What Happens After Sex?

I don't only count myself as a struggling filmmaker; I also count myself as a struggling writer. So far, I've written two feature length screenplays, numerous short films and a couple of stageplays (and these are only the finished products!)

For the last year, having been stuck in this part of the country before going to film school (2 days!!!) I have been writing a screenplay called "What Happens After Sex?" The story follows two couples living in London; Stanley and Emily and Dennis and Maria, who are all friends and share the same, nagging problem; they have a non-existent sex life. Stanley puts it down to the fact that Emily is not willing to experiment and enjoys mundane, robotic copulation every few weeks while Maria claims that Dennis is not attracted to her anymore. Lacking intamacy, Stan begins a casual affair with a conservative play critic while Dennis torments himself with the truth about his sexuality.

The film is a comedy and barely takes place outside of the couple's separate apartments. I'm trying to write something more dialogue based, a screenplay that attracts it's audience on witty, intellectual conversation rather than explosions and car chases. I'm being realistic here! I want a screenplay which, in a few years time, I can approach production companies with and really try and sell it! The fact that the film only needs five actors and takes place in an apartment should cut down expenses considerably.

Of course, I'm trying not to think of that right now. Right now, I'm just battling through, writing as much as I can so that I know what sort of story I'm dealing with. It really is excellent fun!

Also, some updates on "The Motorbike Killer" (a film I don't regard to be intelligent in...any... way at all!) I am now not acting in the film like originally planned. My reasons for this are purely in regard to scheduling and time. Instead, my brother will be playing my character as well as his! I know, this seems like kind of a risky move but I have total faith. I've dressed him totally differently for each character and his acting is holding up. He plays Joban, a Jewish New Yorker who has just moved into the neighbourhood and who will soon become the Motorbike Killer's main target (god, this is stupid...)

I've tried to dress him in the New York style I imagine. Baggy shirt, backwards baseball cap, hornrimmed glasses (a little tribute to Woody Allen there.) I think it will work out much better this way and it also allows me much more control over the camera which I like. We did some shooting yesterday and today and I've started to feel increasingly fond of still camera shots. I'm not sure why, but I feel it places a much stronger emphasis on what is actually going on within the frame while the camera position is still, rather than tilting or tracking or canting or any of these ways. Of course, I might get to film school and they'll tell me this is all wrong, but I do love it right now when I have my camera perfectly still and my depth of field crystal! It makes for a much nicer shot...and it's ten times easier to edit.

On another, more unrelated note, I might actually be going to New York at the end of this year...just a maybe! But if I do, OH MAN!!!! That is actually my main dream coming true!!! YYYEEEAAAHHHHH!!!!

The Motorbike Killer

So, it's film school in 13 days. Yikes. I still haven't prepared myself in any way, save buying myself a mini fridge freezer which I will store in the room I haven't paid for. So, though I have student loans, finances, a job, new people, new course, writing essays and London on my thoughts, I am also thinking alot about a film festival.

Well, I say film festival. I'm not sure it really counts. More a showcase, if you will. In this particular showcase, all the new film students will be showing everyone else a clip (maximum five minutes) of the work they've done in the past. Now, when you think that thats 5o students chosen out of 1000 applicants, you expect the standard to be pretty high! This means that I have spent literally hours searching through my old films trying to find a sequence that I could show but to no avail.

Instead, I've decided to show the opening of my new film (a film I am currently writing, directing and editing) called "The Motorbike Killer." The film itself is a bit of a tribute to grindhouse films, much in the same way Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez did a couple of years ago, but with considerably less money. The film is about the ghost of a Nazi SS Officer who returns from the grave to slaughter one remaining Jew who has just moved into the neighbourhood. In order to do this final act of evil, he possesses a motorcycle and it's rider, using the machine to cause chaos and despair in it's search for the 'one that got away.' The film once again stars Samora O'Neill. I actually shot his scenes while he flew here on holiday, so there's no chance of any pick up shots. I just have to work with what I have...and what I have is alot of shots of people with their backs to the camera, pretending to be Samora.


Let's face it. The film isn't in good taste. I think when one of your lines is "This is for the holocaust, motherfucker" you know you're treading into dodgy ground. But, I find it hard to care! Im so happy that I'm actually getting back into real filmmaking, telling a story, rather than making documentaries or some abstract art piece. This is just a dumb story with funny characters and a cool villain! The only problem is that I've once again do what I always do and fail to stick to a schedule, meaning that I literally writing, shooting and editing all in the same period of time. Not the best way to get a film done effciently, but eh! What are you going to do?!

I'm looking forward to seeing the reaction of this sequence. I wonder if anyone will show anything quite like it?