BEGINNINGS (2001)

The origins of Milano Entertainment stretch back to 2001, when Edward Frizzelle's father purchased a video camera. That very day, Edward began to pen the script for what would become his debut film, Jungle Jim.

Shot over a period of two weeks, Jungle Jim told the story of a man who becomes wrapped up in a sinister drug plot after his brother is kidnapped. The film starred James North in the lead role, with his brother Daniel North portraying the villain, as well as Edward Frizzelle and his younger brother Robert. The film was shown to an audience on the 5th November 2001 at the Frizzelles' home.

Some time later, on a bus journey to school, Edward Frizzelle mentioned to his friend Simon Jeffery that he had "started making films now" and was keen to continue. Simon, who had previously created comics with Edward, was immediately intrigued and eager to participate in future projects.

Simon Jeffery's first screen appearance was as a mysterious villain in a trailer for Edward's proposed sequel to his debut hit Jungle Jim, for which he also provided the voiceover. Ultimately, as the script for Jungle Jim 2: The Last Attempt grew in scale, it became less likely that it would get made. It was around this time that Simon decided to attempt his own script; a thrilling secret agent yarn in the James Bond mould, which he titled Agents of Destruction. 

On the 23rd of December 2001, while Simon was staying round Edward's house, the two decided to film numerous comic sketches. The sketches (none of which exist today) included: Crazy Pete, The Frenchman and the Hobo, and The Christmas Eve Song. The show was given the obscure title of The Adventures of Pete and co. and So-Solid Rodney and David Novis but was retrospectively retitled The Oi Mate Show when Edward decided to make a sequel a year later.

2002

Continuing in the comedy vein, Milano Entertainment then began to film a prank/stunt show named SMACKASS, which featured often hilariously poor attempts to emulate certain other similar shows on TV. The show marked the introduction of David Bass into the world of Milano Entertainment. A friend of Edward's since lower school, David played the outrageous host who introduced each segment and occasionally participated, and whose amusing antics during the links often proved to be more successful than the skits themselves.

David Bass continued his involvement with Milano Entertainment over the next few projects; The Oi Mate Show 2 and SMACKASS 2 but was absent for some time after that.

Edward Frizzelle's next film was a remake of his first film Jungle Jim. Featuring the same cast and premise as the original, but with improvements all round and a new title, Jungle Run was a return to the fiction format that was met with approval by all involved.

2003

After a lengthy writing process and months on the shelf, Simon Jeffery's Agents of Destruction
finally went into production in early 2003. In it, Simon played Jack Diamond, one of three agents (along with Edward Frizzelle as 'Tank' and Daniel North as 'Max Limit') sent to put a stop to the deadly plot by Trent Golding. Owing to a shortage of actors, the part of Golding was never filmed and consequently, when the film got its final cut, numerous scenes were missing, leaving gaps in the plot. Although still well-received by its audience, the unfinished story coupled with the arrival of newer filming technology prompted Simon to opt for a complete rewrite and remake. At this point, the first attempt at making the film became known as the Agents of Destruction: Screen Test in order to distinguish it from its successor.

Fearing that his only films would be sequels to his debut features (Even his earlier film The Relic had had more than one version filmed), Edward Frizzelle created The Will, a story about the struggle to inherit the fortune of a murdered rap musician. He followed this up with The Relics of China in an effort to create a 3-part mystery film but this was ultimately abandoned when the script for Agents of Destruction was finally completed by Simon and Edward.

Agents of Destruction went into production in October 2003 and became Milano Entertainment's largest project at that time. The film brought back the cast of the original, as well as introducing Ian Garner as Mr Laaja, Martin Hales as Radcliffe Barnes and Alex Mills as the DJ. Karl Becker, who had made a minor appearance as a guard in the original version was cast as the main villain, Dr Fist. The film was released on an extras-filled DVD in March of 2004 and soon became the most viewed Milano Entertainment film and probably still holds that record to date.

2004

Feeling somewhat exhausted by the six-month-long production of Agents of Destruction, Edward Frizzelle's next film Musha was an unscripted short film that was shot in a single day. The film told the story of a hitman (James North) and his struggle to come to terms with the morality of his profession. The film, which lasted about eleven minutes, featured highly stylised editing techniques to create an atmospheric, moody and memorable piece.

As well as being absent from Musha, Simon Jeffery was also absent for the filming of Edward's next short film, a drama set against the backdrop of a war in the not-too-distant future. Total Ambush, like Musha, was unscripted and was shot over a two day period. Simon Jeffery did play a part in the production however, taking over the job of editing from Edward to create the film's thrilling battle sequence. During the editing process, Simon saw the opportunity to insert himself into the film via a cameo as the helicopter pilot, shot against a blue screen in Edward's editing suite.

Having completed Musha and Total Ambush, Milano Entertainment once again felt ready to attempt a larger production - this time offering Daniel North the opportunity to turn his script, The Art of Justice, into a movie. The film's premise revolved around a crippled man (Edward Frizzelle) seeking revenge against the people who caused him his injury as a child. Simon Jeffery played Edward's best friend who desperately tries to disuade him before it's too late. Despite filming several scenes, much of the script remained unshot, as doubts over the production tainted the atmosphere on set and interest in the project dwindled. Eventually, the film was abandoned when Simon Jeffery announced that his script for a sequel to Agents of Destruction was ready to shoot.

Agents of Destruction: A Personal Vendetta went into production in mid-July 2004. Having originally stated there would be no sequel to Agents of Destruction, Simon Jeffery killed off all the villains by the end of the first film. The decision to make a second movie came some time later, when Edward and Simon, on a long walk home from school, reminisced about the fun they had had dubbing the lines for the many masked guards in the first film.
Simon wrote a script that featured many more opportunities for the two of them to add comedic dubbing to the increasingly inept guards, choosing to replace the somewhat pompously serious plot elements of the first film with a string of action sequences loosely-linked together with as simple a plot as was needed. The result was a film that was lighter in tone, ridiculous at points and regarded at the time as a misfire, with the focus on stupidity marring the opportunity for a decent, exciting sequel. Nowadays, however, the film is looked upon by both Simon and Edward as being an accidental masterpiece of comedy, with the very elements that had disappointed them at the time being those that give it its enormous sense of fun and memorability.

On 8th October 2004, the five main members of Milano Entertainment attended the Co-Operative Young Filmmakers Festival in Bradford to view an extract from Agents of Destruction that had been selected to be screened in front of a full cinema audience. Following the showing, they received feedback from critics as well as certificates as an award for being amongst those shown.

2004 proved to be perhaps the busiest year for Milano Entertaintainment to date, with four films released and various other projects, as well as a stage performance of A Day in the Death of Joe Egg at Redborne Upper School featuring Simon Jeffery and Edward Frizzelle.

2005 - 2010 Coming Soon!