A HORROR SHOW...BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT

In what may have to be the last Film Festival-related item, enjoying a drink after play on Thursday a number of those working at the German Masters got chatting to some Northern Irish screenwriters and producers, in Berlin to try and raise investment for various movies they were hoping to make.

In what proved a fascinating insight into what can only be described as a niche area (Irish Gothic horror, apparently with occasional use of possessed leprechauns – maybe not doing everything possible to dispel some national stereotypes) writer Spence Wright and his colleagues (well, apart from the one who was asleep in the corner for the whole two hours) broke off from their pool game and offered up a spirited rendition of ‘Snooker Loopy’ in honour of the chance meeting to the general bewilderment of the bar staff.

Wright describes himself on Linked In as “a horror fan since I was knee high to a Chucky Doll, a child of the vhs video feeding frenzy - now a horror hound writing the scripts and living the nightmare”, and his credits include Red Mist (2008), Unsound (2011), the unforgettable Vampires v Leprechauns (2013) and Deadlocked (2013).

Some fairly obvious gags about snooker and horror, notably those involving slow play and early morning finishes, were all duly cracked.

Tournament director Mike Ganley appeared to know quite a bit about the genre – arguably a little too much – while the festival-goers regretted being tied up in meetings on Friday afternoon and unable to come along and cheer on compatriot Mark Allen against Shaun Murphy.

O'SULLIVAN MAKES IT INTO GERMAN 'DAILY MIRROR'

Always keen to maintain international media relations, Inside Snooker took advantage of an offer from a Berlin colleague to visit the nearby offices of Der Tagesspiegel (or ‘Daily Mirror’, if you like) and get a spot of lunch in the canteen. DT is one of the three big newspapers specifically published for the capital as opposed to some of the national titles.

On a day when a full page of the broadsheet in the news section was devoted to the crisis enveloping Bundesliga stragglers Hertha Berlin, who this week sacked their manager with the team plummeting towards the foot of the table, there was still room in the sports section for an excellent page-lead piece on Ronnie O’Sullivan from journalist Joerg Leopold headlined ‘The quest for perfection’.

http://www.tagesspiegel.de/sport/snooker-german-masters-in-berlin-ronnie-osullivan-und-die-suche-nach-perfektion/11335270.html

With the Film Festival in full swing the Rocket, in action against Joe Perry in their last-16 clash, had to share space in Friday’s paper with French actress Audrey Tautou, a member of the jury deciding the festival’s best film and pictured out and about on gala opening night.

BURDEN'S SPLENDID ISOLATION

Alfie Burden was fired up for his first visit to the latter stages of the German Masters, having always previously fallen in the qualifiers and never made it to the Tempodrom in Berlin.

Affordable hotel rooms were very scarce in Berlin the week of the tournament, with the International Film Festival and several major trade fairs also taking place in the city.

But world No38 Burden was delighted to have finally secured one very close to what he thought was the venue. Having arrived and checked in he ventured to the Velodrom with his cue for a practice only for the first suspicions to dawn that something was amiss.

Bemused staff at the cycling venue were unable to help and after a couple of phone calls Burden realised that he was in fact out in the eastern suburbs and a good 45-minute taxi ride from the Tempodrom just south of the centre of Berlin.

A couple of very costly taxi fares drove Burden to check out the far more reasonable rates available on the public transport system and the U-Bahn. And though a first-round win over Michael Georgiou made him consider relocating, he stayed put ahead of a stint on the Eurosport studio panel during the Neil Robertson v Xiao Guodong last-16 match.

POOL SHARK SELBY MAKES IT BACK WITH TIME TO SPARE

A few people had expressed concerns about Mark Selby’s schedule and travel plans to Berlin for the German Masters after losing a tight final of the Chinese Eight-ball Pool World Championship to Darren Appleton on Monday night.

But after a narrow 21-19 defeat the snooker world champion certainly looked cheery enough after jetting in to Germany on Tuesday night, in plenty of time for his opening match on the main TV table against Anthony McGill on Wednesday afternoon.

Selby, with a strong pool pedigree before making it big in the 15-reds game, thoroughly enjoyed the experience and picked up £30,000 for his efforts in the Far East, playing with his trusted snooker cue.

And it was certainly no disgrace losing to Appleton, a former pool world champion and world No1.  Selby had beaten Appleton 11-7 in the eight-ball pool world championship final nine years previously.

WHICH WORLD CHAMPIONS WILL WE SEE AT PONDS FORGE?

There is plenty of intrigue over which of the former world champions no longer on the tour will take advantage of Barry Hearn’s offer and assume their place in qualifying for this year’s World Championship at the Crucible.

Joe Johnson was cagey on the question on the eve of the German Masters, but we here at Inside Snooker are still putting him down as a probable, along with Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor. For the last two mentioned that would have extra poignancy (and hopefully column inches) given it is the 30th anniversary of their epic final battle.

Cliff Thorburn remains a possibility, John Parrott an outside chance and Terry Griffiths a likely non-starter.

Much of the focus will be on Stephen Hendry’s intentions, but the Scot, a record seven-time winner in Sheffield, continues to tease the snooker public – dropping the odd hint that he misses the competition, but also insisting that he has nothing to prove and will not be making a comeback as a mere PR stunt and prelude to a big and embarrassing defeat.

There is also some speculation that contractual issues with his current paymasters at a rival Chinese table manufacturer might make it difficult to play in a Star tables tournament, but presumably even if true those could be negotiated if the will was there.

ACTOR FIRTH SEES RED IN BERLIN

THE German Masters took place a week later this year – meaning the tournament clashed full on with the start of the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival (or Berlinale), one of the more prestigious world cinematic gatherings.

So it was perhaps not altogether surprising, though still unexpected, to virtually walk in to Colin Firth milking it on the red carpet at the nearby eight-screen IMAX complex off the Potsdamerplatz,  just 15 minutes’ walk from the Tempodrom on the eve of the event.

Firth was in town as part of a whistlestop European tour to promote knockabout spy flick Kingsman: The Secret Service, in which he plays a veteran secret agent.

The actor, now 54 but who still makes ladies of a certain age swoon for his wet-blouse antics in the BBC television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice 20 years ago, hammed up the quintessential English gent like an old pro for the adoring German public both outside and then inside when introducing a debut screening of the film in the country.

Firth then slipped out of a side door where a convoy of black limousines were waiting to whisk him away, along with a few die-hard photographers camped out in the light snow and some selfie-seekers who were left disappointed after the star declined all such invitations.

He then sped off just before anyone could ask if he was hanging around for the Xiao Guodong/Liam Highfield clash the following day.

MC WALKER CUTS IT FINE AFTER CAR TROUBLE

MC Rob Walker cut it very fine to take up his usual arena position ahead of the showpiece Masters semi-final between Neil Robertson and Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Making the short trip from home down the A40 and round the North Circular to Alexandra Palace Walker saw his cherished second-hand BMW start to cough, splutter and finally start to emit clouds of steam from the bonnet while stuck in gridlock coming up the last hill to park at the venue.

Pushed for time, he had to call the RAC, dash into the building and enlist the help of World Snooker’s digital media officer Lewis Ward to go out and deal with the recovery organisation while he attended to a sell-out crowd that in all truth did not need too much warming up for such a clash.

The man from the RAC claimed to have fixed the problem – a faulty pipe – but more issues the next day left Walker ruefully contemplating having to shell out for a replacement vehicle.