Charlie & Danny are men on a mission in London and doing something very unusual in grassroots activism to put a nice big spanner in the works of the consumer system. You’ll see a lot of this kind of ranting in MR, minus the stuff about divinity and love, as we substitute that for guns, shooting, explosions and general conspiracy violence.
To see more, visit the YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/cveitch
Script software is great – you can just press a button and all your props, dressings, wardobe and objects necessary on set pop up in a little list just ready to send over to your product placement people so your budget weight is less.
This is the final list for use in MR, which almost anyone can contribute to. If your company would like your product featured, please just give us a call and we’ll get it in there.
Red Apple
Black bag
Sarah’s Mobile
Michael’s Mobile
BROWN BAG
Blood Stained Notes
Bottel of Wine (Red)
Red Wine Glass
MICHAEL’s Polish
MICHAEL’s Polishing Cloth
Fruit Machine
Menus
Cloth
Drip trays
Trays
Money (change + Bags)
Till Draw
Clothbag for money
£1 coins x 2
CCTV Camera
Pint of BEER
Whiskey bottle + Glass
Laptop
Charlie’s Laptop
Chair
Table
Microphone
Digital recorder
Bottle of Beer (Repeats)
Wine Glasses
Bottle of wine
Post-it Notes and Pens
Nibbles
PIECE OF BLANK PAPER
Tv Controler
Greyhound racing DVD (Cleared)
Cigarettes + Lighter
CLEARED TV CHANNELS
Gem’s Mobile + Charger
Half Glass of Wine
Alarm Clock
Michael’s Polished Shoes
Sink full of water
Towel
Gem’s Laptop
Gem’s Briefcase
House Collander
Microphone
BLACK BAG
Michael’s Mobile Prepped and Working
Ben’s Laptop
Ben’s Bag
Ben’s Mobile
Sarah’s Handbag
Sarahs Pack of 10 Cigarettes
Croissants (Repeats)
Bagels (Repeats
Photocopier
Woman Mobile phone
Plastic Bag with Beer
6 pack of Beer
Michael’s Keys
Mortage Papaers
Gem’s red Shoes
Hair Cuttings
Stereo
£20 note
Receipts
Bottel of Cheap Wine
Empty Can
Michael’s Wallet
Michael’s Credit Cards
£200 Cash
Stans Paper
Stans News Paper
Till
Bottle of Whiskey
Bottle of Whiskey 10yo Malt
Rag
£180 in cash
Loose change
Cup of Coffee
Bag gun comes in
Brown Bag
Joint
Plant pot
Disgarded stubbs
Gem’s Keys
Bottel of wine
Wine Glasse
TV
Engagement Ring
Gem’s Mobile
Wine Glass
Shoe pollish
Michael’s Polish
Michael’s Polishing Cloth
BlLACK BAG
Mobile phone Tarrif stand
Black Current bottle
HR PERSON’s Phone
Table Dressing
Michael’s Laptop
Richards MP3 Phone
Cigarettes box 10
RED APPLE
SECURITY GUARDS NIGHTSTICK
MICHAEL’S LAPTOP
GEM’S RED SHOES
Richards MP3 Phone +Headphones
Mug of Coffee (Repeats)
Michael’s Cloth
Police Radios
CUP OF COFFEE (REPEATS)
RICHARD’S MP3 PHONE + HEADPHONES
GORDON’S INHALER
SURVALENCE CAMERA
WARDROBE
MAKEUP
Blood Packs
ART DEPT
Fruit and Veg Shop Dressing
Pub Dressing
Juke Box
Pool Table
Flat Dressing
FLAT DRESSING
BEDROOM DRESSING
Lounge Dressing
Bathrom Dressing
Office Toilet Dressing
OFFICE Dressing
Hallway Dressing
Bench
Sarah’s Bedroom dressing
ATM Machine (Cleared)
Side Table
Bedroom Dressing
Reception Dressing
OFFICE Dressing
RICHARDS OFFICE Dressing
Reception Dressing
RICHARD’S OFFICE Dressing
Richards’s Office Dressing
Blinds
Memory Stick
OFFICE DRESSING
CELING VIOD MOC UP / SET
STUNTS
Matts
Padds
VEHICLES
Taxi
3 Land Rover Discoverys
Water Taxi
CAR
Police Cars
ANIMALS
ARMOURER
MICHAEL’s PISTOL
MICHAEL’s Supressor
5 x Magazines
False Amunition
Gem’s Red Shoes
One of the hardest things about the film industry is that it likes to keep its methods and information as secreta nd exclusive as possible, and as a result, has a very hard time explaining to financial people how it makes money back or works as a business model. Projecting sales/revenue and investment returns is incredibly difficult and extremely unreliable, often to the point of being totally pointless.
Understanding how all the elements work is hard, so we produced a very quick overview that explains the business model behind film for those new to the medium. It’s the result of combining many different pieces of informatioin together in one place. Enjoy.
(Hint: click FULLSCREEN)
If you liked that, be sure to check out these great sources of information:
UK Film Council Yearbook 2009
British Video Association Yearbook
Cinema Exhibitors Association
Film Distributors Association
Entertainment Retailers Association
IMDB Pro
Baseline Studio System
Hello everyone!
First off, please accept my apologies for the delay in this update as i know the last one was in August. A few people have pinged me to say its been a while and i’m sorry for that. I know communication is absolutely vital. We’ve been flat out arranging things and working damned hard on toppling our 3 big interdependent “dominos”: a) finance, b) cast and c) distribution. We never could have anticipated changing direction to be a much bigger operation and it’s been tricky re-ordering things so we’re able to carry on for longer.
3 press features are coming up this month:
* TIME Magazine (Yes!)
* Screen International
* Variety
Investment
Public contributions were finished on Sept 1st and have been fully calculated. Just under £60k has been raised in development funding from February 2009, which is a stunning achievement and incredible gesture of appeal and faith. The figures will be going into our first set of annual accounts at Companies House this December. Current running costs are coming in at around £7k/month and the vast majority of the big chunks of money needed have been allocated and paid out. This is less than 1% of the normal cost associated with development that a major studio would spend, and around 5-10% of what an independent outfit would typically invest in a new script.
Private Equity-wise, it’s damned tough out there. Really, really tough. We’ve been on the road speaking to people for around a month now with the full budget and financial data, and the British investment community’s perception of film (and the creative arts in general), is in pretty bad shape. Dealing with this kind of fundraising is a full-time job in itself – all want to see a headline cast, sales estimates and a distribution agreement, which no film ever has unless its a major studio. Naturally you can’t get those until you’re “green lit” financially.
One of the very best and most innovative investment networks we have in the UK is CAIN – the Creative Arts Investment Network. It’s a business angel network set up by Nicki Hattingh that specialises in financing creative projects like music, film and theatre. And so desperately needed:
CAIN: http://www.cainuk.com/
What we’re looking for is 2 HNW (high net worth) guys who are able to put in around £200k each for equity, and so far we’ve spoken to around 40 people, of which we’ve met with 11. 4 of those are serious contenders, but it’s still tough. Because it’s a relatively small amount, we’ve also spoken to the major banks (and 2 media banks) about just simply borrowing the money outright against future distribution as it’s essentially a cash flow issue . We’ve also spoken to the usual institutional suspects (Ingenious, Future Films etc) but their typical range is 2-10M. And of course, we’ve had our fair share of sharks – people wanting co-productions, wasting our time, critics etc.
Sales & Distribution
The first step to any of this is securing a sales agent, or a broker that will sell your film around the world. Quite why you need one is anyone’s guess, but investors use their guesswork on the film’s future performance to judge whether an investment is viable. The theory is that they have relationships with distributors all over the world can pump your work to them instead of you doing each deal individually. The trouble is that no-one can predict the performance of a film, and the estimates are based on guessed percentages that are essentially made-up, e.g. “You should sell 3% to the US, 7% to Thailand” etc.
Some of the UK best, in order of preference:
* The Works International (http://www.theworksmediagroup.com/)
* Protagonist Pictures (http://www.protagonistpictures.com/aboutus.php)
* Goalpost Film (http://www.goalpostfilm.com/)
So, once you have a sales agent to magically guess your numbers, it’s a lot easier to get a distributor involved. We’ve gone straight to these guys as its where most indie films fall down, and they all love the script. Thankfully they’re all back from their jollies at the Venice & Toronto film festivals. You have a distributor in all of the main 40 countries where film does well, and they then book it into the cinema chains and DVD wholesalers, whilst paying for the print & advertising (P&A) costs. Generally speaking, after VAT is deducted, the cinema/exhibitor takes 75% of the ticket price, and the distributor 25%, until you reach the “house nut” sales level, where it switches round to be more favourable to the distributor. Out of that 25%, the producer gets 65%, after all the advertising costs have been deducted. Unfortunately, 40% of films in the UK never go on to make even 100k at the box office (most individual cinemas average around £2k per night in sales), and filmmakers end up owing the distributor. Theatrical release is now used as a marketing “platform” to sell DVDs, which is where most Uk filmmaking is concentrating – hence so many Danny Dyer straight-to-dvd supermarket sales.
Some of the UK’s best, in order of preference:
* Momentum Pictures (http://www.momentumpictures.co.uk/, Dorian Gray, Bruno)
* Optimum Releasing (http://www.optimumreleasing.com/, The Hurt Locker, Whiteout)
* Revolver Entertainment (http://revolvergroup.com/uk/, Sin Nombre)
* E1 Entertainment (http://www.e1entertainment.com/, Twilight)
Scanbox Entertainment (http://www.scanbox-international.com/) are backed by the company that are the only ones who supply Blockbuster with indie films.
Rarely, once in a while, a film achieves a “negative pickup” by a major studio where it is bought outright. Unfortunately this causses issues with actors, who make loadsamoney on the “back end” by taking a 2% cut of the profits because their name is what makes the film sell.
Casting
When we started this, no-one thought we could get big names involved. Then we talked about cameos. Then we met a well known casting director who was so impressed with the script that she suggested Tom Hardy for the lead role and told us we could easily get major talent/Names attached on the script alone.
Why is a casting director necessary? Well, if you call anyone’s agent to ask them whether they’ll do the film, they’ll simply ignore you and throw your stuff in the bin (yes, the self-importance is unbelievable). But a casting director opens the door because of the influence they have. Get the Names, get the finance and everything else.
P.S. Blacklisting
Due to problems we’ve had with CastingCallPro people bad-mouthing the project, we’ve actively created a “blacklist” of extras/supporting artists we will not be working with under any circumstances. We have production staff searching through the net to match up anyone who has given us crap with people who have been screened. If they’ve done the dirty, they don’t get to play on any projects we do. I’m keen to widen/extend this further.
Publicity Stunts
Well, i have some ideas, and most of the team think they’re totally, utterly insane. They’re right. Publicity makes the difference between a successful film and a flip – the best script and financing are useless if you can’t get bums on seats in the cinema. We’ll be having a “stupid ideas party” before the shoot where every member of the crew contributes 10 ridiculous and unworkable ideas – there will be 5 gems at the end of the evening.
The main theme is like the Derren Brown “Events”, or a 7-day schedule of 15min madness before the first day of cinema release each fed to the newspapers and paparazzi daily, minutes before they are due to happen:
if you have ideas, let us know!
Stunts & SFX
The fun bit. Well, it certainly is when you’re speaking numbers all day. We’ve achieved a biug-budget effect on screen by working our deals very cleverly. We’ve managed to get our firearms, explosives and general violence in a package from the Armoury Group at Pinewood (http://www.thearmourygroup.com/), who are looking to road-test all the new kit being used on “Bourne 4″ on us first. Their CEO is ex-22 SAS and they’re all completely insane.
One of the best explosives guys in the UK is Charlie Adcock, a senior pyrotechnic technician on every Bond project you know. Charlie also runs fun 3-day SFX/explosives courses in Somerset for £480 (or free if Skillset pay), so if you ever fancied blowing the shit out of something, or your son/daughter needs an outlet (like many of us did), check out his company and give him a call:
http://www.fireworks.org.uk/SFX.html
Visual FX are going to be done by Leigh Took (http://www.mattesandminiatures.com/), who is like one of the A-Team in that you can put him in a skip and he’ll come out with something that could earn him a engineering PhD. Leigh is responsible for building “Rosslyn Chapel” in “The Da Vinci Code” (which is actually 3ft tall), the collapsing model of “Venice” in “Casino Royale” (18ft) and also worked on “The Descent”, “Batman Returns” and “The Mutant Chronicles”.
Locations
These are all done, and a montage of all the 21 places we’re shooting are attached as 3 “mood boards”.
Technical
Now, time for the nerdy stuff. If you’re bored by that kind of thing, best to move on to the next paragraph.
We’ll be hiring our gear from Filmscape, who are based at Pinewood and run by the hilarious 27 year old maniac known as Kev Harvey, who started the business when he was 23 with just a Canon Camcorder and 35mm lens adaptor:
http://www.filmscapemedia.com/
We’ll be using Zeiss Super-Speeds lenses for their shallow Depth of Field (speed/aperture) and general resilience and “cold” feel. Kev also has Angenieux Optimos, which cost around 50k/lens and are found on every Hollywood set. The film “look” is a mixture of high-quality lenses, depth of field, 35mm image size, colouring, film “grain” and typically Panavision cameras are hired in with Arri grip equipment. Our Zeiss fronts will be attached to RED ONE camera bodies, recording digitally as 2GB 4K RED RAWCODE .r3d files, straight into Final Cut Pro. Sound is recorded separately onto solid state/DAT as WAV/AIFF, and then cleaned up/enhanced later. Clapperboards are used to sync multiple cameras and sound when they are combined later in a “conform”.
Camera negative footage is typically stored in pro-res DPX files for transporting, but if you have a 35mm projector, you need to get a physical print. Clearly, that’s a bit silly nowadays in the digital age, but the multi-billion dollar film industry has yet to catch up with the rest of the world.
From the 4K master, we downscale/transcode the film into HD (Huffy/MPEG-4 1080i), Blu-Ray (2x HD MPEG-4, Java menus) and DVD (MPEG-2),
All our footage (”rushes” or “dailies”) is being backed up at multiple locations, the main one being done by our friends at the Refine Group (http://www.refine-group.com/). They have a 20TB RAID box for us connected to a 100MB SohoNet line to Pinewood. At their offices in Latimer Road, they press 80,000 DVD/Blu-Ray discs a week as well as distributing to iTunes and PPV circuits.
We’re also talking with In-Three (http://www.in-three.com/), who are an LA-based technology company who RealD claim lead the market in 2D -> 3D conversion through a process they call “depth grading” or “dimensionalisation” in post. If we go ahead, we will be the first indie film to have key scenes converted into 3D for use in IMAX and 3D-equipped cinemas.
Website
We’re falling behind on this one, but it needs to be done as the old one is holding us back. We’re up to the next stage, so we need something cool up there. We have plenty of ideas, but if you’ve got a feel for what we should be putting up there, let me know. Jenni Davies is doing the write-up, with James Ratnarajah (http://www.newrevolution.co.uk/) doing the graphics and branding.
Making Of/EPK
I’m pleased to announce the folk from the hilarious Jelly Moustache (http://www.thejellymoustache.com/) are going to be producing our “behind the scenes” footage when we start production with the help from Filmscape’s equipment cupboard. They are led by the erstwhile Howard Cohen, a TV producer from North One Productions who is doing an amazing job in bringing together young comedians, actors and crew on the weekends to make brilliant comedy shorts/sketches. One of the best to watch is “Something For the Wickend”.
Hope you’ve all had a great week, and very much looking forward to giving you all the good news very soon!
Alex
** SPECIAL NOTE – LAST CHANCE TO INVEST ****
Many people have asked if they will have a chance to “top-up” their investment before external cash in, and the answer is YES, but you’ll have to do it in the next 2 weeks or so (Sept 1st is the deadline). As soon as private capital comes in, we have to round off any public/casual investment. To do that, just head over to the purchasing page and do what you did last time by filling out the form and buying units – Clare will match up your purchases and send out a revised certificate.
MR Website overhaul
Well, it’s time for an overhaul. We put it up in 5 hours using Wordpress just to get something up there quickly, but its time for an upgrade. As we move into production and the external capital is secured, we’ll be totally changing the look and feel of the whole site so its more “film-like”, but all the important details (e.g. investor details, crew, writers etc) will stay there. Stay tuned on that one.
VIP Drinks & August AGM
I’m sad to announce that we simply haven’t had enough RSVPs to be able to put on a full AGM this month as we wanted to. Despite putting the word out twice, we’ve had a total of 10 responses for both! An AGM is a big affair considering we have 700+ people who have invested in the movie, and 30+ big contributors who have given more than £300. A huge thank you to those who took the time to respond, but it looks like we’ll have to extend that always-open invitation to anyone who has invested to come round to the flat to discuss things, view plans and meet everyone involved.
Line Production
We’re just finishing up line production (otherwise known as budgeting and scheduling) for the new 250k production structure. Andrea Farrena is our new LP who is going through the script line by line to log detail as small as light blub fitting costs and the like, in tandem with our 1st Assistant Director (AD) Matt Lawson. At the end (17th Aug) we have a set of Excel and PDF sheets detailing our every move and expenditure which is then incorporated into the Ltd company’s accounts for management, investors, crew, HMRC and more. For the nerds, we line produce with EP Budgeting (http://www.entertainmentpartners.com/products_and_services/products/ep_budgeting/) and the scheduling is done via the fantastic WattWenn software (http://www.wattwenn.com/).
Locations
Next-up is finding the places to shoot. Ben O’Farrell is our new Location Manager, who will be spending the next few weeks scouting properties like studios, offices, flats, streets and pubs and reporting back to the director with possibilities that we then have to lock in for production. Design for the locations (props, lighting, shots etc) is then produced as storyboards using Frameforge 3D (http://www.frameforge3d.com/newsite/). The whole team will then a long series of tech recces around these places to look at potential lighting, sound, security and logistical problems in advance so they can get the best footage.
After that it’s rehearsals, recces, insurance and rock n’ roll.
Shareholding Structure
We’re currently working with our auditors Tenon Group (http://www.tenongroup.com/) to put together a new “pyramid” shareholding structure for the film that accomodates all the different levels of investment and personnel involvement we’ve accumulated. Tenon are entertainment specialists with a focus on UK Film Tax Relief and the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). Generally speaking, lots of people tend to put small lumps of money into big companies (stock market) or big lumps of money into small companies (limited co/private investment), whereas we are combining the two, with lots of people putting small amounts of money into a small-ish company. In short, no-one has ever done anything like this before to their knowledge, and the whole blueprint package will be reported and published in the accountancy press. We’re aiming for a “waterfall” approach as the big issue is who gets paid back first.
Post-Production
It looks like, subject to contract, that we’ve seriously got one hell of a post-production (editing/colouring/dvd etc) deal. The company who will be doing the “chopping” and “piecing” of the film are Sequence Post Production (http://www.sequence-post.co.uk/), and you’ll know them from their work on James Bond’s “Quantum of Solace” titling, BBC title sequences and the latest Danny Dyer click “Jack Said”. They are run by 28 year old Ben Foakes, who has created a company with 400% growth whilst every other post house has been going under – very impressive people who are also looking to grow with external investment. For the nerds, they will ingesting about 30TB of 4k resolution RED footage into Apple G5s using the latest “Red Rocket” cards and editing in the latest Final Cut Pro HD 7 software. The final master will be a 5TB .mov file ready to go onto Blu-Ray (via DoStudio), DVD (via Scenarist) and digital cinema output. The latest RED gear (”Epic”) can handle up to 28k resolution (28,000 pixels – standard TV is 720 pixels).
Our colourist is considered by many to be the best in the business as he’s one so many awards. Vince Narduzzo is so well known that sidtware companies design their products around him. To see his credits, check his IMDB entry: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0621402/. His last project was the BBC2 drama “Freefall” which, ironically, was the story of a banker going a little mental in the recession!
Investment DVD
A DVD will soon be available (end of the month) for private viewing that contains interviews and footage with the director (Phil Walsh), Director of Photography (DoP, David Meadows), Exec Producer (Peter Reed), as well as everyone’s showreels and previous work. It’s been produced for external investors but is privately and confidentially available for anyone who has bought units in the movie as well. We’ll be putting it online as a password-protected set of videos.
We have been harbouring a rather juicy secret. Phil Walsh will be directing “Michael’s Resignation”. Together with Hollywood guru screenwriter Eddie Harrison (our script editor), he has been revising the original script into a shoot-able work and pulling together a huge amount of material and contacts that have forever changed the course of what we’re doing.
To say we’re lucky to have Phil is an understatement. A Pinewood veteran, Phil is an experienced and award-winning director in film related media. He has gained a wide understanding of the creative opportunities in a wide area of applications. From giant, multi-synchronised screens to immersive, ‘experiential’ installations to web delivery, to broadcast and cinema, he has directed commercials, title sequences, dramas, brand films and specialist event films. He has an in depth understanding of the technical issues and opportunities relevant today and has a wide network of contacts and associates.
His major clients have included: BBC, Orange, British Airways, VISA, Motorola, ASTRA, Xerox, NHS, Hewlett Packard, CNN creative services, Courtauld Institute and Williams / BMW, and he has gained much recognition for his work including winning in: World media festival, Stevies International, Cream, Promax, World Fest and the London International Advertising awards.
Phil will be working with our DoP Dave Meadows, who shot Ewan McGregor’s “Scenes of a Sexual Nature” and does BBC “Top Gear”, and is one of the most sought-after cameramen in the UK. Unfortunately they both use Macs, and are constantly battling as to who is the most handsome.
Check Phil out here: http://www.philipwalshassociates.com/
Dave is here: http://www.davidmeadows.co.uk/
Here is a snapshot of his “Director’s Vision” outline sent to everyone involved in the project:
The feel
The journey – the narrative – the emotionThe journey is a fix of both familiarity and unreality. It’s a poetic experience immersing us in very current issues, seen and judged from many perspectives. The narrative, whilst ultimately linear, splices back and forth through time to make a point, to ask a question, to make us think and to help us understand. The story is based around a central character, Michael, whom we may love, like, empathise with, hate, sympathise with, be disgusted by or saddened by – all in equal or unequal measure. His story, whilst reflecting current talking points, is an engaging, emotional experience consuming us in his state of mind and his developing, but ever twisting, perspective. Dangerous thoughts wrapped in an emotionally charged performance that keeps you hanging on for the best until its too late, enhancing both cynicism and helping manufacture hope – hope that we avoid constant repetition of the same mistakes and that the better parts of this thing called human nature, prevail more forcefully.
The look
The camera coverage – the lighting – the grade – the soundWe will witness the story, characters and messages via a combination of techniques:
- Lenses will be fast with a shallow DOF for most intimate scenes.
- Fast moving, immersive and free running camera moves will get us into each environment and reflect the pace of the action.
- Poetic, composed and thought provoking set pieces will enhance and augment the story, using the clothes, possessions and environments that our story discovers.
- Surprising, quirky and humorous cutaways will be used to represent and exaggerate phrases and thoughts, as if to examine what we say and why we say it.
- The object is not for the visual coverage just tell the story, but to look at it sympathetically, simply and intelligently, with a vision that feels as close to the viewer as possible.The lighting will be uncomplicated but beautiful. Whilst a single source might light one scene another may have concentrated areas of shadow and light to both highlight, and leave unanswered, specific content.
The grade and texture of the pictures will be a combination of crisp imagery presented in a slightly de-saturated and stark world with one stand out colour for story telling effect – red.
The sound will play a significant part. Soundtrack will be deliberately eclectic and obscure from blues, indie, hard rock, voices, jazz and classical. The sound design will be presented as a character in itself – highlighted close proximity effects plus twist on what you’d expect to hear or when you’d expect to hear it.
Characterisation
The cast, how we see them, how they make us see ourselvesThe main characters are all touchable and reachable, at least to start with. We either identify with or understand their progression. As the story unfolds we will then, in some cases, battle to hold on to that progression and unwillingly let go as we divorce ourselves and react. We ultimately, never know what’s around the corner though. The dialogue will be flowing, natural vernacular and feel real and spontaneous. The script will ultimately be a guide only. We want to trust in the credibility of the characters and their feelings. The moment we here a ‘script’ we are lost from the connection.
Summary
The entertainment, the memorability, the connection, the legacy, the beginningVisually stimulating and significantly different in coverage in both picture and sound, the experience will have humour, humility, sanity, courage, conviction, madness, destruction, cruelty and deception. There will be memorable scenes as well as a memorable experience. It will be raw, direct, artistic, poignant and moving. It will evoke a series of reactions and states of mind but not (in the name of Michael) resignation.
MR should be remembered not only for its immediate effect but as a film of its time and the start of a series of films that reflect the same causal themes, all very human, but from wildly different vantage points.
Well, we’ve come a hell of a long way. The MR story started in a Guildford pub, and just a few months later, we’re talking to some of the biggest industry names at one of the best known studios in the world who love the MR project and want to help us out.
Its our pleasure to announce that the post-production for Michael’s Resignation will be done at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. Home to James Bond 007, Harry Potter and Jason Bourne, the lot’s latest addition will be our humble little mob, based on Goldfinger Avenue for our editing, grading, conform and final mastering. The very same place where Slumdog Millionaire was done.
In line with this, the next 6 films in the series will be fully produced and post-produced from a permanent office there, starting from the end of 2009.
For more information on Pinewood Studios:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinewood_Studios
All of our intellectual property has now been transferred to the complete, exclusive and worldwide ownership of the UK company MICHAEL’S RESIGNATION LIMITED.
We are now registered with the Data Protection Registrar for holding personal information and conforming to official regulation/guidelines. Our registration number is Z1825908.
The copyright for the script has been registered with the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) to ensure our international ownership of the material, which is essential for distributors and sales agents. Our registration number is 1372811.
Our application to trademark the name “Michael’s Resignation” has now been officially accepted by the UK Intellectual Property Office and entered into the Trademarks Journal.
Amongst the people we are co-ordinating the production at the same time with include:
Thanks to:
We’re pleased to announce the first in our series of 6 casting appointments for Michael’s Resignation in the form of Jenni Davies, who has been cast as Michael’s evil fiancee, Judith.
Jenni is known for her work on Channel 4, five and BBC3, and as well as being an incredibly talented actress, is also one hell of a Welsh comedienne who is possibly the most talented “ad-lib” actress you’ve seen for a long time – perhaps best described as a “female Ali G”. You can absolutely bet that she won’t be making any jokes as her psychotic Judith though, as her next film project is as a serial killer – a female Hannibal Lector.
In the video below, she’s playing her character “Helena Howarth”, who is a hilariously idiotic and nervous TV presenter who just can’t get anything right, ever. As with everything Jenni does, it’s 100% ad-lib and unscripted.
View Jenni’s new website here:
http://www.jennidavies.com/
Subscribe to her comedy videos on YouTube here:
http://www.youtube.com/kingofpikeys/
Or become a fan of hers on Facebook here!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jenni-Davies/99190254964
