LAURIE Calvert isn't the first person to be inspired by Star Wars, but he is the first in the UK to use his inspiration to make a computer animated feature-length film.

Since watching Star Wars as a child, 45-year-old Laurie, from Hornchurch, has been desperate to make a sci-fi film of his own and next weekend his creation, Monsters of the Id, will be shown at the Odeon cinema in Southend.

But achieving his dream hasn't been easy for Laurie, who chose family life over the lure of Hollywood fame and fortune.

It all started in 1978 when Laurie saw Star Wars for the first time. He started making short films and soon after was begging special effects companies for a job. Eventually he was taken on by Filmfex Animation Service in London as a special effects cameraman - at a time when computers were basic and computer generated 3D film was non-existent.

"It was the Eighties and this sort of thing was at its peak," Laurie explains.

"We were the biggest company doing it outside of America, but everything we did manually back then, you can do now on a computer."

The work was painstakingly slow.

"One frame of film would take four minutes to make," says Laurie. "And you needed 35 of those to make a second of film."

Laurie eventually contributed to films such as the Dark Crystal and Hellraiser as well as numerous TV programmes and adverts.

But the long hours and travel to London from Essex was starting to take its toll.

"At the end of the Eighties the British film industry was in a lull," Laurie says.

"I'd done all I wanted to do in that area and I wanted to spend more time at home and start a family."

Instead, Laurie took up a job as a film director in Southend.

Although the title might be all he's ever dreamt of, the job actually involves Laurie working for HM Revenue and Customs making training videos and filming conferences.

The hours however, are perfect, and have allowed Laurie the time to indulge his real passion.

Over the years he has made nearly 200 short films and notched up a staggering 40 awards covering all genres from documentary, to horror and of course animation.

His success has led many an industry professional and friends to suggest that Laurie should pitch his stuff to Hollywood bigwigs, but he says nothing could be more unappealing.

"You hear stories about people in Hollywood making films and then someone else comes along and tells you that it has to be changed and altered which is soul destroying," says Laurie.

"I wanted to just make a film - not for the fortune, but just for the love of it. I didn't want to make money out of doing what I love. There's too much of that in this life."

In 2000 Laurie starting making his first ever feature length film, the War of the Starfighters. The 75 minute long film which was the UK's first ever compuer generated feature and the world's first computer generated feature made by a single person.

The film has never been released for public viewing.

"I made it for my kids, so that one day they could look at it and say my dad did that'," explains Laurie.

"It was magic to be able to make something that special."

Creating just five seconds of material each day, the project took Laurie three years to complete. Surprisingly, a top animator will only make four seconds of material a week, as they add far more detail, but the slow process didn't put Laurie off.

When the War of the Starfighters was finished, Laurie embarked on a new project - his second feature-length film.

"I love it," he says of the process.

"It's like opening a Christmas present every day. You open a shot to see the scene and it's so great if it works out how you want it to."

Laurie's second film, Monsters of the Id, is the one he is releasing for sale through an independent distributor.

Like the first, his children have provided voices for some of the characters, but Laurie has also enlisted the help of a few famous names too.

"As a Star Wars fan I go to a lot of conventions and events and sometimes I film them and get to rub shoulders with the stars," explains Laurie.

"You get chatting to them and they realise you're on the level and not a nutter and don't seem to mind helping me out. They do it as a favour to me on the understanding that if it does well, I will give them something for it."

The agreement has seen Laurie enlist the help of Garrick Hagon, who starred as Biggs in Star Wars, as well as other television names such as Phil Delancy and Eileen Daly.

Monsters of the Id is all about super-heroes fighting nightmares and is aimed at older children.

"I love science fiction because I think a good story inspires you to become a better person," says Laurie.

"You look at the characters and think I wish I could become that'. You can aspire to become a better person and you can do so many things that you can't do in real life - go into space and swim with sharks."

Monsters of the Id is available to buy from www.play.com, Amazon, HMV and Tescos.

We have two pairs of tickets to give away to see Monsters of the Id at the Odeon cinema in Southend on July 29. To enter send your answer to the question below on a postcard including your name, address and daytime telephone number to Echo Monsters of the Id Competition, Chester Hall Lane, Basildon, Essex, SS14 3BL, to reach us no later than Wednesday, July 25.

What was Laurie's first feature length film called?

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