November Round-Up
"The best way to bring folks together is to give them a real good enemy."
GREETINGS & SALUTATIONS
In this edition:
Paddington quits the UK (or does he?)
Wicked Wicked (jungle is massive etc.)
Jackson Lamb lets rip (again)
By the time this update posts I will have finished my latest screenplay (the title of which I STILL can’t figure out!), which I’m proud of for three reasons: I only started it mid-September, and it has worked out at about 120 pages. I wasn’t planning on writing it - in fact, I have a vast number of stories which I’ve been working on for years, all waiting to be finished - but the idea caught me in the right mood. I didn’t have hundreds of pages of notes: I was starting from scratch, which meant there was freedom to plough through it. The final reason is I think it’s a lot of fun.
I only hit one snag point (towards the end of October), where I wrote about four different versions of the problem “sticky scene” where I just couldn’t figure out how to get over a plot hurdle, but eventually, the answer came. What really helped with this script was a different approach to structure: Instead of the usual three act structure (start, middle, end), I opted for five acts (thank you, John Yorke), making the process far more digestible. I had most of the story figured out before I’d started. I made lots of changes along the way: Characters were cut and sub-plots ditched (due to running time/just not being necessary; there was enough going on), but on the whole I stuck to the script, so to speak.
I’m submitting the script to the BBC Writers Room - it is not a script which the BBC would ever make, but they want examples of good story-telling, and I think this script has it, even if I say so myself!
JUST ONE MORE THING…
In the run-up to Christmas, I will be working solely on Pitch Decks. I’ve never created one before, but I’ve been checking out a few samples and have got a general idea of what to do. Essentially they’re mood boards which pitch the project, detailing the pitch, expanded story, potential casting options, inspirational images/artwork - all the stuff you need to sell the complete package, presented in PDF and/or PowerPoint. I’m hoping to get a bunch of these created for my assortment of projects, which I maaaaaaay upload to my website at some point…
CINEMA
PADDINGTON IN PERU
The third Paddington movie sees the bear in the blue coat heading off to find his missing Aunt Lucy (hence the Peru bit in the title), with his adoptive family in tow. There he meets an all-smiles nun (Olivia Colman), a shifty boat captain (Antonio Banderas) and his daughter (Carla Tous), and off they all set down the Amazon. There has been a bit of sniffing at the “New Mrs Brown” (Emily Mortimer, replacing Sally Hawkins), but there’s nothing to worry about. Mortimer provides the right amount of mumsiness (I never quite believed Hugh Bonneville would be married to the quirky Hawkins anyway). There’s a peppering of star cameos (stay for the end credits for a major cameo), and the highlight is seeing the under-rated Banderas play an array of barking mad moments. Some have said P3 isn’t up to the standards of the first two whereas I found it business as usual. If you enjoyed the first two there is still plenty of fun to be had.
VERDICT: No hard stares.
VENOM: THE LAST DANCE
Tom Hardy is back again as Eddie Brock, sharing his mind and body with blobby symbiote Venom. The film opens with the quickest bit of bad guy establishing ever, then gets down to business as usual: Venom wanting to eat every living being it comes across, and Brock being thrown around like some sort of meat puppet. The bad guy wants something Venom has and dispatches his minions to retrieve it. That’s it.
If you’ve seen the previous two instalments you’ll know what to expect. If you haven’t seen the others then this will do nothing to change your mind. All three films share the same positives and negatives: Hardy is a lot of fun. Watching him wrestle with Venom as if he’s struggling with permanent anxiety is the big selling point, and he does it very well. The main issue is: Venom never looks like he’s ever there. He looks great, but there’s a disconnect between reality and CGI. The storyline is yet again weak. Either go for out-and-out irreverence or stick to the Marvel template, because the film alternates between fun/funny (Brock and Venom) and THE STORY (boring). It’s stop-start all the way. Chiwetel Ejiofor has a thankless role as a “serious army guy”, and Juno Temple’s character hints at some sort of back story, but none of it goes anywhere. Rhys Ifans pops up as an Area 51 hippy nut, and whilst the character doesn’t add much, he is a lot of fun.
The overall issue with the Venom films is this: Who is it for? It’s too sweary/violent/ bizarre for kids, yet the tone is aimed at twelve-year-olds. I sat there thinking “My son might like this”, but then someone says “Motherf*****”. *SHRUG*. It’s all in one ear out the other, but it has made money and I’ve no doubt Venom will return.
VERDICT: Hardy’s great, the rest is watchable yet unessential.
GLADIATOR II
Let’s be clear: Gladiator succeeded mainly due to Russell Crowe’s performance. That film lived or died on his shoulders, full stop. The CGI at that time veered from impressive to “ugh”, and story-wise it wasn’t anything exceptional. The filmmakers know this because the ghost of Crowe’s Maximus looms large in Gladiator II to the point where he’s almost another (unseen) character. The characters’ love and respect for Maximus is crucial to various plot points.
Unfortunately, Paul Mescal’s Gladiator doesn’t land as well as Crowe’s: Maximus was a bombastic performance, whereas Mescal strikes me as an internal actor: He’s great in the quiet moments, but I never understood what it was about his character that made him a great (no, the BEST) fighter on screen. Mescal is lumped with a bit of a blank character: Yes, he has a storyline, but there was a scant amount of character. Some internal conflict and a streak of vengeance, but still I didn’t get WHY HIM other than “because the script said so” (Yes, things develop, but it still wasn’t enough to answer my question).
Things kick off in a pretty inauspicious manner: Romans attack and the main character has revenge to meter out: So far, so swords and sandals. But things improve as the film progresses. What Gladiator II does well is what the original excelled at: Moments of barking madness. Insane battles, off-kilter performances, witty one-liners. When it’s not taking itself too seriously it can be a lot of fun.
Denzel Washington rules as a political manipulator (expect an Oscar nom), and there are some colourful supporting roles which, at times, outshine the super-serious main character, in particular Pedro Pascal, who has a more conflicted part to play than Mescal; Tim McInnerny as a lynchpin in Denzel’s scheming, Fred Hechinger and Joseph Quinn have a whale of a time as the barking mad Emperors (Quinn especially has an otherworldly “gimme an Oscar” energy - every time he’s on screen, things get interesting. In fact I’d watch a movie just about his character), and Alexander Karim as Ravi, doctor to the gladiators). Like the first film, there are some crap CGI moments (hello dog-monkey things), but given the short filming schedule (52 days?) it is an amazing testament to Ridley Scott (we should all be so lucky to be 87 and making movies, let alone on this scale) that he can still deliver a movie of such spectacle.
VERDICT: “Are you not entertained?” - “Kind of, yeah.”
WICKED
“Is that it?” exclaimed the family sitting near me when a “to be continued” appeared on-screen at the end, even though it clearly stated it was “part one” at the start of the film. A lot depends on how the story ultimately pans out, but I have high hopes for part two because part one was very good.
I’ve never seen the stage show, I don’t know the songs, and I’ve barely heard an Arianna Grande song, so consider me an unknown commodity when it comes to Wicked. I’d heard reports of it being overlong with too many boring bits, and while it could have done with a bit of trimming I was never once bored. The story presents interesting and challenging themes about race, and it’s not a black-and-white story. No one is entirely good or bad or innocent, which offers a nice complexity to the characters.
What really struck me was this: The heights film-making can scale when a project has a proper development phase. Every single detail felt well-considered, from the production design to the sets, the casting, the choreography… everything felt perfect, and I particularly admired how they linked it stylistically to the original Wizard of Oz, whilst keeping things contemporary. It’s a testament to old school Hollywood, everything that makes cinema what it is: affecting, grand scale, dreams made real.
I would expect it to be nominated (and win) many Oscars. The leads are a perfect match, with Arianna Grande in the showier, more comedic role, but Cynthia Erivo provides the emotional clout. Yes, it is overlong, but for the most part, I was enthralled. It looks amazing, and some of the songs have an emotional punch. One of my favourite films this year, and one to be admired: They barely put a foot wrong.
VERDICT: Proof that they do make them like they used to.
TELEVISION
SLOW HORSES: Season 4
The gang is back for more high-quality espionage, which often plays out like a comedic version of 24. Once again, Gary Oldman heads up his department of cast-off intelligence agents, this time dealing with a London bombing.
Slow Horses has been excellent across the board - each season is an absolute treat - and this season is no different. As always, to say anything would spoil it, other than the end didn’t feel like the end, as if there should have been another episode.
But: If you’ve not watched Slow Horses - do so. It’s the best thing on television.
VERDICT: Witty. Fun. Exciting. Effortlessly superb.
DISCLAIMER
It’s been a while since I watched a drama that made me veer so sharply between “This is great!” to “What is this laughable nonsense?”. The story centres on Catherine (Cate Blanchett), who receives a book in which she is the main character. What follows are flashbacks to a time when she was a young(er) mother who met an even younger man on holiday - and an event which starts to unravel her present-day life.
The premise has a decent hook - it is complicated at times, but it does keep you watching. It is not a drama without merit: Kevin Kline’s performance made me wonder why he’s not front and centre in more productions - dammit, I miss the guy - and Lesley Manville is always so good it’s easy to take her for granted. Leila George is tasked with a lot of heavy lifting as “flashback Catherine”, and is note-perfect.
The problem with Disclaimer is in the adaptation. I’ve not read the book but the dialogue AND delivery - especially between Blanchett and Sacha Baron Cohen - is stagey, clunky, overly-earnest and stilted to the point of wondering “Is this a parody of these types of drama?”
The opening scene struck me as inauthentic in performance and dialogue - I’m not sure if this was deliberate (I don’t think it was?), but it’s not a great way to kick off a seven-part drama. Alfonso Cuarón’s direction and script is off-kilter, which is a shame because there’s a half-decent story about who controls the narrative, revenge and sins of the past: Good, meaty stuff. AND YET…
The communication between the characters just isn’t realistic. For example: Let’s say someone has drugged you to the point of being unconscious, and you wake knowing the “bad person” is on their way to cause serious harm to someone you love: You wouldn’t send a one-line text or a voice message saying “Don’t let X go anywhere near X”. You would be screaming “I’ve been drugged and X is going to kill X” and call the police. But no - these frustratingly unreal responses are only there to serve the story.
“Yes, but people do that in real life, Andy. They don’t say what they mean because of fear etc.” Yes, but not to THIS extent. Having characters forever skirting around life-or-death stuff clearly allows all sorts of misunderstandings to fuel the drama. The story would end much sooner if only the script had let the characters talk like real people do.
VERDICT: Moments of greatness, moments of cringe.
DUNE: PROPHECY
Following on from the Game of Thrones spin-off House of Dragon, here is another spin-off set enough years before the source material not to cause any plot trip-ups. Two Harkonnen sisters (or should that be Spice Girls?) establish the Bene Gesserit, dealing with forces that threaten the future of the universe. If that sentence made sense to you, you may like this. If you’re shouting “SPEAK ENGLISH”, then perhaps not.
Much like HoD, there’s a whiff of “Is this necessary?”: Dune and GoT have massive fan bases and are both ripe for milking. The first episode was a mix of intrigue and a little dull, but I’ll keep watching to see where it goes. Not sure if it is essential, but if you’re a fan of the Dune movies there are plenty of visuals and weirdness afoot which may fill the gap until the next Dune movie.
VERDICT: “I will permit it to pass over me and through me.”
READING
SONNY BOY by Al Pacino
An honest, funny, self-deprecating autobiography from an actor who, on the surface had a stellar career, but behind the scenes had problems like the rest of us (although, not many can claim to have been stitched up by their financial advisor and been ripped off for millions. Poor Al.) It’s a lovely read - Al is reflective on the things which meant a lot to him, and there’s no whiff of “How great I was”: What you see is what you get, and like Al, it is to be treasured.
SUBSTACK
Watership Down was a staple movie from my childhood - coincidentally, my latest script was influenced by it - so here’s a great post on the brilliance of Watership Down!
ONLINE
I’ve been a big fan of Cinema Therapy for some time, and it just gets better and better. Jonathan Decker and Alan Seawright’s review of A Walk to Remember is HILARIOUS (as well as insightful. But mostly HILARIOUS).
LISTENING
Alternative Sounds of the 90s with Dermot O'Leary played the classic 1990 Indie compilation Happy Daze in its entirety! Featuring Carter, Primal Scream, Soho, The Charlatans, James & Ride - all 15 tracks, played in CD order.
Find it now on BBC Sounds. Available until the 8th of December, so hurry!
Finally, here’s what musical picks have been on rotation this month:
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