John J Johnston

@johnjjohnston.bsky.social

4276 Followers 1282 Following

Egyptology, Classics, reception, and cultural history. Chair - gentlefuries.bsky.social Ambassador - issegyptomania.bsky.social BSFA Award finalist 2013 Agents: Max Edwards - @AppleTreeLit Nigel Hetherington - @Pastpreservers London & Glasgow

Poster for the 2023 total recut of Tinto Brass’ CALIGULA.
Terence Stamp as the title character in BILLY BUDD. (UK, Peter Ustinov, 1962).
Crowds queuing along the street, outside the Radio City Music Hall, screening SUNSET BOULEVARD.
The Aldborough She-Wolf with Romulus and Remus, now on display in the Leeds County Museum.
The writer, in black tie, on rue Vieille du Temple.
Text of advertisement for the writer’s forthcoming lecture: About the talk - NOT the Edge of Empire: Imperial Culture in Britain The British Isles are traditionally considered the final, north-westerly gasp of the Roman Empire but culturally, they were no less distant from the city of Rome than any other province. This talk considers the cosmopolitan nature of life in Roman Britain, from the people who travelled such vast distances to colonise the province, through to the worship of Egyptian deities on the banks of the Thames, and onto the Roman progress into Scotland, far beyond the traditional barrier created by the Antonine Wall. Britain may have been cold, wet, and unforgiving but it was, nevertheless, a vital addition to the imperial cultural milieu.
Lee Binding’s beautiful cover for the forthcoming BD release of DOCTOR WHO Season Thirteen.
Promotional material for THE HIGH LIFE: THE MUSICAL, starring the four original cast members of the 1994 BBC series.
A small but tuneful brass band playing ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ and ‘MacArthur Park,’ outside the entrance to Swansea Railway Station under some slight shade on a scorching hot day!
Richard Burton as a young actor in c.1950.
Marble street sign for Piazza Augusto Imperatore in Rome.
Marble portrait head of Alexander the Great, allegedly excavated at Alexandria and now on display at the British Museum.
Professor Kitchen, smiling into the camera, in his Liverpool garden in 2008, standing next to the writer.
Red and gold cover of the paperback edition of Angela Stienne’s MUMMIFIED.
Charles Gray as marksman Hugo Vardon, in black tie, from Roger Longrigg’s television play, ‘Firing Point.’
Current BBC DOCTOR WHO logo against a starfield background.
Archie Panjabi and Anita Dobson as the Rani in DOCTOR WHO.
Monochrome publicity shot of Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes for Hammer’s THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (UK, Terence Fisher, 1959).
Livia, a beautiful, blue Abyssinian cat standing on the arm of a purple chair and peering up at the writer/photographer.
Archie Panjabi as the Rani, on set for ‘Wish World’ (BBC, Alex Sanjiv Pillai, 2025).
Title card for THE DÆMONS (BBC, Christopher Barry, 1971).
Beautifully designed and executed title card for Hammer’s DRACULA, which would go on to provide inspiration for the title card of Emerald Fennell’s SALTBURN (UK, 2023).
Grace Jones, wearing a deep blue coat and hat and holding her sunglasses away from her face in a humorously judgemental manner attends Paris Fashion Week in March 2024.
Gathering of friends in the writer’s living room watching Eurovision on Saturday, 17 May 2025.
Rainbow Pride Flag advertising IDAHOBIT 2025.
Anita Dobson as Mrs Flood in THE INTERSTELLAR SONG CONTEST (BBC, Ben A Williams, 2025).
Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor, wearing a zip-necked polo shirt and beaming excitedly, lit by a red glow, as he stands in front of his TARDIS.
Marble head of the emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, better known by his nickname Elagabalus, on display in the Capitoline Museum. Writer’s own photograph.
Glossy, colourful bookazine on red velvet, featuring a selection of images from Hammer’s Dracula films. The publication is entitled, ‘The Hammer Dracula Films: A comprehensive guide to the franchise, from DRACULA 1958 to THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA 1973.’