Christopher Wicking | |
---|---|
Born | 1943 |
Died | 2008 |
Occupation(s) | Film and television screenwriter |
Spouse | the stage director Lily Susan Todd |
Christopher Wicking (10 January 1943 – 13 October 2008), also known as Chris Wicking, was a British screenwriter, often in the horror and fantasy genres, notably for the British arm of American International Pictures and with Hammer Film Productions, [1] for whom he was the last 'resident script editor'. [2] [3]
Wicking was born in London and educated at Coopers' Company's School. [1] While studying at St Martin's School of Art, London, he determined to break into the film industry. [2]
He began as a film booking clerk for Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors and, while working as an assistant film editor on documentaries [4] in London, he began writing profiles of directors for the influential French movie magazine Cahiers du cinéma. [2] He was a lifelong fan of westerns and wrote movie feature articles and interviews about the genre for various British magazines including the Monthly Film Bulletin and Time Out. [4] He also continued to write for French magazines including Cahiers du cinéma, Positif [4] and Midi Minuit Fantastique. [5]
His first credit as a screenwriter [1] was on the 1969 movie The Oblong Box, initially with Michael Reeves and, after Reeves' death, for director Gordon Hessler. [2] Although Wicking was only credited for "additional dialogue", Hessler later verbally credited him as writing the entire filmed script. [4]
Wicking also wrote episodes [2] for British TV series The Professionals (1979–1982), [4] Jemima Shore Investigates and the TV dramas The Way to Dusty Death (1995), [4] On Dangerous Ground (1996). [4] and Powers (2004). [6]
He taught screenwriting at various UK institutions including the Royal College of Art, the Arvon Foundation, [2] the National Film and Television School, Leeds Metropolitan University and King Alfred's College, Winchester; and, in Ireland, at University College Dublin, [2] the Dublin Institute of Technology and the Irish Film Institute's Education Department. [5] It was said that he had a fondness for "termite art" - less "precious" work that valued personal vision and idiosyncrasy. [2]
Wicking died of a heart attack [2] in Toulouse, France, on 13 October 2008.
The Madness of Mickey Hamilton (1979); [7] The Gun (1980); [8] Discovered in a Graveyard (1982) [9]
Christopher Wicking | |
---|---|
Born | 1943 |
Died | 2008 |
Occupation(s) | Film and television screenwriter |
Spouse | the stage director Lily Susan Todd |
Christopher Wicking (10 January 1943 – 13 October 2008), also known as Chris Wicking, was a British screenwriter, often in the horror and fantasy genres, notably for the British arm of American International Pictures and with Hammer Film Productions, [1] for whom he was the last 'resident script editor'. [2] [3]
Wicking was born in London and educated at Coopers' Company's School. [1] While studying at St Martin's School of Art, London, he determined to break into the film industry. [2]
He began as a film booking clerk for Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors and, while working as an assistant film editor on documentaries [4] in London, he began writing profiles of directors for the influential French movie magazine Cahiers du cinéma. [2] He was a lifelong fan of westerns and wrote movie feature articles and interviews about the genre for various British magazines including the Monthly Film Bulletin and Time Out. [4] He also continued to write for French magazines including Cahiers du cinéma, Positif [4] and Midi Minuit Fantastique. [5]
His first credit as a screenwriter [1] was on the 1969 movie The Oblong Box, initially with Michael Reeves and, after Reeves' death, for director Gordon Hessler. [2] Although Wicking was only credited for "additional dialogue", Hessler later verbally credited him as writing the entire filmed script. [4]
Wicking also wrote episodes [2] for British TV series The Professionals (1979–1982), [4] Jemima Shore Investigates and the TV dramas The Way to Dusty Death (1995), [4] On Dangerous Ground (1996). [4] and Powers (2004). [6]
He taught screenwriting at various UK institutions including the Royal College of Art, the Arvon Foundation, [2] the National Film and Television School, Leeds Metropolitan University and King Alfred's College, Winchester; and, in Ireland, at University College Dublin, [2] the Dublin Institute of Technology and the Irish Film Institute's Education Department. [5] It was said that he had a fondness for "termite art" - less "precious" work that valued personal vision and idiosyncrasy. [2]
Wicking died of a heart attack [2] in Toulouse, France, on 13 October 2008.
The Madness of Mickey Hamilton (1979); [7] The Gun (1980); [8] Discovered in a Graveyard (1982) [9]