Laura Crowe & Him - (et moi)

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Despite failing French for 6 years in a row… I’ve got 4 co writes on a French pop album. Thankfully just the English tracks. Very proud to have collaborated with Laura Crowe and Him doing music out of my comfort zone and having a blast doing it. The album is getting radio airplay in Belgium, France and beyond! I’m hoping it plays in the clubs of Morocco just because then I would officially be tres cool.

B is also for Brendan Coyle.

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Two Bills and now a Brendan! Together with the amazing Powell Casting we pulled together another fab cast for another animated feature, on time, on budget and with some A Listers whose names begin with B. And what a way to finish, working with Brendan was an effortless thrill. He is dynamic, emotional, funny, and after quickly warming up, and finding the character, he transformed himself into our baddie. This man? This adorable, warm kind man a baddie? Now THAT is acting! Tremendous work. Now it’s back to my writing cave for a few months until I’m let out again to direct.

Another day another Bill

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It seems that only Bills have me in the booth to direct and feed lines. I tend to work with Bill Bailey as often as I can, because he’s a genius, and has a wonderfully sticky voice.

And sometimes I get to do this.

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Last Friday was about as good as it gets. Spent hours in the booth directing someone who let's face it, needs no directing. You see, sometimes an actor asks me to join them in the booth to read in lines for them, as a) it's more fun and b) we get more improv lines, and always helps the energy and musicality of performance. Sometimes the actor is a LOT of fun to work with. Once in a while that actor is Bill Nighy.

Oslo process can sometimes be quite quick.

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Helped restructure a wonderful film in Oslo. I can't say much more because of the letters N.D.A., but I can say we had 4 days to define character motivations, interactions, rules of the world, and then beat out an act a day. We worked in suitably wet weather, perfect for productivity… and then the sun came out just as we wrapped on day 4. It went like clockwork. Time to sit back, relax and admire the view. And what a view!

Screenwriter accidentally writes a book.

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I never planned on writing a book, intended, plotted, planned or even dreamed of such a thing, but there you go, as Katie Perry almost said, I wrote a book and I liked it. This is an actor's re-creation of me pressing send on the final polish to my writing partner, Gareth Edwards for one last look before it goes to the publishers, the lovely Chicken House Books. I will now officially stop saying I'm too busy because I'm writing a book. 
#backtoscreenwriting