There has been some progress on The Bloodline feature and some encouraging noises on the Babbage feature but I can’t give details until matters are settled. Still two of my scripts in production next year, is a prospect to savour. But by far the most interesting thing at the moment is Jack Marshall’s blog. He’s just won his first award with the short I helped him produce Intruder and he has some great incites into the whole Cannes experience. Go visit!
Showing posts with label cannes 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cannes 2009. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Jack Marshall's Blog
There has been some progress on The Bloodline feature and some encouraging noises on the Babbage feature but I can’t give details until matters are settled. Still two of my scripts in production next year, is a prospect to savour. But by far the most interesting thing at the moment is Jack Marshall’s blog. He’s just won his first award with the short I helped him produce Intruder and he has some great incites into the whole Cannes experience. Go visit!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Cannes 2009 - In a Flash
A blog-moment. Last year I took a camcorder to Cannes and uploaded a brief video to youtube, I’d decided not to repeat the exercise but on the plane I rashly bought a camera so here below are my first pics with my Praktica DCZ 8.3!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Glamour at Cannes and more.
Back from Cannes to end the blog-draught, but hardly a moment to relax as I travelled to BAFTA on Thursday to attend the premiere of Morrison’s Birthday Party, a short made by Frame On Frame (Trevor Hughes and Claire Barker). There was no time to discuss the Babbage feature draft three (which I’ve written for them), but Claire was able to say that we’re going in the right direction. Friday was my Creative Writing refresher course and today Diane and I are off to do some medieval re-enacting (for new readers we are archers). All this and not feeling 100%, but I’ll not bore you with that accept to say that it limited the fun at Cannes. Despite a more subdued Cannes than last year it was nevertheless a success, as I held two brief business meetings and met some interesting people. They included a Director/Filmmaker David Hewitt who had read and enjoyed an early version of The Bloodline (more on this another time!) and Paula Labaredas an American actress that looked like how I had imagined Sandie (the lead female character) when I was writing the original version of The Bloodline. Interestingly enough I had a specific American actor in mind for the male lead, James Masters. He’d be an older more evil and American version of Spike (Buffy/Angel), but we haven’t approached him because it’s unlikely that he’d wish to reprise his vampire persona. Regular readers will remember that The Bloodline location is now likely to be Portugal for funding and other considerations. Well, it just so happens that Paula has Portuguese parents (... small world no?) and she is also interested in the part! We are now in communication and I’ve sent her the latest English-location version of the script. My Producer approves the exploration of the possibilities so watch this space.
email:- brokenarrowfilms
Friday, May 15, 2009
Waiting
My wife is a Yoga teacher but this does not prevent her from attending classes to maintain her personal body awareness, in fact it is essential if she is to keep her own students enthralled. Likewise I’m attending a weekly Creative Writing course. An exercise set last week was to write a poem that describes an abstract noun (eg Joy), but without using the word in the poem or title. Just for fun I’ve included my contribution below (called Waiting) can you guess the abstract noun I was given to work with?
Off to Cannes tomorrow so there may or not be a blog for a few days. Enjoy!
WAITING
Woken in rain,
Barbed, cutting, malevolent rain.
Soaked in mud,
Slimed, submerging, unearthly mud.
Griped with pain,
Leached, invading, hellish pain.
Bombarded by sound,
Secreted, wailing, bursting sound.
Covered in stink,
Racked, incising, cordite stink.
Separated from man,
Misplaced, missing, forgotten by man.
How long do I wait for death’s cruel hand?
How long the torment, the suffering?
How long?
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Round Ireland with a Fridge - And more!
Yesterday I spent an enjoyable afternoon and evening with my family in Wimbledon. And, as if to prove that Wimbledon is not just for tennis, it was to take part in, the soon to be, highly successful adaptation of Tony Hawks book Round Ireland with a Fridge, for the silver screen. We were only background artists (extras) but in a small way we were doing our bit to keep British film alive. Anna Brabbins (2nd Assistant Director) ensured that we were looked after. But no money of course, however, as a filmmaker myself I admire anyone who is able to get a project off the ground! Having personally aided Tony in the lifting the fridge in question, I’m sure it’s staring role in the film will guarantee an audience of white-goods-a-philes who will be clamouring to see it on the red carpet at the premiere! They have four more weeks of filming around England, Wales and finally Ireland, so may fortune smile on them.
I’m making final preparation for Cannes on Saturday. I had planned for a quite time assisting Jack Marshall to push his projects. BUT, I now have a session tomorrow with my Pinewood producer (Len Evans – VIP) to discuss a couple of meetings he’d like me to take on his behalf. AND I’ve already agreed to update Julian Richards Jinga Films (The Bloodline Director designate) on the latest developments for my other producer Paul Dawe (Blue Rider). No rest for the scribbler!
Other News:
1) My Cannes sfc entry “A Question Of Content” now has a basic IMDb page (click here) which I hope to add to during the months to come.
2) I have completed the 3rd Draft of the Babbage feature and it’s now with the Producers, Trevor Hughes and Claire Barker (Frame On Frame).
email:- brokenarrowfilms
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Lover and more
Apologies once again for the bloggap but it has been a busy time.
1) Yesterday I attended a film premiere, at the Solo Screening Rooms in London, of a short made by Sabina Satter called "Lover". It’s a film that left you wanting more and was well crafted with some fine performances amongst the cast (which included a 10-second moment of fame for myself!).
2) We’ve had a second development meeting (myself as writer and Trevor Hughes & Claire Barker from Frame On Frame) on the Babbage feature film project and the third draft is well on its way.
3) Movement has started again on The Bloodline feature, but I can’t say any more at this time.
4) Preparations continue for Cannes 2009 but on the wider festival front, I’ve entered A Question Of Content into the Milwaukee SFF. However, I’ve had to dispatch a second DVD to the Washougal IFF as the first copy seems to have been lost in space!
5) Oh and tomorrow it’s my birthday and over this last week my wife and I have been catching up with friends and family, culminating in a mass (family) trip tomorrow to see "Star Trek" and then a meal after!
1) Yesterday I attended a film premiere, at the Solo Screening Rooms in London, of a short made by Sabina Satter called "Lover". It’s a film that left you wanting more and was well crafted with some fine performances amongst the cast (which included a 10-second moment of fame for myself!).
2) We’ve had a second development meeting (myself as writer and Trevor Hughes & Claire Barker from Frame On Frame) on the Babbage feature film project and the third draft is well on its way.
3) Movement has started again on The Bloodline feature, but I can’t say any more at this time.
4) Preparations continue for Cannes 2009 but on the wider festival front, I’ve entered A Question Of Content into the Milwaukee SFF. However, I’ve had to dispatch a second DVD to the Washougal IFF as the first copy seems to have been lost in space!
5) Oh and tomorrow it’s my birthday and over this last week my wife and I have been catching up with friends and family, culminating in a mass (family) trip tomorrow to see "Star Trek" and then a meal after!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Pinewood Studios
At the weekend I attended a function at Pinewood Studios (that's my step-son Jonathan) and had the opportunity to see one of the Harry Potter external sets. Photographs are forbidden, but the experience really brings home to you the difference between a micro or low budget film and a Hollywood funded movie.
Acres of scaffolding, flats, decking, tracking, camera cranes, snow, barriers, window decorations, a pub interior, a church front - with tower, a derelict house, a row of house fronts - with snow on the roofs, a bend in the road by the churchyard, the churchyard, more house fronts and a bridge to nowhere - part built! I thought to myself how many pages of the script did this represent? One, two maybe as many as five in one hundred and twenty pages! But the scariest thing of all was that the set is still up… I believe the film is in post, so the set is deserted but still standing, what British Indie Filmmaker could afford that? The gap in production values is like comparing a teardrop (and it does make you cry!) and the ocean, so it is simply amazing to think that so many modest budget films turn out to be great! And of course if a modest budget film is a box office success the ratio of cost/returns is equally amazing. I believe that if we get the right funding for Babbage then this could be just such a film. So watch this space!
Acres of scaffolding, flats, decking, tracking, camera cranes, snow, barriers, window decorations, a pub interior, a church front - with tower, a derelict house, a row of house fronts - with snow on the roofs, a bend in the road by the churchyard, the churchyard, more house fronts and a bridge to nowhere - part built! I thought to myself how many pages of the script did this represent? One, two maybe as many as five in one hundred and twenty pages! But the scariest thing of all was that the set is still up… I believe the film is in post, so the set is deserted but still standing, what British Indie Filmmaker could afford that? The gap in production values is like comparing a teardrop (and it does make you cry!) and the ocean, so it is simply amazing to think that so many modest budget films turn out to be great! And of course if a modest budget film is a box office success the ratio of cost/returns is equally amazing. I believe that if we get the right funding for Babbage then this could be just such a film. So watch this space!
A Question Of Content is now in the Cannes 2009 sfc catalogue!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
First Film Festival!
Not one to rest on a place in the Cannes 2009 Short Film Corner (sfc), I've entered A Question Of Content (AQOC) into it's first Film Festival. Unlike the sfc the Washougal International Film Festival is a competition rather than a market place. I selected the WIFF (via Withoutabox) as it has a category for shorts between 3-10 minutes, which fits nicely with AQOC's 6 1/2 minutes. Selection is early June so watch this space!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Preparing For Cannes 2009
Good news Jack Marshall’s short Intruder has arrived at the Cannes Short Film Corner so we are all set for next month. With this in mind I’ve been updating my web-site. I’ve added separate status pages for A Question Of Content, Babbage and The Bloodline and updated the general status page. They will not be updated as often as the blog, but I try to update the web-site once each month.
On the Babbage feature front, we have our next development meeting at the end of the month but I’d like to thank publicly Sabina Sattar (Gone Fishing, The Crocked House, The Lover) for her recent input to the project. You know that generally speaking Filmmakers are a friendly bunch, often ready to help fellow Filmmakers at the drop of a hat. I suspect it is because we all have a common enemy "The Lack Of Funding Opportunities!" … thanks again Sabina!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Cannes Plus
Apologies for the bloggap - busy week no more to say. Oh yes, it’s a blog so I’d better say. Briefly, the weekend was a dip back into the past. That is, medieval re-enactment, taking the war of the roses period 1455-1487. My wife and I are common archers, but I hadn’t loosed an arrow for 18 months. I’m pleased to report that it’s like riding a bike! The event was at Castle Hedingham where my ancestors first took their name from a Norman knight (Barham) who’d been granted land in the area. I also found time to visit Coggeshall nearby. After the weekend it was back to Babbage and I’m happy to say I’ve finished the second draft of the feature and sent it off to Frame On Frame. Oh, and last but not lease my short A Question Of Content arrived at Cannes and I have completed my registration and booked my flight!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Cannes 2009
On Wednesday I received Jack Marshall’s final edit of my short A Question Of Content. By Thursday I’d authored a DVD, sent it on it’s way to the Cannes Short Film corner (the CFC is part of Cannes 2009 Film Festival market place) and registered myself to attend. I’ve followed this up by ordering some promotional material and new Business Cards but I have no specific plans during the event so I’m feeling some pangs of guilt about going on a whim! This is mainly because The Bloodline is still stuck in the mud, I’m still waiting for feedback on my historical drama and the Babbage feature was promoted last year by a short at the CFC! So as AQOC was only intended as a calling card I really have nothing to promote at Cannes (except perhaps myself?). The good news however is that the second script draft for Babbage is going well and I’m on schedule to complete by the end of the month. Watch this space!
For Filmmakers who like Podcasts they may be interested in this one from Stacy Parks (Click Here).
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