I think we really do have to make another movie - The Lost Sock clearly demonstrates that we can do it. There's the writing talent, the musical talent, the acting talent and even the film-making talent within our little community to do it again. We can even organise it, with the amazing Giles on board - what colour folder will he have for the next project, I wonder?
The way to do it, though, will probably be somewhat different. For a start, I think it ought to be as different as possible from the last one, with perhaps a much more plot-driven story, and not at all funny.
I think I got into a little trouble with the writers because, as often happens, I've had a little chat with them before having everything clear in my own mind. That probably gave the impression that I was or wasn't writing things off or on, whereas what I really wanted to do was wave a few thoughts about to see what responses I got.
So, this is an attempt to get how I'd like to go about film number two very clear!
Firstly, I do want it to be a serious, action-oriented film, with a very strong story element. Dramatic, rather than funny; dark in mood, rather than light. But very local in location and setting, as before. I'd like it to be amenable to an episodic internet distribution style, but this would be less important than last time - I think we now have the confidence to go straight to the full-length feature as a final outcome.
As a first step, what I think we need is a basic story, and a treatment for it. The story needs to be a very simple outline of the characters and the actual action of the story, and when we have a story that we like, we can write the treatment - a more detailed study. This means that anyone, individual or group, can write a basic story - literally five hundred or a thousand words of bare bones, that take us from beginning to end. The treatment will be similar, but longer - looking more closely at the characters and the story elements.
I absolutely don't think that this film could start with a script, with the text and stage directions. It is possible - even perhaps probable - that the writer who comes up with the initial story might decide not to write the actual script; it is possible that we'll have a team of excellent writers, like the TLS team, to write the final script for the new movie - maybe even the same team, if they decide they're interested, and want to do it.
But the key thing is that the initial step, for the writers and production team, will be simple. There'll be no major initial commitment as the writers amazingly made - and kept to - with TLS. It'll be interesting to see where we go!
