What would you do if you won thousands?
RACHEL TILLOTSON'S THOUGHTS
Writer/Director
When I was approached to make one of the Film Lab films I was so pleased because I would be able to write for specific actors. I really enjoy doing this.
The idea for the short came to me because of the X Factor queue. To me it full of people with hopes and dreams which may sadly never be realised. Some, I felt, behaved like X Factor was the only thing that could save them. I wanted to explore these characters. I chose the game show world instead of X factor because money (not recognition of talent or fame) is a better reward as it opens up choices. I had been developing a horror film script which explores the game show world and that picks up a group of contestants at its start so I mixed these two ideas together. This film was commissioned and made for the six actors so I felt having a group of contestants meet was the closest way to giving all actors equal status and screen time. It was never my intention to have a main character.
I chose the cast before I knew what the film story was going to be about. I simply knew it would be about contestants. After I cast I went home to write first and during the days I wrote scenes and then started to arrange rehearsals three or four nights a week. In our first meetings I tried to explain how I was searching for an arch. I wanted each character to go through a journey and that this in its entirety would make an overall arch. It was for me a matter of putting a puzzle together: rehearsing whilst writing and sensing how this arch was to form was a lot of fun for me. It’s incredibly enjoyable to do. What I did notice was that I was writing more of a play than a film, but I was fine with that as it was essentially a platform for the actors to show their talents.
On reflection making a deadline of two weeks to rattle out a short script does make one race. There’s no time to re-write and re-draft. I had a deadline and a camera and sound man who wanted a script. I had to recce and make props and find crew so I was multitasking at the same time. I wish I could have done more exploration off the text though and had allowed the actors all sorts of freedoms. However adding up the days allowed, it took about eight or nine afternoons to write and there was not time. Nevertheless it was overall a fantastic experience and I loved every minute of it. The actors all worked very hard and we were exceptionally lucky to have Chris Openshaw and Adrian Bell take time out to film it for us. So a big thanks to them and everyone else who’s been part of it.
Watch the film (32Mb file)