John Hodge

Explores the life of a group of rude boys, junkies, and nutters in Edinburgh, and includes an interview with the author of the novel on which the film was based

Trainspotting

Trainspotting. the Screenplay

آقای نویسنده و همکارش

Alex Garland

"Alex Garland's acclaimed debut novel was adapted for the screen by John Hodge, who was responsible previously for the screenplays of Shallow Grave and Trainspotting. Richard, a wayward, soul-searching young traveller, addicted to nicotine and popular culture, finds himself caught up in troubling, deadly undercurrents on a legendary island paradise. Directed by Danny Boyle it was filmed in Thailand."--

Adapted Form the Novel by Alex Garland

The Beach

Shallow Grave

He's a down-on-his-luck janitor with aspirations of writing the great American trash novel. She's the spoiled, sharp-tongued boss's daughter, always looking for a creative way to spice up her boring life. Normally, these two would never meet, but a higher power has different plans for both of them. The major motion picture from 20th Century Fox starring Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz and Holly Hunter hits the box office in October.

A Life Less Ordinary

Ray Caston

This book, as part of the South Wales Valleys series, deals with the former Brecon & Merthyr Railway line which ran from Bassaleg (north of Newport) to Brecon and Rhymney B&M, the latter line being closed north of New Tredegar in 1930 due to a landslide, one of several in that area. The most important and lucrative traffic was of course coal from the many collieries on the line, much bound for Newport Docks, though there was a regular passenger service both to Brecon and New Tredegar which ran to Rhymney B&M before 1930. At Machen the line diverted to Caerphilly and Pontypridd again with coal and passenger services, mostly covered by auto trains. Each location along all lines in the area is covered in detail with copious photographs to illustrate, and an OS Map from the start of the 20th C. to present a detailed coverage of the area around each location. The line is still open from Bassaleg to Machen Quarry for occasional trains of stone traffic using modern traction and wagons.

Bassaleg to Bargoed and New Tredegar/Rhymney B & M

Railways and Industry on the Brecon & Merthyr

This is the second in a new series on the South Wales Valleys by John Hodge, author of the South Wales Main Line series and North and West series, each of four volumes. The South Wales Valleys were famous for coal mining, iron and steel, tinplate works and the railways that served both industries, between them accounting for a very high percentage of employment in the area.A detailed, widely illustrated series on the valleys such as this, is long overdue and this is the second book in the series. The first book covering the area as far as Aberbeeg and the second continuing to the heads of the Valley at Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr.

Aberbeeg to Brynmawr and Ebbw Vale

Railways and Industry in the Western Valley

Moscow, 1938. A dangerous place to have a sense of humour; even more so a sense of freedom. Mikhail Bulgakov, living among dissidents, stalked by secret police, has both. And then he's offered a poisoned chalice: a commission to write a play about Stalin to celebrate his sixtieth birthday.Inspired by historical fact, Collaborators embarks on a surreal journey into the fevered imagination of the writer as he loses himself in a macabre and disturbingly funny relationship with the omnipotent subject of his drama.Killing my enemies is easy. The challenge is to change the way they think, to control their minds. And I think I controlled yours pretty well. In years to come, I'll be able to say: Bulgakov? Yeah, we even trained him. He gave up. He saw the light. We broke him, we can break anybody. It's man versus monster, Mikhail. And the monster always wins.John Hodge's blistering new play depicts a lethal game of cat and mouse through which the appalling compromises and humiliations inflicted on any artist by those with power are held up to scrutiny.Collaborators by John Hodge premiered at the National Theatre, London, in October 2011. It is published here with an introduction by the author.

Collaborators

This “gripping, disturbing, and often blackly comic drama” explores the historic connection between Stalin and Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov (The Daily Telegraph, UK). A “rare and special” play by the screenwriter of Trainspotting and Shallow Grave, Collaborators is inspired by the true story of another play: one that Mikhail Bulgakov was forced to write in commemoration Joseph Stalin’s sixtieth birthday (The Times, UK). Moscow, 1938. Stalin has been in power for sixteen years and his purges are underway. Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita is lying unpublished in a desk drawer, and his latest play Molière has been banned following terrible reviews in Pravda. As a secret policeman dryly puts it, this has opened up a convenient “gap in his schedule.” This “gap” is to be filled by writing a play about Stalin’s life. As Bulgakov loses himself in a world of secrets, threats, and paradoxes, he begins to fall ill from kidney disease. His feverish dreams of conversations with Stalin become reality in his mind, just as the state’s lies become truths in his play. Collaborators is a darkly comic portrait of the impossible choices facing an artist living under dictatorship, and a surreal journey into the imagination of a writer as he loses himself in the subject of his drama. Winner of the 2012 Laurence Olivier Awards Best New Play

A Play

Alex Garland's acclaimed debut novel was adapted for the screen by John Hodge, whose distinctive cinematic vision was responsible for the screenplays of Shallow Grave and Trainspotting. The Beach stars Leonardo Di Caprio as Richard, a wayward, sould-searching young traveller yearning for unrivalled adventure, who finds himself caught up in troubling, even deadly undercurrents.

Set in the appropriately Gothic surroundings of contemporary Edinburgh, Shallow Grave presents a trio of affluent characters whose feckless lives are disrupted when they discover the corpse of their recently arrived flatmate, plus a suitcase bulging with money beneath his bed. The stage is thus set for a morality play about friendship and filthy lucre. The story balances on a knife-edge between ebullience and violence as the forces of destruction gather to claim their greedy victims. Shallow Grave won the Alexander Korda award for Best British Film of 1994, and established the partnership of writer John Hodge, producer Andrew Macdonald, director Danny Boyle and actor Ewan McGregor - a partnership to be renewed triumphantly the following year on Trainspotting.

The North & West Route: Shrewsbury

Moscow, 1938. A dangerous place to have a sense of humour; even more so a sense of freedom. Mikhail Bulgakov, living among dissidents, stalked by secret police, has both. And then he's offered a poisoned chalice: a commission to write a play about Stalin to celebrate his sixtieth birthday. Inspired by historical fact, Collaborators embarks on a surreal journey into the fevered imagination of the writer as he loses himself in a macabre and disturbingly funny relationship with the omnipotent subject of his drama. Killing my enemies is easy. The challenge is to change the way they think, to control their minds. And I think I controlled yours pretty well. In years to come, I'll be able to say: Bulgakov? Yeah, we even trained him. He gave up. He saw the light. We broke him, we can break anybody. It's man versus monster, Mikhail. And the monster always wins. John Hodge's blistering new play depicts a lethal game of cat and mouse through which the appalling compromises and humiliations inflicted on any artist by those with power are held up to scrutiny. Collaborators by John Hodge premiered at the National Theatre, London, in October 2011. It is published here with an introduction by the author.

First there is an opportunity, then there is a betrayal. Twenty years have gone by. Much has changed but just as much remains the same. Mark Renton returns to the only place he can ever call home. They are waiting for him, of course: Spud, Sick Boy, and Frank Begbie. But they are not alone. Other old friends are waiting too: sorrow, loss, joy, vengeance, hatred, friendship, love, longing, fear, regret, diamorphine, self-destruction and mortal danger, they are all lined up to welcome him, ready to join the dance. Mark Renton returns, to the chaos of life and death.

T2 Trainspotting

This volume presents two tales set in the granite-slated, Gothic world of Edinburgh - one involves murder; the other drugs. In Trainspotting, Alex Renton, an unrepentant drug abuser, is doing his best to escape the claims and responsibilities of Life. Harrowing yet hilarious, Trainspotting charts the disintegration of a group of friends whose obsession with drugs and mayhem leads them inexorably to self-destruction. Poles apart from the low-life of Trainspotting, Shallow Grave presents a trio of affluent characters whose feckless lives are disrupted when they discover the corpse of their new flatmate and a suitcase bulging with money under his bed. The story balances on a knife-edge between ebullience and violence, as the forces of destruction gather to claim their victims. Shallow Grave won the Alexander Korda award for Best British Film of 1994. This volume is introduced by the screenwriter, John Hodge, and also contains an interview with Irvine Welsh, the author of the cult novel on which Trainspotting is based.

John Hodge

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