Joe Piddington, Director/Producer of Miniature Wargaming the Movie
It may have come to your attention recently that something big has happened that looks set to benefit the image of the hobby: the North American release of Miniature Wargaming the Movie.
For Director/Producer Joe Piddington, this represents, if not the end, then at least the beginning of the end of a very long journey indeed for a project that first started to come together back in 2015 and which has taken over his life ever since.
I was involved in helping Joe put together this monumental project myself, after Joe contacted me in late 2015, hoping that I could put him in contact with some key people in the hobby and also act as, in effect, historical consultant about the pastime that he was beginning to realise had a much longer and more detailed history than he was initially aware of. Of course, I was happy to oblige and I'm extremely proud to be associated with the documentary that has emerged, which tells not only the story of the hobby, but also reveals many of the people who work in the industry and the way in which they struggle every day to keep us supplied with an astonishing array of high quality products.
I managed to get Joe to tell us a bit about his on past and early days in the movie-making business, beginning with humble animations produced with Microsoft Paint and his startling success running a business making customised shoes! With view on YouTube running into the millions, it was clear that this boy had a future, and he tells the story of how the germ of an idea was born which quickly escalated into the biggest exploration of the wargaming hobby ever attempted.
So, sit back and enjoy the behind the scenes story of how Miniature Wargaming the Movie came into being, the detailed news about its recent release in North America and its prospects for distribution in the UK and beyond – it's fascinating learning just how complicated it is to get a film released on a global scale! My thanks to Joe for giving this exclusive interview which I can share first with my wonderful patrons.
Henry
P.S. I have attached a PDF file of the original interview I did with Joe (MWBG issue 400) just before he went to Kickstarter for the second time in 2016.
Miniature Wargaming the Movie Website
Miniature Wargaming the Movie on Twitter