Matthew Alford is a British author.
Career
editIn 2008, Alford was awarded a doctorate by the University of Bath. He adapted his thesis to write his first book Reel Power: Hollywood Cinema and American Supremacy, whch was published in 2010 by Pluto Press. At that point, too, he started investigating the disappearance of screenwriter Gary Devore, co-authoring cover articles about it for The Guardian Arts supplement and then Fortean Times.[1]
In 2014, Alford produced a documentary The Writer with No Hands about Devore's disappearance, which premiered at Hot Docs. Alford's eponymous book explained that the 2014 version was withdrawn over production disagreements between him and the director William Westaway and lays out why Alford abruptly abandoned the research. The resultant 2017 version of the film credits Alford only as presenter.[2][3]
In 2017, Alford co-authored National Security Cinema: The Shocking New Evidence of Government Control in Hollywood. The book formed the basis for the documentary Theaters of War, a documentary released in 2022.[4]
In June-July 2024, Mathew Alford was the Workers Party of Britain's prospective parliamentary candidate in the Parliamentary constituency of Bath in the UK 2024 general election. [5] Standing on a left-wing and pro-Palestinian platform. [6]
Selected works
editBooks
edit- Reel Power: Hollywood Cinema and American Supremacy. London: Pluto Press, 2010. ISBN 9780745329826.
- 2018. French edition with new introduction by the author. Hollywood Propaganda, Cinéma Hollywoodien et Hégémonie Américaine (Éditions Critiques). Translation: Cyrille Rivallan. ISBN 979-1097331092
- 2023. Final Cut (Éditions Critiques). French edition with new preface by the author. ISBN 979-10-97331-46-7
- National Security Cinema: The Shocking New Evidence of Government Control in Hollywood (CreateSpace, 2017). With Tom Secker.
- 2021. Expanded French edition. L'Empire Vous Divertit: Comment la CIA et le Pentagone Utilisent Hollywood (Investig'Action). Translation: Philippe Stroot.
Films
edit- Theaters of War (2022) (co-producer)
- The Writer With No Hands (2014) (producer)
References
edit- ^ "FT266 - FT Covers". ft.gjovaag.com.."FT248 - FT Covers". ft.gjovaag.com.
- ^ Gane, Thomas (5 May 2016). "The Mystery of the Dead Hollywood Screenwriter Whose Hands Were Never Found". Vice. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ^ White, Mike. "Special Report: The Writer with No Hands (2017)".
- ^ "Op-Ed: Why does the Pentagon give a helping hand to films like 'Top Gun'?". Los Angeles Times. 30 May 2022.
- ^ Wimperis, John (11 June 2024). "General Election 2024: Full list of candidates for Bath". Somerset Live. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ Alford, Mathew. "About Matthew Alford". Worker's Party of Britain. Retrieved 24 June 2024.