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A friend on Twitter (rapidly rising Danny Lacey (@dannylaceyfilm)) yesterday pointed me in the direction of this video of KICK-ASS director Matthew Vaughn talking about all things moving image on the Film4 website. It’s a fascinating and illuminating piece, not least for his comments on the British film industry.

In the video he says:

“The only movies that we finance [in the UK] are normally small little arthouse films or the films that Hollywood won’t make and therefore there’s no sort of commercial justification for making the movies.”

Which got me thinking: is it a bad thing that British filmmakers are making movies that Hollywood can’t, won’t or don’t want to? I’m not sure.

I’m not going to deny that the industry in the UK is chock full of mediocre kitchen-sink dramas and over-the-top, over-the-hill gangster flicks, nor that it would be refreshing to see some diversification (see: KICK-ASS).

But can the same not be said for the USA? For every over-inflated, blockbusting cash-cow made with American dollars, is there not a host of low-to-no-budget remakes, rip-offs and trashy wannabes?

Around the world from the USA to the UK, France to Korea, each territory has its own niche; types of film that are consistently funded across the board. Does that make all the money men wrong? Mathematical algorithms are the single biggest driving force behind all of Relativity Media’s silver screen investments and they seem to be doing pretty well by it, so it makes sense for film financiers to stick with what they know. Doesn’t it?

Don’t get me wrong, the UK film industry is in dire need of a boost. Not just financially, but in self-confidence, too. In the interview, Vaughn sums up my patriotism perfectly when he analyses things like the Harry Potter and James Bond franchises, saying that we Brits make them but we don’t profit from them:

“I just think the talent base we have we could be the biggest film industry in the world, we could beat the Americans at their own game – if we had the money the Americans have, we could be far more successful.”

What do you think? Are the Brits the best at what they do, just drastically underfunded? Or is our lack of confidence, lack of innovation within our own market and apparent unwillingness to take Hollywood on the biggest issue?

I’m intrigued after reading this piece about famous writers’ working methods.

Now, I know we’re all individuals and we all do things our way, but it kind of bothered me that all these writers are said – or intimated – to have done these things everyday.

My writing methods vary almost as much as these guys’ apparently didn’t.  One day I’ll sit and right reams on my MacPro – technically my editing machine, but Final Draft doesn’t exactly swamp the disc space.  The next I’ll be making amendments to script at my dining table in the lounge (oh for a bigger house!).  Another day I may curl myself up on the sofa with my MacBook Pro and hammer out some solid revisions or exciting new treatments.

Are we supposed to be habitual animals who can only do what we do in one place? Or can we – do we – write wherever and however we can?

Russell T Davis, showrunner of the original relaunch of Dr Who says in the brilliant book on the series “The Writer’s Tale” that he can’t carry a story from one city to another – if he starts writing in Cardiff he can’t continue in Manchester.

Is your muse specific to your location, or does it follow you around?  Would love to find out just how abnormal I am.

I made my Multi-Hyphenate debut today with an article about the advantages of using long-hand writing alongside the usual keyboard-bashing techniques familiar to all writers, bloggers and, well, anyone who uses a computer for work.

“Like most people under the age of 60 today, with the exception of my mum, I can type a lot faster than I can write long-hand.  In fact, I can type faster than I can think.  And therein, as the Bard would put it, lies the rub.”

Read the rest of the article here.

My friend Jess would have been 21 today. Instead, we are all celebrating without her. After 4 years of waiting when she should only have survived for 2, Jess’s transplant came too late for her massively weakened body and she died in January, just days after receiving the gift that should have given her a second chance.

You can help make sure this doesn’t happen. Wherever in the world you’re reading this, register your wishes to be an organ donor. It takes 2 minutes – 2 minutes out of your day to ensure you can give the gift of life when you have lived yours.

When you’ve signed up, talk to you family and your loved ones about it. In the UK there is a 40% refusal rate among families when they are asked if their loved one’s organs can be donated. That falls to just 10% (a 75% decrease in refusals) when the donor coordinator can demonstrate to the family that their loved one wanted to donate.

Don’t put this off until tomorrow, go and do it now. Right now.

In the UK: http://www.organdonation.co.uk
In Australia: http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au
In the USA: http://www.donatelife.net
In Canada: http://www.organdonations.ca
In South Africa: http://www.odf.org.za

It occurred to me watching a good friend on GM:TV this morning that by separating my personal and professional lives into two blogs is at best an unnecessary separation of my life and work and at worst a betrayal of where I’ve come from and how I got here.

I’ve therefore re-christened this blog – it’s still just me, but I’ve carried over the old SmileThroughIt name to remind myself and everyone who visits just how big a part of my life transplantation and organ donation is.

I originally started a separate blog so I could present a professional face to the world and keep my personal story out of the mix. But I’ve realised over the last couple of days and weeks that who I am and where I’ve come from are inextricably linked and should never be separated.

This, then, is the place for me that will offer not only my thoughts and offerings on the independent film world, writing and other arts-based things, but also my personal journey as I set out to achieve all the things I want to achieve in my life, my work and everything else.

Here’s to being yourself and shouting out loud.

Procrastination is not uniquely an artists’ disease, but it does seem to afflict writers, filmmakers and our fellow creatives more – or more prominently – than most.

The ins and outs of procrastination are a blog in themselves (or several, depending how much time of my writing day I’m trying to waste…) so I’ll skip over that just for now.

What all artists need to avoid, however, is the self-inflicted, unavoidable procrastination within every day life that can jump up and bite you on the metaphorical creative behind.

Only today I had to address some post and, in doing so, discovered something which led me on a wild goose chase of an afternoon by way of trying to stop being overcharged for an energy bill (curse you Scottish Power). This detour, and its subsequent fallout, has entirely swamped my afternoon, which was to be dedicated to address some script issues on a new project of mine.

Today’s lesson, then: stay organised. If I’d been organised enough to notice the bill issues before today I’d have dealt with them when I had more time, rather than having to fire-fight solutions on the fly and eat into my writing time. I’d also be a lot less stressed out than I am right now.

There’s a great post today by the hugely talented indie filmmaker Gary King (follow him on Twitter here) on the Multi-Hyphenate blog.

In it, he espouses the pros and pros of crowdfunding for his upcoming flick HOW TO WRITE A JOE SCHERMANN SONG, which he’s doing via Kickstarter. The interesting part for me was the following:

One no longer has to worry about the return-on-investment or making money back to recoup costs. Although I’m sure the majority of filmmakers do want to turn a profit with their film, it is not a looming cloud above their heads.

At first glance I paused: surely the people donating want to see the film do well even if there’s not the profit-participation of traditional funding models? Then I realised exactly what Gary’s getting at: it’s about freedom.

What crowdfunding allows is for independent filmmakers to make the film they want, the way they want, without having to worry about who’s breathing down their neck for returns. And the Kickstarter model also means that you have to build your fanbase for the flick ahead of time to get the funding in place.

Gary is now just short of the 25% mark on funding his new project, which is well worth a look. Kickstarter‘s own stats show that once you pass the 25% funded mark, 94% of projects hit their funding deadlines.

Crowdfunding has been a revolution in the US recently and I’m now looking into ways of bringing the concept over to the UK so that British filmmakers don’t have to rely on American sites to run projects, where they suffer at the hands of exchange rates. More on that to come later, but for now check Gary out and contribute if you can.

For the last three and a half years I’ve been blogging my own personal journey through a life-saving transplant over at SmileThroughIt.com – it’s been a true rollercoaster covering everything from life on the list to this post, at my lowest point when I honestly didn’t think I’d see Christmas 2007, through the transplant that not only saved but transformed my life.

Now, however, I feel that it’s time to move on.  I’m emerging into a world of professional writing and filmmaking and I need a blog that sells my talents to the wider world in a way that’s not focused on the day-to-day minutiae of a life that’s far more normal (and therefore less interesting) than the previous struggles I faced.

So this is is: olilewington.co.uk – a place for me to talk about what I’m up to and to broach topics related to my various projects, from revolutions in the indie film industry to tips on how to achieve more with your writing.  As I sit to write this, I’ve no idea really what kind of animal this blog is likely to become, but I’m open to and excited by the possibilities.

In the words of a friend, filmmaker and all-round guru: “Onwards and Upwards!”

‘Courage doesn’t always roar.  Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”‘

Mary Anne Radmacher

As steps go, it's difficult to know whether this is backwards or in the right
direction.

As I sit here on the ward in oxford looking at the plain white walls and
interestingly green doors, I realise it's a bit of half-full/half-empty kind of
moment.

My instinct is telling me that after convincing myself I'd dealt with the virus
and kept it off my chest for the last 5 days, it's a bit of a massive step back
to find myself not only incarcerated, but also missing more work and rehearsals
for the activ8 show.

But my sensible, well-perspective'd head tells me that no matter what I'd
managed to convince myself, my chest wasn't what it should be and if I want to
be in any state to enjoy the show itself or to carry on with any of the projects
I so enthusiastically outlined not so long ago, then I need a stay at the doc's
pleasure to set me back on the right track.

Still, it doesn't take away from the fact that this weekend I'll be missing not
only the second mate's birthday celebration in the space of 8 days, but also the
Christening of a really good friends first child. You can be as upbeat as you
like about missing things for the betterment of your health and ignore birthdays
as repetitive annual events, but missing a once in a lifetime ceremony to
welcome a child into the Kingdom of God just plain sucks.

There's nothing I can do about it, though, so I suppose getting stressed or
moping about it is fairly pointless. After all, I would much rather be round to
see several more significant birthdays in her life than make it to a Christening
and not see her 1st.

It's all a matte of perspective, which at times like these can be hard to come
by. Much as you search for the better angle, it's frequently masked by the
obstacles in the way or the apparent unfairness of life.

I'm determined not to be dragged into a mire of negative thought. I know that
the next few days are going to be tough and the weekend especially so, but I
know i've got the resources to see me through both within me and around me in my
wonderful family and fantastic friends.

Just knowing that there are people out there thinking of you, rooting for you
and praying for you makes such a massive difference. So don't stop now - I need
you to shout your loudest!