It's raining outside so I'm stuck in the office on my lunch break instead of wandering the mean streets of Brighton listening to music as I usually do. I could be doing something productive. I have loads of things I'm working on at the moment so could really be doing something towards one of those projects, but was out at Moviebar last night and am not fully functioning yet.
Speaking of which, yesterday I wrote a a whole scene on a lunch break - a really tricky opening scene for a new script that had left me staring at a blank page for hours the night before. Finally cracked it, then my rubbish work PC crashed. Luckily I'd managed to hit send before it actually died, but it wouldn't show up in my sent items so I spent most of the day trying to remember it word for word. Turned out it had been sent after all.
That was an incredibly dull story - memo to myself, never blog out of boredom again.
Moviebar was ace - not a great turnout at first but it improved as the night went along. Brother Pete showed Jonny The Pessimist which went down really well and he did a good Q&A afterwards. I promised/threatened to ask a question in case no one else did but by the time I had chance he'd answered everything I could think of so I ended up randomly asking about the music, which he turned into a pretty good answer. Pete has good Q&A skills - I should probably have taken notes.
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Saturday, 3 October 2009
Cannes Day 8
Last one...
21/05/09 - 5.15PM
Packed up and ready to head home now. Last day was a bit hectic, but fairly positive. Saw the last few people I needed to see and one company who proved me wrong about no one wanting to develop anything new. I've got some leads to follow up when I get back at least.
No time for films today, but I did catch a couple of shorts which were good, including this one by Ten Dead Men's Projects Manager Keith Eyles:
Had a final lunch meeting then one last circuit of the Marche, mainly to say goodbye to a few people. It was a bit weird as most of the booths were empty due to people packing up and leaving.
Definitely ready to go home now...
It looks like I was going to write more but gave up, probably because we had to go (and it's weird that it's so long ago now I can't even remember why I stopped mid-sentence). Something else happened on the last day that was pretty exciting - I fulfilled a lifelong ambition by appearing on Newsnight Review. I didn't realise it at the time but my dad pointed it out when I got home and I took some screen captures. That's me creeping up on the right - I vaguely remember seeing someone filming but was in a bit of a rush so wasn't really paying attention:
21/05/09 - 5.15PM
Packed up and ready to head home now. Last day was a bit hectic, but fairly positive. Saw the last few people I needed to see and one company who proved me wrong about no one wanting to develop anything new. I've got some leads to follow up when I get back at least.
No time for films today, but I did catch a couple of shorts which were good, including this one by Ten Dead Men's Projects Manager Keith Eyles:
Had a final lunch meeting then one last circuit of the Marche, mainly to say goodbye to a few people. It was a bit weird as most of the booths were empty due to people packing up and leaving.
Definitely ready to go home now...
It looks like I was going to write more but gave up, probably because we had to go (and it's weird that it's so long ago now I can't even remember why I stopped mid-sentence). Something else happened on the last day that was pretty exciting - I fulfilled a lifelong ambition by appearing on Newsnight Review. I didn't realise it at the time but my dad pointed it out when I got home and I took some screen captures. That's me creeping up on the right - I vaguely remember seeing someone filming but was in a bit of a rush so wasn't really paying attention:
Cannes Day 7
The last two entries are pretty short so thought I'd get them done...
21/05/09 - 02.50AM
Had a more positive today. A meeting I wasn't in but that did concern some of my projects apparently went very well. Also one of my original pitches got a lot of interest which is good news. Just hope we get to follow it up later.
Saw Edgar Allen Poe's Ligeia in the morning:
It had a great cast and looked promising but the script was a bit of a mess. After that we had a wander, and spotted Jean-Claude Van Damme (managed to get into his office a second time with a different friend under a different pretense). Had lunch then went to a screening of 31 North 62 East:
There were some major script problems here again (this goes back to what I was saying about privately funded films - there is this idea that anyone can write a script so mostly the writer/director/producer will do it themselves and it shows) but a few poeple I know worked on the film so it was good to see it.
Had dinner (I don't know why I didn't mention this in the diary, but while we were having dinner there was a fight outside the restaurant between two Frenchmen which culminated in one of them throwing a baguette at the other) then realised we didn't have invitations for any of the remaining films we wanted to see so wandered between screening rooms until someone let us in. Ended up seeing Soldiers of Peace:
It was a pretty good documentary and featured a segment shot in Brighton, which was a surreal reminder of home.
After that we went for drinks and bumped into a few friends. I had a long conversation with a German film-maker about the films of Werner Herzog, then we headed off in search of late night ice-cream.
I think at this point I'd started to give up on the diary as I was thinking about going home. But that last night was a pretty good one and I managed to chat to and say goodbye to most of the people I'd met while I was there. Plus it's the only time I remembered to get an actual photo taken:
21/05/09 - 02.50AM
Had a more positive today. A meeting I wasn't in but that did concern some of my projects apparently went very well. Also one of my original pitches got a lot of interest which is good news. Just hope we get to follow it up later.
Saw Edgar Allen Poe's Ligeia in the morning:
It had a great cast and looked promising but the script was a bit of a mess. After that we had a wander, and spotted Jean-Claude Van Damme (managed to get into his office a second time with a different friend under a different pretense). Had lunch then went to a screening of 31 North 62 East:
There were some major script problems here again (this goes back to what I was saying about privately funded films - there is this idea that anyone can write a script so mostly the writer/director/producer will do it themselves and it shows) but a few poeple I know worked on the film so it was good to see it.
Had dinner (I don't know why I didn't mention this in the diary, but while we were having dinner there was a fight outside the restaurant between two Frenchmen which culminated in one of them throwing a baguette at the other) then realised we didn't have invitations for any of the remaining films we wanted to see so wandered between screening rooms until someone let us in. Ended up seeing Soldiers of Peace:
It was a pretty good documentary and featured a segment shot in Brighton, which was a surreal reminder of home.
After that we went for drinks and bumped into a few friends. I had a long conversation with a German film-maker about the films of Werner Herzog, then we headed off in search of late night ice-cream.
I think at this point I'd started to give up on the diary as I was thinking about going home. But that last night was a pretty good one and I managed to chat to and say goodbye to most of the people I'd met while I was there. Plus it's the only time I remembered to get an actual photo taken:
Cannes Day 6
So a few people I know are going to MIPCOM next week in Cannes, which reminded me how long it's been since I updated my Cannes diary. Also, last night I was up until 4am finishing off a script for a project I've been working on since the end of last year. I'm not sure it's going to go anywhere, but I co-wrote it with Brother Pete who put a lot of work in and I kept putting it on my to-do lists so I wanted to get it finished. And that put me in the mood to finish off some other stuff.
Just a couple of days to go so I'm going to try to finish posting the diary over the next few days, despite the fact that it was now months ago. If you want to read the previous entries click the Cannes label. Also, part of the reason I put off writing this one up is that it went a bit dark at the end, but that's kind of the point of keeping a diary.
20/05/09 - 10:45AM
Yesterday was a bit up and down. The meeting we went in early for was a bit of a waste of time from my perspective, although it couldn't really have been helped (I didn't write it in the diary at the time but this was me sneaking into Jean-Claude Van Damme's office with a friend who was actually supposed to be meeting him about acquiring his latest film. He wasn't there.)
Had another walk around the Marche speaking to companies but generally got one of two responses - either a) we're not developing any new projects right now or b) you need to talk to our development team but they're not here. Or occasionally c) we have our own people who do that. I did pass my samples and CV onto a few people though so you never know. And I met Hong Kong cinema legend Godfrey Ho who was one of the most approachable and nicest people I've met so far.
Then we caught a screening of Black Dynamite, a very funny blaxploitation spoof:
After that we tried to get into the screening of District 13: Ultimatum but the cinema has its power cut by random protesters (something to do with the electricity suppliers in France) so the screening was cancelled. Left at a bit of a loose end we ending up seeing The Legend is Alive, an interesting if overlong martial arts drama. It was very similar to Chocolate but not as good.
A couple of us then rushed over to another screening room to see I Sell the Dead an innnovative and really effective black comedy.
Stayed out much later in the evening than planned but met some interesting people. This goes against what anyone with any money had been telling me all week, but I found the nicest people to meet were the short film makers. Generally all the people I met who had a film in short film corner were great and had an enthusiasm that seemed to to be missing from most of those higher up in the business. An enthusiasm for creativity at least, unlike the majority of other people I met who only really seemed to be enthusiastic about money.
Warning - I went on a bit of a rant here...
At one point I was involved in a discussion about private investment being the way forward, and the main point of the argument seemed to be suggesting that the next batch of new films across the board will be really interesting because they'll be made outside studio control. But thinking about it I'm not sure I entirely agree. I think at some point it comes down to experience. The studios have been doing this a lot longer than some bloke who just won the lottery and wants to make a film so he can walk down the red carpet. Yes, a lot of the big studio films are flawed but they at least know how to make films and usually how to tell a story (this is obviously before I'd seen Transformers 2). I'm dubious about relying on rich film fans without the same level of experience to produce the next batch of great films (I know more about private investment now, I realise that it funds more films than you would think (i.e. all of Uwe Boll's films are funded privately), and I realise that I too am relying heavily on money coming through from pirvate investors. But I wanted to leave this part in as I still think it's a valid concern).
I wish films didn't cost so much to make. I don't think the creative people should have to be involved with the money people. To me it's so obviously two separate worlds that don't mix. I get that films are expensive and talking to the money-driven people has made me question why I'm bothering. At the same time, speaking to the creative people, the short film makers in particular, reminds me exactly why I want to write films.
I did kind of lose my patience with the late night networking thing in the end. There's an element of Cannes that's a kind of work night out for the whole of the film industry. And I mean work night out in the binge-drinking, straight down the pub after work on a Friday, doing things you'd rather not remember the next day kind of thing. Most of the plans being made here seem to be dinner plans, drinking plans, party plans - I've not heard anyone make any plans about moving a project forward. I realise now that Cannes isn't really about films, it's about making money so you can come along next year and spend another week getting pissed with the other investors.
Just a couple of days to go so I'm going to try to finish posting the diary over the next few days, despite the fact that it was now months ago. If you want to read the previous entries click the Cannes label. Also, part of the reason I put off writing this one up is that it went a bit dark at the end, but that's kind of the point of keeping a diary.
20/05/09 - 10:45AM
Yesterday was a bit up and down. The meeting we went in early for was a bit of a waste of time from my perspective, although it couldn't really have been helped (I didn't write it in the diary at the time but this was me sneaking into Jean-Claude Van Damme's office with a friend who was actually supposed to be meeting him about acquiring his latest film. He wasn't there.)
Had another walk around the Marche speaking to companies but generally got one of two responses - either a) we're not developing any new projects right now or b) you need to talk to our development team but they're not here. Or occasionally c) we have our own people who do that. I did pass my samples and CV onto a few people though so you never know. And I met Hong Kong cinema legend Godfrey Ho who was one of the most approachable and nicest people I've met so far.
Then we caught a screening of Black Dynamite, a very funny blaxploitation spoof:
After that we tried to get into the screening of District 13: Ultimatum but the cinema has its power cut by random protesters (something to do with the electricity suppliers in France) so the screening was cancelled. Left at a bit of a loose end we ending up seeing The Legend is Alive, an interesting if overlong martial arts drama. It was very similar to Chocolate but not as good.
A couple of us then rushed over to another screening room to see I Sell the Dead an innnovative and really effective black comedy.
Stayed out much later in the evening than planned but met some interesting people. This goes against what anyone with any money had been telling me all week, but I found the nicest people to meet were the short film makers. Generally all the people I met who had a film in short film corner were great and had an enthusiasm that seemed to to be missing from most of those higher up in the business. An enthusiasm for creativity at least, unlike the majority of other people I met who only really seemed to be enthusiastic about money.
Warning - I went on a bit of a rant here...
At one point I was involved in a discussion about private investment being the way forward, and the main point of the argument seemed to be suggesting that the next batch of new films across the board will be really interesting because they'll be made outside studio control. But thinking about it I'm not sure I entirely agree. I think at some point it comes down to experience. The studios have been doing this a lot longer than some bloke who just won the lottery and wants to make a film so he can walk down the red carpet. Yes, a lot of the big studio films are flawed but they at least know how to make films and usually how to tell a story (this is obviously before I'd seen Transformers 2). I'm dubious about relying on rich film fans without the same level of experience to produce the next batch of great films (I know more about private investment now, I realise that it funds more films than you would think (i.e. all of Uwe Boll's films are funded privately), and I realise that I too am relying heavily on money coming through from pirvate investors. But I wanted to leave this part in as I still think it's a valid concern).
I wish films didn't cost so much to make. I don't think the creative people should have to be involved with the money people. To me it's so obviously two separate worlds that don't mix. I get that films are expensive and talking to the money-driven people has made me question why I'm bothering. At the same time, speaking to the creative people, the short film makers in particular, reminds me exactly why I want to write films.
I did kind of lose my patience with the late night networking thing in the end. There's an element of Cannes that's a kind of work night out for the whole of the film industry. And I mean work night out in the binge-drinking, straight down the pub after work on a Friday, doing things you'd rather not remember the next day kind of thing. Most of the plans being made here seem to be dinner plans, drinking plans, party plans - I've not heard anyone make any plans about moving a project forward. I realise now that Cannes isn't really about films, it's about making money so you can come along next year and spend another week getting pissed with the other investors.
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Evil twin...
This is going to seem a bit rambling but bear with me, it does relate to something that happened today.
So back when I was at university a friend, I forget which one, mentioned spotting someone who looked like me on a bus. Not so amazing, but they stressed that this person did look exactly like me to the point that they almost went over to say hello. I definitely wasn't on that bus so I decided I must have an evil twin, like The Dark Half. The twin came up in drunken conversations and was occasionally used as an excuse but was otherwise never heard from or spotted again.
Cut to a few years later and I'm living in Chelmsford. There was a shop in the station near my flat that I used to pop into on the way to work everyday for cigarettes. The bloke who worked in the shop came to recognise me and to know what I came in for, but then one day he hands me the wrong brand of cigarettes. He realises his mistake, but explains that there's someone else who has started coming into the shop every day who looks exactly like me but smokes different cigarettes. From that day on he never really confused the two of us again, but would occasionally say things like 'I saw him again the other day - you really do look identical'.
This goes on for a few months, then one day he tells me that the other me is leaving to work in Cambodia for some reason or other (at this point I start to wonder whether my twin is actually the evil one of the two of us as he sounds like quite an interesting chap). He is so convinced that we look alike that he wants us to meet so I can see for myself, so he asks for my phone number to pass onto the other me. This is obviously a bit weird but the bloke is pretty insistent and to be honest I am a little curious so I give him my number.
I don't hear anything for a few days, then I go into the shop and the man says that he gave my number to the other me but the other me said he wasn't going to phone me as he thought it was weird. Again I'm wondering if he's really the evil twin as he seems a lot more sane than I am. Anyway, he left for Cambodia and I never heard anything else about him.
Until today.
So I'm walking up to the office where I now work near Brighton station and as I'm about to go in the receptionist bloke comes out with a pile of letters in his hands and says 'Are you going to the office?'.
'Yes,' I say, because I am.
'Great, glad I caught you in time. Meant to grab you on your way past yesterday but I was too late. Can you take these for me?'
He hands me the pile of letters. This is not completely unusual. He often brings the post up to the office where I work, so I figure today he can't be bothered and has decided to have me do it instead. I take the letters and head inside.
'What? You're coming in here?' he asks, clearly confused.
'Yes, I work here,' I say, also confused.
He then realises who I am, and that I'm not the person he thought I was who obviously looks identical but works in a different office nearby. I see the receptionist bloke every day, we say hellos and goodbyes, he knows who I am and yet this other bloke who looks like me is obviously so identical that even when looking me in the face to give me the letters he didn't notice the difference.
'You must have a double,' he says.
I knew that, but he appears to be following me.
So back when I was at university a friend, I forget which one, mentioned spotting someone who looked like me on a bus. Not so amazing, but they stressed that this person did look exactly like me to the point that they almost went over to say hello. I definitely wasn't on that bus so I decided I must have an evil twin, like The Dark Half. The twin came up in drunken conversations and was occasionally used as an excuse but was otherwise never heard from or spotted again.
Cut to a few years later and I'm living in Chelmsford. There was a shop in the station near my flat that I used to pop into on the way to work everyday for cigarettes. The bloke who worked in the shop came to recognise me and to know what I came in for, but then one day he hands me the wrong brand of cigarettes. He realises his mistake, but explains that there's someone else who has started coming into the shop every day who looks exactly like me but smokes different cigarettes. From that day on he never really confused the two of us again, but would occasionally say things like 'I saw him again the other day - you really do look identical'.
This goes on for a few months, then one day he tells me that the other me is leaving to work in Cambodia for some reason or other (at this point I start to wonder whether my twin is actually the evil one of the two of us as he sounds like quite an interesting chap). He is so convinced that we look alike that he wants us to meet so I can see for myself, so he asks for my phone number to pass onto the other me. This is obviously a bit weird but the bloke is pretty insistent and to be honest I am a little curious so I give him my number.
I don't hear anything for a few days, then I go into the shop and the man says that he gave my number to the other me but the other me said he wasn't going to phone me as he thought it was weird. Again I'm wondering if he's really the evil twin as he seems a lot more sane than I am. Anyway, he left for Cambodia and I never heard anything else about him.
Until today.
So I'm walking up to the office where I now work near Brighton station and as I'm about to go in the receptionist bloke comes out with a pile of letters in his hands and says 'Are you going to the office?'.
'Yes,' I say, because I am.
'Great, glad I caught you in time. Meant to grab you on your way past yesterday but I was too late. Can you take these for me?'
He hands me the pile of letters. This is not completely unusual. He often brings the post up to the office where I work, so I figure today he can't be bothered and has decided to have me do it instead. I take the letters and head inside.
'What? You're coming in here?' he asks, clearly confused.
'Yes, I work here,' I say, also confused.
He then realises who I am, and that I'm not the person he thought I was who obviously looks identical but works in a different office nearby. I see the receptionist bloke every day, we say hellos and goodbyes, he knows who I am and yet this other bloke who looks like me is obviously so identical that even when looking me in the face to give me the letters he didn't notice the difference.
'You must have a double,' he says.
I knew that, but he appears to be following me.
Saturday, 19 September 2009
Clowny Clown Clown...
Had to post this, if only to convince Brother Pete that he didn't dream it...
Hope it doesn't give anyone nightmares.
Crispin Glover = awesome.
Hope it doesn't give anyone nightmares.
Crispin Glover = awesome.
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Exte: Hair Extensions...
So I am just going on about random films this week, but this one is interesting from a scriptwriting point of view. I watched Exte: Hair Extensions last night and as J-horrors go it's not the best but has a lot going for it. The dialogue and characters are all good (as is the translation which makes a nice change), plus Chiaki Kuriyama is awesome and it was cool to see her carrying a film. But the best thing by far, and I rarely say this, was the effects - a really nice mix of practical and CGI that often managed to be effective and suitably disgusting.
The problem is in the script and it's purely a structural issue which is why I think it's worth mentioning as it shows the importance of good structure. The main character is set up really well and we understand her goals and her problems early on (she is even a good example of a character who has the oft-debated wants and needs that are said to be the basis of all good characters). Parallel to this story we are introduced to the possessed hair extensions of the title (yes, it really is a film about possessed hair extensions).
We are led to assume that that the hair extensions and Chiaki's character, Yuko, will clash at some point which will kick off the story. However, what happens instead is that we get another story when Yuko's sister dumps her young daughter on Yuko's doorstep. Yuko finds out that her sister is neglecting the child quite badly and decides to take her in. This causes complications with her career and leads to a confrontation with her abusive sister in one of the most tense dramatic scenes I've seen in a film for a long time. The problem is that it's quite far removed from a story about possessed hair extensions.
But that's okay, I prefer my horror films to be taken seriously and the depth this subplot adds to the characters is worth the minutes it adds to the running time. The issue is that it's a big enough complication to set a film running on its own without the possessed hair extensions. I'm still waiting for the possessed hair extensions story to collide with Yuko's story so the film can start. But that doesn't happen until at least an hour in, and even then there's still a sense that there are two very separate stories here that have begrudgingly agreed to share screen time even though they'd both rather have their own film. The two stories never quite fit together and the film often feels a bit directionless as a result.
The point is, if you set up character A, then show us big nasty situation B we will naturally assume that A & B will collide at some point and that this will be what drives the film forward. When this collision is actually more of a bump that happens an hour into the film you're in danger of losing your audience.
The point is, if you set up character A, then show us big nasty situation B we will naturally assume that A & B will collide at some point and that this will be what drives the film forward. When this collision is actually more of a bump that happens an hour into the film you're in danger of losing your audience.
But I hope I haven't put anyone off watching the film as there is some excellent stuff in there.
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