I went to a New Producers’ Alliance lecture in the hope of doing some networking. It was in the Tea Building in Shoreditch – presumably so named because they used to make a certain caffeinated beverage there. It still has a factory feel to it, and the NPA were in the process of moving offices, which meant the place was a mess and smelt strongly of paint.
The lecture was supposed to be on how a script changes when it goes into production, but in fact it was just the two speakers – the director of Scenes of a Sexual Nature and one of the exec producers from Robin Hood – talking about their experiences of writing stuff and getting it made. It was quite interesting, but given the nature of the building, the lack of a tea break was particularly inexcusable and unfortunately meant there wasn’t really any chance to network.
I came home and called star of stage and screen AJ Nicol, best known to you lot (I hope) as Dante from Soul Searcher and – for those of you with particularly long memories – as the terrorist Ford from The Beacon. AJ has kindly agreed to choreograph the fighting for the Wooden Swordsman promo/pilot. We talked about Highlander and Pirates of the Caribbean. Obviously.
On Thursday Ian and I meet some of the potential Swordsman builders.
And as a coda to my recent entry about Lee & Herring’s This Morning With Richard Not Judy, I saw Stewart Lee whilst I was filming for the Theatre Channel at the press night for The Little Shop of Horrors last week. I reminded him who I was and he replied in that slightly sarcastic way of his, “Well I’m glad to see it’s propelled you into filming things in a professional capacity.” And then I got off the bus – ah! (Or something that actually makes sense.)
The Dark Side of the Earth: March 15th, 2007
At Christmas Ian and I talked about shooting a scene from the film as a promo piece. It would have to be done properly, shot on celluloid and with high enough production values (not to mention the correct continuity) to one day be cut into the full film. To be affordable, it would need to be in a single small set with few characters, but at the same time it needed to show that I could pull off the kind of complex production design/FX feats that characterise the screenplay, so it couldn’t be a simple dialogue scene.
The Wooden Swordsman scenes were the only ones that fit the bill. Deciding that the Swordsman would be too expensive to make, I shelved the promo idea. But we’re almost a quarter of the way through this year now and it’s shaping up to be as unsuccessful as 2006 was in terms of getting DSOTE off the ground. So figuring I had nothing to lose, I advertised for someone to build the Swordsman on a tiny budget, expecting to get a couple of emails from people telling me I was crazy and it should be done as CGI, and nothing else.
Well, that was only a few days ago and I’ve already had half a dozen enthusiastic responses. As I know all too well from Soul Searcher, having things made by people who aren’t being paid can be – erm, how to put this – an interesting experience. Let us not forget David Dukes with his dog toy grenades and Alan Titchmarsh scythe.
Stay tuned; anything could happen.
The Dark Side of the Earth: March 10th, 2007
I just found out that You Tube has a clip from when my friend Matt (of Dark Side ’96 fame) and I were Kings of the Show on Lee and Herring’s This Morning With Richard Not Judy, back in 1999. Fortunately it does not include our actual appearance – I had a very bad beard at the time – but you can see the ad we made to win the compo. I shot and edited it and, yes, that’s my voice narrating too. Here it is.
The Dark Side of the Earth: March 7th, 2007
I went to another Raindance class last night – this one on creating a business plan. It wasn’t as good as last week’s.
I jealously noted, as I have oft noticed afore (aye!), that all the other directors had partnered up with producers, except for one. I feel like Ralph from The Simpsons.
The Dark Side of the Earth: March 5th, 2007
Today I had a little chat with a friendly casting director. I was considering laying some of my own cash on the line (here we go again) to hire a professional of this ilk, theorizing that they would be more successful at attaching talent than I have been over the last two years. The chat was required because I’ve never worked with a casting director before and I needed to ask some stupid questions. As I had feared, the question “Is the present lack of a producer or production company likely to be a stumbling block for a casting director’s efforts to attach talent?” was answered in the affirmative. [We are in a car. We are in a car… Sorry. K9 moment.]
So I did not hire the casting director, but he did mention an up-and-coming actor that I might consider, and whom I actually have a faint chance of getting the script to since I know someone who’s worked with him. However, most likely it will prove a dead end, like everything else. You know what? This really, really sucks. Do not try it at home.
The Dark Side of the Earth: February 28th, 2007
Last night I went to a Raindance class on film financing. Other than an open evening a couple of years back, most of which I seemed to spend listening to the woes of an increasingly drunk Irishman, this is the first time I’ve dipped my toes in the Rainwater.
The lecture’s chief effect was to teach me why no-one has picked up Dark Side yet. Explanations of things like completion bonds shed light on certain concerns that were brought up by the financing company I dealt with last summer.
When I give lectures myself, I always advise people to go to the pub after any course they attend, because that’s where the important networking is done. So despite wanting to get home in time for Family Guy, I practiced what I preached and followed half a dozen or so other attendees and the lecturer to the bar around the corner. (I felt strangely as if I’d just been to a Rural Media workshop in Hereford and it was 1998 all over again.)
Stories of fundraising woe were shared – this time without drunkness, Irishness or bitterness over a financially and emotionally crippling divorce. After hearing about how I made Soul Searcher, including The Guardian’s article and the DVD release, one of my fellow attendees said, “You must have no trouble getting money for your new film.” If only.
The Dark Side of the Earth: February 9th, 2007
As you have probably sensed, things are not going well. I’m trying to attach another writer, but that seems to be just as difficult as attaching an actor. Again, it’s Catch 22: the agents don’t want to know unless there’s money already in place. Screen West Midlands don’t know whether they will be able to run the Production Development Fund this year.
Things are looking better for Soul Searcher. I’ve just signed a new deal including the US rights, and the feature length behind-the-scenes doc, Going to Hell, has also been picked up for independent distribution via tinternet and possible TV broadcasts overseas. Ironic that the easiest feature film I’ve ever made (I’m talking about G2H, not SS, obviously) should prove the most popular.
The Dark Side of the Earth: January 19th, 2007
Had a meeting at the top of a tall winding staircase in Soho. (No, not that kind of meeting.) There were two partners in the production company, both with visual effects backgrounds. You know what? I can’t be arsed describing it any further. They didn’t want to make the film – that was the end result of it. So what else is new?
The Dark Side of the Earth: January 3rd, 2007
Whilst typing up the script revision, I spotted a fatal flaw. As predicted. So I reverted that section back to the previous draft and put The Dark Side of the Earth draft 4 to bed. Someone else can write the next version.
Round at Rob’s on New Year’s Day, Jennie and Dale recorded the voices for the new videomatic, The Wooden Swordsman, which you can see on the video page.
The Dark Side of the Earth: December 28th, 2006
On the train home to Malvern for Christmas, I came up with what appears to be a version of the sabotage subplot which makes sufficient sense that I can type it up and consider the fourth draft complete. The chances are high that halfway through typing it up, I will spot a fatal flaw in it.
Yesterday Ian and I shot a new videomatic before I came back to London. Ian made a very impressive cardboard model in a very short space of time, which shared the stage (table) with some Lego and a Sindy.