Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future

Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future
GenreScience fiction
Written bySteve Roberts
Directed byRocky Morton
Annabel Jankel
StarringMatt Frewer
Nickolas Grace
Amanda Pays
W. Morgan Sheppard
Roger Sloman
Hilary Tindall
Music byMidge Ure
Chris Cross
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerTerry Ellis
ProducerPeter Wagg
Production locationsEast Ham, London, England
CinematographyPhil Meheux
EditorMichael Bradsell
Running time57 minutes
Original release
ReleaseApril 4, 1985 (1985-04-04)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future is a 1985 cyberpunk television film created by British company Chrysalis Visual Programming Ltd. for Channel 4. Max Headroom was created by George Stone,[1] Annabel Jankel, and Rocky Morton, while the TV movie story was developed by Stone and screenwriter Steve Roberts.[2] The television film was created to provide a backstory and origin for the character Max before he started appearing regularly as host and veejay of a new music video programme on Channel 4, The Max Headroom Show.[2]

The story depicts a near-future where corrupt corporations control much of the world and manipulate the public for the sake of ratings and wealth. Events lead crusading journalist Edison Carter to crash a motorcycle and suffer head trauma from a parking lot safety sign reading "MAX. HEADROOM: 2.3 M" (an overhead clearance of 2.3 metres). While unconscious, Carter's mind and memories are used as the basis for a new artificial intelligence that adopts the name Max Headroom. While Carter recovers and exposes corporate corruption, his AI twin Max becomes popular as a witty TV host who criticizes society and media. Both Edison Carter and Max Headroom are portrayed by actor Matt Frewer.[2]

On 4 April 1985, Channel 4 transmitted the TV movie Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future, starring Matt Frewer, Amanda Pays, Paul Spurrier, Nickolas Grace, and W. Morgan Sheppard. Two days later, Max began appearing regularly as the veejay of The Max Headroom Show.[2][3] HBO (which owned another cable television provider Cinemax) provided some of the original funding and the series later ran on Cinemax for American audiences.[2] Following its cancellation, American network ABC commissioned Chrysalis to produce a new dramatic television series based on the characters, concepts, and world established in the film Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future.[2] The new programme, entitled simply Max Headroom, featured Matt Frewer and Amanda Pays reprising their original roles. Each episode began with the phrase "20 Minutes into the Future."[2][4]

  1. ^
    • Jerz, Dennis G. (22 March 2015). "George Stone Credits Scott Adams Adventure Games for Inspiring "Max Headroom"". Jerz's Literacy Weblog (est. 1999). Retrieved 29 August 2023. ...I had never heard that I had anything to do with your creation of Max! I am deeply honored to play even a small roll in this! Would you mind greatly if I were allowed to make this fact known? – Scott Adams Good to hear from you. I hereby aknowledge [sic] your role in Max's Genesis and grant you full irrevocable rights to say exactly what you like.... – George Stone
    • "YouTube video at the ICA with Stone, Morton and Jankel". Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
    • "Culture Now: Max Headroom". youtube. ica.org.uk. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2023. Rocky Morton, George Stone and Annabel Jankel discuss the creation of the virtual character 'Max Headroom'.
    • "Talks : Culture Now: Twenty Minutes Later. Rocky Morton in conversation with George Stone". ica.org.uk. Archived from the original on 12 September 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
    • "George Stone on Max Headroom". archive.ica.art. Institute of Contemporary Arts. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
    • "George Stone". The Museum of Modern Art. MoMA. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
    • Schmidt-Rees, Hannah (21 April 2020). "20 Minutes into the Future - Max Headroom". PERSPEX. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
    • "Max: Crew & Creative". The Max Headroom Chronicles. Retrieved 28 August 2023. George Stone is Max Headroom's creator in almost every respect. A marketing executive and science fiction writer who worked for Chrysalis Productions, he was tasked by Wagg, Morton and Jankel to write the overall back story of this new creation.
    • Atkinson, Terry (5 May 1987). "THE MIXED-UP WORLD OF MAX HEADROOM CREATORS". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 August 2023. Stone came up with the idea for a character named Max Headroom, and Morton and Jankel fleshed it out a bit.
    • Stone, George; Morton, Rocky; Jankel, Annabel (4 January 2020). "Max Headroom - Complete Series". Retrieved 28 August 2023 – via archive.org. Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
    • Max Headroom Annual. Chrysalis Visual Programming Ltd. 1986. Retrieved 29 August 2023 – via archive.org. Designed by David Clark Design Group Ltd.
    • \Tselentis, Jason (16 February 2022). "The Enduring Legacy of '80s Cult Phenom Max Headroom". Eye on Design. American Institute of Graphic Arts. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Bishop, Bryan (2 April 2015). "Live and Direct: The definitive oral history of 1980s digital icon Max Headroom". The Verge. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  3. ^
  4. ^ Max Headroom: The Complete Series. Shout Factory.