Of course, being a script doctor myself doesn’t mean my own writing comes out fully-formed and perfect first time.  I’d be disturbed if it did: a big part of the process, and my enjoyment of it, is rewriting.  And today I was lucky enough to catch up with Laura Smith, fresh from directing a run of Hollyoaks, who offered some valuable feedback on a couple of projects.

I listen to Laura.  Well, I listen to lots of people.  But where Laura is concerned, I listen and take note when she’s talking film because she has such acuity around structure, and a wealth of experience as a filmmaker: she was fresh from a meeting with the Film Council regarding a feature project she’s attached to. 

First, Laura talked about a treatment with a military setting, and suggested a change of protagonist.  My responses made it clear that I was right in staying with the protagonist I’d got in mind, and that Laura had correctly clarified a key issue for him: the practical and emotional difficulties he has trying to leave the army.  Plus, she was able to direct me to a support group for people trying to do exactly that, since — small world — it had come up as an issue in a project Laura had devised.

Next, we went through my psychological thriller.  And here Laura was sharp on how to get to meat of the story quicker, and everything she said made sense.  And by suggesting that the protagonist meet a key supporting character earlier, it presents more opportunity for their relationship to develop before things get all unfortunate (hey, this is a thriller, after all…). 

That feedback helped me reshape the treatment in my head and I’m now itching to get on with a rewrite.  On a more positive note, Laura found the treatment highly imaginative and loves the ending, which I’m particularly proud of and was interested in her response to.

After that, Laura guided me into new territory by talking me through how I could develop, or co-develop, a slate of features to take forward with interested partners.  It’s a concept that makes increasing sense to me, though there is the little matter of the funding necessary to make it happen. But there’s a certain amount I can do on my own before external input is needed, and I have potential allies with access to more money than can be found in my bank account.  Nothing definite, but nothing is in this world, and as punts go film is a more interesting one than other forms of gambling.

Increasingly, I am a collaborator in projects rather than their sole creator.  There are a variety of reasons for that, not least that one of my greatest pleasures is working with creative people.  I’m not precious, and I’m happy to share, so collaboration comes easily to me.  Which is just as well, given how many people need to be on board for a film to make it out to its audiences. 

So, given that ‘plays well with others’ is on my report card, I might as well capitalise on it and see what alliances I can develop.  At the very least, I know I’ll be more clued up than the hopeless alleged producer my friend Matt met up with the other day. 

In the bit of social greasing that occurs before the actual substance of the meeting, she revealed that all she’d done this year was fail to raise money for one project, and then ummed and aahed her way through an unsuccessful attempt to get Matt on board for another venture.  What’s more, she didn’t even buy him a drink or lunch.  This is not the way to get people on board, I think we can agree.