Booked Out

There hasn't been many updates for a while and there will be a bunch of people who think that the film will have wrapped shooting just now. Sadly that isn't the case but I feel that the film will be better off from what has happened.

I decided to postpone the shoot of the film about two months ago because I felt that there was a certain number of elements that we needed to have in place and we didn't have enough of them to continue at that point in time. In summary this was mostly financing, cast, locations and crew. A few small things you might say! I also had a point where if I went back to work then I would have the opportunity to shoot the film within 6-9 months or if I kept going then I would have had to wait longer.

The other milestone that was hit was the moment that we were scheduled to take money from our investors and personally this means a lot to me that people are willing to put their hard earned cash on the line and if I don't feel that I can do the film justice then I wasn't going to carry on regardless.

So what is the plan now... well first of all I think it was a really good period to stop at. I had learnt a lot up until that point and I can now use this additional knowledge over a longer time frame as well as refocusing efforts to make the film as good as it can be.

The plan now is to shoot the film in mid-Feb next year with the hope to have a cut ready to approach film festivals with by Autumn next year. So essentially by this time next year I will be sitting down watching a final cut of my film! I should write another blog on this at some moment but the idea of sitting in a room with a few hundred people watching my film terrifies me!

With the replan there are also some major personnel changes. I have managed to attract a producer to the project who I believe has the energy and enthusiasm that the project deserves. I spoke to a number of other candidates for this role and was never entirely happy with them for one reason or another but I am really looking forward to working with Sam. Hopefully he will be writing updates and useful insights in the months ahead.

On the acting line we unfortunately are having to look for new actors for the roles of Jacob and Treacle as there is a clash of schedules during our shooting time with Gabriela and Mark. I would like to thank Mark and Gabriela for their efforts up to this point and wish them all the best in their future projects.

So I hope you keep tracking the progress of the film over the next few months. Myself and Sam are fully wound back up (not sure I wound down but anyway) so there will be lots of interesting information on our progress coming up shortly.

Since the 27th of September Sam and Bryan have been working together on the aspects that were identified at their meeting. The Equity Investment Scheme is in it’s latter stages of re-development, we have made changes to the website (hence this update), and much much more.

Sam recently attended a 6-day intensive Producing Foundation Course at LFA which has given him a lot of ideas and re-enforced his belief that we can make Booked Out the way that it should be made while Bryan attended a seminar on Micro-Budgeting that has also added to the cause.

Sam recently moved back to Bristol and now has the time and space to concentrate on making Booked Out a reality. Top of his list of to-do’s is getting all heads of department onboard, re-casting the role of Jacob, completely validating the budget, and on and on..

Calling artists of all shapes and sizes. I am looking for someone to produce a poster for the film. I would like to get a few different versions together that show the essence of the film. If anyone is interested in getting involved then please send your drawing to bryan<@>bookedoutfilm<dot>com.

For inspiration here is one that I did earlier!

Bryan's poster attempt

I am looking for a poster which meets the following criteria:

• Sets the tone of the film correctly. The best way I can describe this is that it is a quirky indie comedy.
• Introduces the main characters within the story and their personalities.
• This might be obvious but it must display the title of the film, actors names, characters names and website address.

I have more ideas which might lead people down one path or another but I would rather leave it open ended and see what different individuals come up with. I will post the versions that we get on the website with the artists details.

Ok... I am still a bit shocked about what happened today and even as I write this it feels a bit surreal to try and recreate the exact details. I will try and do that as best as I can here so that a record remains in my memory forever.

I had met Mirren at the Russell Square park to talk over my latest script changes which mostly involved scenes with Ailidh. So we found a bench and were talking through the script.

Then a man strolled past who I thought was Mike Leigh and I starred him out as he walked past. Once he was passed I told Mirren why I had been starring at some guy instead of concentrating on the script.

You know that way though when you see someone in the flesh that you don't really believe is the real person... well this was like that. I joked to Mirren that he would be back in a minute and would be dying to hear about my film.

About half an hour later he came back and as soon as I noticed him coming I got Mirren to check it was him. We then both watched him walk past. Cue slow motion images of Mike Leigh walking past.

Mike behind the camera

Now I love films but in particular I love Mike Leigh films and he has been a huge influence on me wanting to become a film-maker. But... I was too scared to do anything about it. Mirren though, egged me on to go and ask him "to read the script".

So I ended up running after him holding my script in hand. I stopped him... and this is where it goes a bit fuzzy!... I asked if he was Mike Leigh and then I asked if he would read my script. I don't think I really wanted him to read my script but I wanted to speak to him and tell him about my film and I think I just said whatever Mirren had suggested in order to start a conversation with him.

The rest is a blur really. He doesn't read scripts he told me. Which I could have guessed really by what I have read about his methods and approach to film making. He asked about my film and if we were working on it now.

The moment I remember was when he asked "what is your film about?". I remember this because this was the first moment where every cell in my body suddenly realised that I was talking to Mike Leigh, one of my favourite directors, about my film, that I have put so much effort into. I think some words came out of my mouth which vaguely described the film but I became so nervous at that point.

He also told me that he was in the middle of shooting his latest film and had 2 weeks to go on it as well as asking about me shooting my film and on what medium.

Nearly forgot... he was out getting his shopping!

At the end of the conversation we shook hands and he was off and I was feeling like a teenager with a spring in my step!

I think in summary, although the moment flashed by so quickly that I can't really recall the exact words exchanged I got the feeling that he was a really nice man and genuinely interested in what I was up to.

There was definitely things I learned from the situation which are:

• Be prepared to tell someone what your film is about under pressure
• If you meet someone like Mike then give him your contact details. Unfortunately I didn't do this...
• Even if you feel nervous about approaching someone then go for it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!
• Mike Leigh is not just an amazing film maker but a lovely man.

I feel that this is another sign that I am heading in the right direction and that the film is coming together. I am sure I have spoken before on this website about how Mike was one of my influences in film making and I think that meeting him in this way has just given me more belief that I can produce an amazing film that I can be proud of and that people will want to watch!

Lastly... Mike if you ever read this you can contact me at bryan<@>bookedoutfilm.com!