The director - Charles Wallace – first met Sir Patrick in July 2003 when he was looking for someone to play an eccentric professor in a sci-fi movie. Their discussions led to Sir Patrick and Charles developing a number of astrophysics related TV projects that, via The Moving Image Company, were submitted to UK broadcasters.  Included was a biography on Sir Patrick.

 

The BBC turned down the projects saying such minority interest subjects were not for broadcast TV.  However a month later, without further reference to Charles or the Moving Image Company, their DVD section contacted Sir Patrick’s agent saying they were interested in producing his biography. When Sir Patrick asked who the producer would be, a number of BBC producers were mentioned whom Sir Patrick rejected.   

In addition to doubts about the competence of BBC production personnel - partly brought on by them regularly confusing  Astronomy with Astrology - Patrick and many around him were concerned as to the accuracy of the protrayal.  As a result, when asked who he would accept as producer, Sir Patrick nominated Charles.   

 

Despite Charles's commercial television background, what appeared to be amicable negotiations with the BBC ensued.  At the BBC’s request a synopsis and budget were put together based on the BBC’s figures and terms that appeared perfectly adequate.  However while the BBC approved the synopsis as being just what they wanted, they said that the budget, although well within the figures they had quoted, had to be cut.  When it was explained that this would mean a cut in the quality of the programme, the BBC said that was acceptable.  A reduced budget was submitted, but this was again rejected as too high and the instruction issued to “slash” the cost.  Again the BBC said they understood that quality would suffer, but that was how it had to be.  It began to look as if the BBC wanted to spend less on the biography than their executives did on lunches!  The Moving Image Company offered to waive its production fee if the BBC would make a similar financial gesture so as to allow sufficient money for a decent job to be done.  However the BBC would not budge. 

 

Eventually a “slashed” budget and cut-down version of the project were agreed and The Moving Image Co was asked to press ahead with all speed as deadlines were approaching.  A contract confirming the agreed deal was promised.  Believing that he was dealing with a reputable public organisation whose word could be trusted, Charles proceeded with the filming.  However soon further problems were encountered.  Much of the BBC library (archive) material that the BBC had said would be made freely available for inclusion in the film was suddenly withdrawn.  The reason given was that the BBC did not own all the rights in some of the material and would have to pay fees for its use.  These ‘fees’ would have totalled less than £2,000, but again the BBC said they could not afford it.  Sir Patrick could not believe what was happening and wrote personally to Mark Thompson (director-general of the BBC).  He received the same matter-of-fact rejection.  However shortly therefore, the BBC instructed Charles to go ahead and use the desired material without the necessary clearances, but keep their use to a minimum., and if anyone noticed the BBC's legal department would sort it out.

 

One has to remember that this was all before the recent revelations of the BBC misrepresenting the Queen and defrauding children, so up to this point Charles had proceeded with the filming in the belief that he was dealing with an honourable public broadcaster.  However the above behaviour and the fact that the promised contract, some 3 months overdue, had still had not arrived, now caused concern.  Each time the BBC were chased, they promised that it was coming, there was no problem, nothing had changed, filming should proceed with all speed as the deadline was looming, it was just BBC bureaucracy that was holding things up.

 

Filming of the biography was approximately half completed when the contract finally arrived.  Surprise, surprise, it was substantially different to what had been agreed.  The consequence of the new contract terms were that the BBC could take the finished film and and possibly pay only half the agreed sum.  As reported in the Daily Mail (July 11, 2005) Charles and the Moving Image Company were told ‘take it or leave it’.  Enquiries suggested that this was not unusual BBC behaviour when dealing with the less wary producer.  The apparent ploy was to wait until a producer was so advanced with filming that he could not afford to argue, then submit a revised contract on a take it or leave it basis.  Some producers had reputedly been bankrupted as a result.

 

After further discussions with Sir Patrick, the BBC were informed that Charles and The Moving Image Company looked to them to keep to the original agreement, but in the meantime would press ahead with the biography independently.     

 

Very disappointed, but seemingly no longer surprised by the BBC’s behaviour, Sir Patrick agreed an exclusive deal with The Moving Image Company to make his biography. 

 

The first practical problem to overcome appeared to be the loss of BBC library material. Rumour was that the BBC believed that the biography could not be done without it and thus their terms would eventually have to be accepted.  However if this were so, they had underestimated the ability of Sir Patrick to hold an audience, particularly when talking about one of his favourite subjects - astronomy, cats and himself. Also by this time, a treatment had been developed that was not archive dependant. This was partly because of the material whose use had been restricted on the basis of cost, but more so because it turned out that much historic BBC archive material had been junked years earlier.  A prime example was the Apollo 11 moon landing.  Those old enough to remember will recall Sir Patrick’s riveting commentary as Apollo 11 made its hazardous descent to the Moon’s surface.  As mankind’s most memorable achievement of the last hundred years - some would say of the last thousand - its value was incalculable.  However back in the 80’s, the BBC had apparently erased the recording of it and many other historic programmes in order to make space for offices.

 

The next problem was that while withdrawing from the agreement to make Sir Patrick’s biography, the BBC had apparently not given up on producing one. Two weeks after reneging on the deal with The Moving Image Company, a BBC producer from Bristol telephoned Sir Patrick saying she would like to make a biography of him, and surprise surprise, it had exactly the same format as that proposed by Charles.  The girl protested that this was pure coincidence. Sir Patrick put it in astronomical terms “The chances of the BBC independently coming up with the same treatment at just this time are the same as that of Halley’s Comet returning next year”.  Again Charles and the Moving Image Company gathered that they were not being picked on. For decades people have complained of having their ideas pilfered by the BBC. 

 

Despite pressure from the BBC, Sir Patrick has to date kept to his exclusive deal with Charles, and with a lot of help from past and present BBC employees, equally dismayed at what the BBC has become in recent years, the autobiography was completed.  It is perhaps unique in that unlike biographies that consist primarily of old film clips strung together with comments from personalities (or celebs as they’re known), the film is Patrick Moore on Patrick Moore.  Doubtless the BBC are working on their version!  

 

The BBC had planned to market the DVD at £16-99 (listed on Amazon.co.uk).  We obviously don’t have the benefit of their billions of public money, but we’re not top heavy with bureaucrats, so we’ve managed to undercut them by £4.  Strangely, there are no plans for showing it on the BBC!