Sylvia Syms Mirren Burke Rollo Weeks Claire Garvey

Diary

Tuesday, September 01 2009

Producer Found

Today I meet with Sam Alani to discuss the possibility of him coming on board to produce Booked Out. Sam had one more day left at work before being free to progress his dream of having a career as a film producer. We met in Angel where Sam was busy finishing reading the script that I had sent over early that day.

After spilling out the my thoughts on the film and randomly going over the journey that I had been on over the last six months Sam amazingly was still excited about coming on board. Either he was keen on the project or that we had sunk a beer or two by that point.

By the end of the meeting it was clear that Sam was the right man for the job. He was enthusiastic, driven, easy to get on with and understood the challenges ahead and was excited about tackling them. This didn’t stop me from waiting until my tube doors were closing to ask him to join the crew though. Thankfully he did and is now a full member of the crew.

Finding a right person to produce the film was really important to me and up until now I have carried on trying to write, direct and produce all at the same time. I didn’t want to get a producer on board who didn’t understand the amount of work they were getting into and who wasn’t prepared to put in the required effort to enable the film to be the best that it can be.

Sam now has a two-week holiday in Malaysia to fly off to tomorrow before getting stuck into the film. This feels like another major moment in the making of Booked Out and I can’t wait to start working with Sam over the months ahead.

That also means that the diary updates won’t just be my lone rambling any more and you will be subject to some special Sam blog magic!

This diary provides an indepth look into the trials and tribulations of making Booked Out.

Click on the months or entries below to view historic entries.

  1. 2010
  2. July
  3. [26] Top Foreign Language Films
  4. [23] Production Diary - Shooting Day 2
  5. [21] Working with the DoP - Camera Movement
  6. [09] Production Diary - Shooting Day 1
  7. [08] Casting - Rollo Weeks as Jacob
  8. [07] Production Design - Colour Palette
  9. [06] Costume Design - Jacob - played by Rollo Weeks
  10. [05] Working with the DoP - Selecting One
  11. [03] Booked Out Blog Blasts Off
  12. April
  13. [01] Shooting Wrapped
  14. March
  15. [06] Filming Begins
  16. February
  17. [28] 1 week to go - lets book this film out
  18. [24] 10 days to go - storytelling
  19. [23] 11 days to go - all guns blazing
  20. [20] 14 days to go - Jacquelines Day
  21. [18] 16 days to go - Imagination is key
  22. [17] 17 days to go - Prep prep prep
  23. [16] 20 days to go - dolly mixtures
  24. [16] Crew Additions
  25. [16] Rollo Weeks is Jacob
  26. [15] 21 days to go - Stylissimo
  27. [14] 22 days to go - script locked
  28. [12] 24 days to go - crewing
  29. [11] 25 days to go - location location
  30. [10] 27 and 26 days to go - Script nearly locked
  31. [08] 28 days to go - Things becoming clearer
  32. [07] 30 and 29 days to go - The story
  33. [05] 31 days to go - on the road
  34. [04] 32 days to go - Soho streets
  35. [03] 33 days to shoot - Auditions
  36. [02] 34 days to shoot - more meetings
  37. [01] Bryans Sabbatical Day 1 - 35 days to shoot
  38. January
  39. [31] 5 weeks till shoot
  40. [03] 2010 - The year of the book
  41. 2009
  42. December
  43. [22] Facebook Fan Page Updated
  44. [21] Gabriela Is Back
  45. [20] Revs Short Film Day 2
  46. [19] Revs Short Film Day 1
  47. [17] Jacob Auditions
  48. [16] Booked Out Financing Halfway
  49. [15] Lindy Hopper Richard Pucci Joins the Cast
  50. [08] My Top Five Films of 2009
  51. November
  52. [29] Working With Actors
  53. [25] Welcome on Board - Andrew McEwan
  54. [24] Sylvia Syms
  55. [16] Welcome On Board - Jordan Cushing
  56. [15] Calm Before The Storm
  57. [10] Meetings Meetings Meetings
  58. [01] Style
  59. October
  60. [25] Today I met Mike Leigh
  61. [17] Poster Artwork
  62. [14] First Tasks Underway
  63. [01] Replan
  64. September
  65. [27] Sam And Bryan Production Meeting No 1
  66. [01] Producer Found
  67. August
  68. [07] Simon and Kirsty Selmon Join the Cast
  69. July
  70. [30] Props Required
  71. [25] Scheduling The Shoot
  72. [23] Company Incorporated
  73. [21] Equity Investment Proposal
  74. [19] Final Script Updates
  75. [18] Character Soundtracks
  76. [15] First Production Meeting
  77. June
  78. [24] Jacqueline Cast
  79. [19] New Crew - Derek and Ellie
  80. [16] Watching Audition Tapes
  81. [14] Basecamping
  82. [13] Auditions - Casting website summary
  83. [12] Auditons - Actors Summary
  84. [12] Auditons - Filmakers Summary
  85. [10] Jacob Cast
  86. [07] Warehouse Week - Day 7
  87. [06] Warehouse Week - Day 6
  88. [05] Warehouse Week - Day 5
  89. [04] Warehouse Week - Day 4
  90. [03] Warehouse Week - Day 3
  91. [02] Warehouse Week - Day 2
  92. [01] Warehouse Week - Day 1
  93. May
  94. [31] Warehouse Week Preparation
  95. [31] Fundraising Fancy Dress Party Artwork
  96. [30] Fancy Dress Costume
  97. [21] Fundraising Gig Night
  98. [19] Fundraising Comedy Night
  99. [10] Gig Venue Found
  100. [10] Micro-budget Production Course
  101. [05] Warehouse Date Rearranged
  102. [03] Jeffrey Brown read the script
  103. [02] Warehouse Double Booked Scandal
  104. April
  105. [22] Signed up for spotlight
  106. [21] Find Actors on Casting Call
  107. [08] Warehouse Booked for Fundraising Events
  108. March
  109. [15] Signed up for Shooting People
  110. [14] Swing Dance Promotional Video
  111. February
  112. [26] Jeffrey Brown actually replied
  113. [22] Week 4 Progress
  114. [18] Website and Film Inspiration
  115. [15] Week 3 Progress
  116. [01] Week 1 Review
  117. January
  118. [26] Planning - Yawn
  119. [24] 1st Film Meeting