Today I’m 26, but my film is 12. Rated 12 by the British Board of Film Classification, that is. “Contains one use of moderate language [‘bollocks’] and fantasy violence” is the advice to consumers. Thanks to Simon Wyndham for discovering Soul Searcher’s page on the BBFC website, since Wysiwyg hadn’t told me. After all those years of putting fake BBFC logos at the start of my amateur films, how strange it is to finally have the real thing.

I received a draft version of the DVD cover last week. It uses the same image that’s on the front page of this site, plus other photos montaged in the background. It needs some work, but it’s cool to see the proper BBFC, DVD and Dolby logos on there, even though they’re just placeholders at the moment. (If you believe the draft cover, the film’s an 18 and the sound’s in mono.)

A little aside for any of you that followed the journal for my previous film, The Beacon (which, incidentally, will one day be on-line again for nostalgic purposes). Josh Green (aka Conrad, one of The Beacon‘s lead characters) was the stand-in werewolf in last night’s Doctor Who, “Tooth and Claw”. They’ve misheard his name and called him Jeff, which partly explains how I sat through Doctor Who: Confidential last night without recognising him. But there’s no mistaking him on the web featurette.

So what’s going on? It’s all the BBFC’s fault, apparently. They’ve recently switched to accepting DVD screeners instead of just VHS and for some reason this has increased their workload. Coupled with some technical issues with the disc Wysiwyg sent them, delays have resulted. Until the certificate is known, marketing cannot begin and the release date cannot be set. So we wait. It’s quite odd for the film’s fate to be completely out of my hands, though I’ve now moved on, my head filled with Shadowland.

Mention was made of a Soul Searcher TV series, not for the first time in the film’s history. Black Horse, the wholesaler that will actually be putting the DVD on the shelves, is very keen on the idea. I’m of the opinion that the response to the movie peaked with the whole “Spielberg of Hereford” thing back in March last year, but you never know – maybe there are greater heights for it to reach.

This journal is four years old today and to celebrate, I shall eat some pizza, as per the first sentence of the very first entry. Oh, actually I had pizza last night, so maybe I won’t bother.

Still no confirmation of the release date, but it will not be in May.

Exactly one year on from the premiere. Some of the cast and crew came over to watch Going to Hell. I got them all to sign one of the original posters based on Tim Holleyman’s artwork. This will be the prize in Wysiwyg’s “Guess The Budget” competition which they’ll be running to tie in with the release.

There is now word on the release date…. but nothing I can reveal yet.

Still no word on the release date from Wysiwyg. Last I heard, they were waiting on the wholesaler.

Turns out the British Council really is useless after all. The BIFF e-mail is a lie. They send it to everyone to get you to part with the entry fee. Probably pull the names out of the Council’s catalogue of British films. And I’ve already sent the disc off. You guys just made my list. Taking Biff Tannen’s name in vain.

I got an e-mail from the Brooklyn International Film Festival (or BIFF, as in Tannen) the other day inviting me to submit Soul Searcher. The British Council had recommended it to them. Which was a pleasant surprise, since last time I spoke to the British Council they didn’t seem like they were going to be able to help me. Anyway, being invited to submit and being selected are two very different things.

I strongly recommend you visit the Superman Returns video blogs and watch blog #7: “The Call”. It amused me heartily. I know who I’m going to call next time I’m knackered on set.