I’ve been working on a story idea this week, and its big theme is fear. Initially I was thinking that my characters would face their worst fears and learn to overcome them, but the events in Paris yesterday stopped me in my tracks.
I sometimes get anxiety attacks, and I’ll wake up in the middle of the night, heart racing, hands shaking. I know this isn’t uncommon, and I’m a worrier by nature, so I’m okay with it.
But I’ve never had to cope with the kind of fear that some people faced in Paris yesterday. And that fear has spread. Already fingers are being pointed, and knee-jerk reactions from governments will inevitably lead to more bloodshed.
We’re also seeing wonderful things: taxi drivers turning off their meters so people can get home, Parisians offering food and beds to bewildered tourists, queues of people lining up to give blood, and a man playing a piano…
How we live with fear defines us.
There’s a moment near the end of Time Bandits where the gang ask if Kevin can come with them, but the Supreme Being says that he needs to stay and continue the fight against evil. I think it’s the same with fear.
Fear is never overcome. It will always be with us. It’s okay to be scared, as long as we don’t let it turn us into monsters. That way fear wins. So, I’m going to re-think my story.
Robin Hood Prince of Thieves is on TV, and I’m getting all misty-eyed.
Here’s the trailer and, yes, voice-over man really does start by saying “It was a time of waaaaar…”
This is a much maligned movie: the myriad, wandering accents, the glaring historical inaccuracies, the poor grasp of British geography, Costner’s mullet, the dodgy attempted-marital-rape-done-for-laughs scene, and last but by no means least, that bloody song… As anyone who was alive with any degree of hearing will tell you, you couldn’t turn on the radio that summer without Mr. Adams’ gravelly tones imploring that everything he was doing was indeed solely for your benefit. Still, it does have a lovely middle-8 guitar solo.
But, for all its faults, I bloody love this film and it’s my favourite Robin Hood movie by far (ahead of the sprightly Errol Flynn classic and the slightly more mournful Robin and Marian). Yes, Alan Rickman steals everything but the scenery, but this is the film where the woman who would later deign to marry me first flirted with me at the cinema. It later became our film and we will still greet one another with “Ullo, my lover.”
Also, I was working in a hi-fi/CD shop in Dorking at the time, and our rep for BMG records was called Steve Densham. I learned that his brother was Pen Densham who was the screenwriter of this beloved movie. This was the first time I had known someone who knew someone that had written an actual film. And not just any film, but the biggest film of that year. My one regret is that I never asked for some writing advice, but I was 17, unsure of myself and these things only ever occur to me some twelve hours after they might have been useful. (Top writing tip for younger writers: don’t be shy and always take the opportunity to ask for advice from more experienced writers – they can only tell you to sod off).
And watching again on TV just now (the horrible extended director’s cut with unnecessary backstory for Rickman’s Sheriff) I got all the feels all over again.
The emotional impact of a film often has less to do with the content, and more to do with when you saw it and who you saw it with. This is why seeing a movie in the cinema is so important. Sitting in the dark with your friends and family, surrounded by strangers, and sharing that experience is one of only a few communal experiences we still have in the modern world. And when it works, even with a less-than-perfect film, the event gets wrapped up in memories and emotions that resurface like old friends when you watch the movie again.
I had a meeting recently with a development exec at a very big animation studio (ooh, get me!). He told me that their most successful films transported the audience to worlds. Not just to other planets, but any place where the audience can escape to time and time again. That’s not to say that all films should be pure escapism, but they seem to be the ones we like to watch on repeat.
So, historical accuracy and gritty reboots be damned. Give me Kevin “This is English currige” Costner every time. All together now… “Look into my eyes…”
PS. Oh, and if anyone has a cut of the film where they keep in Christian Slater’s “Fuck me!” line, then do please get in touch.
This has officially sold out, but if you’re a lucky ticket holder, then I’ll be in the Class of 2015 bit again, with a slightly different, but no less awesome, line-up: Antonia Honeywell, Alex Lamb, Al Robertson, Tom Toner and Catriona Ward…
London Room 1 (click to enlarge)London Room 2 (click to enlarge)
This has just been added so grab your tickets now! If you’re a writer, this day is gold dust. If I weren’t already going, I’d be first in line for tickets. Top writers and agents (and, er me!) talking about their craft. Unmissable…
I was delighted to be interviewed on the UK Scriptwriters’ Podcast this week. I’ve been following this podcast – as far as I know, the only one of its kind in the UK – since the very beginning, and it’s an invaluable resource for any writer. In each episode Danny Stack and Tim Clague bring their considerable industry experience to talk about writing for TV, film and games. They’ll cover the practicalities of writing as a career, and it’s inspirational stuff for any writer; beginner or pro. Seriously, if you want a career in writing and you’re not listening to this, then you’re definitely missing out.
So, to end up as a guest on the podcast is a particular honour, especially on their fifth birthday! You can download it from iTunes, or you can check it out on Podomatic.
And be sure to visit Danny’s blog, which is a treasure trove of good advice.
Oh, AND Danny and Tim did what so many filmmakers just talk about and actually made a film. Off their own backs! Via Kickstarter they raised the funds to make WHO KILLED NELSON NUTMEG?, the kind of British children’s film they really don’t make any more. Here’s the trailer…
PAGE AND SCREEN: ROBOT OVERLORDS & GEMINI FORCE ONE
4.30-5.15pm
What are the differences between writing for the page or the screen? Find out in this session bringing together co-creator of Robot Overlords Mark Stay with the team behind Gemini Force One, MG Harris and Jamie Anderson.
Mark Stay will be talking about his experiences of writing both film script and novelisation for Robot Overlords, and sharing some behind the scenes insights; whilst MG Harris and Jamie Anderson will discuss how they collaborated on their new series, originally devised and developed by Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson before his death.
This should be great fun. The Gemini Force project is hugely exciting (especially if you’re a Gerry Anderson fan!), and over the whole weekend YALC will be hosting panels with the best names in YA lit, including Charlie Higson, Malorie Blackman, Joe Abercrombie and Patrick Ness, so you’re guaranteed to have a great time!
I found myself with a free afternoon yesterday, not something that happens often these days as any spare time I have tends to be dedicated to writing, but I’m in a lull on one project and stuck on another, and so I found myself plugging my guitar into a pedal board and amp, and I started thrashing out a few chords.
Inspired by its inclusion on the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY soundtrack, I thought I’d have a go at learning David Bowie’s splendid MOONAGE DAYDREAM and was surprised by how simple it was: lots of nice major/minor chords, a very easy riff and a straightforward melody.
And it got me thinking about a half-baked music analogy I have about creativity. When rock bands start out they begin with the simple stuff: twelve-bar blues, major chords dropping to minors, and a cool hook. Stuff that’s basic, but highly effective, hitting people right in the feels…
Major chords. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy and making people feel totes emosh since the dawn of time.
But as an artist progresses in their career, they understandably want to try something more complex and challenging, and, if you’re a guitarist, this means that sooner or later your favourite band will start using complex jazz chords…
Jazz chords. Evil bastards. Not to be trusted.
Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy jazz, but in quite small doses. It just doesn’t engage me emotionally in the way that a big, stupid rock song does. Just as I prefer Bowie’s early stuff, I suspect that it’s songs like STARMAN and LIFE ON MARS that are paying the mortgage at chez Bowie, rather than anything he’s recorded in the last twenty years. It’s also why the musically straightforward 1970s-era Pink Floyd continue to sell more than the jazz odyssey stylings of their early Syd Barrett stuff or, say, Captain Beefheart…
Of course, this theory is full of holes: if anything, the Beatles’ songs became more straightforward as they progressed, Kate Bush’s stuff was always complex musically (though her early albums are arguably more tuneful), and it probably doesn’t apply to classical or opera, though Beethoven’s Fifth (Duh-Duh-Duh-Duuum!) is as rock n roll as classical gets.
But you get the idea: the simple stuff works. It will always have a greater reach, audience-wise, than the introverted, “clever” stuff.
And here comes the big, clanging, G-major analogy that I’ll be trying to apply to my writing: I won’t be putting too many jazz chords into my stories. I might think I’m being clever by killing the hero on page 35, or starting in the middle of my story and working backwards via flashforwards, but some poor producer has to pitch that idea to raise money, and nine out of ten of them will always go for the simple sell.
That’s not to dismiss “simple” as “easy”: keeping a story truthful, engaging and emotional is hard enough as it is. So why make life more difficult for yourself?
And so my creative aim in life is to hit the same simple and moving peak as Bowie who has Mick Ronson open a song with a big, fat D-major chord as he cries, “I’m an alligator!” There’s no greater achievement in art…
A girl, a gun and a Spitfire… Artwork by Brian Taylor
The Black Spitfire is a script project that Paddy Eason and I have been working on for a couple of years now. Here’s our logline…
May, 1940: Headstrong young pilot Ginny Albion crashes in France as the Nazi Blitzkrieg sweeps across the country. Her passenger is Winston Churchill, and the fate of the world is in her hands.
Who could resist that, eh?
It’s a spec script – meaning that it’s not been commissioned by any entity – and we’re doing this in the hope that a producer or director will take it under their wing and make it fly (apologies for the abundance of flying metaphors throughout this post).
Spec scripts are nigh-on impossible to get off the ground these days: the studios are more interested in building on their existing brands, and anything original is branded as “untested”, putting the fear of God into those clutching to the studio purse strings.
But we’ve had a fantastic response from those who have read the script, and we’ve already met with a few eager producers. It’s still early days, but Paddy and I commissioned artist Brian Taylor to put together a poster concept (these things help when you’re pitching to producers and directors) and he blew our minds with the results, perfectly capturing the adventurous spirit of the film and our heroine Ginny Albion. Our model was actress Claire Garvey, who gamely posed for photos as I wafted slabs of polystyrene at her to make her hair billow (no budget for a wind machine, sadly) as Paddy snapped the pics.
If you’re in the industry and want to read the script, it’s over on the Black List, if you want the latest news do please follow us on Twitter @GinnyAlbion, and if you’re a producer with, say, £30 million handy, we’d like to buy you lunch.
We hope you like it, and we hope to see Ginny in action at the movies soon.
UPDATE: We’ve had some great reviews over at the Black List. Here are a few choice quotes…
“What a terrific read! The script starts off with a bang and our brilliant Ginny anchors a wonderful story about courage, self-actualization, love, and friendship. As our charming heroine, Ginny is flawed but never lacking in gumption or charisma. She leaps off the page and lights up an otherwise monotonous time period. Her rapport with Kit is absolutely darling, and the friendship that develops between her and Churchill is deftly written. Churchill himself is captured beautifully – from the wry commentary on his unlikely guide to the humor that arises from his verbosity, he’s all there and with a pout to boot. Although at times the narrative feels a bit predictable, it’s a delight to read. Tonally, it’s similar to INDIANA JONES, but this time we get a kickass female protagonist. Overall, a well structured story with engaging, dynamic characters, a commercial tone, and strong dialogue.”
“A great piece of writing and a killer idea, demonstrating excellent world building and character work… it’s a fantastic read and at the very least, the writers should have no problem getting hired off of this.”
“This script is rooted first and foremost in a strong and engaging lead with Ginny… She’s brave, funny, and moody all at once. She’s compelling to follow. The action is also quite exciting throughout. It’s cleanly written and easy to envision from what’s on the page. Later on, Ginny saves a number of Allied prisoners from German executioners at the last moment. It’s tense and fun all at once. Ginny’s relationship to Churchill is also cannily drawn and entertaining. The two bicker and fight and like each other. At one point, he excoriates her for radioing details to the enemy in a panic, and they argue and she shoves him down. He then stomps off in the middle of a war. It’s memorable and gives the piece a good sense of personality.”
“This is an invigorating and original concept that is sure to catch the attention of industry readers. The dialogue stands out as the major macro strength to the project as it’s upbeat, quick and natural throughout. The banter between Ginny and Churchill is funny a lot of the time, but in a very grounded way — especially after they land. It adds a comedic relief, that is extremely dry and grounded… Churchill’s voice and character development overall is fantastic and will prove to be captivating for readers as his dialogue is accurate to portray his place in history, but shown in an exciting way. One of the coolest things about his character is the standard he holds Ginny to the entire time, but also how he begins to trust her and respect her more and more as they continue on and it’s a fantastic moment when she holds the knife to his throat… physically and emotionally. Ginny’s character gets comfortable around Churchill as well and it’s tracked nicely alongside her growth as a character. It’s very triumphant in the end when Winston’s calling out for Ginny over the radio and along with being extremely cinematic it ties up their story well for the audience.”
On 13th July 2010* I received an email from Director Jon Wright with the subject heading ‘Two page idea attached’. In it he outlined a movie idea that had come to him in a dream: a world where humanity had been defeated by an invading alien robot empire and everyone is ordered to stay inside their homes. Back then it was called OUR ROBOT OVERLORDS. Some of those ideas have survived through to the finished film, some have fallen by the wayside and others could still be used in potential sequels or TV series, but already the world felt strong enough to start bouncing ideas back and forth and start working on a script.
And so ROBOT OVERLORDS was born, and a mere four years, eight months and fourteen days later it’s in UK cinemas for the public to see. That’s pretty fast for an independent British movie.
Jon and I met back in September 2006** when he became attached to a screenplay I’d written called WAITING FOR EDDIE (later EDDIE’S DEAD). We were introduced by a Producer called Dean Fisher who had optioned WFE and had got the project into the inaugural Film London Microwave scheme. Over the week of workshops and development we all bonded, but I knew I’d get on with Jon because when we first met in a Nero’s outside Liverpool Street Station, we banged heads as we sat down and were both too polite to say anything about it.
We worked on developing a number of scripts over the following years while he made TORMENTED and GRABBERS, but ROBOT OVERLORDS is the first of our joint projects to get off the ground, and I have to admit that there are days where I feel like I’ve jumped the queue. Because what you’re supposed to do is make a mega low-budget horror or two and then you might be lucky enough to make the kind of science fiction adventure that you loved as a kid.
And it’s been one hell of a ride. I’ve seen and done some incredible things during its making:
Felt a strange, other-worldly thrill at the first shout of “Action” on set.
The first take… ruined by a bunch of us taking photos on our phones. Photo by Paddy Eason
Watched actors of the calibre of Sir Ben Kingsley, Gillian Anderson, Geraldine James and many others take our words and bring them to life.
SBK gives it his all.
Not to mention watching our gang of heroes Callan, James, Ella and Milo genuinely become friends over the course of the shoot.
Jon chooses who get vaporised next…
Stared in awe at a bluescreen stage and wondered what the ten-year-old me would make of all this…
Blue is the new green.
Strolled around Pinewood Studios like we owned the place.
Author videos are so much cooler on the backlot of a major studio complex! Photo my http://www.mpsv.co.uk
And, bloody hell, Jon even let me be in it (and my family!)…
Me in the much-coveted role of shouty man in dressing gown…George, Claire and Emily in costume for our day as extras.
Being thrilled as Nvizible took our ideas and came up with stuff like this!
I attended the premiere at the London Film Festival like a proper Z-list celeb!
All the beautiful people at the LFF premiere… and me!
And did my first panel at a ComicCon:
2000AD creator Pat Mills ran our panel!
I’ve chronicled some of those events on this blog, and there’s a whole ‘shoot diary’ section in the book, and I’ll no doubt bore you with it some more over the years, but for a first film I could not have asked for a more incredible experience and I suspect I may never have it this good again. And now the film is now in the hands of the Great British Public.
Some folk have expressed dismay that it’s not on everywhere, and we do indeed have a limited release, but that reflects the reality of British indie cinema distribution at the moment. And you only have to look at the box office returns of the last ambitious Brit Sci-Fi Film to see why some lesser distributors were nervous about taking us on. But our bold and pioneering independent distributor Signature have a very clear strategy for the film over the coming year, and this is only the beginning. I have faith that you’ll all get to see it one way or another, but if you can see it on the big screen then do please go: plenty of people worked very, very hard to make it look and sound so magnificent.
See you at the movies…
*I keep a diary, so can very specific about dates.
But it’s a great problem to have. I know plenty of writers who would gnaw their right arm off for an opportunity like this. Though writing without a right arm is surely more difficult than writing with both, so they clearly haven’t thought it through.
I’m also working with Jacqui Wright on a black comedy called KILLER FAMILY CHRISTMAS, and I’ve just finished a pass on a cracking World War Two adventure called THE BLACK SPITFIRE, which I’ve been writing with VFX guru and Spitfire connoisseur Paddy Eason. And I’m also trying to find time to write a novel. I’m about ten thousand words in, and all I need is an extra day in the week and I’ll be fine.
2. How does your work feel different to others of its genre?
I tend to think bigger than most of the British writers I meet. Trouble is, we don’t make many big budget movies over here, so the opportunities to write blockbusters are few and far between… but then you eventually get a reputation as the guy who can write ‘big’, and that gets you meetings. A lot of Brit writers will write a low-budget spec — maybe a horror with a £150k budget — because they think that’s all that will ever get made, and they’re largely correct, but there’s a part of me that wonders if this isn’t just a vicious circle.
People tell me that I write pacy stuff, that it’s often funny with good dialogue. I know that we’ll never be able to compete with Hollywood when it comes to crash-bang-wallop values, so I try to make the characters as interesting as possible.
One of the most gratifying things about watching ROBOT OVERLORDS with British children is seeing them enjoy watching kids that speak like they do, and live on streets that they recognise, having a massive wide screen adventure. If you’re eleven, you’re too young to have seen Harry Potter on the big screen, so this will be a new experience for you. That already marks the film out as different from anything out there at the moment.
3. Why do you write what you do?
I think you simply have to write the kind of movies you love watching. Having been through the process of ROBOTS — nearly four years and counting — I don’t think I could enjoy writing something that didn’t have me skipping to the keyboard each morning. That’s not to say it’s all flowers and sunshine — it’s often hard — but that passion is what gets you through the tricky days.
When I was younger and a little more desperate I would try and write anything. There was one comedy that I was attached to for years, which became a grim experience simply because I was wrong for the job. Tonally, it just wasn’t me and I was wasting everyone’s time. To thine own self be true, innit.
4. How does your writing process work?
I outline like a mofo. Just keep drilling down and down and down until I feel confident that I can start writing individual scenes and sequences. Then I rewrite and rewrite and rewrite.
I like rewrites. It’s the only way to improve. Then when the script is big and fat, I start cutting, cutting, cutting, bare to the bone, as lean as it can be.
I’m also very aware that as a screenwriter, what I write needs to make sense to the director. He or she is the one standing on set on the day with the cast and crew staring at them, waiting for some… er… direction… and if the director doesn’t understand why a scene is still in the script, ie: because I insisted that it stay in due to some emotional attachment that I have to it, then guess how good that scene is going to turn out?
This means I’ve learned to bend a bit. Well, quite a lot. A screenwriter needs to be a bit of a contortionist. If you want authorship, then write a novel.
Well, I’ve waffled on for quite long enough. I’m going to find a few more writers for this blog tour and will post their details here soon, and we can all benefit from their wisdom. Thanks again to Kevin for the tip off!
First of all, let us gaze upon the awesomeness of the cover art…
It’s a robot… a big one!
The Sentry robot was kindly donated and posed by the good folk at Nvizible (laser weapon, model’s own), and the rest was co-ordinated and designed by Nick May of the Orion art department and the wizards at Blacksheep Design, who’ve won awards for all sorts of cool covers, not least Adam Roberts’ JACK GLASS, one of my favourites of last year.
The book has been huge fun to write and, in the tradition of my favourite tie-in novels, will expand on scenes and characters from the film, as well having plenty of new material completely original to the book. My hope is that the book and film will complement one another, so if there’s a moment in the film that leaves you wanting to know more, you’ll find it in the book.
Tie-in novels are usually a late addition to a publishers’ schedule, often written in a rush by an outside writer. So I am very grateful that Gollancz took a punt early on in the process, and gave the go-ahead to this while we were still shooting the film. It’s given me the time to write the book I wanted to and, thanks to the brilliant editing of Gillian Redfearn and the copy-editing skills of Lisa Rogers, it’s become a much better book than I could have hoped for.
It’ll be available in paperback and eBook, and there might even be an audio edition. The publication date will be as per the release of the film. We’re saying February 2015 at the moment, but that will almost certainly change. There might even be a special edition with some top secret added extras. I’ll be sure to update here with any news as soon as I get it, and be sure to follow @Robot_Overlords on Twitter for news about the film.
Mark Stay Writes 