Sunday, May 24, 2009

so what is this anyway?

Welcome to Conversion. This blog is here to track the development of a feature film in progress, from its origins (well, almost, the fact that there is something to write about in this space means that the project is at least in development).

To bring you up to speed on where we are in this saga, Conversion is a script I wrote- my first attempt at a script, after a long time writing short stories. I wrote it mainly as an exercise in a new form, wanting to share it with my movie-buff partner, who's also an experienced director.

Knowing nothing about the film industry, I didn't think I was doing anything except having a bit of fun, trying out a new writing style and telling a story that really didn't lend itself particularly well to a pure fiction format. That's where having an experienced partner comes in. In early January, having read the script and given me some advice on changes, he also pointed out that the script was concise enough and realistic enough that it could easily be filmed, even without going through the normally long and arduous official process associated with submitting a script to production companies and hoping for the best.

Moreover, having a director who knows the people involved and who knows the roots of the story- because every story does have roots, beyond what ever gets explained- brought the remarkable opportunity to be able to make our version of the film- the way that I saw it in my head when I wrote it, combined with the voices of the people who are closest to me.

For instance, rather than waiting for someone to cast an actor in the lead role, we have the liberty of asking the person for whom the role was written, an excellent stand-up comedian and actor, to join in.

It also means that, having little to no money to spend on the project, we're relying on the enthusiasm of those involved to move things along. What's been remarkable to this point, and the reason why the project exists in a form that can be written about, is that there has been no shortage of enthusiasm to go around.

So now you know as much as I know.

Conversion is scheduled to start shooting in August in Montreal. Casting and location scouting are ongoing and rehearsals are taking place. We have a group of dedicated people who are attempting to do something that normally takes a group three times their size and thousands of times our budget. It is a challenge.

So why is this here?

This is here because, having never worked on a film before and knowing less about the film industry than just about anyone involved with the project, I'd like to have some kind of living record of what happens over the course of our experiment. Let's see if this film has a happy ending.

1 comment:

  1. I am looking forward to this and will track with interest.

    At the outset just to say - all the very best!

    Tony P.

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