How stars of the big screen helped shape author David’s life
Book inspired by 40 years of cinema
A FAREHAM author has released a memoir on how decades of watching films on the big screen and meeting film stars and writers have helped shape his life.
David E. Gates, 55, says his self-published book, Cinema, is inspired by more than 40 years of cinema goings.
It details his experiences growing up in Portsmouth watching films at old cinemas like the ABC cinema at Commercial Road, meeting his heroes from films like Alien and License to Kill from
the James Bond series and how writing for Samhain horror movie magazine saw him invited to ‘major press events’.
From sneaking into cinemas to watch the heroes and villains on the screen, to interviewing the likes of Robert Davi, author Terry Pratchett, playwright Clive Barker and Aliens actor William Hope, the IT worker has captured his own memories from the world of movies.
Cinema is David’s tenth book and has been purposely released on Star Wars Day as David says it is ‘quite fitting’.
He said: ‘I started writing down the experiences that I had in the cinema and originally it was just going to be 8,000 to 10,000 words.
‘It seemed to just grow and grow and had a bit of a life on its own.
‘I started realising that some of the things I’d done like interviews with Robert Davi, who played Franz Sanchez in License to Kill, provided a wealth of material and I thought, “I should really get this down”.’
Growing up in Stamshaw until he was about 15, a fond
I went up to the box office and in my best manly voice said: ‘One please’
David E. Gates
memory recalled in the book is of the first time David watched a film ‘illegally’ aged 13 when he saw Monty Python’s Life of Brian.
‘That was back in the days when they had a double A certificate and you had to be 14 or over,’ he said.
‘I went up to the box office and in my best manly voice said: “One please”.
‘Writing reviews for Samhain led on to me getting a chance to interview stars and got me invited to major press events.’
David’s previous works include The Roots of Evil, The Wretched – a horror story set in Portsmouth, Access Denied
and UFO: The Edinburg Incident and Other UFO Stories.
Cinema costs £5.99 on Amazon and can also be purchased on Apple Books or via David’s website davidegates.com