And The Road Leads..............To Somewhere?

OMG what's going on? This last week has been a major "in the zone" week for writing and I've rattled off 95 pages of a new script in just over two weeks. That would ordinarily be brilliant but for two things:

1) I'm only just half way through the story!
2) I can't complete a 180 page script and hope to cut it down to 90 pages. That's impossible!

I know, I know, I can hear you all moaning..."But it can't be very good if you've done it in two weeks, can it?" The simple answer is "Possibly not....as it sits at the moment". The fact remains that at potentially 180 pages it's waaaaaaaay too long for a single feature despite the fact that the premise is very exciting, and I've just let the story flow out of my head onto the paper as it needs to.

I have been very conscious of brevity as I've been writing so it is a fast read for sure. However it is most certainly more suited, at its current length and that which I assume it will complete at, as a two part TV drama. The only problem with that is the story is very heavy - emotionally - and deals with issues that, without putting too fine a point on it, signal the end of mankind. And all in a way that is very real, and worringly, very possible.

There is so much to this story, and so much more I have had to leave untouched, that I am tempted to reconfigure the story to be a three or four part narrative, which then becomes much more suitable for serialisation. The hero is someone very identifiable, in an all action way, but clearly flawed by personality and experience. Supporting characters could be further fleshed out to provide alternative insight to the backstory surrounding the main premise.

It's a fascinating opportunity to really go beyond what I would normally do in a feature script, simply because it carries with it elements of political conspiracy and the hot topic of the Middle East, subjects that are constantly changing, and being debated the world over. I'm not quite sure how to pitch it, or if to pitch it to executives looking for the next serialised drama. I'd love to finish it first but that might mean 5 or 6 '60 minute' odd scripts for producers to wade through.

Perhaps I should do a good 'Part One', and then plan out the rest of the story in smaller treatments. In that way it could be seen as the realists 'Cloverfield' were it to be interpreted in a 'handy-cam' sort of way. That in itself is very exciting for sure.

Anyway watch this space. When I've made a decision you'll be the first to know. Nick