Hamlet
Here at John Simm Online, we’d like to wish John a very Happy Birthday! We hope you have a good one! 
Happy Birthday John!
Site News: Follow-Up
Right, following on from my previous post about the Open Hiatus…
The site will remain open, and will have news updated as and when it occurs. The gallery will continue to be updated with photos in the following categories – Events / Photoshoots / Production Stills. However future works will not be screencaptured, as this is simply too time-consuming for me now!
I will reconsider the site’s future again once the domain is up for renewal next Summer.
Article: Casting News (Hamlet)
Full casting has now been confirmed for this autumn’s John Simm-headed offering of Hamlet, which runs at Sheffield Crucible from 22 September to 23 October 2010 (previews from 16 September).
John Nettles – best known from his long-running TV role in Midsomer Murders and awarded an OBE in this month’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List – will return to the stage after a long absence to star as Claudius/Ghost alongside Simm and Michelle Dockery (as Ophelia), Barbara Flynn (Gertrude), Colin Tierney (Horatio) and Hugh Ross (Polonius).
Also in the cast are: Dylan Brown (Rosencrantz), Adam Foster (Guildernstern), Ben Lamb (Voltemand/Player/Fortinbras), James Loye (Laertes/Lucianus), Joseph Mydell (Player King/Francisco/Captain), Harry Lister Smith (Cornelius) and Roderick Smith (Marcellus/Player/Priest).
The production is directed by Paul Miller and designed by Tom Scutt, with lighting by Oliver Fenwick and music and sound is by Ben and Max Ringham.
Site News: Open Hiatus
Hey all!
At the moment, I am pondering the future of John Simm Online. I recently gave birth to my first child, and am now offline for increasingly long periods of time, as obviously she is my priority now.
So, I am at a loss with what to do with the site. It seems a shame to delete it, especially since the domain is registered for another 15months, and the gallery is such a good resource for John pictures.
So for the moment, I am placing the site on a open hiatus – this means the site is still open for viewing, but will not be updated in the meantime.
I will post further news, as I decide what to do with the site.
News: Hamlet tickets on sale!
Visit the official Sheffield Theatres website for details on how to book your tickets. Prices range from £12 to £20 for tickets, and the play runs from Thursday 16 September to Saturday 23 October 2010.
Article: Simm ‘was considered’ for ‘Ashes’ finale
Matthew Graham has revealed that he initially wanted John Simm to return for last night’s Ashes To Ashes finale.
Graham, who co-created the sci-fi drama with Ashley Pharoah, admitted that Simm’s Life On Mars alter ego DI Sam Tyler was originally meant to come out of the Railway Arms instead of Nelson to greet the Ashes faithful.
He told The Guardian: “There was originally a version where John came back. It was never scripted but it was storylined. Everyone seemed to really like it. We were all quite happy and excited about it.”
However, he admitted that such a move would have insulted the identity of the standalone ’80s spinoff as well as the show’s star Keeley Hawes, who played DI Alex Drake.
Graham explained: “Then we suddenly thought that it would steal all of Keeley’s thunder, it would undermine Ashes as a show and also Sam’s supposed to be dead, so he should be in heaven.
“It suddenly made him seem like a superhero – he could go from purgatory to heaven and back again. So we decided not to do that. We never asked him.”
Gallery: New Photoshoot
Gallery Link
Photoshoots – 038
So Ashes to Ashes has concluded, with the finale aired on Friday. No appearance from John sadly, but I think it may have overshadowed the story if he had made an appearance. At least we now know what became of Sam, and that Gene didn’t kill him!
Site: Ashes to Ashes finale
Sooo… Next week brings the curtain down on the Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes story. Will we see an appearance from John as Sam Tyler? According to Wikipedia we might do, but as it has not been confirmed by members of the Ashes team, take this as pure speculation.
Although, there was that familiar shadow mysteriously knocking on Gene’s office window in the ‘Next Week’ trailer at the end of this week’s episode…
Edit – 10.34am Saturday 15th
Wikipedia has removed the listing of Episode 8 of Ashes from John’s fillmography. Obviously somebody trying to have a little bit of fun and cause a fuss! It’s just going to be a case of wait and see what happens I think. Either way though, we should find out the truth about what happened to Sam Tyler!
News: Hamlet dates and tickets
Hamlet runs from 22nd September to 23rd October 2010 (previews from 16th September), with tickets going on sale on 22nd May for members and 29th May for the general public.
Site: Media back up and running
It seems that when the site underwent the numerous recent server changes, it messed up the Media sub-domain’s wordpress installation and stopped it working. Unfortunately, I only realised today! I’ve moved the media back to the main site now, and it is accessible through the link at the top again.