Mike Covell’s Blogg

Well it has been one hell of a year.  I seem to have not written much on the blog at all this year, but believe me it is for a very good reason.  I have been so busy not just with “Jack the Ripper” but other projects that I rarely get to sit and update my blog.  So here, in one post, is all the weird and wonderful news since my last posting.  Forgive me if I go over the same ground again, but the projects are so exciting and it is fantastic to be a part of them all.

LONDON LECTURE

This week I had the pleasure of lecturing for a massive marketing company in London at Mindshare’s Huddle event. 

http://www.mindshareworld.com/uk/about/huddle

https://twitter.com/mindshare_uk

Massive thank you to Chris Bourke, for not only booking me, but making me feel very welcome at the event.  The lecture which was for Qriously Ltd, looked at “Jack the Ripper” and the media both past and present and was a very popular lecture.  Everyone made me feel very welcome and I had a lovely time in London meeting everyone.  

https://www.qriously.com/

https://twitter.com/qriously

BOOKS

This year has seen the release of ten of my books, they are all available to download via Amazon, and two are currently available on paperback.  Simply search for “Mike Covell” on the Amazon pages around the world and you will find the products. 

At the moment sales are really impressive and I cannot thank the Creativia gang for taking me on board and looking after me and my titles.  They are such a small tight nit group and they have worked wonders for me. 

http://www.creativia.org/

https://www.facebook.com/ctivia

http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Hull-s-Jack-Ripper-expert-Mike-Covell-storms/story-21328013-detail/story.html

MOVIES

As you can imagine I am limited in what I can say about the movies at present, I know I am a tease, but I can only recommend that you visit the Thunderball Films website for updates on the projects that I am involved in.  It is a very exciting time, and I look forward to working on some amazing projects as an historical director and executive producer that are heading our way.   

http://www.thunderballfilms.com/

https://twitter.com/ThunderBallFilm

http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Hollywood-buys-script-real-life-Victorian-crime/story-20940257-detail/story.html

http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Jack-Ripper-expert-Mike-Covell-star-Mischa-Barton/story-20761947-detail/story.html

TV SHOW

I can confirm that there is a television show on the way looking at the “Jack the Ripper” case and other similar cases to ascertain fact from fiction, myth from reality.  Whilst I am very limited over what I can and cannot say, I can say that it is a very interesting and exciting project tackled in a way that has never been tackled before in Ripperology.  The title for the show is “Jack the Ripper: Reality and Myth.”

http://www.thunderballfilms.com/

https://twitter.com/ThunderBallFilm

TOURS

Many people will remember that earlier this year I set up AMAZING HULL TOURS.  Since that time I had carried out numerous tours, lectures, and research for numerous people.  The tours are going really well and recently were featured in the Hull Daily Mail after a number of people caught anomalous objects on camera.  I take a back seat and allow people to take photos on the tour and if they capture anything on film I do not sway their opinion.  That said, this last few weeks has seen a number of people capture unexplained activity on their cameras. 

http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Graveyard-ghost-Does-photo-capture-spooky-spirit/story-24024138-detail/story.html

PODCAST

Earlier this year I met with my good mate John and we recorded a show on Jack the Ripper – The Hull Connection.  Since then John and I have recorded more shows that look at the history of Hull.  Show two featured a virtual walk around Hull’s Old Town, visiting some of the allegedly haunted pubs and talking about their history. 
Show three featured a similar virtual tour around some of the pubs a little further afield.

To listen to the shows simply visit:

http://www.johninstein.webs.com/urban-legends

https://www.facebook.com/Urbanlegendhull

https://twitter.com/ULPodcast

HULL’S DARK MUSEUM

Earlier this year I teamed up with local businessman John Hemmingway to create a brand new visitor attraction in Hull.  The idea is to showcase 700 years of the darker side of Hull’s strange history, from witchcraft to the hanging of pirates, ghost sightings, local legends and true crime.  The project is moving at a great pace and I look forward to releasing news about this very soon.  One area we hope to showcase is “Jack the Ripper” The Hull Connection.

https://twitter.com/HullDarkHistory

https://www.facebook.com/HullDarkHistoryMuseum

http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Death-murder-disease-New-Hull-dungeon-museum/story-20513987-detail/story.html

FUTURE PROJECTS

I am very pleased to announce that due to the popularity of the URBAN LEGENDS podcasts that next year for the second season we have even bigger plans.  Watch out for John and I around Hull filming in locations associated with true crime, Jack the Ripper, and the paranormal. 

I am pleased to be the historian at the fascinating project housed within Annison’s Stables, on Witham, above and behind the 24 hour pharmacy.  A lot of attention has been paid to this building and its magnificent history and in the future you will see some amazing tours, lectures, and the occasional paranormal investigation at the property.  You will also see lectures on Mary Jane Langley being given at the property where Mr. William Mortimer Edmonds had his photography shop!

The “Chocolate Factory” on Wincolmlee, a lovely 19^th century tallow mill will also see some magnificent projects taking place there.  These will be run in conjunction with local businessman John Hemmingway, who I spoke about in regards to the DARK MUSEUM above.

2015 will see a wide range of new lectures and new tours, taking in aspects of Hull’s history long since forgotten.  Among the new lectures will be a new Amy Johnson lecture, a new William Papper lecture, and a new lecture on Hull’s infamous Silver Hatchet Gang of the early 19^th century.

New Books!!!  Next year will see the release of a series of new books that will explore the darker side of Hull’s history.  The series is all but finished and they will be submitted just after Christmas for a steady release through the year.  It will mean a year of no “Jack the Ripper” releases from me, but I am saving the new “Jack the Ripper” projects for 2016.

LECTURES

The AMAZING HULL TOURS lectures have had a very busy year and bookings are coming well into 2015 with a lecture booked for December next year!  All bookings for both tours and lectures can be made through AMAZING HULL TOURS at the following;

http://www.amazinghulltours.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/amazinghulltours

 https://twitter.com/AMAZINGHULLTOUR

Or via emailing us at amazinghulltours@hotmail.com

In the past few weeks I have been busying myself with writing, AMAZING HULL TOURS, working on material for the HULL DARK MUSEUM, and working on some history for Hull’s new LAND TRAIN.  Add to this mixture a series of tours and lectures and it has been a very busy time indeed. 

On Friday evening, as I was getting ready to go out on a tour I received an email from Brian L Porter.  Brian, as many of my blog readers will know, is the author of the Jack the Ripper trilogy, A Study in Red – The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper, Legacy of the Ripper, and Requiem for the Ripper. 

At the time of the release of the first book I read it and posted reviews online on various websites.  With the second book Brian would email me asking for the occasional piece of information with regards to the historical aspects of the case.  The same occurred with the third book.

The email on Friday asked me whether I would like to join the Thunderball Films production of A Study in Red – The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper as an historical advisor, I, of course, jumped at the chance. 

What happened next was even more amazing.

Brian asked me if I would be willing to appear in the movie as Inspector Abberline! 

Abberline has appeared onscreen on numerous occasions, notably played by Michael Caine, in the mini-series “Jack the Ripper,” and by Johnny Depp, in the Hughes brother movie “From Hell.”

It is both an honour and a pleasure to play such a character.

I am also pleased to announce that I will be featuring exclusives on the movie, with interviews from the set, as the film progresses.  Watch this space!!

Thunderball Films: http://www.thunderballfilms.com/new2_media.php

A Study in Red – The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper IMDB page: http://m.imdb.com/title/tt1368869/

Hull Ripper Lecture

Thank you to everyone who turned up to the Jack the Ripper- The Hull Connection last night at Hull’s Central Library.  The night went well and the Reference library, where the lecture was held, was bustling with people wanting to know more about Hull’s links to the case.

The feedback from the lecture was fantastic, and it was nice to meet some old faces, and some new.

Jack in Hull

It’s always nice to hear that people are taking an interest in Jack the Ripper, more so when it’s the younger generation, and a number of schools in Hull are taking the Ripper on, and trying to solve the case!  With fresh eyes, and new blood looking at an age old mystery, who knows what will be discovered.

Jack on the box

Over the past month a number of documentary makers have been in touch, each with their own take on the Ripper and the Autumn of Terror.  This means that 2011 will be a bumper year for new, fresh, and exciting Ripper documentaries.

I have also had the pleasure of speaking with a gentleman who is working on a movie script that will see Jack the Ripper hitting the big screens, should the movie get the green light, and of course, funding!!

Jack to the Future

With the year end quickly catching up on us, where do we see the case and it’s study going over the next 12 months?

I have already heard whispers from several authors that new books are being planned, and it was even stated that Paul Begg could have a new fresh Ripper book on the way, looking at an aspect of the case that researchers and certainly authors have never published a book on!  What it is will remain secret as Paul isn’t spilling the beans.

On the subject of the Internet Movie Database, one entry on Jack the Ripper has been updated, and that is the movie adaptation of Brian L. Porter’s A Study in Red: The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper. 

The current listing, courtesy of IMDB, states,

In Development Overview

Note:  Because this project is categorized as in development, the data is only available on IMDbPro and is subject to change.

Status: In Development | See complete list of 7,200 in-development titles »

Contact: View company contact info.

Filmmakers: See director, writer and producer for A Study in Red: The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper.

MOVIEmeter:  Up 21% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

More Info: See additional info about A Study in Red: The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper (such as project notes, plot summary and industry news).

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1368869/

Earlier this week Brian wrote, on jtrforums,

Work on the movie adaptation of my novel A Study in Red - The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper has been slowly continuing behind the scenes. The draft screenplay has now been completed and the search for the necessary cast members has now begun, with some surprisingly big names being mentioned by the production company. the film now has it’s Producer, Executive Producer, Director and development is now gathering pace. The film is now a co-production between Thunderball International Films (L.A.) and Masterplan Films, (UK), with development by Graham Associates, (International) Ltd.

Thunderball International Films, has a feature on their website, here, 

http://www.thunderballinternationalfilms.com/movie_profile.php?movie_id=a_study_in_red

This dark psychological thriller tells of the incredible and terrifying events that surround psychiatrist Robert Cavendish when he inherits a decrepit, yellowed journal that appears to have been written by the infamous Whitechapel Murderer, who terrorised the streets of the East End of London in 1888.

Filled with dramatic imagery and an underlying sense of foreboding and danger, the novel will certainly lend itself well to the transformation from page to screen as the Author, Brian L. Porter Co-writes with talented Writer-Director, Andrew Jones of Masterplan Films, Ltd. the first draft of the screenplay.

I enjoyed the book a great deal, and look forward to this project.  Well done Brian!!

This Summer a new Jack the Ripper movie is to be shot in London by a British film company!

Brit Celeb Radio features an interview with Michael Sani, who plays a role in the film.  The interview, and more details can be found here,

http://www.anglotopia.net/british-entertainment/british-movies/brit-celeb-radio-8-actor-michael-sani-and-new-jack-the-ripper-film/

Details are still thin on the ground, and the Internet Movie Database has yet to feature an entry on the project.  Watch this space.