Just Talking

A long conversation with Marilyn Milgrom, Head of Development at NZ Film Commission, the other day. I outlined the recent background to our project, including the fact that we now have a new draft of the script, and that I was now the NZ producer.

It was the latter point which creates most difficulty for them. Despite the fact I've produced a play which toured both nationally and to Edinburgh, a short film and a feature doco, I don't have experience on a feature. Even with veteran Tim Sanders looking over my shoulder and assisting in the process, my producer role is a stumbling block for the Commission.

However, Marilyn was as ever helpful, suggesting that as the development phase of the project was virtually finished, it would be more helpful to pass things on to Mladen Ivancic who handles the production financing side of things. The current aim is to try to get a meeting with him and me and Tim sometime in the next week or two, where we can thrash things through.

Were we to get the go-ahead to apply for funding, it would be at the June board meeting, and there's a ton of paperwork to be done before then.

Meanwhile, as I said to Marilyn, we have a steely determination to shoot in November, with or without the Film Commission's participation. We're going to make a movie, despite the odds...