London, Ep. 47

April 15, 2015 — With a spring in our step, we stumbled head-first into London Book & Screen Week with a book & film themed-show at Foyles on Charing Cross Road that featured, amongst other things: lit brilliance, hijinks, oddity, hilarity and it all ended with an Adapted or Original? finale that saw Ali Catterall outlast Ian Kelly 4-3 to win him the LDM London, Ep. 47 crown. 

But well before the finale was even a consideration, the night kicked off with screenwriter William Thacker, the cat-friendly author of Charm Offensive, who told the tale of an author who renames towns after corporate sponsors (think "Phones For You" instead of Stoke on Trent). Next up was Ian Kelly, actor (Harry Potter, Howard's End), award-winning co-author of the Vivienne Westwood autobiography, who read from his book Mr Foote's Other Leg, an excerpt about a one-legged superstar of the West End stage — the most exciting Londoner you've never heard of. 

Then the mic was handed over to the night's trio of all-star judges: Tess Morris, writer of upcoming British rom-com Man Up (starring Simon Pegg & Lake Bell); Joel Morris, comedy writer of Paddington, Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe, A Touch of Cloth, That Mitchell and Webb Look; and Mark Dolan, broadcaster (on Channel4's Taxi Gags), writer & comedian. The trio heaped praise on Thacker and Kelly, with Dolan referencing his life as a childhood friend of Captain Birdseye, and Tess Morris telling Kelly she would write his screenplay. Then they huddled up and made the night's first impossible decision: naming Kelly the night's first finalist. 

Then Round 2 commenced with Josa Young, author of Sail Upon the Land and One Apple Tasted who read about a woman named Sarah in 1940, desperate to escape from a German soldier who was attacking her. Then it was Catterall, film critic for Total Film, co-author of Your Face Here: British Cult Movies Since the Sixties, who told the autobiographical tale of a friend who was a film extra who committed suicide on Kings Road. 

The mic again was handed to the judges, with praise abound for Young and Catterall both, but after an intense deliberation they decided it would be Catterall who would advance as the night's second finalist. 

Then up stepped LDM Executive Producer Suzanne Azzopardi, who announced the night's finale: Original or Adapted? Azzopardi held up movie posters of award-winning films while Catterall and Kelly guessed if they were original or adapted, and then guessed who wrote them. It was neck-and-neck throughout, but with everything to play for, Catterall nailed the deciding answer, winning him the LDM London, Ep. 47 crown, and literary immortality to go with it.