FROM laptop screens to the big screen!

Computer repair specialist Howard Blake, 45, has found the perfect way to unwind after long days fixing hard drives and removing nasty viruses – by directing a movie!

While running The PC and Laptop Repair Centre in Chandler’s Ford with his brother Adam, and with the help of fellow film enthusiasts from Southampton Video Camera Club, Howard has managed to produce a full-length feature film called Out for Revenge.

It will be premiered at Thornden School cinema next month with a full red carpet glitzy event attended by all involved.

The movie has used actors from the local community who range in age from their early 20s to 80.

Forget big budget Hollywood blockbusters, the resourceful businessman has revealed that it cost absolutely nothing to make!

Entirely self-taught, he says he learned how to make a film by watching training clips on YouTube. He then got local actors involved from the Bishopstoke Players, Chessil Players in Winchester and other budding actors who had expressed an interest through the website starnow.co.uk.

The camera and lighting equipment was provided by Southampton Video Camera Club (SVCC) whose members are mostly in retirement and who made up the production team.

Howard said: “The film has cost zero pounds to make.

Everyone has done it out of enthusiasm and purely in their free time. Even as a small child it was my ambition to make a film one day.

“I’ve certainly enjoyed the creativity of making this.

When you get all your movie clips together it’s like making a big jig-saw: I’m very, very pleased with how it has come together.

The inspiration for the story really came from a couple of films: Grand Torino starring Clint Eastwood and Harry Brown starring Michael Caine which are both films in the revenge genre which I’ve watched many times. It’s gritty, down to earth and quite violent.”

There is no archetypal young superhero in this film.

What sets it apart from the norm is that the main characters are well into retirement age.

Howard explains: “One of the things I’ve always been interested in is that old people still have so much energy.

It’s always bothered me when I watch nature programmes where the lion is taken over by the younger cub and they seem powerless. In the film the main character is old and suffering from a terminal illness but this makes him feel more rejuvenated because he knows he will die. This becomes a bit of a facade, however, because in the evenings he is out getting his vengeance!

“The guys from the video club are in their ’60s and ’70s and are a really enthusiastic, energetic bunch. Sometimes we would go out all night filming, or they would be on their feet all day for 14 hours filming but they had so much energy and I couldn’t have done it without them. And the great thing is that it was simply done for fun!”

  • The premiere of Out For Revenge is on Saturday, February 7 at 7.30pm at Thornden School cinema.
    At 8pm there will be some short films from the SVCC including On the Other Foot – Howard’s original short 12-minute movie that serves as a prelude to Out For Revenge.

    Both films are violent dramas and would probably be rated 12a or 15. For tickets: Call the box office on 023 8024 6555 to reserve your seats.