Alexander Stuart

All photographs Copyright  ©  2013 A lexander Chow-Stuart. As we enjoy our lives on this magical island of Aldabra - which might be located in the Indian Ocean somewhere between Madagascar and the Seychelles, or might equally be found in the mighty Pacific, along the California coast - we experience exceptionally beautiful events such as this high tide, one Friday evening a few weeks back. Tugged by the gravitational pull of an almost full moon, the waves came far up on the beach and created tide pools that were glorious to wade through. The waves were spectacular, the weather was perfect, the light and the sea air offered pure natural enjoyment. I never tire of the ocean. All photographs Copyright  ©  2013 A lexander Chow-Stuart.

As I write today, I'm thinking about the first time I saw Francis Ford Coppola's truly extraordinary Apocalypse Now - at a preview of its original release - and the unbelievable thrill of hearing the sound of the chopper blades moving around the cinema, and the extraordinary, hallucinogenic flow of images that washed across the screen - and a narrative that was both visionary and experimental, yet grounded in fabulous storytelling - with, of course, a powerful element at its core of Joseph Conrad's already remarkable The Heart of Darkness. Along with Nicolas Roeg's Performance and certain other films, Apocalypse Now was one of the movies that cemented both my belief that cinema could be GREAT and mind-challenging and provocative and enjoyable and thrilling beyond belief - and BEAUTIFUL - and also one of the movies that made me want to make movies, to aspire to make something as great and as fearless - it certainly was in my mind (there's a direct refere

Since the tabs bar on my blog seems to be totally MIA, here's the biography page that is one of the links usually accessible with it. Alexander Chow-Stuart by Hudson Chow-Stuart. Alexander Stuart (aka Alexander Chow-Stuart) is an internationally-based, British-born screenwriter and novelist, whose books have been translated into eight languages and published in the US, Britain, Europe, Israel, Australia and throughout the world. His most controversial novel, The War Zone , about a family torn apart by incest, was turned into a multi-award-winning film by Oscar-nominated actor/director Tim Roth . Video To view the 40-minute talk Stuart gave at Film Fest Twain Harte about screenwriting for Hollywood and independents, including working one-on-one with Angelina Jolie, Jodie Foster, Tim Roth, Kiefer Sutherland and Danny Boyle, please play the video above or  please click on this link. Screenplays The War Zone screenplay. Stuar

Something mysterious has happened with the template for this blog at the moment, and various tabs are missing on some browsers, so here are links to the main page tabs that usually appear in the black bar at the top of the blog: Alexander Stuart - Biography A Meditation On Meditation The War Zone filmloops/fragments - Miami Art Museum Hopefully normal service will be resumed very soon!

And so, as we say our fond farewells to the impeccable staff of the Peninsula Shanghai - who have pampered us, cared for us, and, when needed, overlooked so much (not least Paradise's pet white mouse and Husky Go-Go's antics) - we prepare f or the long journey by air and  sea back to California, where I must write and be otherwise occupied for a time. First to the frenzy and humidity of Hong Kong, then a Flying Clipper to San Francisco, then onward up or down the California coast, as the whim may take us. The Boeing 314s are a wonder to behold: flying boats that offer the true meaning of luxury, with a perfectly elegant dining area staffed by chefs from four-star hotels (my one bone of contention: why not five-star hotels?), plus dressing rooms and bunks for overnight accommodation. They are so large, these flying boats, that a man - a mechanic - may stand up inside the wing while in flight and perform maintenance, should it be required. One