June Round-up

"They simply... exist. Like furniture."

Andrew Wright

Jul 02, 2026

GREETINGS & SALUTATIONS

In this edition:

Short People TV is here.
Spielberg discloses his alien fear.
Backrooms are… where?

Things are a-changing on here. Not so much a spring clean, more of a getting-my-house-in-order.

This month, I launched Short People TV, a new Substack page dedicated to my upcoming short film project, SHORT PEOPLE. I’ve mentioned it many times on here, but it seemed obvious to me that, while there was some crossover with THIS Substack page, it was muddying the waters somewhat.

So: No more filmmaking-related posts on here. They now have their own space which I would invite you to follow/Subscribe to HERE (please).

What does that mean for this Substack? There will still be my monthly personal newsletter, as it does relay somewhat that there is a human being writing all of this. But, for the most part, not much will change here. In fact, clearing the decks of the film stuff has refocused Short People. You’ll still find stories here: 100-word flash fiction and longer-form stuff, as well as more biographical articles.

Short People TV is an extension of all of this.

So what do you get on Short People TV?

🎥 SHORT PEOPLE: Watch one-minute cinematic films, fresh off the edit!

💥 OUTTAKES: Reviews, essays, thoughts, inspiration and encouragement.

✂️ DELETED SCENES: Diary excerpts and stories from the set.

🔍 IN FOCUS: A closer look at other my other film projects, charting the origins and inspirations...

🍿 INTERMISSION: The just-for-fun stuff, revelling in all the reasons we love movies!

Please show your support and SUBSCRIBE HERE!

JUST ONE MORE THING…

Short People is a Substack about writing stories, and I have spent most of June writing one-minute scripts. I’m aiming to write twenty or thirty so I can choose from them because I want stories that feel like a scene from a film. A captured moment that leaves you gripped and wanting more. I’m also very much aware that I’ve got to be able to film these scripts, so I need to keep details like cast size and location in mind. So far it’s going well: there are a few definite choices and only a few maybes (that’s not to say they’re not any good, it’s whether they fit the model/brief).

But I still need more, so expect more short stories on here next month!

*If you wish to help get Short People TV off the ground, click here! (or else you can contact me directly on here. Thank you!)

CINEMA

BACKROOMS

A lot has been made of how a twenty-year-old YouTuber “cracked Hollywood” and made his debut movie, which has raked in an impressive pile of cash for A24. In response, some were prompted to make accusations that the director, Kane Parsons, didn’t even direct the film, because HOW COULD HE? HE’S TWENTY.

Enough of all that. Yes, he did direct it, and he did a stellar job.

Backrooms sees failing furniture store owner Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) discover a portal to a bizarre, in-between world of endless rooms and corridors. He starts to map it all out, in order to make sense of it - and this, naturally, concerns his therapist, Mary (Renate Reinsve).

To say any more would spoil it.

Backrooms is a well-made, effective film with excellent performances from the two leads, with a great score co-created by Parsons. (Is there anything he can’t do?). The momentum slightly falters in the third act, opting to pile on the weirdness (don’t expect any answers - it’s not that kind of film).

Does the feature film have more of an impact than the numerous YouTube Backrooms shorts? Debatable. I think where the film succeeds is not in its shock scares, it’s that there’s a horrific nostalgia to it. People reliving old versions of themselves against a realm that is fuelled by misremembered memories.

It stuck with me for days, trying to figure out what it all meant. And I liked that.

VERDICT: My favourite film of 2026 so far.

DISCLOSURE DAY

Remember Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? It opened with a frankly bizarre image of a prairie dog tunnelling out of the ground. Disclosure Day opens with a wrestling match. Both of these openers have two things in common: Steven Spielberg, and a rising dread informing me, “This isn’t going to be good.”

Disclosure Day begins “in medias res”, with Josh O’Connor’s David Kellner at a wrestling match, having a gun aimed discreetly at his back. And so it goes. Fifteen minutes later, I still had little idea who he was or what was going on. Evidently, he has something in his possession that “the baddies” want, but it is really hard to care when there is no connection. I checked my watch after five minutes. I just did not care.

And that is horrible to say, because I love Spielberg.

Then Emily Blunt comes into the story, and things pick up. And then it gets tiresome again. Then it gets a bit interesting again. And the whole film is like that: Good/bad/good/bad.

Emily Blunt excels as a weather girl whose weird alien language is almost as bizarre as her love for Gwen Stefani songs. Colin Firth is very good as the head bad guy (Side note: I once wrote a character for Colin Firth in my screenplay Perfect Harmony who was a ‘70s Open University television presenter. Here, he plays a smartened-up version of that.). Josh O’Connor, who is one of my favourite actors working right now, is lumbered with the sort of character who runs towards the bad guys instead of in the opposite direction.

Disclosure Day could have been a pulsating Bourne-type film, with someone on the run, trying to solve a mystery/figure her/himself out. Instead, it’s very much in the ballpark of Spielberg’s TV show, Taken. He has circled these themes many times before, as a director and producer. Nothing new is on show here.

There are ideas and musings; ponderings on religion and how the world would react to aliens being real. Instead, it holds on to a naive belief that people would even care about aliens. We don’t believe most of what we see these days, anyway.

Disclosure Day lacks those typically Spielbergian wow moments of wonder and amazement. Some have called it old-fashioned. Some have opted for a snooty “You don’t understand it” response to anyone who criticises this film. I understood it. I just didn’t care.

There are some decent moments, and the sentiment at the heart of the film cannot be argued with - we need more empathy as a civilisation - but it’s all the stuff surrounding it which stifles that message.

VERDICT: Frustrating.

STREAMING

THE SHEEP DETECTIVES

An exceptionally quick turnaround for this, as it left cinemas about two weeks ago, managing to completely undermine the point of going to the cinema. But there we are. Anyway, here’s a film about Hugh Jackman reading detective novels to his flock of sheep, because he’s nice like that. But someone else doesn’t rate him that much, and soon enough poor ol’ Huge Ackman is dead. And only the sheep can solve it, because all the humans are complete thickos.

The film settles into its Babe goes Agatha Christie premise and doesn’t seek to break any formulas. Where the film really excels is the notion of animals learning about death, which is somewhat unexpected for what looks like yer typical polished family film. Those moments are what really elevate the film, but it’s a pity there aren’t enough of them. Whenever the sheep are on screen, the film is enjoyable. It’s the human side where it falls a little flat (couldn’t they have killed a few more of them? Only kidding. Or am I?), and the mystery isn’t entirely gripping. It’s cute enough, and one moment in particular did prompt watery eyes because… the… sheep… sob sob….

Available on Amazon Prime

VERDICT: That’ll do, ~~pig~~ sheep.

HOPPERS

“This is nothing like Avatar!” yells a scientist character at one point. That’s the film letting us know that IT KNOWS Hoppers is actually Avatar.

Hoppers are animal robots that humans can “plug into” and BECOME THE ANIMAL. When the mayor announces plans to demolish an idyllic glade, animal lover Mabel comes to the rescue of the creatures - by becoming one of them. It’s not the most original idea, nor is it destined to become a Pixar classic like Toy Story or Inside Out - but it is fun. Things take a little while to get going, and the story opens with a riff on the Pixar movie Up, but there’s a nice message about looking after the planet, as opposed to destroying it with motorways. There’s a silliness to the film which elevates the so-so story, and Mabel is a feisty, engaging character. And of course, there are lots of animals who are the source of the many comedy moments.

Available on Disney+

VERDICT: Undemanding fun.

TELEVISION

RIVALS SEASON 2

I really liked the first season of Rivals. It was an entertaining 80s throwback which was FUN. An easy watch and enjoyable. What more can you ask for? Well, MORE, obviously. And MORE is what you get with season 2. MORE MORE MORE. More wobbly bits on show, more how’s-yer-father, and more backstabbing.

And yet it is all too much.

Subtlety never factored into season one, so why expect any such thing here? The showrunners have done their utmost to make everything bigger, while missing the point that what made S1 work so well was the smaller moments which revealed character. Not just endless one-upmanship.

If you saw S1, you’ll recall it ended on a cliffhanger. S2 makes the cardinal sin of back-peddling. Nothing really develops until the end of S2. Instead, the reset button is pressed, and it is S1 played out all over again BUT MORE. The many storylines go round and round, never progressing, which provokes a sense of having seen all this before, while being endlessly bonked on the head (pardon the expression) with MORE MORE MORE.

Available on Disney+

VERDICT: Repetitive.

GOOLAGONG

If you’re old enough, you’ll know the name Evonne Goolagong: an Aboriginal tennis player and Wimbledon champion.

Biopics are often tales of rags to riches, and this three-part drama is firmly in that camp, but what sets this apart is the central performance by Lila McGuire. She is terrific in the title role, and captures the essence of a woman fighting against discrimination, racism and manipulation while never losing sight of who she is. It looks great, and while some of the English accents border on plummy, it is a solid account of an inspirational woman.

Available on BBC iPlayer

VERDICT: A must-watch.