November movie playlist

- Up (2D) (with my godson for his first cinema trip!)
- Two For The Road
- Cloverfield
- Vanishing Point
- Hard Boiled
- The Lion King
- Hellraiser
- Raising Arizona
- Falling Down
- Phantom of Death
- I’m A Cyborg But That’s Okay
- Suburbia (Spheeris, 1984)
- Danger: Diabolik
- Escape From L.A.
- My Dear Killer
- Spiderman
- Hidden
- Ghostbusters
- Mouchette
- Time Crimes
- Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
- Braindead
- ‘Night Mother
- Two For The Road
- Sixteen Candles
- Amores Perros
- Sympathy For Mr Vengeance

favourite celluloid moments

Actually make it to the gym, shock horror. After doing a bunch of Lula stuff, get around to cracking on with Playtime’s Over.

I actually managed to start writing this at work today, first by hand then transferring to a word doc (which you just don’t format properly so it doesn’t look like a script if someone happens to walk by). Transferring what I’ve done at work to the script-writing program (with a little polish here and there) gives me four pages of script already. Good-o. Already loving how it’s turning out. Feel like this might be the easier one to get made. Really worried about the tube scenes in Stacked Deck/Love Hurts. Student/non-professional filming permits aren’t expensive, but you have to submit a script and I just can’t see ours getting approved

From: Hannah Duncan
To: Cecilia C.
Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 10:24 AM

Good morning

I have been thinking about our time frame and made a wall-planner yesterday of the rest of this month plus Dec and Jan - I genuinely think we should push the shoot back till the New Year. I just can't see how we're going to be prepared enough to shoot in December when you're away now from Monday till Dec 2nd. In fact, the more I've been thinking and assuming this (that we'll wait till Jan to shoot), the better I've been feeling about things. I think as it's our first time, we should give ourselves as much prep time and preproduction as possible, so that when we shoot we know *exactly* what we're doing, we've got the best people for the job on our crew, and we're not going to be rushed and making mistakes. I also feel that, given more time, and the fact that January is often a much quieter month for people, we'll not only be able to definitely get a better crew together (I think a lot of people just won't be available on the December weekend we'd been thinking of), we could even shoot two shorts, back to back, as I suggested that time - just get everything on film while we have the camera, kit and crew available, then spend a little longer editing. Two shorts are definitely better than one.

I've broken down the schedule/deadlines as such:

By tonight: an ending settled upon (either through emails today or a phone call this evening)

By Friday: I'll get drafts of both scripts to you

Over the weekend: I'll start breaking the scripts down - and, if possible, could we have a face to face catch up before you go away? I'm staying west this weekend - had been thinking of driving back up to town on Saturday evening but could do Sunday morning, so could swing by your place on my way for a cuppa and a chat? What are your weekend plans? Am sure you'll be busy packing etc.

While you're away: I start laying the groundwork - with your permission, start talking to my contacts for advice etc - eg, talking to friend James (the production designer I've worked on shorts with before) about what we're doing, getting his advice, seeing even if he wants to help out, maybe seeing if I can get a couple days shooting with him on one of his next projects (I'll just take holiday from work) so I'm reminded about being on set; talking to my friend who works promoting short films, getting her to read the scripts for her comments, ask her for advice etc. Start sounding out possible people who may want to be involved. I might even drop a line to the guy who was low on my resources list and haven't spoken to in ages, just to see what advice he'd have, kit-wise, and whether we may be able to borrow stuff from them at all.

We need to start assembling a crew - have attached a key people and kit list, and we can try to finalise our crew by the second week of December, once you're back - when we can also try to schedule a weekend or two in January for the shoot dates.

Okay, so what I need from you today is: your blessing to move the shoot dates back; let me know whether we're discussing the endings over email today (do you have lots of meetings?) or whether you want to call tonight; and about possible weekend catch-up. And of course any other thoughts on this/scripts.

Talk soon

H xox

Send Cici a long email this morning explaining that I really think we need to move the shoot dates back, along with kit & crew list, and some alternative endings for Stacked Deck. Eventually hear back from her in the afternoon - apparently the shit is somewhat hitting the fan at her workplace: she's been in a meeting alllll morning and now returned to find a mountain of paperwork on her desk. We schedule a call for 10pm to run through things. Spend my lunchbreak sat in a coffee shop reading the Troma directing book. So so funny. I think Lloyd Kaufman might have entered my pantheon of heroes (along with Roger Corman, Alex Cox and Robert Rodriguez.)

Get home, certainly don't spend over an hour Facebook stalking someone whose last name I don't even know, make dinner, watch an episode of The Mighty Boosh. Can you believe I’ve never seen it? Speak to Cici - despite the fact her phone keeps dying so keeps hanging up mid-conversation, it's a productive call and she's in agreement about moving things back, especially as she's away from Monday until December 2nd. We discuss the new endings: we're both a little unsure but agree to do a redraft of the current version, toning down the violence, and then a new draft with the new ending where Julian fakes an injury. Finish that call and resume my online chat with Dan, who's off to LA in a few days to shoot another Taco Bell commercial. Mmmm taco bell...

Leave the house feeling slightly guilty that I haven't emailed Cici a new draft of the script as we'd agreed. On my 10 minute/half mile walk to work I walk past TWO film crews setting up - the first a small affair in Russell Square and Montague Street; the second seems to be the production base - and it's actually based in and around my office. Talk about a sign. It’s like getting a massive nudge in the ribs, saying 'come on, jackass, stop stalling'. Get in and discover through my amazing powers of detection (*cough*IMDBPro*cough*) that it's Clint Eastwood's new film. Don’t feel up to writing a whole new draft of the script as I can't settle on an ending, despite our discussions at brunch, so draw up some new endings to talk over with Cici as soon as.

Watch Raising Arizona with dinner. Fucking brilliant. Love Nicolas Cage in that film.

A morning of doctors’ surgeries and hospital waiting rooms is only made bearable by Lloyd Kaufman’s Troma/directing book. God it's hilarious. Run errands after lunch, intend to write in the afternoon but frankly, with a day off, crawling back into bed is just too damn tempting...

Breakfast with Cici at The Muffin Man in Kensington. Fucking freezing out. Bus is remarkably quick getting from Bloomsbury to KHS, so get there before her - especially as the tube line she needs to get is suspended so she has to walk. We eat first then chat - she's nicely enthusiastic about the two stories, though has some reservations about the ending of Stacked Deck, so we brainstorm some ideas. Leave the meeting still feeling good about it all (she's finished Rebel and completely loved it too; her brother has now nicked off with it) and with some deadlines to hit and her with some research to do.

Make a pitstop at Whole Foods and find Libby’s pumpkin mix (hurrah!) then hop on a bus back to town. It’s the Remembrance Day concert at the Albert Hall so the traffic is terrible and lanes of traffic have been shut; takes a while... Jump off on Oxford Street to go to Office in search of my dream Nike Blazers. They don't have any so run over to Carnaby Street - where they don't have the size I ask for but do have the size smaller, which, miraculously, actually fit perfectly. Guess I overestimated the size of my feet. Get home, faff, nap, shower, make food, faff some more, figure out what wear, jump on a bus down to Vauxhall for Clare’s birthday extravangza. Good times.

Jesus, November already. How did this happen? Grey and rainy all day. Take Tay on his first cinema trip, to see Up. Oh Pixar. The first 15-20 minutes make me cry silently and continuously. And again towards the end. Sigh. Great film. Tayo enjoys himself too, transfixed through most of it. Haven’t seen a kids’ film at the cinema for a while, and definitely not with a family audience as there is on a Sunday afternoon. Very amusing, hearing the parents’ laughing at certain things, the kids asking “why?” continuously, repeating the jokes.

Later, back at home, decide to watch Two For The Road. Really great film but more excitingly it uses exactly the kind of narrative device I’ve been trying to work with in this redraft of Little Brother, to great effect. It makes me really excited about the LB script again, and I wish to hell I could get hold of an original copy of the TFTR script. All I can find online is a transcript, annoyingly. The film seems really ahead of its time in a lot of ways, and much of it is very contemporary (fashions aside). Am definitely going to have to watch it again, just to take proper note of the transitions and story telling.