Mr. Topp and the Big Bad Blog

We bring you now to the final profile in our series on Better Dead than Red: Dirk Brannigan. Dirk is the good guy, the hero of the piece, and is played by me.

Acting is something that I normally do not do. I’ve been in two previous short films (one good, one bad), where I mostly had to remember one or two line of dialogue and run around a lot. This one was a lot harder. Fight scenes, and more dialogue than anybody else in the movie.

On top of this, the film is longer than any of the other ones we have done and very, very silly. And I am in every scene but two. Exhaustion, fighting laughter, remembering dialogue (much of which had been re-written since my last read-through of the script) all made the entire experience incredibly challenging. It makes me wonder how actors in TV shows manage to do this with a new script each week. Even the worst actors you see on TV do a very, very good job.

If you want to actually know about Dirk, the profile (as usual) is not here, but on No Fixed Address. And, as usual, I will give you an excerpt:

He is the defender of the Commonwealth and all that stands for justice, truth and the dispatching of supernatural evil everywhere. His supporters can’t praise his actions and valour enough, whereas his enemies dream of a world which is free of Dirk Brannigan foiling their schemes.

The last of the profiles having appeared hopefully means that the film itself will be ready for public consumption soon. I leave you now with a little taste:

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Continuing with our series of Better Dead than Red character backgrounds, we bring you the Big Bad himself: Leon Trotsky. For the full story on Trotsky, check out the write-up in No Fixed Address.

Trotsky is, of course, a communist. And hence a vampire. Trotsky is played by Mark, who also seems to be type-cast in our movies: For the second straight movie, Mark plays the bad guy behind it all — likely a side effect of his superb evil laughter. Looking ever-so-dashing in his fake mustache, Mark plots the downfall of capitalism and the conversion of all into blood-sucking vampires.

In the film’s climactic fight scene, Mark and I have at it — hero versus villain. It’s not the only reason you should watch straight through to the end, but it is a good one.

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It has been a couple of weeks since the smash blockbuster to be, Better Dead than Red has been mentioned in this space. Over the weekend, whilst your intrepid author has been out of the country, the behind-the-scenes workers have been hard at work on the film. Four scenes are now edited and in the bag, and the film is rapidly nearing completion.

In celebration of this, we return to the character outlines — up tonight is Prime Minister Caroline Harker. From the profile over at No Fixed Address:

Soft spoken and reserved, the Silver Lady has been described as “tougher than steel” by friends and foes alike. Commanding respect and authority all over Europe and the World, she is a powerful figure in the fight against evil, in all it’s many forms.

The Prime Minister is played by the diminutive Amy, and was probably the toughest role in the entire film. While the rest of the cast merely had to ham it up and avoid breaking into laughter, Amy was forced to slow down her incredibly rapid speech.

In the end, Amy makes an excellent Prime Minister Caroline “the Silver Lady” Harker. And that spells doom — for the living dead.

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The profiles from Better Dead than Red continue. Up this week, you can read about Comrade Mstislav over on No Fixed Address.

Mstislav is played by Chris, who served mostly as crew throughout the production, and is also doing the special effects. Chris and I have a fantastic fight scene towards the end of the movie. You will love it.

An excerpt from the profile:

Some believe that he main interest in giving up his industrial empire was a ruthless strategy in order to attain even more power. He himself has stated: “Money comes and goes in this world, it means nothing. Up and down with the markets and the flights of fancies of consumers and producers alike. What is always a strong currency though, no matter state nor politics, is power.”

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