nicklin. August 2012. dappledsky.com

Vampires and Teacups Meet Chris Stone. Chris’s first memory of being creative was probably painting a toy tractor when he was aged 3 years old. Move on a few more years and was borrowing his dad’s video 8 camera to make his own version of big budget Hollywood action films. Chris followed this dream and years later he is proud to say that he has worked for the BBC, and filmed music videos in LA, shot a Royal Television Society nominated documentary in New York and won several awards in Hollywood. Chris has had his films and music videos screened on MTV, ITV and the BBC and premiered at the BFI Southbank and Pinewood Studios. Chris Stone is now an award-winning independent filmmaker and he has just completed a Victorian vampire feature film set here in Stoke on Trent, Chris’s home city. The film title ties together the local connections and a vampire central desire; it is aptly named 'Blood and Bone China' This cult vampire film is available to watch online and has just reached a staggering third of million views on YouTube and is now considered to be one of the best web series in the world. International accolades including 'BEST WEB SERIES of 2011' at the Indie Intertube Awards. It has been screened at Marseille WebFest, Raindance Film Festival and has won accolades such as Best Horror Web Series and Best Director.

The man behind the lens, Chris Stone.

Image courtesy of Chris Stone.

WATCH ‘BLOOD AND BONE CHINA’ NOW AT WWW.BLOODANDBONECHINA.COM

“in recent years, vampires have been pushed so far from the original Dracula legend, that i decided they needed to get their bite back with ‘Blood and Bone china’.

µ%ORRG�DQG�%RQH�&KLQD¶�LV�D�IHDWXUH�OHQJWK�¿OP�that has been broadcast on the internet in bite-sized chunks, utilising social media platforms to build up a cult fan following.

set in my home town of stoke-on-trent, ‘Blood and Bone china’ explores the city’s rich cultural history through a fun, exciting, action-adventure horror story and serves as a showcase for local talent and authentic period locations.

the process of production has been extremely challenging but enjoyable and i hope that i have created a new mythology for stoke-on-trent.”

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young age by borrowing his dad’s video 8 camera.)DVW�IRUZDUG����\HDUV�DQG�&KULV�KDV�ZRUNHG�IRU�WKH�%%&��¿OPHG�PXVLF�YLGHRV�LQ�/$��VKRW�D�5R\DO�Television Society nominated documentary in New York and won several awards in Hollywood. &KULV�KDV�KDG�KLV�¿OPV�DQG�PXVLF�YLGHRV�VFUHHQHG�RQ�079��,79�DQG�WKH�%%&�DQG�SUHPLHUHG�DW�WKH�

BFI Southbank and Pinewood Studios.

the Director

- Chris Stone, Director

Deborah Nicklin. August 2012. dappledsky.com

So what is Blood and Bone China all about? The plot is written by Chris Stone and Stephanie Cooper and is set in1897 when a city is in turmoil; poor souls are being taken, vanishing without a trace. When the local doctor, Richard Howell, disappears and word travels to his brother Newlyn, a young country vet. Spurred on to discover the macabre truth by the enigmatic Alexander Pyre, Newlyn stumbles into a twisted web of deception, murder... and villainous vampires.” There are twists and turns in each online episode. The story twists together some facts about the area and connections to the city’s literary heritage, plus a real suspected vampire case in 1972, which Chris was lucky enough to view the police records about the incident that took place in The Villas, Stoke. But he also mixes in the sensual fantasy of the vampire genre and is almost rewriting the history books with a new perspective on the past. For those who know about the city’s local history, the clues to Stoke on Trent’s heritage will be amusing and interesting, yet for anyone not familiar with those details will be able to enjoy a vampire film in twelve bite sized chunks (excuse the pun!) Also, visitors of the Brampton Museum and Art Gallery in Newcastle under Lyme may find some of the sets familiar. So, why vampires? Chris explains, “Vampires have been popular since the publication of ‘Dracula’ in 1897, and their allure has never faded. They are the embodiment of sex appeal; dangerous, powerful and (usually) physically attractive. Whether it is the romantic teen appeal of ‘twilight’, the comic book action of ‘Blade’ or the sexy immortals of ‘True Blood’, there’s a vampire sub genre for everyone. In recent years, vampires have been pushed so far from the original Dracula legend that I decided they needed to get their bite back with ‘Blood and Bone China’. The process of production has been extremely challenging but enjoyable and I hope that I have created a new mythology for Stoke-on- Trent.”

Chris Stone on set with actor Anthony Miles who plays Newlyn Howell.

Image courtesy of Chris Stone

Deborah Nicklin. August 2012. dappledsky.com

Anthony Miles, an up and coming actor from Birmingham, plays a character who is an unlikely hero, a country vet brought to Stoke on Trent in search of his missing brother who seems to have been caught up in something dark and mysterious since meeting with local journalist Anna Fitzgerald. In the film Anna Fitzgerald, is the first female journalist for local newspaper, ‘The Sentinel, who is forced to write under a male pseudonym and calls herself Arnold Bennett, the name of a real author from Stoke-On-Trent’s rich history. Anna ids played by Stoke-On-Trent born Hollyoaks actress Rachel Shenton who you may’ve also seen in Doctors, and Holby City.

Rachel Shenton as the pioneering female journalist Anna Fitzgerald

Image from the www.bloodboneandchina.com There is a poisonous character named Linus Hemlock played by David Lemberg who is also the star of an up and coming horror movie named The Seasoning House. The young and enigmatic Aaron is portrayed by Lewis Brindley, who will soon be appearing as Alfie in CBBC series ‘Stepping Up’. There is a cast of seventeen people in total, including the charmingly beautiful Evie Earls-Davis who also played one of the many sides to a character named Helen Waters in B-arts production of Take This Waltz, staged at the Mitchell Arts Centre in February 2012. As part of DATfest and the Stoke Your Fires Festival. 'Blood and Bone China' was commissioned by the Stoke Your Fires Film Festival, which is an annual festival of film and animation, accompanied by a weekend digital arts festival by B arts called DATfest – together the festivals include screenings, talks, special events, performances and workshops, taking place at venues such as the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, The Mitchell Arts Centre and the Film Theatre at Staffordshire University. The festival was created by Stoke-On-Trent City Council, as an innovative and entertaining way to promote the city. Stoke on Trent has a history as a pioneer of the ceramics industry, but is now also looking forward to new cultural and creative industries alongside the city’s traditional skills.

ANTHONY MILES as ‘Newlyn Howell’

Anthony Miles is a Birmingham born actor who studied for a BA Hons. in Theatre at Dartington College of Arts. He graduated in 2000 and has since gone on to enjoy performing in a wide variety of SURGXFWLRQV���+H�KDV�UHFHQWO\�VWDUUHG�LQ�DZDUG�ZLQQLQJ�VKRUW�¿OP�‘Quizmaster’, played 15 characters on stage in ‘the resurrection of Lazarus’ and been nominated for ‘Best Actor’ at the Indie Intertube Awards for his performance as Newlyn Howell in ‘Blood and Bone china’.

RACHEL SHENTON as ‘Anna Fitzgerald’

Rachel Shenton is a Stoke-On-Trent born actress whose acting career began when she was just eight years old. She gained a National Diploma in Performing Arts from her local college and undertook further training from David Johnson Drama School in Manchester. She has since had several theatre, voice over and television roles, appearing in such well known programmes as ‘Doctors’, ‘holby city’ and ‘Waterloo road’. Rachel is currently appearing in hit UK soap ‘hollyoaks’.

JOHN JAMES WOODWARD as ‘Alexander Pyre’

John James Woodward is a Stoke-On-Trent based artist, sculptor DQG�SURGXFW�GHVLJQHU��ZRUNLQJ�SULPDULO\�LQ�WKH�¿HOG�RI�IDQWDV\�JLIW�ware and toys. John has previously appeared in Chris Stone’s award ZLQQLQJ�VKRUW�¿OP�‘Anno Domini’ as a Roman soldier, but Alexander 3\UH�LV�KLV�¿UVW�VSHDNLQJ�UROH�DV�DQ�DFWRU�DQG�RQH�KH�LV�HQMR\LQJ�LP-mensely.

DAVID LEMBERG as ‘Linus Hemlock’

David Lemberg is a Manchester born actor and studied at David Johnson Drama. He has appeared in episodes of ‘shameless’ and ‘coronation street’. David has also played a villainous Serbian JDQJVWHU�LQ�WKH�¿OP�µthe crew’ and the role of Tupolski in ‘the Pillowman’ at the Royal Northern College of Music last year. +LV�QH[W�DSSHDUDQFH�ZLOO�EH�LQ�KRUURU�¿OP�µthe seasoning house’ as Dmitri. He is simply relishing the role of Linus Hemlock.

WATCH ‘BLOOD AND BONE CHINA’ NOW AT WWW.BLOODANDBONECHINA.COM

Principal cast

Deborah Nicklin. August 2012. dappledsky.com

How hard was it to recreate Stoke on Trent in the 1800’s? “Stoke-On-Trent has a very rich history. In the 1800’s, it was the world centre of the ceramics industry. The people of Stoke are very proud of their heritage; there are many museums dedicated to preserving it. I was lucky enough to be given the chance to film at some of those museums, which acted as ready-made sets. Without this opportunity, filming ‘Blood and Bone China’ would have been very difficult indeed. The city itself still retains much of its Victorian architecture and period features, which provided the perfect backdrop for our production.” I asked Chris to look back and think what his most vivid and lasting memory would be from the whole production. He answered quite simply, “My lasting memory of the whole process of making "Blood, Bone and China" must be working with my fantastic cast and crew. Working on a tiny budget was the most challenging part, but the production team managed to get through it by being resourceful and willing to adapt. In a way, I think that all of the difficulties we faced really brought us together as a family. On the filming side of things, we had to shoot at the museums when they were open. This meant that we would often get members of the public walking through the background in the middle of a take or wanting to watch the action. However, this did help to fuel local community interest in ‘Blood and Bone China’ and garnered us new fans.” Any vampire hunter worth their salt, swears by the tools of their trade, good garlic and a sturdy crucifix, and true to form, Chris swears by his trusty camera and tripod. He’s learnt that filmmaking isn’t all about big budgets and high-spec technical kits; it’s about good storytelling. “I think too many film-makers obsess over the latest kit or software, and forget about the story they are telling and, crucially, who they are making it for. You have to know your target audience before you start production and learn how to tell a compelling, emotionally driven story to them.” And whilst any good vampire would like to start their working day (or night) with a slurp of warm blood, Chris admits that he prefers a hot bowl of porridge sprinkled with blueberries, just what he needs to get the blood pumping and start a new day. So Chris now has his sights set on making a full-length feature film, and though he won’t say exactly what it is about, he does say that it will link to Blood and Bone China but not as a direct sequel. Fans of this cult online feature and the Independent British Film industry can look forward to the next thrilling instalment from Chris Stone. To keep up-to-date with what is happening next and to get the online link for Blood and Bone China just check out the website WWW.BLOODANDBONECHINA.COM

Deborah Nicklin. August 2012. dappledsky.com

Poster image courtesy of Chris Stone www.bloodandbonechina You can also follow on twitter at ‘@bloodbonechina’

and facebook page www.facebook.com/bloodandbonechina

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WATCH ‘BLOOD AND BONE CHINA’ NOW AT WWW.BLOODANDBONECHINA.COM