Yo Yo Yiggady Yo - or the ups and downs of a film maker
February 19th, 2008
I hate long posts on blogs, I seldom read them, they put me off. But I know that I too often write them myself. There is a lot to say, but I will keep it as short as possible. I promise. There is some bad news and there is some, erhm, news.
Bad news 1:
Our 60 seconds action short feature film didn’t even get short listed. What can I say but “Phuket - Thailand” - there is obviously a lot of talent around and the next time we have to do better. We’ll submit it to a couple of 60 seconds festivals, and if all else fails it will popup on youtube at some point. I still think it is a great film, but our particular interpretation of remaking your fav 60 seconds film might have been too freely.
Bad news 2:
Persuaded did not win the Sky Greenshoot competition either.
I could be a depressed film maker now but I am not.
Because …
the good news is that I got contacted by Sony who wants to screen Persuaded at the opening of a big conference where one of the topics is: environmental awareness. The conference will be attended by 400 people from all across the world, so Persuaded will have some sort of one time only cinema release. That is quite cool, considering it is the first (more or less) thing I have ever made.
And apart from that, Persuaded was also one of the most viewed films on the Sky website.
I had my last screen writing class this weekend which was kind of sad. I will miss my class mates, and I will miss the sessions even more. And even though I handed in about 105 pages of script, I am not finished with it yet. I will go to the Isle of Man to do some research for the scenes that are set on there. And I will polish it so it is ready to be send out. I have a title, and I know what has to be put on the poster, which is a step in the right direction. And I am very much in love with my love story. Will send it out to some test readers soon.
I am about to seriously start working on getting Cookie made. I am going to write some letters to see if I can get some funding. You never know, you know. I still love my cookie script too, so I just have to close my eyes and go and do it.
So I am not really a depressed film maker at all.
How can I be depressed:
- Bill Nighy will play a DJ opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman (Yo Yo Yiggady Yo!!) in The Boat That Rocked (a Richard Curtis film). So much quirkyness in one film, I already know it is going to beat 16 times Pirates. Better - I will take a week off and will camp in the cinema to see it all day around.
- I saw Juno (2) again this weekend too. Juno is one of the coolest girls on the planet and the film has the coolest dialogue I have heard in a long time. Go see it. It will make you feel good.
-
I saw Dan in Real Life (11) in the Prince Charles cinema on Friday. It was great, it was great, it was great and it made me feel as good as the first time I saw it. I
think Ihave a crush on Dan.
I’ll be OK.
I hope you are OK too.
That’s great about Sony! It’s a World Premiere!!!
Unfortunately, Persuaded won’t play on the Sky link at the moment.
That new Curtis film is about the pirate radio ships, isn’t it?
Mmm - Persuaded seems to play fine here :-/
Yes World Premiere, that sounds kind of cool doesn’t it :-)
Yes : The Boat That Rocked.
Ken Brannagh and Rhys Ifans have also just hopped on board that film so it is going to be big fun!!
‘Persuaded’ at the opening of an international conference. That’s so cool! Some people must have watched your film attentively before getting in touch with you. Another step into your new career.
I just watched the trailer for JUNO. Guess what: film start is on the 20th of March, like DAN IN REAL LIFE. Patience is my middle name…
Yes the woman from Sony who contacted me has watched it herself and she really liked it. So I am a tiny winy bit proud now.
Jeez - well then you have 2 films to look forward to in about 1 month! (They are both worth the wait, though if you had me pick one I would pick Dan)
You should be proud :D today: an environmental conference. tomorrow: the world! (Sorry, I’m on a sugar high right now. Starting school after a nice holiday is harder than it seems)
But HOW far have you come in such a short time ?
And you were brave enough to take that first step. If this was easy we’d be all trying to make films. OK I have to confess I am addicted to the shorts on thecoolhunter.co.uk which I play on my Ipod but as I can’t manage still films your are safe for now :-)
Sony ? I’m so pleased - go one - be more than teeny winy proud - we are of you !
You should be proud of Persuaded … that is the news to focus on. Will you keep ip with some of your screen-writing classmates? It’s too bad about your 60-second film, but you learned lots in the process…
And 11 DIRL - and Bill to be in another film = life is good … plus there’s your new Mac.
WOW - a world premiere for Persuaded!! Go ahead and be proud as much as you like… WOW.
(erm… btw, do you accept applications for test readers, I wonder??)
I’m proud of you. I really am! :-)
Persuaded maybe didn’t win, but it got noticed and that’s the important part. It shows that you’re on the right track.
The world is now ready for ‘The Cookie…”
Well thank you - all you nice people.
Just for the record life is good - and even though I was a bit disappointed about the 60 seconds action one not being picked, I am rather positive about all this.
@Pedro - I am scared shitless to start on Cookie, but I know I have to. I also really want to but it is very scary to jump into deep water.
Put on a life jacket before jumping ;)
The life jacket is inside the white package on the picture in the next post. (How is that for a quest).