A Tale of Two Projects

It seems it's true that there's always a silver lining in every situation. I discovered this in the middle of 2021 when I was made redundant (along with some 90 other colleagues) with no notice by a telco company that declared itself insolvent and therefore couldn't pay our entitlements. We eventually received what was owing to us via a government scheme but it took over three months to get our money. All this in the middle of a global pandemic. To say people were angry would be an understatement. To say I was furious and devastated would be a polite way of putting it. I said I'd mope around for a few days then decide what I was going to do. Three days turned into three weeks and, to be honest, I was a little lost. 

Then came the silver lining...

A call from a director who asked if he could send me a treatment he'd written for a feature film idea and, if I liked it, would I consider working on it with him. I did like it so I said yes. That was at the end of July 2021. 

Fast forward to March 2023 and there is now a fifth draft of that screenplay titled Bull; it has received Stages 1 & 2 of Scripted Development funding from the local government agency Screenwest; and is now being prepped for a major production funding round with that agency by the producer Michael Facey and director Chris Richards-Scully who form the production company Scullface. 

Stage 2 of the development funding allowed us to engage a script editor and I was delighted to work with Shayne Armstrong who is a genre film writer and Chair of the Queensland committee of the Australian Writers' Guild. Shayne's expertise, perceptive feedback, and encouragement were instrumental in the current draft taking a solid leap forward. 

Meanwhile, the other director I work with, Tim Dean, has been studiously working to get the Truth To Power screenplay into production. I understand a well-known Australian actor is attached to play the lead role and a distribution company is also involved. Tim has subsequently moved back to Western Australia which makes him eligible for, you guessed it, the major production funding round.

So it looks like I will have not one but two of my screenplays competing for the $750,000 fund. The pot has been sweetened even further by Screen Australia announcing they will commit another $500,000 to what is known as West Coast Visions. It will be crazy competitive with many other fine teams and projects entering but as the old adage says, you gotta be in it to win it!

Now, I love both of these projects and I'm proud of my work on each. It's heartening that so many other people have responded to these stories and are working to take them from the page to the screen. As both directors put together their heads of department and crew for the funding submissions, the feedback filtering back to me about the scripts has been very strong. 

Here's the thing, they couldn't be more different. 

Bull  is a horror film set in a country town where our two main characters, Bull and his daughter Lilly, are [redacted]. We'll keep that reveal a secret for the moment. 

Truth To Power is a real life political thriller adapted from a memoir by Andrew Wilkie, an intelligence analyst who resigned in protest over the misrepresentation of intelligence before the 2003 Iraq War. 

It's such a boon that I am able to explore these diverse topics with talented collaborators and have it so clearly defined. With Tim, we talk about thrillers and political tales; with Chris it's science fiction, the supernatural, and now horror. 

Since my enforced redundancy I've been in the fortunate position of not having to find another office job as I live off my savings for the time being. That gives me all the time in the world (in screenwriter speak this means the time when I'm not procrastinating, blocked, napping, doing 'research' or generally finding any reason not to write) to do rewrites and hone these two screenplays. 

There are also two new projects in early stages - a political satire set over the course of a few hours at an Annual General Meeting (with Tim, of course); and a therapeutic tale about an employee who is suddenly made redundant and seeks revenge by infecting the offending company with ransomware. (I have no idea where this idea came from!)

The major takeaway from all this? I'm really enjoying it. The late nights writing. The staring into blank space trying to solve script problems. The joy when you do. The heart pumping dread of receiving script coverage or notes. The relief when it's not as bad as you thought or indeed not bad at all. The meetings and Zoom calls with creative people whose only goal is to help make your script better. The weird distortion of time - agony when you're not writing; miraculously sped up when you're "in the zone".

Hopefully it means I'm getting closer to seeing all these characters in my head come to life one day. As my mother keeps reminding me, she ain't getting any younger!  

Turbulence Update or We will, we will rock you!

A lot has happened in a very short period of time. Namely this:

Director: I hate the title. Why can’t you come up with a better title? We really need to change the title! Have you changed the title yet?

Me: I actually quite like it.

Director: It sucks. It’s terrible. I hate it. Have you SEEN the Ray Liotta film of the same name?

Me: We’re not remaking that film.

Director: It makes it sound like the whole thing is set on a plane.

Me: Well, it starts on a plane…

Director: Yes, yes, I know. But does it end on a plane? Well, does it?

Me: It’s a thematic title. Our main character’s world is rocked. Get it… rocked. Like in turbulence (does shimmy action to demonstrate the point).

Director: Did I mention… I. HATE. IT?!!!!!!

Me: Do you want me to get the feedback sheets from the reading and tell you what the audience thought?

Director: We need a new title!

Me: Sixty one percent liked it. If this were a Federal election every single seat would be won by the Opposition. It’s a landslide!!!

Director: Oh, so now it’s set on a mountain, is it?

Okay, in fairness to Tim the conversation didn’t quite go like that and yes, for the record, the Ray Liotta film sucks.

However, in the space of one week, we now have producers on board and they will be taking the project to market as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival next week. How did this all happen?

Dissolve to flashback:

There I was sitting in a music room at Leederville TAFE having been browbeaten by Tim to attend a ScreenWest industry briefing… on FAQs and website navigation.

Me (Voice-over): Why am I sitting in a music room listening to people talk about FAQs? What even is an FAQ? I should look that up. I wonder if there’s a website?

A revamped funding initiative – Feature Navigator – was fast approaching and we were looking for a producer. Determined not to drink free booze and eat free food paid by our taxpayer’s money, Tim insisted we flee instead to deepest, darkest Oxford Street to discuss projects and strategy. A list of prospective producers was made, most of whom were drinking free booze and eating free food while I munched on my decidedly not free Chicken and Cashews at Hans Café.

Yes, for the purposes of this post, Tim is the villain while I will be your hero and amiable narrator. I expect I will pay for this is no small measure later in proceedings. Insert smiley emoticon J to denote humour and general plea for clemency.

The very next day (a Thursday) I had coffee with a previous collaborator Chris Richards-Scully to touch base and sound him out about Feature Navigator. Chris and his producing partner, Michael Facey (who I’ve also worked with), formed Archangel Pictures back in 2009.

Chris immediately expressed an interest in Turbulence so the discussion was twofold: Tim and I teaming up with Archangel Pictures to submit feature film projects for the Feature Navigator (FN) round; and the possibility of Archangel producing Turbulence.

Chris sounded out Michael; I spoke to Tim, and a meeting was set for Saturday lunchtime. Something kept nagging me about this day but everything was set. Then I remembered… it was my birthday!

The meeting took place (hey, I’m a professional) but Chris was unfortunately unable to attend. We agreed to discuss projects for FN and to send Michael and Chris the reading draft of Turbulence. The script was sent out later that day, early afternoon-ish, and I went off to get spoilt by mum’s home cooking.

I get a call the next day, not more than 24 hours later, and Chris and Michael have both read the script, love it, and want to option it!

Options and agreements and lawyers notes ensue. The following Thursday evening the four of us meet, clarifications are sought and made, and we reach an in principle agreement that Archangel Pictures will produce Turbulence and pitch it at market in Melbourne. The final paperwork is to be signed but this is a promising step. We also agree on the three projects we will submit for the FN round.

Everything is in place… except for this:

Producer: So, about this title…?

Me: Arrrrggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Working with Directors - Upcoming Guest Article

A quick plug for a blog run by one of my colleagues, director Chris Richards-Scully who also lectures at the Central Institute of Technology. It is called So You Want To Be A Director? and is designed to be "... a resource for student drama directors..." 

It has links to a variety of blogs including from students doing their diploma course as well as guest articles from local filmmakers such as Aaron McCann (It's a Snap!), Ethan Marrell (Super Dingo) and Jeff Asselin (The Billabong).

I have been asked to contribute an article and at some stage you will be able to read my musings on Working with Directors – A Screenwriter’s Perspective.

An excerpt:

Yes, often there should be creative friction between writer and director as the ultimate and only goal is to develop the best possible screenplay to make the best possible movie. That’s why it’s critical to choose wisely when working with a director (and vice versa). Ego cannot be a factor. It should be a relationship based on equality and mutual respect. I would also add words like integrity and a shared storytelling sensibility. It also helps if you genuinely like the person as you’re going to spend a lot of time over the course of many drafts working together.

If you're an aspiring director, a filmmaker looking for a consolidated online resource or simply someone interested in film, check out the blog here.

More Shout Outs - Perth Film Industry

While I'm handing out kudos to local film-makers, here's a few more:

Director Chris Richards-Scully has set up a Vimeo page with videos of his short films here. Check out the diverse range of genres and subject matter with faces not often seen in Australian cinema prominent.


Kanowna (short film) - Teaser trailer from Chris Richards-Scully on Vimeo.

For bi-monthly readings of local feature scripts join the Perth Actors Collective Facebook page. Next reading is on 27 July featuring a new play by David Stevens, writer of Breaker Morant and The Sum of Us, and directed by Mark DeFriest.

Speaking of Mark, I caught up with him at the second Actors Lounge Dinner which is an initiative under the Perth Film Network banner. I have attended the first two and they are far more intimate affairs than the general networking nights. Gives you a great opportunity to talk at length to other people in the film industry, mainly actors but not exclusively so. The venues, meals and price have also been very good so a fun evening. Check out the Facebook page here for more details.

Finally, for younger actors, check out the Filmbites website for details of their courses for different age groups.

(While you're busy clicking 'like' on Facebook, my page is here.)

Have fun networking and being inspired to be creative!

Breakthrough

I was delighted to discover today that my script The Red Bride was one of two projects from ScreenWest's Feature Navigator programme to receive funding. The feedback on the screenplay was excellent and I am equally delighted for my director, Chris Richards-Scully and producers, Jocelyn Quioc and David Revill, who have supported and encouraged me at every step throughout the rewrite process.

We have been working on this project for quite some time but Feature Navigator was the catalyst needed to kick it up a notch. Not only from the quality of the feedback (thank you Sue, Elissa, Jonathan and Simon) but for a real sense of momentum with only a three month window to deliver a complete page one rewrite.

There is still much work to be done but this gives us the resources to shape the script into a fully market-ready product. The goal now is nothing less than to get into production by the end of the year.

Congratulations also to the Playthings team. It was interesting to see two genre scripts selected.

This is a great start to the year and I am excited as to what 2011 may bring. I would also add, if you have the opportunity to be involved in workshops like Feature Navigator, grab it with both hands. An expression of mine my collaborators would be familiar with is "getting in the room" - sometimes that is half the battle because once you're there, amazing and talented people will help make you a better writer and improve your project no end.

And yes, Simon, it truly is a ghost story now! :-)

The Red Bride Update

Since Feature Navigator back in mid-October where we received expert feedback from a range of consultants, I have been working on a page one rewrite of my feature script The Red Bride. That was delivered to my producers and director on 17 December. Today was time for feedback and notes at a marathon 8 hour script session.

Oh okay, there was a little break for a barbecue luncheon but other than that it was a full on, scene by scene examination of the draft.

I co-opted my parents' place down in Cottesloe with its lovely courtyard for said proceedings and we were royally spoilt for food and drink on a perfect Perth day.

The draft is in pretty good shape but copious notes were taken, certain scenes haggled over, arguments won and lost, characters assassinated and revived as these things often go.

Right now I am mentally exhausted but it was a great day and I'd like to thank my TRB colleagues Chris Richards-Scully, Jocelyn Quioc and David Revill (... with a surprise cameo performance from Wayne Nicholson) for the rigorous discourse. Special thanks to Mum and Dad for the hospitality.

Next stage, filtering through all the feedback and doing another pass. Deadline for final submission, 17 January.

Feature Navigator

Six teams of film-makers shuffle nervously in their seats. Eyes dart. Throats clear. Fingers drum.

Interspersed throughout the room are representatives from Screen Australia, ScreenWest, the Australian Writers' Guild... and the three consultants who will generously offer their expertise, counsel and good humour over the coming days.

Introductions are made. Expectations set. Projects announced...

So begins Feature Navigator, a week long development workshop for feature film projects. And what a diverse group of films they are - horror, psychological thriller, a Bollywood style comedy, children's adventure, period drama, and our own supernatural mystery.

I know some of the people around the table but there are a lot of new and unknown faces. We are all colleagues but also competitors - only two teams will receive development money based on the next draft delivered in three months time. A draft that will be immeasurably enhanced by the sessions we're about to go through.

We meet the Head of Development at Screen Australia, Martha Coleman, who later that day (Monday) gives an engaging and informative session, described here. The following day The Red Bride team have a thirty minute 'meet and greet' with Martha - the project is discussed, who we are, what we've done, what we hope to do.

Then it's down to business. First up - Sue Murray who was an Executive Producer on Dr. Plonk, Ten Canoes, Tom White and co-produced Alexandra's Project with Rolf de Heer. The script is discussed at length and I am delighted with Sue's insight and rigour. This is exactly how it should be and I feel comfortable with the back and forth. There are some very perceptive observations I had not considered (or heard) before and this is like gold. Chris (director) and David (*co-producer) are also engaged in the creative conversation and Sue's comments about the team and Chris' directing style are very positive. Then it's on to marketing, casting and other matters. A thoroughly positive and valuable consultation done with great grace and precision.

Tomorrow, I am really pleased to be back in the company of Messrs. Rawlinson and van der Borgh whose workshop earlier in the year I was most impressed with. Then Elissa Down (The Black Balloon) - who I know from her Perth days - on Friday. Elissa has spent the last two years in Los Angeles developing a slate of projects and it will be fascinating to hear more of that process.

I am feeling good about the future of the script and embracing the momentum this sort of intense scrutiny delivers. More reports as events unfold...

Special mentions to Alan Payne from the WA Branch of the Australian Writer's Guild and Rikki Lea Bestall from ScreenWest for making Feature Navigator possible and for the quality of consultants engaged.

* My other co-producer, Jocelyn Quioc, would love to be with us but is unfortunately unable to attend due to work commitments.

Hi Concept!

Spent an enjoyable afternoon catching up with my director to do a debrief on his trip to LA, progress of the short film Kanowna, outcomes of the development workshop and next steps with my feature script. Most enjoyable of all was pitching back and forth some high concept ideas to explore for new feature projects.

Agreed to devote a day to pursue this properly - audience, genre and concept firmly in mind. We might even get around to characters!

Seriously, the knock on me is that I tend to over-complicate things in my writing and stripping back to high concept without the layering would be more advantageous. Kind of like Forrest Gump ... without the chocolates ... *sound of crickets and tumbleweed*

Okay, I need to work on this :-)

Spitballing & Shooting the Breeze

Two acts, to use the American vernacular, invaluable to a screenwriter.

Yesterday I was shooting the breeze with writer-director Michael Bond (Passengers, Bad Credit and Aliens) in a restaurant bar in Northbridge for a couple of hours. Engaging tales of his experiences in Hollywood, the upcoming series for SyFy channel, new methods of distribution for independent films and an update on the progress of Hotel Blue. Very entertaining indeed. Even the pizza was good.

Today was a marathon session with director Chris Richards-Scully where we spitballed ideas on brand marketing using social media, the feature version (that Chris is writing) of his short film Kanowna, next steps for The Red Bride and business strategies for 2010. In this case the strawberry smoothie at the local cafe was most refreshing.

(Yes, it is mandatory for these two activities to be accompanied by food and beverages).

Not a bad way to pass the time on the hottest two days in Perth (42 degrees Celsius) since Hades opened a separate annex for followers of Twilight, zombie films and Sarah Palin ...

Development Notes - The Red Bride

The feature script The Red Bride originally started life as a short feature called Shar Chi written by Coral Drouyn based on an idea by Chris Richards-Scully. They shared joint copyright and the script was, as I understand it, submitted to ScreenWest's Family Matters initiative around 2002.

The story tells of a traumatised Chinese-Australian girl who is haunted during Seventh Moon by a demon created by her estranged Chinese grandfather's past misdeeds.

The source of the trauma? Her mother's suicide. Manifested by self mutilation, drug taking and casual sex (the first and third now absent, the drug taking still present in a different context).

The mythology? The Hungry Ghost Festival where the gates of Hell are opened and demons walk the earth during the seventh lunar month.

The grandfather's guilt? An act from his past in China circa 1949.

The tag line? You can't run from the demons of your past.

The girl must confront and uncover her grandfather's secret to defeat the demon. Which in this version ended in a CGI style supernatural confrontation.

My involvement started in 2005 when I met one of the producers, Jocelyn Quioc, at a Writers' Guild-SPAA "script dating" night. Ten producers. Ten writers. Six minutes each. I recall talking about a short script I'd written for a local actor that had similar themes and Jocelyn asked if I was interested in working on the project which, by this time, was called Seventh Moon.

I met with Chris, watched his short films and was particularly impressed with Icarus, a science fiction short he made while at AFTRS. All his films have a strong cultural thematic of identity and belonging which suited Seventh Moon perfectly as the Eurasian grand-daughter struggles to comprehend what culture and traditions she should follow.

My first task was to present my thoughts on the original script (and a later hybrid feature script/outline by another writer) and my ideas for the direction of a new draft.

One of my biggest problems? This was, as I would jokingly say, the slowest revenge story in history - it took the demon some 5-6 decades to exact its vengeance! The other problem was the grandfather - I knew where he was in 1949 and what he was in the present but there was no sense of who he was. So I created a complete back story for the intervening years and how he came to be in Australia as well as a separate mythology for the demon (in the form of a curse).

A 34 page treatment followed in early 2006 of which there were a few drafts from memory. The first draft of the script was dated 28 March 2006.

Chris, Jocelyn and the second producer, David Revill were frantically working on finalising Iron Bird for its premiere in July (a great success). This was a 30 minute war film with a strong supernatural component. The first meeting post the Iron Bird screening, Chris announced he was over doing the supernatural and wanted Seventh Moon to be a Hong Kong gangster film. Say what?! I was, to say the least, a little surprised.

So started the second iteration of the script and the beauty of rewriting. Suddenly, our heroine's brother, a secondary character at best, became the lead. Eventually the entire second act would take place in Hong Kong. And a new mythology involving, believe it or not, Genghis Khan was incorporated!

For a year Chris and myself would meet to discuss this new version which spiralled out of control as our imaginations took hold. A draft was written that is absolutely awful but had some nuggets that will go in a drawer to be resurrected at some future date.

Then, for reasons I can't remember, there was a third iteration where we took the Chinese mythology literally and the Hong Kong MTR became a representation of the 9 levels of Hell. At this point I was writing a synopsis I did not understand or even believe in. I was trying to use Chris Vogler's The Writer's Journey which only befuddled me more as I was trying to hit pre-determined marks instead of organically telling a story.

Finally, I said to Chris that this was nuts and that we should go back to the original version of the story which was more self-contained, intimate and, more importantly, I knew how to write. Thankfully, he agreed.

A year wasted? Yes and no. During this time Chris and I worked out our storytelling styles and how our creative collaboration would gel on this and other projects. There are also those nuggets for future development. And it reinforced what our story should be by exploring what it definitely was not.

But there was a problem - whose story was it? Jocelyn had been struggling with the same question on Two Fists One Heart in her capacity as associate producer (for mine, the father in that movie is far more interesting than the presumptive lead). Second problem - the grandfather in our script is at least 75 years old and Chinese. Hard to cast. Hard to market.

So the next draft was a little experimental (yes, I cheated) - it had two first acts (from each main character's POV), a truncated second act then the climax. Which, by the way, we always wanted to move away from a CGI spectacle.

It was submitted to ScreenWest for a development round but as it wasn't a shooting script it wasn't funded (don't get me started on the definition of "development"). ScreenWest then sent the script, without our prior knowledge or approval to a script assessment service in England. I was beyond furious as the script doesn't belong to them and was not in a state for that level of exposure. Sure, they paid but that wasn't the point.

I refused to read the resultant report for weeks ... but when I did it was a very good 8 pages of concise and constructive commentary. Nothing that surprised me as I knew it was one of those drafts where you try something different.

Since then, the new draft has been ruthless in making our heroine the absolute centre of the story with a traditional three act structure and clear third act (the problem with a lot of Australian scripts that simply don't have one).

How different is it from Coral's original draft? Chalk and cheese. New characters have been created - notably Van (Timmy Vanstone), Johnny Chung, Chen amongst others. The mythology has been enriched and heightened. Our heroine and antagonist - grand-daughter (Jade) and grandfather (Huang) - have been completely reworked along with the Caucasian father playing a much larger role. The nature of the demon is totally revised. The brother has gone from secondary character to lead to afterthought to Jade's female friend! The third act is light years from anything in preceding versions. As is the essential conflict between Jade and Huang.

And the copyright issue has been resolved once I learnt that the producers didn't own the rights. With advice from the Writers' Guild, we negotiated a fee for Coral's "half" of the copyright which Chris then assigned to Forgeworks. Lastly, the name was changed to The Red Bride after we discovered that a film called Seventh Moon had been shot in Hong Kong also using the Hungry Ghost festival as a pretext.

The story is now a "multi-generational family drama with a demon kicking around" as I lightheartedly put it. More work still needs to be done but my confidence level with the material is at an all-time high. Next step will be notes from my Forgeworks colleagues and readers then onto the next draft. After that we should have a script that Jocelyn and David can take to market.

From there ... stay tuned!

Kanowna - from vision to page to screen

Today I had an opportunity to have a look at a fine cut of Chris Richards-Scully's short film, Kanowna. This takes me full circle from the days when we were breaking the story for The Red Bride when Chris would ask, "have I told you about Kanowna?" For a long time that's all I knew - a title!

Eventually, he pitched the story to me in typical director style - shot by shot. He could clearly see the film in his head so my response simply was, "write it down!". And to his credit he did.

I can't remember when he sent me a script but it must be well over a year ago. Very lyrical and very Chris with a focus on characters you don't normally see in Australian shorts, in this case, Japanese in the Kalgoorlie Goldfields circa 1902. I suggested stripping out some dialogue (and it was pretty sparse to begin with), tinkering with some lines and from memory, slightly re-arranging some sequences. We had a couple of meetings after which there was a pretty good draft.

Producers came and went, including a strange meeting I went to with one producer who had a different take on the story (that I didn't understand and certainly wasn't part of Chris' vision). A new draft was written. However, the lead actor - Dustin Clare - quite perceptively remarked to Chris that it seemed like the new draft was "explaining things". He was right - that draft was scrapped along with the producer.

So I had a pretty good idea of the story when I sat down to watch the fine cut. But it's always a treat to see words on a page turned into images on screen and while this hasn't been colour graded yet it looks terrific.

I knew from Chris' blog he was looking more for comments on structure and my main feedback was regarding the opening sequence. At the moment the film opens on the protagonist with some off screen dialogue that I remember from Chris' very first draft but here it jarred. It also didn't maximise the introduction of the antagonist - the beats just didn't feel right.

There is, however, a great cinematic introduction to that character in the next scene and I suggested dropping the O.S. and building to the essential conflict in the story. That's as much an intuitive story-telling thing than anything else but Chris and the editor Sarah Clarke were appreciative of the different perspective. It will be interesting to see how it plays when they take another swing at that sequence.

Ultimately, it's all about making the film as good as it can possibly be. There was probably a gap of over a year between when I was assisting with the script to the screening of the fine cut where I had no involvement at all. But being able to contribute in any way is always a privilege.

Case Study - "In and Under"

"In and Under" is a television series idea created by myself and Chris Richards-Scully after we discovered we both shared a love of Australian Rules Football though, unfortunately, he follows the Dockers and I'm an Eagles man [think Liverpool v Everton or Lakers v Clippers].

We kicked around a few ideas but anyone who knows me understands I am a HUGE West Wing fan and I always saw the show as a workplace drama that just happened to be set in a football club (the wonderful Australian series by Geoffrey Atherden, Grass Roots, is another reference point).

The other element was that, at the time, there was a lot of press around the entry of the 17th franchise into the AFL - the Gold Coast team. So the show would be about a fledgling club entering the big time.

Chris and I decided we would take a satirical approach to matters as the AFL has a tendency to be quite the authoritarian regime and very Victorian-centric. So the upstarts from the West would give them what for.

But where would our fictional 18th franchise be based? We settled on Kalgoorlie and, discarding the obvious nicknames, I came up with the Rush "In honour of all the brave men and women who came to the goldfields in the 1890s". The fictional consortium "KBC18" [Kalgoorlie-Boulder Consortium for the 18th franchise] ended up being the production company name we used.

The initial description of the project was this:

Welcome to the AFL’s newest team – the Kalgoorlie Rush. Setting up an Australian Rules football team from scratch is never easy – there’s the recruitment of the players, hiring of the coaching staff , the fight for members and sponsors in a cut-throat market, the need for a suitable venue and the search for the obligatory white haired, old trainer. Not to mention the massive egos of all those involved. When the first ball of the new season is bounced will Kalgoorlie be ready to “feel the Rush”?

Next came a three minute "pilot" we shot in a day - with Chris directing, Michael Facey producing and me re-writing so I didn't have to replace an ill actor - for the Optus One80 competition seen here:

Suffice to say we didn't win though I thought it was a pretty good effort given that no-one was being paid and it was all done within a very tight deadline.

Next step was to work on a bible detailing the premise, characters, story lines, arcs etc and then came the news ScreenWest, the local government funding agency was asking for entries for a hothouse TV workshop.

A lot of work later, we handed in our submission to find out we just missed out on a coveted place. They liked the writing, liked the characters ... didn't like the football, didn't like Kalgoorlie.

Resisting the temptation to set the series in a zero-G strip club on the Moon, we persevered and the producer and I duly marched off to ScreenWest to get feedback on why our baby had failed.

Which I must say, confused the hell out of me! "What's the twist?" "The dramatic premise?" I vaguely recall making a joke while sitting through this that, no, our show didn't have a character who was secretly a lesbian vampire. Which seemed to be what they were asking.

Sanity was restored when we had a brilliant 90 minutes with Mike Bullen (Cold Feet) as a free consultation arranged by ScreenWest for the bridesmaids. We hit it off straight away as, while he didn't know much about AFL, he had pitched an NRL series to the networks ... and, I later discovered in the wonder that is Google, had pitched an English version of The West Wing!

We discussed the characters in depth, the premise, the inherent problems of the show and the extract of the full pilot script I had written. I had tried a time fractured narrative ala In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Parts 1 & 2 from The West Wing but Mike thought I was "pulling my punches" and a more chronological approach and introduction to the characters was called for.

But here's the main problem - which is exactly what he found with his NRL show idea - it's almost impossible to get a sports-themed show up in this country. If it's AFL, Queensland and NSW won't watch it; NRL you lose Victoria - so you're carving up your audience. If only someone had said it that simply earlier instead of all the mumbo-jumbo we were hearing - sigh.

Yes, we vehemently agreed they weren't sports shows (just like Field of Dreams isn't a "baseball movie") but that is the perception issue that has so far proven insurmountable.

Now, I know I can write these characters and this show and I know it could be a fun little series but it's on the back burner until we work out a way to overcome the "sports" concern.

So what's the lesson in all this? Well, ScreenWest will no doubt be calling for submissions early next year for the next hothouse. This time I need to be more pragmatic about what I am going to spend hours and hours working on as a show concept.

I LOVE science fiction (think the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica not Prosthetics City, 2029) but there's not a snowflake's chance in hell a commercial network would consider science fiction in Australia. I mean, even the best stuff from overseas gets shown at half-past tomorrow, 2.5 light years after being screened in the US.

I'm thinking maybe a medical show ... no-one's done one of those, right?

What is this Forgeworks of which you type?

It's a name you'll shortly see a lot more of so who or what exactly is Forgeworks?

Well, it originally was the company that did the special effects work on Iron Bird, an ambitious 30 minute short film that blended the supernatural and war genres to tell the story of an Australian Lancaster bomber crew over Dresden on the night of the 1945 fire bombing. (The Battle of Britain meets The X-Files as one commentator described it at its premiere)

The three original principles of the company, Chris Richards-Scully (director), Jocelyn Quioc (producer) and David Revill (producer) were joined by myself in October 2008 as Forgeworks evolved into an entity dedicated to developing and producing feature film projects.

Our main focus at the moment is the supernatural thriller script The Red Bride which will be submitted to the Hong Kong Film-mart in the next fortnight.

We are also developing a business plan in parallel with work on a slate of other projects. A website will follow as will our Mission statement and details of upcoming activities.

So it's exciting times and 2010 promises to be a big year. I'll talk more later about the type of films we want to make and how that creative process has developed. But for now, look out for the name and our fabulous logo (designed in-house by Chris).

Kanowna (short film)

The director I work with as part of Forgeworks, Chris Richards-Scully, has been shooting a short film set in 1902 called Kanowna. I had some early involvement with script editing and attending a few creative meetings and it's good to see this one get off the ground.

The pitch:

In a dusty, dry cemetery in a little known corner of Western Australia there is a plaque that tells a tragic tale from our gold mining past, but this tale isn’t one you’d expect. It is a story of the loss of a newly born baby, a double murder and a gunfight. It is 1902, the major participants are Japanese and the place is called Kanowna.

The film stars Dustin Clare (Underbelly 2) and Peta Sergeant (Satisfaction).

Chris has set up a blog at http://kanownathefilm.blogspot.com/