Distractions

I've been down in the fair city of Dunedin for most of the week, where among other things I was doing some filming for a doco I'm making. Our venerable director (of Moon) meanwhile has been shovelling snow in the Outer Hebrides, and hopefully also reading the latest draft of the script.

The gestation period of a feature is so long that there are these inevitable ingressions of other matters, some of them necessary to the putting of bread on the table. The danger is that in a year of production, they accumulate to the stage where there's insufficient time to get all the necessary tasks completed.

My own concentration is complicated by the fact that I'm in the midst of moving into a new edit studio/office, so I find my attention wandering. But given that it's March in a couple of days, which gives us around 7 months until preproduction begins in earnest, I need to regain focus very quickly.

But this is not just filmmaking - it's the retention of dreams amidst all the sidebars and distractions of life which silently erode them. And a certain stubbornness in the face of inevitable obstacles.

Arthur

The story of Arthur, hero of The Insatiable Moon, is based on a real character I knew in Ponsonby. He was a wonderful guy, who would come and have conversations with me regularly. We had a kind of revolving loan, whereby I'd lend him some money, and he'd eventually pay me back and immediately ask for another loan.

When he died (of renal failure caused by medication) he still owed me $20. Arthur was a larger than life character, a fluent Maori speaker who believed he had a special mission in life. He always wanted me to tell everyone about him. After he died, I decided to do just that, and wrote the novel which is a fictional impression of his world.

Now that we're under way to make the movie, I guess his story will in some way go out to touch the world, just as he would have wanted. Seems fitting really.

Buckets

Director Gillies Mackinnon and I have been having a bit of banter. He's in the process of reading the latest (and hopefully final) draft of the script. We've been re-establishing the writer - director relationship which is crucial to the task of making a good film.

As part of the correspondence Gillies said "The key to this is that everyone is making the same film - and this is not always true. When not, misery can descend like buckets of shite. But when we're all in the same army, it can be a strange kind of stressful bliss."

The dream of what the movie can be - the vision of the story - that's the key to a happy team and a film that has some substance. Too late to think about that when the cameras start rolling. We need to be "pressing on" (to use a Dylan phrase) toward the same end.

The reason I've been so keen on having Gillies involved in the project is that I think he and I have the same vision of what this is all about.

My production company is named 'Holy Bucket Productions' - hopefully not a bucket of shite...

Rawiri

Last week I drove up to Auckland to have a coffee with Rawiri Paratene, who will play the lead role of Arthur. Rawiri is one of those rare people in the industry - a respected actor who is universally loved. It says a lot about who he is and how he acts (in life as well as on screen).

The first time I met him (2003) he was in the midst of huge critical acclaim for Whale Rider. He gave me two days of his time. On the first day, he welcomed me into his home and we ate scones and drank tea on the back verandah. I was all set to begin talking script issues, but Ra had different ideas. He took me for a drive out to the beach, and there we spent hours walking around the coast, telling each other our life stories. We talked it all through, until we felt that we knew a little of how each of us had got to be the people we were. At the end of it all, Ra pronounced us ready to begin work.

It was a superb lesson for me in what is really important in life. And I was more convinced than ever that Rawiri was the man to play Arthur.

Last Tuesday we were finally talking about the mechanics of getting the film made - shooting days, locations etc. True to form, he was generous in offering whatever contacts might be helpful for the process. Next month he's off to London where he will be performing at the Globe through to about September, so we needed to get a few things sorted before he goes.

Funnily enough, he now has an office in Ponsonby, where the film will be shot. Call it research...

A New Role

As part of the new deal, I've taken up the position of NZ producer of the film, through my production company Holy Bucket Productions. It's unusual to have a writer as producer, though I have a little previous experience as producer of the play Jerusalem, Jerusalem which toured internationally, and also the short film Cake Tin which picked up an award at a Hollywood festival.

But being co-producer on a feature is a different ball game. Fortunately David Ball in Wales is doing the budgeting and scheduling, drawing on decades of experience. Tim Sanders, who has taken on production of a TV series which will demand his time for the next little while, has taken the role of Executive Producer and will help to keep me on the straight and narrow.

One of the major tasks I have is to raise NZ$500,000 for the film through equity investment. Not much if you say it quickly. But this is not the most opportune time in the world economy to be raising finance. I'm confident I'll get there. This is a substantial project, with good people and good prospects.

Currently I'm drawing up documents for potential investors, and planning an investor's meeting sometime in the next couple of months. We've retained Mr Film Legals, Matt Emery, to sort out the nuts and bolts for us.

The November shoot date certainly focuses the mind...

Give Us A Green

The year (2008) trundled on. In May it had seemed that we were closing. Now we were marooned for lack of a distribution deal, and the market growing more miserly by the month. In December the UK producers wrote to me to ask how I'd feel about going the low budget route in order to get the film made.

The concept was to fix a November 2009 date for first day of Principal Photography and shoot digital with who and what we had available. It was to be a commitment to the integrity of the story, and damn the torpedoes. I considered the prospects and agreed.

Next step was the conversation with Rawiri Paratene. Would he stay involved in the project on this basis? He agreed without hesitation; an indication of the sort of guy he is.

We assumed that Gillies wouldn't want to continue with us on this basis - but we assumed wrong! At a meeting with our UK producers, Pip and Rob, he agreed to stay in and was once again excited about the project. Especially when I gave my commitment to wind back the script drafts and remove most of the changes which he'd found so difficult.

The budget was now down from NZ$9m to a minimalist NZ$2m, meaning we would need to call in favours from all over the place. But the film was finally going to be made. 2009 would be the year!

And that, dear reader, brings you roughly up to date with the backstory of The Insatiable Moon. From here on in I'll be describing the blow by blow details as we march toward November of this year.

A Not Quite Done Deal

In order to access NZ Film Commission funding, we needed one small piece of the jigsaw to be in place - a UK distribution deal. This is in order to assure the Commish of the commercial viability of the film - fair enough.

We had come back from Cannes with several live possibilities. One of the most promising was Film Four, and we felt that Moon would be a good fit with them. They had a good look through our material in the ensuing weeks. Finally they came back saying "we found the script to be a very uplifting and uncynical read, and think that you've crafted a script that really does sell the idea at its heart and create a world where such things could be and are possible which we thought was a real achievement". Unfortunately, they passed on it.

Icon said "I thought it was a charming read - strong concept with some very universal themes," but passed also. Transmission said: "We really like this script, a great piece of writing with a lot of heart and brilliant characterisations," and passed.

Another live possibility was Metrodome. They came back to us very early after Cannes, with interest in providing a P&A deal for distribution. Their head of acquisitions read the script and had this to say: "I read the script over the weekend and I found it incredibly poignant and life affirming. It's a beautiful story." They wanted to discuss details of a potential deal.

Unfortunately the UK summer intervened, and everyone went on holiday. By the time they came back, Metrodome's head of acquisitions had been promoted out of her position, and as is the practice in the film industry, the new guy didn't want to inherit any of his predecessor's projects (any kudos would go to the previous person). So they passed, though wanted to be kept informed.

By this stage things were beginning to tighten up in movieland. Everyone was reporting difficulties in getting presales, with some companies beginning to go to the wall. That small piece of the jigsaw was looking increasingly impossible.

Two Into One

The smallest of fishhooks. One of the things we did in Cannes was meet with the NZ Film Commission's development team. They were funding what was intended to be the final draft of the film, before it headed to the Board for a production funding application.

They had discovered what the 'problem' was with the script. Two of the female lead characters needed to be combined into one. I listened with initial apprehension, but took the suggestion on board. Don't bite the hand that feeds, and all that. And, more importantly, I could see the rationale which lay behind it.

So when I got back from Cannes, I ripped into the next draft. No substantial change in a script is simple, because it alters the entire structure and everything needs to be reworked. Nevertheless, I ended up with a script which I felt was halfway decent, and met the requirements of the NZ Film Commission.

All of our production partners seemed to agree. Except one. Our director, Gillies Mackinnon. He hated the new script. And he fumed about development executives ruining good projects. He and I had some of our usual blunt exchanges. But the upshot seemed to be that either the script went or he went.

Another chasm in the smooth highway of film production... where to from here?

Yes We Cannes!

2008 - six years since we got under way. Things are looking good. The NZ Film Commission finally comes on board by funding a new draft of the script. Both my UK and NZ producers are going to Cannes in May. I decide to use my script fee to join them there.

We prepare a promo vid for the festival, featuring Rawiri Paratene, Gillies Mackinnon, and moi. You can see it here. A variety of meetings are scheduled with potential distributors, as well as with Screen West Midlands and the NZ Film Commission. We get some promising reactions.

Cannes is mad. You can read my recounting of the experience here. A fair bit of wine was consumed. 

From there we headed off to London, where we met with our director, Gillies Mackinnon, for more eating and drinking. I stayed on for a few whiskies with Gillies, and we hit it off very well - always a good sign for the writer/director relationship.

Everything was looking set to go. With the budget set at somewhere between NZ$9m and $11m, the only box left to be ticked was a UK distribution deal. 

Surely we were nearly there. Surely?

Wales Rider

The Bradley Boys (now NZ producers) make an application to NZ Film Commission for some script funding. Despite having prime international cast and a hot director, we are turned down. The script needs more work - despite the fact the script is what attracted the stars in the first place...

Once again, things are looking grim. Welsh producer, David Ball, who has loved the story since the beginning, suggests to Pip Piper that if NZ doesn't want the story, it could be shot in Wales. Reluctant as I am to go down this route, it offers the chance to get the film shot. And I'm sick of the lack of support from the NZ end. So I begin redrafting the script with the strange scenario of a Maori psych patient finding himself in Cardiff.

But in one last attempt, I meet with the NZ Film Commission head of development. I tell her that in about 2 weeks time, the rights will pass to the UK and a NZ story will be lost forever. To be fair, she listens. I mention the dilemma I have to the NZ Writers Guild. They begin a little quiet agitation behind the scenes.

This is late 2007. The next thing I know I get a phone call from Tim Sanders. He's been rung by the Film Commission and asked about his involvement in the project. And the good news is, he's decided to come back on board as the NZ producer. This changes the whole scenario, and gives the Film Commission fresh confidence in the project.

We're back to setting a New Zealand film in New Zealand. Once again I'm feeling hugely upbeat about things.

Persistence Pays

Meanwhile, producer Pip Piper had been busy in the UK. With the audacity and persistence needed to be a feature producer, he went back once again to Gillies Mackinnon and asked him to reconsider taking on the role of director. To our absolute delight, this time he agreed. I began communicating with Gillies over the script and creative direction.

We quickly established a robust and lively correspondence over the film. Gillies, as a Glaswegian, was nothing if not blunt in his assessments, and I found it best to answer in kind. This resulted in a few exchanges which worried the producers ("Alright then, kill the fucking angels...") but Gillies and I were on common ground in understanding the importance of story. And as a director who has written himself, he has total respect for the place of the writer.

Partly on the back of Gillies' involvement, Pip moved on and began collecting interest from some key talent - always necessary to attract finance. Before long we had letters of interest from Tim Spall, James Nesbitt and John Rhys-Davies, along with our longstanding commitment from Rawiri Paratene.

Also, in the days when Tim Sanders had been shooting Perfect Creature in NZ, he Rawiri and I had lunch with Saffron Burrows. She expressed interest in the project and read the novel and the script.

With these solid affirmations from experienced actors, we felt we had a script and a project worthy of support. Surely now the film was well on the road to production...

Setbacks

Things were looking grim in 2005. We still hadn't secured a director. No director, no funding. Our NZ and UK producers had a meeting in Cannes to discuss the situation. The UK boys were contemplating turning the entire production over to Tim Sanders, to run as a NZ project rather than a UK/NZ copro.

Tim was getting involved in a number of other films which were taking up increasing amounts of his time. As a producer, he likes to have only a limited number of live projects on the go at a time. So it was, to the surprise and dismay of one and all, he announced that he was stepping back from Moon.

It left us all floundering. This was a NZ film and we needed a NZ producer. Enter the Bradley brothers, Grant and Dale. They took up the NZ end and did what they could to advance the project. But it's always difficult to pick up something when you haven't been involved from the beginning.

Things seemed to be on a downward spiral...

Conversations

So the search for directors turned back to New Zealand. We tried Taika Waititi (Eagle vs Shark) but he never returned our calls (check your messages Taika).

Then Tim Sanders, in the midst of shooting Perfect Creature, started a conversation with Brad McGann. Brad was doing post on In My Father's Den. He had a meet in London with Tim, and with Pip Piper and Rob Taylor - the UK producers of Moon. The initial encounter seemed good, and Brad was interested.

We arranged a meeting in Auckland between Brad, Tim and moi (the humble screenwriter). Things did not go as well as we hoped. It soon became evident that Brad had a completely different storyline in mind than the one which had inspired my novel and screenplay. We got on fine, but there was a significant difference in creative vision for the project. After a couple of hours of trying to reconcile our differences, we parted company - both of us realising that this was something that was never going to happen. 

When I saw In My Father's Den some time later, I marvelled at my audacity in passing up Brad. But I had no doubt it was the right thing to do. A scriptwriter must always live and die for their story.

Directors

So Nicky Caro had turned us down. After surveying the field in NZ we decided to try UK directors. We approached many, including Stephen Daldry and Stephen Fry. There was an exciting moment when we thought we had Fry hooked, but he got away.

The UK team were keen on Egyptian director Khaled El Hagar (Room to Rent) - he was keen to do it - but the NZ production team weren't convinced.

We thought we had a live option in Gillies Mackinnon. We liked him, he liked the script, we began talking. A brilliant director from Glasgow with a ton of experience and a real eye for talent (of the acting variety), it seemed that we had found our man. He understood what the story was about like no one else had. But then, over Easter of 2005, he made the call that he didn't want to leave his family for the duration of the shoot, and reluctantly turned us down. I wrote an impassioned email to him, asking him to reconsider. He said he would. 

Out walking with friends near a mountain lake in New Zealand, I watched the full moon rise over a street sign "Mackinnon Drive". I took it to be a sign. A few days later Gillies told us he'd thought it over and still wouldn't do it.

Enter Emily Young (Kiss of Life), winner of a BAFTA for most promising young director. She read, was excited, and we began to exchange emails. We were all quite upbeat about her initial approach, and her agent was keen. But as discussions went on, it became apparent that as a writer/director, she wanted to tackle the script. For some reason, I wasn't keen on that. We parted company.

The search had been going on for years now. We couldn't seem to find the right person at the right time in the UK, so we decided to look again in NZ. Would this be easier?

Learning

I read all the right books. I bought a copy of Final Draft. I went to Arista seminars. I learned about structure and subtext and how the inciting incident should happen on page 16 (if you haven't seen it, Charlie Kaufmann's Adaptation is the sweetest riff on all of this). It was a steep learning curve. How could 100 pages with so much white space on the page be so difficult to master? It made novel writing seem simple.

Did it help? For sure. You need to know the rules before you start screwing with them. The most original writers understand the craft they're subverting. But, and it's a big BUT, I'm sick to death of all the formulaic crap that pours out of the sweatshops of the industry, and the film funding bodies that know all the right patterns that a script must conform to.

As one Gillies Mackinnon has said:

"You get the feeling that there’s a culture dominating now which I can only describe

 as ‘ticking boxes’ – the idea that you can make a commercial film if you tick all the boxes. And 

I just think this is very very dull thinking. The Full Monty would never have got made that way, and other films that you could mention would never have got made that way. There’s a terrible kind of ‘genre’ thing – it’s like all the time, ‘Well what’s the genre?’ as if that’s going to answer the question. I feel as if there’s a weird artistic bureaucracy that’s set in right now which probably does make it more difficult for there to be any proper creative flow – because when you’re confronted with a lot of boxes that have to be ticked, it isn’t really sympathetic to that."

So I digested all that stuff, and got on with writing a second draft of the script. This one at a more leisurely pace than the first white-hot effort. Some things got better, and others suffered. I was learning.

But we still needed a director...

First Steps

Alright, so we decide to get going. Tim warns me this might take some time - Whale Rider took 10 years to get up, he reassures me. Yeah, but that was them and this is me, right? And we already have a head of steam on.

Okay, a director. Tim tries Nicky Caro, who he's just finished working with. She reads my first draft, agrees the story has something, but passes because she's working on the screenplay for Vintner's Luck, and is worried about some similarities in the story (like angels). I could point out that my angels came before Elizabeth Knox's, but that might be a tad insecure of me.

We decide to develop the film independently of funding agencies initially. Basically what that means is I get bugger all dosh. Still, the prospect of the film and potential sales of a new print of my novel make it an attractive proposition.

I discover, horror of horrors, that ten years of writing books and the odd play in no way equips me for writing screenplays. While my first draft was decent enough to get a few people excited (including one prophetic producer David Ball who wants to make it straight away), I begin to discover I'm a klutz when it comes to the art of screenwriting. Ah well, better learn something about it I guess...

As it was in the beginning...

So, was it 1997 that my first novel, The Insatiable Moon, was published under the Flamingo imprint? And I thought, hey, it would make a great film...

Then it was 2002 that a mate of mine in the UK, Pip Piper, optioned the book and asked me to write a screenplay. And I thought, well, how hard can it be? Who knew the story as well as me? So I knocked out a script in an embarrassingly short time.

In the meantime, a letter comes in the post from Rawiri Paratene, star of Whale Rider. He's just read my book and loved it, and wants to develop it into a script. Well, I tell him, I'm just doing it! So he says that's okay, just so long as you promise to let me play Arthur in the film.

I'm getting excited now. Rawiri suggests bringing on the New Zealand producer Tim Sanders (Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, Whale Rider). Better and better. The upshot of it is that in July 2003 there's a meeting in London. I stagger off the plane more than a little jet-lagged. Later that evening, there's five of us gathered round the table of an Italian restaurant: Pip Piper, Rob Taylor, Rawiri Paratene, Tim Sanders and me. We eat and drink and talk about the possibilities. Finally we make a decision - we're going to make a movie together.

We stagger out of the restaurant into the warm London night, and at the end of the street is the most impossibly huge full moon hanging on the horizon. Call us naive, but we took it to be a sign...

I'm thinking this should be shooting soon, maybe this year! That was 2003. That was six years ago. This blog is the agonising story of what has happened since then, and the journey toward the start of filming in November this year...