1950 AD

Soon after pitching “Dismissal” to RainMaker VFX, and rewriting the script once more, a new producer to pitch to was found on Shooting People.

Martin Proctor, an independent producer whose background is in film finance investment, agreed to meet for a pitch at Pinewood Studios.

Pinewood Studios is the mecca for British Boiz like myself, the place where they film 007(!), our Hollywood. Instantly, the idea that I’m walking around a studio “lot” brought on fantasies of repeating the mythological startings of Steven Spielberg – I too could break into an office and claim it for my own.

The realisation, of course, is that Pinewood Studios is perhaps -the- most confusing place to be. Having expanded somewhat inwards, the grounds have no “natural” pattern to them. Finding your way to the cafeteria from the visitor’s reception is a challenge alone, finding a spare office is just plain difficult.

Luckily, or responsibly, I like to be 30 minutes early to pitch meetings for circumstances as above. The meeting, though not as prosperous as one might have hoped, ended with a new contact for the books & the knowledge that sitting in the cafe of Pinewood Studios can get you -jobs- in almost any production expertise.

(Before meeting Martin, a veteran sound man sat down next to me – this guy looked like he was barely alive, but still in his element – I soon realised later that day that had I been at all clued up about sound a job would have been found).

Martin Proctor soon read Dismissal, and gave a long list of comments/issues. High budget CGI for a 1950′s noir? Get lost. No specific place/setting? How dare you. (These are my words, Martin is a very nice man and wouldn’t ever be so mean).

2050 AD

The solution to the comments? Dismissal moved to Las Vegas. The period changed to a much more commercial, 2050 AD.

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PepsiKid + London = Dismissal

Out of “School” and into “Uni(versity)”… My first script, still under rewrites, had a title (Dismissal) and as far as I could see was as finished as I could get it. Set in the 1950′s, in your average American Noir-Film town. Dismissal follows a would-be Detective as a Lady (no name) lands in his lap (literally) and presents to him a web of wide-spread corruption that goes further than the mafia itself.

The script was Sh*t. clichéd, in past-tense and completely flat from page 1 to page 76. Naturally, my first port-of-call was a producer from Shooting People. Raffi B Tanielian agreed to meet me after I pitched my script on the best film community website. My first meeting, in a town I barely knew and in a professional I’m still fresh in.

Raffi was, and is, a star – gave me tremendous advice starting with “you’ll never get Tom Cruise.”  (I prefer Morgan Freeman anyway ;-]).

So, I had met my first producer, he hadn’t even read my script and turned it down. Sad? Not a chance, over the F-ing moon. I continued to rewrite my Noir homage (or insult) throughout the rest of 2006 while my personal life drifted from dull to disastrous (closeted kid with too much time to father in rehab for alcoholism and losing my part-time job – almost my place in my degree course too).

January is (didn’t you know?) the beginning of a new year, always. 2007 brought with it a new class at uni(versity) thanks to dwindling numbers in my original class. Opportunity struck when I found another screenwriter in my new class – this one with BBC connections. Rams (Khurram) and I began bouncing back-and-forth comments (and defenses) on why Dismissal was so Sh*t.

The back-and-forth lead to several rewrites, and a pitch to our uni(versity)’s manager for development finance (turned down, learnt never to go through education boards again). Our next opportunity, once more through Shooting People, was a posting by Ex-Rainmaker VFX Supervisor Paddy Eason – the best guy in the world when it comes to VFX Supervising.

Nearing Cannes, Paddy had put up a post advertising his willingness to have projects pitched to him, and his colleagues, while in France. I wasn’t going to Cannes, but then that’s not an issue.

“Subject: Cannes VFX Advice

Dear Mr. Eason,

I just read your post on SP, and I was wondering whether you’d be able to give me advice on how to approach a project that I’m attempting to set up. Unfortunately I can’t make it to Cannes this year so I won’t be seeing you there (I’m extremely jealous). However I’m hoping that you may be prepared to talk in the aftermath.

I’m looking to put together a CG animation set in 1950′s Las Vegas using well-known actors. However, we want to be able to capture the actors in a way so that their movements and ‘skins’ are preserved, without the use of pre-built 3-D models.

We’re currently putting the finishing touches to the script and are looking to draw out storyboards and concept art over the next month or so. What we really need is advice on where to take this first, how it can be done, how much it would cost and how long.

Any help would be extremely appreciated, and I hope that you enjoy your time at Cannes.

Kind Regards,

Joseph Williamson“

- Email from PepsiKid to Paddy Eason (18 May, 2007)

Okay, so it was a bit cheeky – I’m not going to Cannes, I’m definitely not an established person in the Biz, and I’m talking about doing Tech-stuff that wasn’t even possible in 2007 (it is now). The result?

Paddy agreed to read the script and set up a meeting with an executive at RainMaker VFX in Soho. Why? My best bet (although, I should really get a solid answer) is that I was polite and after -advice-.

Plenty I got from the executive, who spent the entire meeting slamming me for coming unprepared and without even a small indication of how much CGI-heavy films cost on average. Was she right to do so? You bet. That meeting taught me a lot, it also marks my mind as -the-worst-meeting-ever- (for now).

Give up? Nope. Rewrites? Yep.

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PepsiKid's First Script

Here it is, another pic as I’m on holiday. This time I got no make-up (and less hair). I’m typing my first script, in Mic Word with little knowledge of the format.

What I did know, I learnt as typing from Alexander MacKendrick‘s On Film-Making (best book for beginners) which was given to me by my Media Teacher.

In the two weeks of my Portugal holiday I typed up three drafts on my pap’s pc. I’d get home and instantly, I need a break (both kinds).

It’s the last year of Sixth Form, I’m heading down to Bournemouth University which offers the -only- B.A. (Hons) in Screenwriting. There I find out BBC Writer’s Room offers a plugin for Mic Word that formats scripts (almost – it’s slightly off but its free).

I head home from the open-day knowing two things;

1. No way can I spend three years just writing.
2. I need to rewrite my script in the correct format – fearful that my page-count is way off.

I ended up going to The SAE Institute (London) (Don’t Go There) and the page-count? Short. Another rewrite.

While in my last Sixth Form year I took part in a digital film-making course run by Leicester’s LineOut (charity production unit). This then spurred on to writing, directing and producing a short film sponsored by a local Home Cinema Installation company. Come my first year of university I’d use that short film to enter Spielberg‘s On The Lot contest.

Oh, I got two C’s and a D in A-Level… (not telling which ^^)

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my younger self

This photo actually mis-represents this post but its the -only- pic from my childhood I like so tough.

As you can see, I was like every other kid who went to a Christian Summer Camp at Butlins… Okay, maybe I was slightly different.

My journey into The Biz began earlier than this, when I first saw a snippet of Jurassic Park on VHS. Spielberg became my hero overnight, the only kid in Nursery School who knew what a director was (kinda). Instantly I’m determined to work with Dinosaurs and make videos too (when seeing The Lost World: Jurassic Park in the Isle of Wight’s only cinema my ambitions grew to big-screen distribution).

Flash Forward, Year 6 (final year of Primary School) and I’ve just taken the beginning of a story from our teacher, killed off her well-put-together-character and replaced it with aliens & an Arnie impersonator. Her response, “You’re gonna grow up to be a movie producer.”

There it was, I had a title to aim for. I was no longer Spielberg, I was Frank Marshall. Overnight, I had a new goal.

Next few years were dull – dedicated to growing up, getting that photo taken and watching The Matrix way too many times. In fact, things stayed relatively normal until Year 11 (last year of compulsory education – GCSEs). Parent-Teacher night, once again a time to shrink in my chair as my French Teacher called me a Dark Horse.

This time though, I was more worried about my English Teacher’s possible comments. Parent-Teacher night was some time in February, late enough for me to f*ck up but early enough for my Rents to get involved. October, the year before, our class is told to write a short story and hand it in before the end of the year. Come P-T night and my short story was 112 pages long and imo not finished. My English Teacher’s comments; “He’s got real talent here, if he keeps it up.”

Now I want to become Spielberg+Marshall+Koepp…

Out of compulsory education, I had a plan – A levels. Media Studies (marketing/audience awareness), Film Studies (who’s made what), English Lang.&Lit. (my spelling is still awful) and a short spell of Psychology (Character, Character, Character).

Easy right?…Right?

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Let’s Begin…

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