Projects matching: Paul Matthews

Synopsis

Tom Nightingale, a famous author of children's books, has been unable to write since the death of his wife over sixteen months ago. Closed off emotionally, the only joy in Tom's life is reading fairy stories to his eight year old daughter, Melissa.

Unbeknownst to Tom, each night while he reads these stories, Crystal, a real fairy, is also listening, enjoying the stories as much as Melissa. One night, during story time, Crystal is thrown from the windowsill. Chased by the family dog, she crashes straight into a tree. Her tiny fairy body morphs into human size. Regaining consciousness, Crystal has no idea who or what she is. When she knocks on Tom's door, she's suffering from amnesia. Fairy amnesia.

Synopsis

Adopted as a baby and taken to England, Daniel Meeks returns to the town of his birth in search of his real family. He finds himself embroiled in a fight for the ownership of the town and to free the soul of the late Lucius Meeks, Daniels great, great grandfather.

Regarded by the town as an evil gun-slinger, Lucius had an affair with the fiancée of Joshua Carter, the town's owner, and shot them both dead in the street during an argument over land rights. Lucius' ghost appears to Daniel to clear his name and allow him to rest in peace.

Daniel quickly adapts to 'life out West' and goes on to discover the truth about his discredited gun-slinging relative, picking up clues along the way which help him to track down his real mother too.

Synopsis

The battle between good and evil will be stronger and harder than ever.

Every hundred years, the evil sorceress Morgana returns to claim Fingall's talisman from Merlin with which she intends to destroy the world. For the last fourteen hundred years she has failed - now she intends to conquer all.

Young Ben Clark is unwittingly thrown into this ancient battle when his family moves to a new town and he befriends his elderly magician neighbour, 'Milner'. Ben has a natural talent for magic, and wants to learn all he can from this old man.

Ben carries the same scar as the original staff bearer fourteen hundred years before him and both Morgana and 'Milner' see this as a sign that this time the battle between good and evil will be stronger and harder than ever.

Ben must make his own choice between good and evil as he is drawn into battle and must draw on his own spirit and magic to decide which path to follow and hence, the fate of the world as we know it.

Synopsis

Vicky Young is a successful young model, suffering from the insecurities of fame and fortune.

At the height of her career, she is on the slippery slope to self-destruction, thanks to peer pressure, drink and drugs.

Invited to launch a new line of lingerie in South Africa, she falls further out of control and clashes with her manager, Josh Sinclair.

Unable to deal with the demands of her job or her feelings for Josh, whom she knows she is letting down, she decides in desperation, and against all advice, to take time out by driving across country to her next photo shoot.

Unused to driving in such a strange, hostile environment, Vicky crashes her vehicle, way out in the middle of the bush.

Vicky's struggle to survive in the truly wild landscape of Africa mirrors the jungle that is civilisation and, in surviving, she is able to rediscover her values.

Edinburgh - NBX review:

Greg Wise, Elizabeth Berkley and Patrick Bergin star alongside South African actress Dorette Potgieter in the story of a fashion model's struggle to survive in the African bush. Fast slipping into a life of drugs and drink and repeatedly clashing with her manager (Wise), Vicky Young (Potgieter) decides to take some time out from her schedule and drive by herself to the location of her next shoot. An accident leaves her stranded in the remote African landscape and she has to pit her wits against the forces of nature to survive.

The film was shot over six weeks in a private game reserve near Johannesburg. 'The biggest challenge was filming the animals,' says writer-director Paul Matthews. "We had everything - rhinos, lions, elephants - and they weren't just in background shots. We had scenes of our lead actress up a tree surrounded by lions, being chased by a lion, being harassed by hyenas, and working very close to a herd of elephants, which anyone who has been near elephants knows is quite hair-raising. It really required a lot from her. And getting those kind of shots on such a tight schedule was very demanding."

The film is produced by Peakviewing, which recently laid out its film-making ambitions by setting up a theatrical distribution company headed by industry veteran Martin Myers. The company plans to make up to six features a year and will launch with the £12m Merlin 2000, a CG-heavy family adventure starring Rik Mayall, Tia Carrere, Patrick Bergin, Adrian Paul and Craig Sheffer, which was also written and directed by Matthews.

Synopsis

A young boy is torn from his American roots and comes to live in a strange world where modern science is being used to free ancient foes, renewing a titanic struggle for dominion over the earth.





In ancient times the vast army of the evil sorcerer Mordred (Craig Sheffer) brought the legendary King Arthur Pendragon (Patrick Bergin) and his knights of the Round Table to their knees. In desperation, Merlin, the Wizard (Rik Mayall) used the immense power of Stonehenge to banish Mordred to the Netherworld and consigned Arthur and his knights to a long, dark sleep, promising future generations that Arthur would be on-hand to save the world should Mordred ever escape to threaten it again.





Fifteen hundred years later, Merlin's spell is the subject of legend - and is weakening. Scientist Joan Maxwell (Tia Carrere) is experimenting with the magnetic flows of the Earth, the precise source of Merlin's magic. She has made contact with Mordred and in return for his promise of power and freedom from the ethics that constrain modern science, is using her knowledge to free the sorcerer from his prison.





American teenager, Ritchie Gould is plunged into the ages-old battle when his father dies and Ritchie's mother moves them to her former home in England. When Ritchie arrives, Merlin's spell is already all but destroyed by Maxwell's meddling. Arthur and his knights are aware, fifteen hundred years out of place, and Mordred is preparing to forge a dimensional gate to freedom. The only thing standing between Mordred and success are the ragged loyalties of Lancelot (Adrian Paul) and Guinevere whom Merlin banished along with him.





In a tale of myth, mythology, demons and duels spanning fifteen centuries, the forces of good and evil once more do battle. And at stake is the world as we know it.

Synopsis

In this story of magic and adventure, tomboy, Polly Regan (Brittney Bomann) is an orphan and her grandfather (David Warner) has made a home for her on his farm. Her life is happy, though, unconventional, but Polly is heartbroken when she learns that her favourite mare may also die giving birth. Polly wishes with all her heart for the King of Horses, to intervene and save her mare and the foal, but her wishes seem to go unanswered and the mare dies.





Polly is devastated until she sees the foal. The little creature is a real, honest-to-goodness baby unicorn, a magical creature created by state-of-the-art animation effects. It totters its way into Pole's hart and into the affections of her grandfather.





Pole's Aunt Lucy (Emma Samms) doesn't know what to think, either about the unicorn or about her niece's upbringing on the farm. She is certainly not prepared for the uproar that arises when a photograph of the unicorn appears in the local newspapers. The farm is inundated with sightseers.





Her policman fiancé (Christopher Atkins) has trouble keeping the sightseers in check and not everyone is a well wisher.





When Polly is sent away to school by her Aunt, there is no one to protect the unicorn from those who mean harm.





George Hamilton is one such person. He plays The Great Allanso, a magician whose life has run out of magic. His tricks are old and his jokes are jaded. Allanso believes that if he can steal the unicorn's horn, he can steal the unicorn's magic. Aided and abetted by his ever patient, ever suffering assistant, Maisie (Julie Hartson), Allanso is determined to get his hands on the foal . . .