Definitely Chip Paper By Now...

Last time we spoke, last time I spoke, last time I typed ... was a few days after I'd found out that I was one of the winners of the Bafta Rocliffe New Writing Forum for Comedy. Everything up until then had been fairly normal. Since then, it's safe to say things have been wee-inducingly exciting.

I've met, talked to and had several free cups of tea (sometimes there have even been biscuits) with some very exciting people. But it's not all rainbows and rhododendrons; I have noticed the occurences that I've woken up in a cold sweat just to double-check my 'sent' email folder have increased significantly.

It would be foolish to think that things will continue at this momentum unless I make the most of it. So in the run-up to the big event, I've been working on the script extract that will be performed at the Edinburgh TV Festival as well as drafting and re-drafting new and existing ideas. I don't mind being tomorrow's chip paper, as long as there's hope that eventually I might occupy a tiny space in the Radio Times.

Speaking of which, fellow Boltonians may have spotted me in the The Bolton News (or The Bolton Evening News if like me, you can't seem to call it anything else) at the end of last month. The last time I graced the pages of my once local paper was back in '86, when I was merely minutes (possibly hours or days) out of the womb. It was a charming Christmas story covering the birth of the last of five Brockbank girls... possibly signalling the coming apocalypse and definitely confirming that Christmas time can sometimes be a slow period for news. 

Winning a BAFTA

It's only been two days since the release of the official announcement that I'm one of the winners of the BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Forum for comedy and already I've lost count of the times my family members have incorrectly boasted that their loved one has won a BAFTA.

So Mum - no, it's not quite a BAFTA... but as a writer at the beginning of her career, it's just as exciting.

In the agonising wait for the announcement to be made, I re-read Chris Sussman's top tips for comedy writing, available on the Rocliffe blog. Whilst they're all extremely useful things to bear in mind when writing comedy, it's the ninth point that rings true: don't give up. You'll be surprised how quickly you can go from receiving generic rejection letters and emails, to talking with all kinds of exciting people who want to know more about you and your script.

It's been a bit of a shock to the system how quick things are moving. Already I've found that my diary in the run-up to the Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival (GEITF) is filling up quicker than a Which? approved washing machine.

No doubt in the coming weeks I'll be blogging all about my exciting adventures into this uncharted territory, but until then all this talk of washing machines reminds me that I'd better go and put the Hotpoint on.

Well you've got to make the most of this weather, haven't you?

Loglines are your Friends

Loglines are a one sentence summary of your script that shouldn't really consist of more than 20 words. They're often mistaken with their flashier, chattier and more charismatic cousins, taglines which are used to market a film. Whilst the logline is a straight explanation of the plot, the tagline is there to draw you in and, in some cases, make you laugh. 

Take The 40 Year Old Virgin, for example.

The logline is:

Goaded by his buddies, a nerdy guy who's never "done the deed" only finds the pressure mounting when he meets a single mother.

The tagline is:

'The longer you wait, the harder it gets'

Teeheehee.

Why are loglines useful?

Again, I find myself returning to a familiarly cynical answer - people are lazy. They want to know what your story is about. And fast.

Whoever reads your script, whether it's a friend, a producer or an agent, it stands to reason that they'd rather not struggle through the first 10-20 pages of a script without even an inkling of what it's about. Even the humble cinema-goer usually has some idea about what they're going to watch before they see it, thanks to marketing materials such as posters and trailers - where those showy bastards taglines tend to make their appearance.

How do I write a logline?

Start with the sentence 'This is a story about...' and once you've got it, delete this introduction (just to give you a bit of leeway in terms of word count) and edit until it reads well.

If you're still unsure, take a look at the loglines from existing films.

I've taken ten example loglines from IMDB, just to show that even the basic plot of some quite lengthy films (I'm looking at you 5, 7 and 9) can be reduced to one succinct sentence.

See if you can guess the film (answers at the end of the post):

1) An unemployed actor with a reputation for being difficult disguises himself as a woman to get a role in a soap opera.

2) A silent movie star meets a young dancer, but the arrival of talking pictures sends their careers in opposite directions.

3) Three unemployed parapsychology professors set up shop as a unique ghost removal service.

4) An offbeat romantic comedy about a woman who doesn't believe true love exists, and the young man who falls for her.

5) Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.

6) In the distant future, a small waste collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.

7) An in-depth examination of the way that the Vietnam war affects the lives of people in a small industrial town in the USA.

8) A psychotic socialite confronts a pro tennis star with a theory on how two complete strangers can get away with murder...a theory that he plans to implement.

9) Musical about two youngsters from rival NYC gangs who fall in love.

10) Tricked into thinking he killed his father, a guilt ridden lion cub flees into exile and abandons his identity as the future King.

When will I use it?

Some companies that accept unsolicited material will request a logline with your submission, but even if they don't, it's a good idea to include it whenever you send your script out. If you're attaching a synopsis, I'd recommend adding the logline again at the top of the page, so that everything's all in one place and you're making life as simple as possible for the person on the other end.

Loglines can also provide clarity in your own mind of what your story is really all about. And they're a great pitching tool - just in case you ever find yourself in a lift with George Clooney and can't think of anything better to do. 

Answers: 1. Tootsie, 2. The Artist 3. Ghostbusters 4. 500 Days of Summer 5. Inglorious Basterds 6. Wall-E  7. The Deer Hunter 8. Strangers on a Train 9. West Side Story 10. The Lion King

Losing the plot

Synopses are a pain in the arse. No-one likes writing them and I definitely don’t like reading them.

Well, no, actually that's not entirely true - I just don't like reading bad synopses. 

A good synopsis is a rare pleasure, like a Cadbury's Creme Egg in November, but a badly written synopsis makes me turn cold at the prospect of reading a further 90 plus pages of script by the same author. 

Never forget that first impressions are lasting; how many times have you been told the importance of a good covering letter when applying for a job? Your synopsis is the first sample of your writing that the reader will get - so the same definitely applies. Your synopsis should be dynamic, it should be exciting and if you don't enjoy reading it, why would I?

Another common problem of synopsis writing is that people get bogged down trying to express the overall mood of the piece or providing in-depth character breakdowns without ever really offering much in terms of plot.

Writing a good synopsis is about knowing your story, so it's not surprising that the things you should be communicating in this crucial introduction to your script aren't a million miles away from Kate Leys' storytelling tips which I wrote about last week.

Essentially your synopsis should tell the reader four things... hopefully in this order:

1) Who's your main character when we meet them?

2) What's the conflict/motivation that sparks the main character into 'action'?

3) What do they do (ie what 'action' do they take) to sort it out?

4) What’s the resolution and how has the main character changed from who they were when we first met them?

That's really it.

And the quicker you can get this across, the happier your script reader will be.

But what if you can’t answer these questions in your synopsis? What if it’s not absolutely clear to you who your character is and what troubles they’re facing?

Then it’s time to go back to the drawing/writing board.

Below, I’ve used the example of Rain Man to show how clearly these four questions can be answered to create a clear and well structured synopsis:

1) Charlie Babbit is an egotistical, ruthless, young professional.

2) When Charlie’s estranged father dies, he discovers that he has received a very small amount of the will. The rest, he is informed, has gone to his older brother, Raymond who is severely Autistic and who Charlie had no idea existed.

3) Charlie decides to take Raymond out of his care facility, as they travel across the country to meet with attorneys, in an effort to begin a custody battle which he hopes will end in out of court settlement granting him half the Babbit estate and returning Raymond back home.

4) After spending countless days with his brother on the road, Charlie begins to bond with Raymond and realises that he genuinely wants to care for his brother and no longer cares about his inheritance. Raymond eventually returns to his home at the institute and Charlie promises to visit him in two weeks. Charlie is no longer the selfish, money-obsessed character we first met as he has nothing to gain financially from this promise - a relationship with his long-lost brother is enough.

The First Isn't Finished

I've run out of fingers, toes and other bodily extremities trying to count the amount of times I get an email asking for me to read a script which is still being written.

I'll never understand why some writers do this. As a writer myself, it makes me nervous to think that someone would send out their work as soon as the word 'FIN' leaves their fingertips. 

There are a couple of famous sayings that often get circulated in reference to this very point - they recommend throwing your first draft either in a drawer or the dustbin (depending on how ruthless/cynical/sadistic the advice-giver is). And as much as it pains me to regurgitate these well-worn words of writing wisdom, I'm inclined to agree. 

It took me a while to take this advice on board; I felt like maybe I was the exception to the rule, maybe my first draft is the equivalent of other people's fiftieth. Maybe I was an idiot. 

So don't send your first draft, don't even send your second. Send the final draft. The one that you're really happy with - in a month's time, in two years' time, in ten years' time. 

That's the script I want to read.

The Art of Storytelling

Last week I attended Art Wednesday’s Nice to Meet You event, where amongst Game of Thrones' cast members and aspiring creatives, Kate Leys (legendary script editor and general story-maker-better-er) gave an extremely insightful talk on ‘The Art of Storytelling’.

Her advice was simple and spot on. Just the tonic for anyone stuck with their script.

Her main points were thus:

• The basis of all narrative is that a stranger comes to town - whether it’s a shark (Jaws), a tsunami (The Impossible) or a wealthy businessman (Pretty Woman) - to disrupt the status quo.

• If you want to work out what your film is all about, start with the sentence:

This is a story about...

• You should be able to answer the following questions about your character:

1) Who are they?

2) What do they want?

3) How are they going to get it?

And the secret fourth question:

4) What do they really need?

• Remember that a ‘writer’s voice’ is all about finding truth, in character, situation or human emotion. If writers aren’t true to this - if they’re faking or trying to second guess what people want from the story - the audience will know.

And there you have it. Just a couple of embarrassingly rudimentary ways to make sure your script has all the right ingredients to keep the audience on your side.   

Greetings from the Dark Side

Working as a script reader sometimes feels like being a deserter, a traitor or the unwilling executioner standing reluctantly beside the guillotine. Most of us are scriptwriters ourselves and know all too well how each rejection can cut you down to size... like a blade would... from a guillotine.

It’s no fun receiving a rejection, but you might be surprised to discover that it’s no fun writing them either. 

If there’s one thing I can assure you is that all script readers want to find something good in that gigantic, towering never-ending (I really should get back to it in a minute) pile of scripts. Don’t be deceived into thinking that just because we’re writers ourselves we delight in belittling and hindering the chances of others.

But at the same time, it’s really frustrating when writers don’t do everything in their ability to make it as easy as possible for the reader when submitting their script. Again remember, we’re usually writers too -- So by design, that means we’re irritable, emotional and lazy... No? Just me? Alright then...

It may sound stupid and entirely obvious but doing something as simple as sending your script as a PDF can put your script reader in a good mood. Converting your script to PDF takes a matter of moments and on a practical level makes life a whole lot easier for the reader; I rarely print off scripts and will often read them on a tablet instead. Most companies will stipulate that you attach PDFs and if you ignore this, don't expect a reply any time soon. Not taking the time to read and follow submission guidelines is another cardinal sin, punishable by death... with a blade... from a guillotine.

And quite rightly too. It's a well-known fact that every time you attach a script in DOC format and without following submission guidelines, a script-reader dies.

You might think that’s a good thing. I might be inclined to agree with you. But in all seriousness, we’re not as mean as you might think - we want to give people a chance, so just make sure you’re doing everything you can to give yourself that too.

When I Grow Up... again

If you've been anywhere near my Twitter or Facebook accounts, you've probably got a bit fed up with me going on about a certain short film that Kate Hunter, Matt Brothers, Luke Chidgey and I made back in January (with the help of some very generous and talented people, of course).

When I Grow Up was created for the Reed Short Film Competition and filmed back in January. Never ones to make life easy for ourselves, it took us a while to come up with our idea for this year’s theme - ambition. But once we did, despite postponed shoots due to snow, a frantic search for locations and a nail-bitingly tense upload and submission merely a few minutes before the deadline, things finally fell into place.

And I think I can speak on behalf of us all when I say that we were all very proud of what we achieved in such a short amount of time and with limited resources

Anyway, seeing as I’ve already clogged up various other social outlets promoting it, it would seem improper not to take this opportunity to show you the finished article...

Feedback: warmly welcomed. Likes and shares: met with unashamedly amorous thanks.  

Just a Minute

It's just occurred to me that I never posted my Done in 60 Seconds entry on my blog and as I'm here, I thought a cheeky video embed was as good a way as any to spend this lovely Autumnal eve.

If you're wondering what Done in 60 Seconds is, pin back your earholes and get ready to have your mind blown... It's a competition run by Empire Magazine and Jameson Whiskey (no, I'm not sure why either) where contestants are invited to make a 60 second version of their most beloved films.

It was lots of fun to make, thanks to some absolutely brilliant people who gave their free time only to be rewarded with used film props such as a mystery tins of food (sans labels) and sparkly egg cups.

Sadly we didn't make it to the finals, but I took some solace in the fact the UK finalist had chosen to replicate the film that I considered worthy of my free time (unfortunately their free time resulted in a much more professional looking piece with nice Herge style animations and everything! )

But as tacky and cheap as it looks, I loved writing it (trying to squeeze as many references to the film and its trilogy as possible) and I loved making it (including working out the optimum angle to tilt a fridge to create the perfect melon roll.)

So if you do happen to watch, bear in mind that this particular Done in 60 Seconds entry benefits from repeat viewing. It's a kind of 'blink and you'll miss it' short, so unpin your ears, pin back your eyelids and roll YT...

Speechless wins Audience Choice Award at Edinburgh's Cinefringe Festival 2011

I wroted Speechless with my good chum Rick Maughan whilst we were at Bournemouth University. It's nice to know it's doing well on the festival circuit.

Twas directed by Oliver Milburn, produced by Paddy O'Sullivan and starred the wonderful Sally Hodgkiss and Keaton Makki.

Here's the official announcement.

And here's the trailer in case you missed it:

Speechless Trailer from Paddyproducer on Vimeo.

Hmmm... This is awkward.

Ooh dear -- Look what I forgot to mention...

Before I went to the London Comedy Writers' Festival I placed in the top 6 of a competition running in conjunction with the fest called 'Laugh a Minute'. Sadly I didn't win. But as my mother one said after I came second one year in the easter bonnet parade, it's always nice to be noticed. She cried for weeks after, but I think that was just because the daffodil she had crafted from tissue paper needed using up and she never was a wasteful person.

Now you might notice someone called Christiana Brocklebank in that list of runners up... That is me. Frankly, as an alias it doesn't really cut the mustard. Especially when your name is down correctly in the first batch of finalists.

And, just in case you were wondering, it's pronounced Brock-le-bonk (Yah, French you know).

ANYWAY... Back on topic. Watch as I clunkily try to validate my bragging by insisting that there's purpose to this post...

This was a pretty good opportunity. The script could only be one page. Any more and you would be (quite rightly) decapitated. Your head would (quite rightly) be displayed on spikes at the entrance to Regents College, London as an example to others during the festival and (quite rightly) remain there until it had fully decomposed.

As well as being something that (compared to most competitions) didn't require too much time and commitment, it emphasised the importance of brevity. It forced you to really look at every single word in your script and question its right to be on the page. That is a great lesson for any writer to learn and improve on. Particularly in the rather pernickety world of comedy writing, where one misplaced word or jumbled syntax can make or break a gag.

How was that? Yeah?! Convinced?!

Suckaaas!

It's a funny old world

It seems like only yesterday that I was at the London Comedy Writers' Festival.

Actually it was yesterday. And the day before.

Before I went, I was nervous that maybe that I shouldn't be going... that I wasn't good enough. (I know what you're thinking, an insecure writer? Surely not?!) I was dubious about whether I would be able to get anything from it and would spend most of the weekend sat in a corner rocking slightly until it was safe to retreat back to the dark whole from whence I came.

I'm glad to say that one again my paranoid and worrisome psyche was wrong on both counts. I met some truly great people. The speakers were humble and reassuring but not afraid to tell you that you need to love what you're doing to be in this industry because it's not always easy. Fellow delegates were supportive and extremely friendly. It was the type of atmosphere that encouraged new friendships and possible writing partnerships to be created. You never knew whether the next person you talked to would be the Eric to your Ernie, the Baldrick to your Blackadder, the Sooty to your Sweep. And that was exciting.

Under the colourful umbrella of the comedy genre, there were talks on a diverse range of subjects. My favourites bits, I hear you ask? My top three sessions? I hear you specify?

1) Why you need to break into radio comedy with Tilusha Ghelani, James Cary and Max Dickins.

2) Acting Funny: Writing great comedy that actors want to perform with Stephen Mangan, Jessica Hynes and Declan Lowney

3) What they don't teach you at comedy writing school with Robert Popper.

Oh and the agenting session with Julian Friedmann. Brutal but brilliant.

That's four really but I never was good at maths.

To be honest, I couldn't fault a single session I attended. My only regret is that I didn't get to go to all of them. On the plus side most sessions were recorded so that I'll be able to look back the ones I missed. The script chats, for me, were the overall highlight of the festival which were rather more intimate Q&A sessions with each of the speakers. All were so generous with their time and it really was a wonderful opportunity to network and gain valuable inside information from people who really know what they're talking about.

So to conclude... There's a lot to be said for getting out there and meeting like-minded and sometimes not-so like minded people.

Did you know that 97% of writers suffer from Vitamin D deficiency? Thanks to a rather sunny session of networking held outside, I have surpassed my Vitamin D quota for the year meaning I don't need to go outside again till next January.

But, you know what, I think I will. If there's one thing this weekend has taught me is that to be a truly successful writer/general human being, you need to get out there. Talk to people who intimidate you, they're usually lovely and willing to share their advice and experiences. Make new friends who'll motivate you when you haven't slept for six days because you've forgotten how to come up with ideas. And if no-one else will turn your script into something wonderful, what exactly is stopping you?

An Ode to Colin...

The King's Speech is a weird one,
It's funny and it's dry.
But why so many Oscar noms?
I can't quite work out why.

It's true, Colin Firth is jolly good,
In the role of the stammering heir,
And after A Single Man last year,
An Oscar's only fair.

The direction is quite subtle,
Clever, smooth and humble,
Perhaps it's not quite Fincher,
But still, you cannot grumble.

The supporting cast does it's job,
Like a good supporting thing.
A bra made out of Helena and Geoff,
To compliment the King.

On second thoughts... I must admit,
There's not much that doesn't appeal,
About this film about a King,
Who suffers with his spiel.

127 Hours in 127 words

It's pretty grim.

Don't watch this film if you're squeamish or eating a chicken leg.

The anxiety that this film provokes in its audiences is made worse by the fact that you spend the first two thirds of it waiting for 'that bit'.

Danny Boyle's slick direction which treads a fine line of style over substance, ultimately suits the adrenalin packed, hallucinogenic and downright unbelievable true story of a man who basically rips off his own arm with a rusty multi-tool.

James Franco is excellent in the lead, transforming the character from a bit of a douche into someone you end up really rooting for.

If you decide to watch this film at the cinema, take a drink in with you. I guarantee you'll get thirsty.

Fin.

A post about nothing in particular and everything peculiar.

A lot of my time nowadays is sat thinking at the very desk I am writing to you from now. If thinking were a sport I'm pretty sure I'd qualify for the Commonwealth Games (I was going to say Olympics but let's not get ahead of ourselves.)

That is not to say that I think of myself as some great philosopher akin to the likes of Plato, Aristotle and Stephen Fry. No, my thought processes usually begin by me trying to think of a plausible script idea and end up with me thinking about what I should cook for tea or how many tabs I think I'll be able to open on my computer before it crashes.

One of the main questions I have begun to ponder lately is in relation to my silent writing partner, Max. Now Max is not your average person in the sense that he is in fact a dog. But sometimes it's helpful talking to a dog about some of your ideas especially as he is quite adept at constructive criticism.

One look from those big brown eyes and I can tell whether it's - as some old bloke with a quill and a dodgy haircut once wrote - 'to be or not to be'.

"Are you joking?"

And so recently, because I have begun to sense that there is more to Max than meets the eye, I have started testing him. Asking him every now and again to blink twice if he understands what I'm saying to him. He doesn't usually cooperate but then why would he?

For now, he has an excuse:

'Oh sorry I slept on your bed after getting all muddy on my walk, but hey I'm a dog. How was I supposed to know?'

He'll crack one day and when he does then maybe my 'co-writer' can finally start pulling his weight.

Keeping company with the likes of Emma Thompson, Billy Wilder and Callie Khouri since 2011.

Guess what--

I've got my first ever writing credit on IMDB for the short film Speechless that I co-wrote with Rick Maughan. HERE.

Pretty exciting, non?

Well I think it is.

Hopefully it'll be the first of many.

But probably not if I keep writing double spaced like this so it looks like I've written more.

Anyway, if you didn't already know (where have you been??) Speechless is a gentle but quirky comedy short about a guy who longs to be a stand-up comedian. Only one teensy, tiny problem... his speech impediment. That and his fear of talking on the phone, never mind speaking in front of an audience.

Some people have said it's a bit like The King's Speech (which it's not), only better (which it is).

Speechless is set to do the rounds on the festival circuit in the coming year.

Look out for it!

Tangled: A film review... Why? Because she's worth it.

Blessed and Burdened with the title of Disney’s 50th animation feature and the second most expensive film of all time (costing $260 million), Tangled is the "House of Mouse's" retelling of Grimm’s classic fairy tale, Rapunzel.

For American audiences Tangled is old news having been released prior to the Christmas period and competing well with Harry Potter and The Don’t Bother Watching if You’re a Fan of the Books. Nevertheless, British audiences will be able to ‘let their hair down’ (Ugh, I hate myself for that one) by the end of the month. January 29th to be precise...

The last in a long line of Disney princesses (well at least for now according to recent reports in the LA Times) Rapunzel is everything a Disney princess should be. And as indicated by the very first song ‘When will my life begin’ She’s an all American, singing, cleaning, baking, sewing machine. Well she’s not a sewing machine but you know what I mean. It is this opening, along with Mandy Moore’s sickly sweet middle American accent, the odd adding of ‘like’ to sentences where it’s really not necessary and the accompanying cheery chord strumming of the guitar that had me cringing in my cinema seat. Fortunately for me and the child side glancing daggers at me every time I ‘tutted’ at another lyric about doing the washing up, it didn’t last long. The song is used to sort of lull you into a false sense of security making it appear that everything is just dandy. Until, the pace finally slows out of the infuriating jig-a-jing rhythm and into the melancholy strums that indicate Rapunzel is far from fulfilled, painting, cooking and generally keeping the place looking presentable. I believe in the 'Bizz' this is known as her 'I want' song and so just as Ariel 'wanted' to be part of their world, all Rapunzel wants to do is nip out to the local offy every now and again for a packet of fags. Or something like that anyway.

There’s no getting away from the fact that rather than entertain herself by trying to discover the secret of alchemy or philosophizing over a good book (if it’s good enough for Belle... ) she resorts to filling her time baking a pie or fashioning a pair of ear muffs out of a couple of dead rodents (this is an exaggeration of course, but one I hope to see recreated in animated form someday). The film at this point completely plays into the Disney disposition of feminine representation which was the centre of some gentle ridiculing in Enchanted. And as it happens, early drafts of the screenplay originally set Tangled up as a sort of sequel to the hybrid animation and live action movie Enchanted, which stars Amy Adams as the Disney Princess lost in New York. This is perhaps why this early sequence in Tangled comes across as a little confused not knowing whether to pastiche or stick to tradition. From this point however, the film picks up with Rapunzel eventually setting out armed with a frying pan and a disregard for her own safety or that of her eventual prince Flynn Rider (voiced by Chuck’s Zachery Levi).

Swansong or not, Tangled acts as a pretty good homage to the look and feel of some of the older Disney ‘Princess’ films. You simply can’t imagine Rapunzel’s tower, for example, without thinking of the opening scenery in Beauty and the Beast. The love song ‘I see the light’ is visually and audibly reminiscent of the ‘A whole new world’ sequence in Aladdin as Rapunzel and Flynn sit watching the lantern’s float in the sky just as Jasmine and Aladdin watched fireworks from a rooftop during their romantic encounter. The success of Rapunzel is the trickery of the animation which fools the audience into associating it with such hand-drawn Disney Classics whilst presenting a staggeringly crisp and phenomenally detailed image thanks to CGI technology used throughout the film. The mix of old and new works in what I have to admit is the first 3D film, animated or otherwise which I have seen and did not wish I had instead watched in uncomplicated and comfortable 2D. I am firmly of the opinion that 3D is a gimmick, no matter how popular or ‘normal’ it becomes. It also does not excuse a bad story (I’m looking at you Clash of the Titans, Gulliver’s Travels and yes you too, Avatar). Yet here it provides a spectacle so grand that it cannot help but allow its viewers to buy into the spectacle, the characters and world that Tangled presents.

Speaking of characters, it is once again the job of the animal sidekicks to steal the show, offering up the majority of laughs. These are Pascal; Rapunzel’s over protective chameleon armed with a dry sense of humour conveyed merely through his silent actions and Maximus; the Palace Guards’ head horse whose characteristics are inexplicably akin to a dog.

It is clear that Tangled strives unmercifully to live up to a back catalogue of animation films which reached their peak in the 1990s with such unforgettable classics as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King. Coincidentally, these films are the subject of the highly recommended documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty. It is only after watching this documentary that you concede that Disney will perhaps never realise what it did in that decade. It becomes clear that, what was achieved then was consequential to a meeting of minds and talent and cannot be replicated. This does not take away from the fact that Tangled is another good solid Disney movie, a fun and extremely well made adventure film that kids and adults alike will enjoy. The effort and execution by the filmmakers of Tangled to create a piece that sits well inside the ‘Disney Vault’ is truly commendable, as is the admission from the studios that perhaps it is time for something new.

A brief history of time. Very brief. I'm talking the last year kind of brief.

Time. It's a funny thing isn't it.

Sigh. Yes, this is about to get heavy.

What is it with the minutes, hours, days, week, months that gives them the right to just carrying on passing without making sure that I'm getting stuff done. I think the general consensus is that time is much less tolerant of writers. Even now as I sit here I am certain that time I am moving in slow-mo as the world around me speeds through seconds and minutes like Alanis Morissette in the video to 'Thank You' except with more clothes on. 

It's sort of the opposite effect that Hammy gets in Over the Hedge after he drinks an energy drink:

The last year in particular has been one massive, wonderful, exhausting, enlightening, terrible and terrific blur and I'm sad that it's over.  I feel like I've travelled so far in such a short space of time and as things begin to slow and I reflect back on a year that has given me so much hope in my career and life in general,  let's hope I'm not stood still for too long, because it's chilly up north. Especially when you cant afford pyjamas like our Alanis. 

I better pass this bloody MA now, or I will be deleting this and all similarly upbeat (yes upbeat!) posts.

Oh and seen as we're reflecting on the past, if you would like to have a look at some of my earlier snippets of writing in the form of film reviews, here are a few links.

The Wrestler
Slumdog Millionaire
Notorious

The END. For NOW... 

Don't Feed the Animals

The Zoo. It's an odd place isn't it, where children try to poke fingers through the lion cages and scuffle to get a glimpse through the glass at empty reptile tanks.

But what if we saw the world through the eyes of the animals staring back at us? 

The pilot episode of Don't Feed the Animals introduces us to three different perspectives of life in Durnovaria Zoo on the day of its relaunch.

Meet Winston, a self-confessed thesp and luvvie chameleon as he battles to keep his colour long enough to show his not-so adoring public what he's made of; Gertrude, counsellor and all round hypochondriac warthog who reluctantly resides in the petting zoo; And Chanelle and Rodney, a couple of pandas going through the motions as we delve deeper into their relationship problems.     

The radio play was produced and conceived by Mog McIntyre and written by myself, Rick Maughan and Graeme Comrie and can be found here.

Happy listening!

Evidence-Interactive: The radio play what I wrote.

Well after much hard work from my partner in crime, Lorenza Samuels, the Evidence-Interactive website is up and running.

So if you would like to while away an hour or two investigating the disappearance of Emily Simons, click on the link below to take a look at the evidence table and solve the crime.

http://evidence-interactive.co.uk/

Or you can listen to the radio play in full by clicking on the bottom centre notice on the home page.

Enjoy!