Riding the Wave

Over the course of all the years of development, there are highs and lows. Sometimes it seems more lows than highs, and you begin to get resigned to disappointment and knockback. Easy to live life in a fog of muffled depression, and to lose hope.

But the good times, when they come, are all the sweeter. Today I received a readout from my director Gillies on the last draft of the script. He made some excellent suggestions which I could instantly see would be improvements - the value of having an experienced eye, and that of someone who is a writer himself, cast over the screenplay.

As well as the suggestions, he had some accolades - "As before, I saw it all playing in front of my eyes as I read... the characters and dialogue sparkle... " Such encouragement in the life of a writer is not to be underestimated.

Of course, the changes to the script need to be made, and I need to get onto them pronto. But I do it now with a song in my heart.

Also yesterday I had coffee with my producer friend Tim Sanders and his wife Ava, as they passed through on their way up to Auckland where Tim will be overseeing a new TV series. Great to catch up and swap a few war stories.

Making a film is as much about relationships forged in the long haul of the creative process as it is about the madness of the actual process.