Man who cleaned film sets turns hand to making movies
Arundel Co-op worker stars in father’s upcoming movie
A man who used to clean film sets for a living has now turned his hand to making films – and he has gone on to sweep the board at film festivals worldwide.
Philip Moore, who is a published author as well as a film-maker, has won several awards with the pilot comedy Malcolm and The Magpies and is now working on a follow-up.
And his son Karn – a supermarket manager in Arundel – will be starring in the new movie after attracting a cult following in the original.
Philip, formerly from Storrington and now living in Broadbridge Heath, said: “You could say I am a cleaner-cumfilm-maker as for years my West Sussex-based cleaning company worked on many, many film locations.
“The Power Of One which was filmed at Christ’s Hospital in Horsham was my first.
“The Crystal Maze was my second, then there were so many more.”
Philip cleaned the Spitfire of the late Red Arrow pilot
Mark Hanna, along with many other cars, planes and film props including a James Bond 747 stationed at Dunsfold Park – former home of TV’s Top Gear.
He was also writing at the time but turned his skills to films with Malcolm and The Magpies – a comedy based around a bunch of goodhearted bank robbers – around five years ago.
Director of photography on the film is Alan Cross, from Worthing.
The movie went on to be well received but follow-up plans were hit hard because of the pandemic and the effects on the entertainment industry.
“Then suddenly in August 2021 and out of the blue we started to get approached by people showing interest in The Magpies project again, investment was forthcoming, known celebrities were contacting us and suddenly it was all going again,” said Philip.
A fresh script has been written for The Magpies and filming is due to start next year in West Sussex and at Frome in Somerset.
And it has turned into a real family affair.
“Our lead role ‘Malcolm’ is played by my son Karn Moore, who isn’t even an actor, he’s assistant manager at the Coop in Arundel where he has worked for many years,” said
Philip.
“Karn offered to hop in and play the role of Malcolm to help his dad out after the actor we had lined up let us down.
“Karn seems to have now gained this cult following and will be playing Malcolm once again next year alongside Bernie Fineman who plays ‘Bernie The Bolt’.”
The film also stars a ‘DelLorean’ car - a ‘DeLorean’ made from a Del-Boy-style
Reliant Robin three wheeler.
Its role will be a comical take on the Back To The Future DeLorean ‘time machine’ when Malcolm’s future self goes back in time to stop him messing up a wedding.