Monday Musings

Homecoming

Last week I flew into Madison, Wisconsin. Although I’ll miss Bristol, it’s nice to be back in the USA. Plenty of favourite places to revisit and people to catch up with!

Last Tuesday, the day after I arrived, was Election Day– Mostly for Judges. It was a triumphant day as a great progressive female judge was elected in a previously solidly Republican position. If you want things to change you have to show up!

A great example of this is the Suffrafettes- take a look at all they achieved, and how they achieved it, in this really interesting video:

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FROM THE ISLAND

Yesterday was Palm Sunday.  Here are a few interesting historical and story facts.  Remember, every detail in a story should support its overall theme.

Lead Us!

The children in the crowd shouted “Hosanna” as Jesus entered Jerusalem.  This is a Hebrew word, not a New Testament Greek word. The literal translation of “Hosanna” is “lead us!” The Romans were constantly worried about armed Jewish rebellion. Jesus’ entrance and the crowd’s reaction was a politically charged situation. The entrance to the Temple was closely guarded by the Roman garrison. The children were actually the ones in the crowd shouting “lead us!” This was a shrewd move because children could not be arrested under the Roman law.

Jesus riding a young donkey has a historical significance:

It was an Ancient Eastern tradition for a conquering hero to ride into a defeated city on a horse. A returning King riding into his recaptured and rescued city, in peace, rode in on a donkey. By riding a donkey Jesus symbolically enters as a rightful King, returning to reclaim what was His.

Palm Branches have two symbolic significances:

Palms were a Jewish symbol of independence from the time the Maccabees drove out the Greeks. In Jesus’ time palms were used as a nationalistic and anti-Roman sign.  It was not uncommon for a palm leaf to be subversively stamped over the portrait of Caesar on coins from Jerusalem.

The modern name for palm, phoenix dactylifera, refers to the palm as the “phoenix tree” The palm has the ability to grow new foliage even after being burnt. Early Christians continued to use the Phoenix (plant and mythic bird) as a symbol of the resurrection. On the occasion of Jesus’ entry to the city, however, He was the only one who fully realized how significant this symbol was.

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Three million years ago, a 3-year-old child strayed too far away from its tribe. A predator grabbed the 25-pound toddler and, near the opening to an underground cave. feasted on its human snack.  Stray scraps fell into the limestone cavern below.

Other hominids, dragged into caves by big cats or falling into grass-covered hidden holes, make South Africa’s caves the world’s greatest source of early human fossils. About 900 important fossilized bones have been discovered in the 180 square miles of grassland and caves known as the Cradle of Humankind. Scientists have identified at least four human-like species in addition to Homo sapiens—us. These humans and pre-humans lived in the area at various times over 3.5 million years.

The story these fossils tell is that we,  Homo sapiens, of all types, are more alike than we are different and that we all started in Africa. It’s a powerful lesson for today’s divisive times

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I’m heading back to the UK tomorrow, and I’ve had the most inspiring few weeks in South Africa. Our Pitch winners are absolutely amazing. Our judges’ panel was unanimous in the selection of an unprecedented two winners!

I’ve had a chance to work with both winners personally and we will continue development work over Skype.

We also presented six Master Classes in Pitching and Adaptation at area film schools. It’s been a whirlwind of activity.  I enjoyed every minute but I must say–  it’s good to be back in my UK home.

In the next couple of weeks, I’m heading off to Belgium to work on a long-running television series.  I’m prepping to return to the USA in the beginning of April.  It seems I’m always on the move… I’m like Waldo! Who knows where I will pop up next.

I do love traveling. It’s one of the perks of my job. I get to go and do what I love in places all around the globe. It’s a real privilege to make new friends and experience different cultures.

But it will be good to get back to the US and have a base near family for the next few months. To quote Ferris Bueller:

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Our full field was relatively small to start (as expected in the first year) but we managed to have six amazing finalists.  Over the course of a long weekend (our residential), we worked with the group and worked individually.

Their three-minute pitches vastly improved from their original submissions. After questions and critiques, their five-minute pitches made a further leap forward. Additional feedback took their following twelve-minute pitches to a solidly professional level.

Quite honestly, each pitch would have been a deserving winner.  In the final analysis, and in an astonishing precedent-breaking development we named two winners. The judging panel was enthusiastically unanimous that both pitches MUST win.  It’s never happened in a decade of competition in the UK, and we certainly never expected it would happen here in SA

It was quite literally a magic moment both for the winners and for the competition.  One winning story (The Second) is set in rural Kwazulu Natal in the dying years of apartheid. It is a profound story of hope in the midst of chaos and violence.  It was pitched by our youngest ever winner, Mpumelelo Kheswa (22) and will be our first ever film in a foreign language (Zulu). The other, pitched by Howard James Fyvie, ( Ramsey) is our first animation and comedy. It retells the story of Abraham and Isaac from the perspective of the ram. “Ramsey” believes he is destined for greatness and that this will be as a stand-up comic. (It is a hilarious dark comedy!)

I am so proud to be working on the development of both short films.

Here are our finalists–

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In 2010 while I was in Madrid– sitting in a beautiful plaza– I read the WGA Magazine WRITTEN BY.  There was a wonderful article about Ray Bradbury who was interviewed on his 90th Birthday.  He repeated one of his most famous quotes:  “You’ve got to jump off the cliff all the time and build your wings on the way down.”

Anyone who has heard me speak or who have read the articles on this site know I am always talking about characters taking a Leap of Faith in a story.  But I had been a bit hesitant about making my own.

The cliff I was then contemplating was moving to the United Kingdom to live and work for a year, possibly longer.  Serendipity put several people in my path who had done just that–  They moved to a foreign country without a lot of pre-arranged work and they just made it happen.  They built their wings after taking their big leap.  Each person said, “just do it.”  And that is what I did.

It took awhile to wrangle the most flexible visa– a Tier One Exceptional Talent visa. I had so much wonderful help along the way from previous clients. I have lived and worked in the UK now for about five years. I am living quite happily in Bristol, home of Aardman Animation Studios, and am proud Nick Park helped sponsor my visa.  I am so glad I finally summoned the courage to just pick up and fly!

In this Leap Year what leap of faith are you contemplating?

This is the first year launch in South Africa.  Enter the Pitch has been going strong in the UK for about a decade.

In both locations, the competition is the ultimate adaptation challenge.

Entrants are asked to make a two-minute pitch adapting a Bible story, character or situation as a short film for the big screen.  The film can be set in any era (past, present, or future), in any tone or style (thriller, space odyssey, mystery, love story, etc.).  The artistic choices are endless.  The only caveat is the film must stay true to the emotional heart of the original story.

Lust, violence, betrayal, romance, war, murder, fidelity, greed, forgiveness all figure in the collection of books we call the Bible. Every human situation and conflict is represented. The story possibilities are endless.

Successfully adapting one of these stories will teach you how to how to adapt any kind of material.  I am the development consultant and I help the pitch winner every step of the way. It’s a fascinating process and one I hope you consider being a part of.

The UK Enter the Pitch Competition

The SA Enter the Pitch Competition

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Texting is great for a quick message but nothing beats a phone call. I love FaceTime. Seeing and hearing from friends makes the world a kinder and more comforting place.  It’s easy to get caught in an endless cycle of busy. But maintaining and deepening relationships takes time and regular contact.

And I don’t mean virtual connection. I mean sharing secrets, confidences, questions, and other little intimacies that have no place in public forums. So I pick up the phone. It’s important.  Call your mother! Call your siblings. Call your friends. They want to hear from you.  And if they don’t, find a circle of adopted family and friends who do.  It will make their day and yours!