Six Years, One Degree, Worthwhile.

It’s Thursday 20^th August 2009. I think it’s 06.00. Maybe it’s 06.30. I want to say it’s dark, but perhaps my curtains were closed, it is a late summer morning after all. Whichever it is, I’m awake for the same reason as thousands of other eighteen (or thereabout) year-olds in England. It is A-Levels results day. I’m awake in my mum’s house or, back then, home. I’ve long-decided that I’ll be logging into UCAS on results day morning, rather than waiting until 10 or 11am to go into school and receive my results. Though UCAS will not display results, it can tell me one of three things:

A)    Unconditional offer at my first choice university

B)   Unconditional offer at my second choice university

C)    Clearing

I am expecting a confirmation of option A, and that I’ll be going to Queen Mary University of London to study Law, straight As the requirement. At worst, I expect option B, to study the same course at Kent with a requirement of ABB. I log in to UCAS. It is incredibly slow, but I’ve been warned it will by those who have gone before me. One of the thousands attempting to access a system that is probably poorly equipped to deal with this once-a-year surge of users attempting to access their servers all at the same time.

I’m in. The page has loaded. The status of my university application has changed. Clearing.

I'd Love to See It... But Wouldn't Pay

Well, those weren't her exact words. She actually said, "I wouldn't pay for it but I'd love to see it." It's not the first time I've heard someone say something like that. Or statements like 'it's not the kind of film I'd watch in the cinema'.

It's no secret that the price of cinema tickets are pretty outrageous today. It's not something that I acknowledge much; the only time I ever have to buy a full-price cinema ticket is when purchasing for someone else. Last week I purchased a ticket for friends for The Equalizer at my local and couldn't believe it cost £11. From time to time, I notice the price of tickets in the West End branches of the mainstream cinemas and balk at the prices. More so when I consider then the added fee if the film is 3D/IMAX, as well as if you want to buy snacks. When I told my friend, he asked  if it was IMAX or 3D, such was his confusion as to how expensive it was. I can't blame him. I'd even go as far as questioning how many people would honestly go to the cinema anymore if Orange/EE Wednesdays did not exist.  

I Quit My Job.

I haven't written a blog post in what is coming up to six months and, for that, I can only apologise to anybody who cares. I could give a whole host of reasons as to why I haven't - an integral one being that there was little I wanted to passionately write about, blog-wise. I do write daily, working on my scripts where my true passion lies. I also came to a point, in light of my struggles with balance that I had to weigh up my priorities. Again, working on scripts was victorious.

Even writing this blog has been something I've put off. I feel like it could help someone, encourage someone, potentially inspire. But similarly, there is absolutely no reason for anybody to care. I think that's something that's played a part in my lack of blogging. In the social media age, there are so many people sharing opinions that nobody could care any less about. What makes me any different? The reason I write - and why I choose to primarily write screenplays/stageplays - is because I am not at the forefront. I speak vicariously through my characters. I am not held accountable. And, frequently, many of my characters views are not my own but, instead, varying perspectives to be considered, as opposed to be boldly imposed upon an audience. Even as I write right now, I'm questioning my angle, what I'm trying to achieve, what I'm trying to tell. I guess this answers the question as to why I write anything, that burning desire within to tell a story that I feel so passionate about that I won't be satisfied until it is written.

So here it goes, on July 10 2014, I finally left my part-time retail job of nineteen months.

An Open Letter: Dear Generation Y...

Dear Generation Y,

I am writing this letter to you because I've had enough of all your bitching and whining over issues that it's about time you took some of the responsibility for. The chances you don't get, the opportunities not given to you and all the difficulties and problems that you feel you are so burdened with to the point where things must be so much more difficult for you than it was for anyone else that came before you under this not-so-new sun.

Dealing with People

For many years of my life, I've been of the belief that the world would be a perfect better place if everybody operated like me. I'm always on time, I'm efficient, I prioritise important matters but, despite this, still treat all relevant tasks with the required effort for it to be completed efficiently/well. Just a few of my more modest qualities there.

Sadly, I'm some years away yet from taking over the universe and chances are, before I reach that goal, somebody might find my achilles' heel (alcohol?) and use it to destroy me. 

With this in mind, for now, I have no choice but to accept that people being different to me is a fact of life that I must deal with. Bah, humbug.

Moment of Clarity.

In December 2011 my first short film (and, to this date, my only short film) Therapy was shot. A few months later, a private screening was held for it and throughout 2012 the production company continued to enter it into film festivals. Up until the end of 2012, from every festival we entered it into, we received either no responses or generic apology messages about how there had been so many entrants, the standard was high blah blah ... Rejection.

After the screening and throughout 2012, having put my work out there for everyone to see, judge and have expectations of me, people would always ask how writing was going and what was happening with Therapy. The same tiresome answer would be something along the lines of:

'Yeah writing's good, same old, just writing away. Yeah we've entered Therapy into some festivals, so just hoping to hear some good news now.'

Just Art

Disclaimer: for the record, it's never 'just art', if we want to be pedantic about the choice of words. But hopefully by the end of this you'll understand why, on the whole, it is. 

A film came out in the UK this week. And it came out in the USA in 2012. It is Oscar nominated and has been controversial to say the least. The film in question is Quentin Tarantino's latest, 'Django Unchained' (see trailer here).

I love films. I love TV. I love music. And, generally speaking, I love art. Art is subjective. For us to interpret how we wish and to enjoy how we wish.