Mark Stay Writes

Five books to keep you sane during the robot occupation

A shorter version of this first appeared in the Big Issue on 9th February 2015…

Morse Code Martin (Roy Hudd) and Nathan (James Tarpey) discuss the classics in a scene from Robot Overlords © MEDIATOR 452 LIMITED/BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE 2014

Robot Overlords shows us a near-future where Earth has been invaded and occupied by an overwhelming force of Robots from another world. Everyone has been confined to their homes, and while the Robots’ purpose here is a mystery, they’ve promised to leave after seven years.

So what books would I grab to keep me sane during the occupation…?

SAS Handbook by Jon ‘Lofty’ Wiseman (Harper Collins)

As used by Connor (played by Milo Parker in the film) to identify edible mushrooms, this is the only book I know of with a chapter on how to survive a nuclear explosion, an essential bit of info when your enemy has defeated every army on the planet (though, to be fair, they do make it clear that the odds aren’t great for surviving a nuclear holocaust). Also check out the Homefront chapter, with excellent advice on food storage, rationing, vitamins and filtering and sterilising water. Of course, for when times are really bad, there’s the obligatory bit on drinking urine.

Also available as an App, not that you’ll have any use for that once the robots destroy your phone.

Reader’s Digest DIY Manual (Readers Digest)

In Robot Overlords the Volunteer Corps are humans who have chosen to collaborate with the robots by delivering rations, making repairs etc. But these are exactly the kind of humourless sociopaths you find in every level of bureaucracy (best represented by Robin Smythe, Ben Kingsley’s character in the film), and so you don’t want to be relying on them to fix a leaky tap. I’ve had a copy of this for twenty years and it’s so clearly laid out that even an idiot like me can use it with only the occasional flood and mild electric shock.

Asterix and the Big Fight by Goscinny & Uderzo (Orion Children’s Books)

There are many works of literature to inspire a burgeoning resistance against the invaders, but I can think of none finer than the seventh instalment in the Gaulish saga in which our heroes stage an enormous punch-up to save their village. A bit of genuine light relief in all the trauma.

Cooking For Blokes by Dr. Duncan Anderson and Marian Walls (Sphere)

When the Volunteer Corps deliver your weekly ration of unleavened bread, unidentifiable grey meat, and misshapen vegetables, you’ll need more than a little imagination to keep things exciting and varied at the dinner table. My wife bought me a copy of this when we first started living together and it set me in good stead when all we could afford was unleavened bread, unidentifiable grey meat, and misshapen vegetables.

Great British Songbook (Wise Publications)

And finally, something to keep you going through those long winter nights of the occupation. As a busking level guitarist (ie: a bit rubbish) I can select any one of over 170 songs from Keep The Home Fires Burning and We’ll Meet Again all the way through to erm… Careless Whisper and I Believe In A Thing Called Love. And if you do drive your fellow housemates mad with your caterwauling, then it’s big enough for them to beat you to death with, and makes for good fire fuel.

Robot Overlords by Mark Stay is available now.

Robot Overlords UK trailer, poster and release date

Well, it’s been all go the last couple of weeks and I thought a quiet Sunday afternoon might be the best time to summarize the latest Robot Overlords news.

First, we have at last a UK release date of 27th March and a trailer:

And a quad poster to go with it (clicken to enlargen):

We also have an official Facebook page, and I’ve started collating images from the film and the book over on Pinterest.

And the book is out this week, too, so there’ll be quite a few interviews and blog pieces from me over the next few weeks.

We’re very nearly there: after over four years of writing, filming and post-production, the film will finally be out in the wild. It’s a thrilling and slightly terrifying feeling: like sending one of your kids off to school for the first time. Hopefully the other kids will play nice…

As soon I have more new of the UK release I’ll post it here, in the meantime check out this clip over at Empire online. It features one of my favourite bits of Christian Henson’s score, so play it loud…

A Goodreads Robot Overlords book giveaway – ends 1st March

Those lovely people at Goodreads, in association with those equally lovely Geeks at Gollancz, are giving away – yes! Giving away! – ten copies of the Robot Overlords novelisation.

Ten copies! That’s (taps calculator)… lots of money I won’t ever see because of their insane generosity. It’s called “marketing” or something.

“But how do I stand a chance of winning?” you ask. Simple, just click here and then click on the ‘Enter to win’ button. Yes, it’s really that straightforward: two clicks… You’d be insane not to give it a try.

But hurry, it ends on the 1st of March!

9781473204867 — This thing of beauty for no pennies!

PS. Be sure to check the Ts&Cs, as this offer is only available in Great Britain.

Robot Overlords: A New Poster AND Win A Signed Copy Of The Book Proof…

Today those good folk over at Empire Online revealed the wonderful collectors’ poster for ROBOT OVERLORDS. Feast your eyes on that (and give it a click to enlarginate to its full size)…

I just love its ’80s Drew Struzan-y quality. Jon and I wanted to capture the feel of those classic Amblin movies with our story and this poster does exactly that. The artist is Brian Taylor, also known as Candy Killer and a quick perusal of his website shows that we’re in very good company, with his outstanding artwork for classics such as ALIEN, ALIENS, BLADE RUNNER and THE THING.*

Brian confirmed that copies of our poster will be available for sale nearer the time of the film’s release early next year and that there may even be signed copies available. I, for one, will be front of the queue for that!

And, to celebrate all this Robot-y goodness, those lovely people at Gollancz suggested that we run a competition to give away a signed copy of the proof (or “galley” if you’re from the colonies) of the novelisation to one lucky winner. Only a few of these were printed, mainly for the film’s producers when attending film festivals and the like, so these are properly rare. So if you fancy your chances, pop over to the Gollancz blog and have a go! The competition closes on 21st December 2014.

*And if you’re looking to buy me a Christmas pressie, I’ll have the Blade Runner print please! Oh, all right then, if you insist, one of each…

The Endless River and the end of Floyd

This week sees the release of what has been confirmed by the band Pink Floyd as their last ever studio album, The Endless River.

I have a long history with Floyd, and to be around when they’ve called it a day is both sad and curiously satisfying. The end of a great story. Like many of my generation, my first awareness of Pink Floyd came with the release of Another Brick In The Wall (Part Two) and I was all too eager to misinterpret the message “We don’t need no edjacashun!” I also recall poring over my uncle’s copy of the album, its gatefold festooned with Gerald Scarfe’s wonderful artwork.

But it wasn’t until my teens that they really made an impact. Back then, believe it or not, I was a football referee. Something I wasn’t terribly well-suited for, not being a massive football fan and just beginning to need to wear spectacles for my short-shortsightedness. I had to quit after a couple of years when I had no real comeback to the players’ cries of, “Ref, are you blind?”

Back then Wembley Stadium use to employ referees as stewards for football games and major events. My dad – a much better ref than I ever was – would regularly attend FA Cup matches and the like in this capacity. And in the summer of 1988 he asked me quite out of the blue if I wanted to be a steward at a couple of concerts. The first was the amazing Michael Jackson Bad Tour, the second was for Pink Floyd’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason.

Jacko was awesome, as you’d expect, but the Floyd gig triggered something inside of me. I found a sound that I hadn’t even realised was missing from my life, but I suddenly had to have more of, immediately. The bigness of Richard Wright‘s keyboard sounds, the ‘ting’ of Nick Mason‘s ride cymbal – a pleasing acoustic noise absent from all the electronica I’d been listening to that summer – and all of this led by David Gilmour‘s siren-like guitar. And not forgetting Roger Waters‘ lyrics… Ah, Roger! Not only had I found the perfect band, but one with a story that stretched back to a tragic figure called Syd Barrett, followed by an unprecedented success forged by a group living in the shadow of a genius, then torn apart again by that very success. There were lengthy magazine articles and books chronicling this epic odyssey, including Miles’ excellent Visual Documentary.

I devoured everything, and while my contemporaries were discovering rave or grunge I was stuck firmly in the ’70s and became a boy obsessed. I made compilation tapes for all my mates and even successfully converted a fair number of them, dragging them to gigs at the ghastly London Arena, glorious Knebworth and Earl’s Court. Even the lovely, patient woman who was to become the love of my life was not immune, having to endure my guitar practice as I learned to play their songs (having all but given up on the instrument a few years earlier). I even studied the lyrics of The Wall as part of my GCSE coursework, discovering how to stretch out my thesis “It’s about alienation, innit” to 1500 words.

One of the most significant decisions in my life was dictated by a Floyd connection. At the time I was a sales rep for a publisher, driving all over the South East of England and writing plays in laybys in my lunchbreak. I was in a happy little rut. Then I bumped into a fellow rep who said there was an account manager job going at Orion Publishing, and was I interested. At first, I refused: I loved the freedom of the open road, and working in an office would mean regular hours that wouldn’t allow me to put on plays. Then something occurred to me, “You guys are publishing that Pink Floyd book by Nick Mason, aren’t you?”

“Yup.”

“WHERE DO I APPLY?!”

And so I ended up in an office job, gave up on the theatre, and started writing screenplays instead. And see where that got me.

Oh, and I got to meet Nick Mason. A lovely, lovely man who put up with my fanboyish tendencies with the patience of a saint. Tangentially, I also got to meet David Gilmour, Richard Wright, Gerald Scarfe and the wonderful Guy Pratt, whose brilliantly funny book My Bass And Other Animals was published by Orion and should be read by everyone and anyone with a passing interest in music.

I missed out on Live 8 and with the passing of Syd and then Richard it seemed like it was all over, and now it really is. I’ve played Endless River on an endless loop today. It’s arguably the boldest album the band have released in thirty years, and all those things that had me fall in the love with the band are present and correct, but now it sounds like the distant echo of something passing into time, fading into the past. A fitting farewell from a band bigger than the sum of its parts. And that’s a beautiful end to their story.

First look at Robot Overlords – excitement level: high!

Our chums at the BFI have released this cracking little behind-the-scenes vid for Robot Overlords. It features action, robots, our awesome cast, Jon, Piers and my big flappy hands…

… but don’t let that put you off. Tickets for the festival are on sale now and you can get them here. And the video is below, enjoy!

*Edit! I’ve learned that this vid might not play outside the UK! Gah! As soon as I have an international version I’ll pop it up. Sorry!

London Film Festival – Robot Overlords Tickets Now On Sale!

Tickets are now on sale to the general public for the 58th BFI London Film Festival!

ROBOT OVERLORDS – co-written by myself and Director Jon Wright – is part of the festival’s Family strand and there will be two showings:

Saturday 18th October at The Vue, Islington at 16.15

Sunday 19th October at The Vue, Leicester Square at 12.45

Tickets are on sale on 18th September from 10am and you can find out more about the festival at the official BFI site here and here’s our page with all the details.

Apart from a lucky few who came to our preview screenings, this will be the first time the general public gets to see the film on the big screen. Many people have worked incredibly hard to make this film look and sound mind-blowingly good, and these venues will really do it justice, and you get to see it with a festival crowd — there’s nothing quite like it.

As always, for news on the film do please follow @Robot_Overlords on Twitter — there’s some very cool news just over the horizon, so watch this space…

Until then why not while the time away by pre-ordering the book of the film?

Robot Overlords at the London Film Festival, October 18th & 19th 2014

I’ve been sitting on this top secret news for well over a month now, but it’s been officially announced this morning that ROBOT OVERLORDS will be part of the 58th BFI London Film Festival!

Honestly, I’ve been fit to burst… so glad it’s out there.

We’re part of the festival’s Family strand and there will be two showings:

Saturday 18th October at The Vue, Islington at 16.15

Sunday 19th October at The Vue, Leicester Square at 12.45

Tickets go on sale on 18th September at 10am (though if you’re a BFI member you can get early bird bookings). I’ll pop a link up when they go live, but you can find our more about the festival at the official BFI site here and here’s our page with all the details.

As always, for news on the film do please follow @Robot_Overlords on Twitter — there’s some very cool news just over the horizon, so watch this space…

Writers’ Blog Tour – My Two Penn’orth

The mighty Kevin Lehane (who also celebrates his birthday today) nominated me for a writers’ blog tour that’s doing the rounds.

The idea is to answer four simple questions, then pass it on to another writer.

For Kevin’s wisdom click here.

Here’s my waffle…

Words, words, words... — Words, words, words…

1. What are you working on?

Currently, Jon Wright and I are working on the sequel to ROBOT OVERLORDS. Having been one of those pub bores who will tell you how brilliant THE GODFATHER: Part II and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK are, and how GHOSTBUSTERS II is an appalling travesty, I suddenly find myself sympathising with Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis… sequels are hard!

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!

The finished film and the dark arts of post-production

Last night I was invited to a screening room at Molinare, where I was lucky enough to sit with a few of the folks who’ve been working these past few months like hyperactive worker bees on Red Bull as they put the final polish on ROBOT OVERLORDS. The ADR, the sound effects, the sound mixing, the score, the VFX and the grading. All of these dark arts have finally come together to present the finished film. I can’t see into the future, so I don’t know if the movie will be a massive hit, a red-stinger of a bellyflop, or the kind of film that sneaks into cinemas for a fortnight and then disappears forever, only to sporadically reappear on cable TV on Sunday afternoons like some celluloid spectre. But I can tell you that we’ve made the film that we set out to create. A fun adventure for the young at heart. And these final flourishes have elevated it to a whole new level of incredibleness*, making me grin like a loon throughout as I watched. It’s funny, thrilling, moving and a feast for the eyes and ears (see it in a cinema with the best sound system you can find!). I hoped it would be good. I had no idea it could be this good. So many people have worked above and beyond the call of duty to make it happen. It deserves to be seen and enjoyed, and I throw myself prostrate at the mighty gods of cinema in the hope that it will. The very moment that we have any news on a firm release date, I shall shout it from the rooftops. In the meantime, here’s a fuzzy photo of Paddy’s hand on the first day of filming as he prepares to take a pic of the first clapperboard of the shoot (don’t say I never give you exclusives)…

*Shakespeare invented words. So can I…

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