Dougie Brimson's Blog: A Write Old Life, page 7
May 30, 2017
From the writer of Green Street….
[image error]This isn’t something I would normally do, but with three projects currently in development and taking the bulk of my time, I have a number of additional scripts in work so thought I would offer a few out via my blog. All are at the second draft stage so if any are of interest to anyone in the industry, please drop me an email via dougiebrimson@me.com
Boots on the Ground: Drama (feature or TV): A soldier loses his legs after an ambush in Afghanistan and returns home to the brutal realisation that his real war has only just begun.
Wings of a Sparrow: Comedy (feature or TV): A fanatical football fan inherits a multi-million pound fortune and thinks that all of his dreams have come true. However, his dreams soon turn to nightmares when he learns that the money comes with some very unsavoury strings attached!
First Parallel: Supernatural Drama (returnable TV): A shy, unassuming woman girl discovers that she is the only hope for mankind in a supernatural war being fought against an army of evil led by the malevolent spirit of her dead mother.
[image error]Just in case you didn’t already know, all of my books and DVD’s are available from both Amazon and iTunes.
Further information at dougiebrimson.com
beer, lads, women, men, relationships, sex, love, romance, author, screen
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May 24, 2017
Enough is enough. The time has surely come to let our dogs off their leash.
Enough with the hashtags, the vigils, the understanding, the calls for calm, for unity, for tolerance and enough of waiting. Yes, waiting.Waiting for the next piece of human garbage to blow himself up, drive into pedestrians, hack the head off an off-duty servicemen or carry out whatever depraved act they want to do in the name of their warped idealism.
And it’s coming. We all know it’s coming.
Is this the life we want now? A life where fear is a constant emotion whenever we step onto a tube train or into a public place? When the sight of an armed policeman or even a soldier on our streets brings a sense of relief?
I don’t. I suspect you don’t either.
I don’t want to wait until mass mourning becomes a national pastime, I want action. And action of the type that isn’t even being talked about openly purely for fear of upsetting the very people who caused this problem in the first place. The liberal left and the do-gooders driven by their politically correct and anti-British madness. The minority. Remember that, they are the minority.
Well sod that and sod them. They had their chance and their failure was catastrophic.
To them, the only answers are long-term. Education, deradicalisation, community involvement, unity, tolerance, carry on regardless. But doing that merely normalises terrorism by giving it time to become routine. Well we don’t have time because the problem is imminent as evidenced by the sight of soldiers on our streets. OUR streets! And imminent problems demand immediate action.
The first move must be to take the fight to the 3000 individuals who currently sit on our terror watch list because that is where the danger lies. So, as the bodies of our children still lie cold in the morgues of Manchester, the time has surely come to get them off our streets and into internment camps. And those who are considered as significant threats, take them out. Period.
Who would mourn? Seriously. Who would even know let alone care?
Now I know that there will be those reading this who will throw the Islamophobic or race card at me because that’s their bog standard response to anything they don’t agree with and there will be others who will talk about giving up the fundamental rule of law which is innocent until proven guilty (although oddly, they don’t complain when that is applied to football fans, but that’s another debate).
But they are wrong.
This isn’t about race or religion,it is about a war and be we Christian, Muslim, Jew, Sikh, Buddhist or clingon, we are all of us in very real danger at the hands of an enemy who live not in some far flung land, not in aircraft flying overhead dropping bombs on us or even in submarines lobbing inter-continental missiles in our direction, but right in our midst.
What we need to do is face up to that fact and understand that the war we are involved in is being fought against an uncivilised, barbaric enemy which doesn’t abide by the Geneva Convention, has no rules of combat, no morals and no honour. Instead, it wants only to bring death and destruction to our shores, our countrymen and to our way of life. The death of 22 young people in Manchester on Monday night proves that.
Well enough is enough. We have the best security services and special forces in the world and the time has come to let them off the leash and let them take the fight directly to the enemy who skulk in our gutters.
Because the unpalatable truth is that ultimately, as we saw with the IRA, stepping outside of the rule of law and cutting the head off the snake is the only way we’re ever going to get close to winning this particular war.
[image error]Just in case you didn’t already know, all of my books and DVD’s are available from both Amazon and iTunes.
Further information at dougiebrimson.com
beer, lads, women, men, relationships, sex, love, romance, author, screenwriting, ebooks, self publishing, indie film, football, twitter, trolls, trolling, facebook, social media
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May 18, 2017
Why Watford had to let Walter Mazzarri had to go. The facts.
[image error] I am a Watford fan. This is not a confession, it’s a statement of fact.
As a consequence, I’ve seen every home game this season as well as a good few away. For example, I was at West Ham when we came back from 2-0 down to win 2-4 with one of the gutsiest displays I’ve ever seen by a Watford team and at Hull, when we rolled over in one of the most inept performances I’ve ever seen by the side I follow.
What this means is that I am more than qualified to comment on the issue of Walter Mazzari and that comment is this: terminating his contract was exactly the right thing to do purely because it turned out that he wasn’t a good fit for us after all.
That’s it. No further discussion or explanation required.
So, if you’re a journalist or even a supporter of any of the other 91 professional football clubs, your comments, opinions or insults are meaningless to me because they’re primarily based on hearsay, not experience.
Oh, and just so you know, sacking Flores last season was also bang on the money.
Now, please move along. There’s nothing else to see here.
[image error]Just in case you didn’t already know, all of my books and DVD’s are available from both Amazon and iTunes.
Further information at dougiebrimson.com
beer, lads, women, men, relationships, sex, love, romance, author, screenwriting, ebooks, self publishing, indie film, football, twitter, trolls, trolling, facebook, social media
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May 10, 2017
How movies happen. Part One.
[image error]First off, I must apologise for the title of this blog.
The truth is, as a simple writer I am but a tiny cog in the movie making machine and if I did know how they happened, I would have bottled it, patented it, franchised the shit out of it and be long gone by now.
What I do know however, is how mine happen although to be fair, my experience is hardly standard. After all, my first feature came about as a result of a conversation on a dodgy internet forum and my next one (that will be #4) is the product of a simple one line pitch thrown in at the end of a meeting about another film. A film which remains as yet, unmade.
This proves to me, and should do to you, that there is no actual ‘way’ for a movie to happen but there are instead, a myriad of ‘ways’. And for the average writer, most of those will be entirely out of your control and more often than not dependent on huge amounts of luck. Sad, but undoubtedly true.
That said, there are plenty of ways to heighten your chances of escaping the anonymity of the slush pile although in truth, none will ever guarantee success.
For a start, turning in a script which is both properly formatted and free of either spelling or grammatical errors should be a given (and if you don’t do that anyway, then you don’t deserve to have your script read let alone produced) whilst having a decent title certainly helps. Attaching a star is also a great way to gain attention but all of this should be the territory of your agent or manager if you have one. On which note, if you don’t, then get one. They are effectively filters who keep crap away from script readers and so a pile of paper coming from an agent is going to have far more of a chance of being looked at and taken seriously than one that doesn’t.
If you’re not adverse to networking (and I am, I hate it) then get out there and sell yourself as often and as hard as you can. In the film industry, people buy people as much as they buy what they can actually do. If you can’t or won’t do that and aren’t getting anywhere via any other means, then entering and hopefully winning one of the numerous screenwriting competitions will at least get your work in front of the right people.
And that’s what all of the above is designed to do; get your work in the hands of someone who will hopefully read your script. That’s when it’s all turns back around and you really do influence what happens next.
Because aside from your screenplay looking professional, the single most important thing to do with a script is the one thing you have the most control over. It’s the story. Because whilst a great story will sell a crap script, a crap story won’t sell a great script.
So nail your story from day one and if you do the work and get it right, it’ll happen.
On which note, if all goes to plan, details of my next movie will be announced at the Cannes Film Festival which begins a week today.
For reasons which will become obvious in the fullness of time, details of this project are being kept a closely guarded secret for the time being but rest assured, I will pass them on as soon as I’m allowed.
What I can tell you is that it’s going to be a cracker and is certain to shock a few people. More than a few hopefully.
And that’s all you’re getting for now.
[image error]Just in case you didn’t already know, all of my books and DVD’s are available from both Amazon and iTunes.
Further information at dougiebrimson.com
beer, lads, women, men, relationships, sex, love, romance, author, screenwriting, ebooks, self publishing, indie film, football, twitter, trolls, trolling, facebook, social media
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The post How movies happen. Part One. appeared first on A Write Old Life. .
August 15, 2016
I'm a best-seller!
Best of all, it's now totally FREE! (And yes, that is another of my books at #2!)
February 2, 2016
April 22, 2015
Questioned and Answered: Why we love football.
As someone who frequently finds themselves in conversation with people from every end of pretty much every spectrum on which human life sits, I often find myself responding to questions of some kind or another.
Inevitably, the bulk of these will revolve around subjects linked to my work or be of the ‘how can I?’ variety which is fine. Occasionally however, you’ll get a curveball question and the range of issues these can cover is, to say the least, broad. Only recently I found myself explaining to someone from the other side of the world why we drive on the ‘wrong’ side of the road.
To be honest, I like this kind of random stuff. Not only does it tax the brain (or google) but I find it quite rewarding to think that people feel comfortable asking me these things. Especially when in some cases, I’ll have been the first Englishman they’ll ever have mailed.
My favourite question however, is one which lands in my inbox on a regular basis. It is quite simply, why football?
Usually of course, this will be used in the context of violence or hatred but increasingly, it’s being asked by people who don’t follow the game and want to know why those of us who do are so fanatical about it.
My explanation to this is a simple one and it’s that there is no such thing as a standard answer because there is no such thing as a standard football fan. We might come across as sheep (or even mugs) to the uninitiated but when you look a little deeper, you’ll quickly find that there are all kinds of reasons to explain why we are all unique in our love of the great game. There are even different degrees of obsession but if you want to know more about that, then you best read this.
Amongst those of us who actually get off our arses to attend games in the flesh, there is however, one common thread and that is that it’s not just about 90 minutes of football. And I mean football, not even great football. For it’s fair to say that some of the best days I’ve had as a fan have been on days when Watford have lost and I’d bet that most fans reading this will think the same.
For the simple reality is that watching football is about one thing, hope. Hope that things will get better, or not get worse. Hope that you will win promotion, not get relegated, beat your local rivals or even just carry on for one more season. And with that hope comes every kind of emotional event possible all wrapped up in one simple word, passion.
To be a part of that passion, to��be able to share those experiences with others and��belong to something that will come to dominate your weekends, if not your life, that’s why we do it and why we love it. Because we belong.
Don’t ask me why we do it, tell me why you don’t.
Speaking of football and fans, my old book Rebellion is now available as an ebook.
First published in 2006, it tells the background to some of the more infamous fan protests including those at Charlton, Wimbledon, Manchester United, Manchester City, Norwich and Bournemouth amongst many others.
And on much the same subject, my latest novel, Wings of a Sparrow, may well be heading for TV.
Watch this space!
football, hooligan, author, screenwriter, ebook, independent film, blog, politics, GE2015, dyer, sothcott, spandau ballet, sex, ��
March 11, 2015
The Appeal of Clarkson.
I���ve had a few people contact me this morning asking me to explain the appeal of Jeremy Clarkson.
Now it is indeed true that Jezza is something of a Marmite figure and to be honest, I���m not exactly his greatest fan. Indeed, a few years ago, in a glossary for my book, The Geezers Guide to Football, I wrote:
Clarkson (Jeremy): Motoring journalist and television presenter from the BBC show Top Gear. Likes to think he is a geezer but is merely a mouthy public-school twat. Doesn���t like football either, which also makes him a bit of a wanker as far as I���m concerned.
However, it is fair to say that since I wrote that, I���ve softened somewhat. Not because I particularly like Top Gear -as TV shows go, it’s as hit-and-miss as it gets- or because he makes brilliant documentaries about our forces (which he really does), but for one simple reason.
For the truth is that as a character who isn���t afraid to say what he thinks when he thinks it and who has the confidence to stand by (almost) every word he says, Clarkson has been the one presenter who has stood firm against the takeover of our national broadcaster by the Liberal Left.
That���s why they hate him with a passion because to them, he is��the manifestation of the enemy.��Right-wing, outspoken, vehement in his condemnation of political correctness and as patriotic as it gets,��he is everything they despise. That’s why��they’ve gone after him at every opportunity.
Their problem thus far of course, is that he’s also hugely popular and much of that has to do with the fact that he strikes a chord with people. And the chord he strikes is anarchy.
What Clarkson does isn’t simply to give voice to the kind of opinion that we, as a society, are supposed to keep suppressed. It’s the fact that he speaks, writes and behaves in a manner which refuses to conform. It’s a tactic Katy Hopkins and even Nigel Farage have adopted and look what’s happened there!
Sadly, it now appears that Jezza has finally handed them his head on a plate and no doubt publicly funded taxi���s are thrashing through the Manchester traffic toward BBC towers full of people desperate to hammer the final nail into the coffin of what remained of the non-politically correct BBC.
For those of us who recognise the damage this will do, the only saving grace is that the BBC���s loss will be another broadcasters gain.
.
Just a reminder that Top Dog has been nominated in the ‘Best Action’ category at the National Film Awards 2015. This is decided by the public and time is running out so please, click on the link and vote for us.
Could I also remind you that We Still Kill The Old Way is nominated for numerous awards at the Action Elite Awards��Again, this is a public vote so please, click on the link and do it!
top gear, clarkson, football, independent film, author, screenwriting, bbc
acting, actor, writing, script, scriptwriting, screenpl
March 6, 2015
Actors: smart, mad or just plain stupid.
Last year, I wrote a blog about the issue of people expecting writers to work for free. The blog, entitled So you want to be a professional writer, attracted numerous comments including some from a number of actors who made the point that if I thought writers had it tough, I should try earning a living doing what they do.
This is, to be fair, true. I know numerous actors who routinely work for little or no money and one only has to look at the number of adverts asking for cast and crew to work for little more than a credit to see that as a profession, acting really is amongst the toughest there is.
Now having been on both sides of this particular coin, first as an extra and then as someone who’s asked people to work for free, I have nothing but admiration for those who want to act and understand only too well that often chances are taken purely to gain experience, exposure or simply to network.��As a consequence, if someone comes to work for me for free, not only will I love them forever but I’ll do my utmost to ensure that they looked after to the best of my ability and, just as importantly, they have fun. That is the very least I can do and what they should expect.��Sadly, this is not always the case as tales of exploitation bordering on slavery are hardly unusual. Which brings me��nicely to the reason for this blog.
The��other day I was exchanging tales of life on set with an old mate and he mentioned that on top of everything else, when he did get cast for paid roles it was becoming increasingly normal for him to have to fight for the payment he’d signed for. Sometimes, they didn’t materialise at all.
The fact that he was quite matter-of-fact about this was quite disconcerting but when I asked him what he ever did about being ripped off, his response was a shrug of the shoulders and ‘that’s how it is now’.
But he’s wrong. It’s not ‘how it is’ but ‘how it’s been allowed to become’. And it’s been allowed to become like that not just because of low-budget film making and the explosion of the short movie scene, but because people (and this applies equally to cast and crew) are willing to let themselves be stolen from. And that’s what we’re talking here, theft.
If someone steals your property, you report it to the police without hesitation so if someone refuses to pay you for your working time, why would you not report that��to your union? That’s why Equity,��the Writers Guild and The Society of Authors exist, to protect us and our working rights!
And if you’re not a member, why not��take the guilty party to the small court? ��It’s your fundamental right to take legal action and at worst, you’ll be ��25 out of pocket. At best, you’ll get paid.
So if��what I’ve written strikes a chord with you because you’re in the same situation as my mate, then start to treat your profession professionally and take action. Not just for yourself, but for everyone who’s ever been turned over. Because if you don’t, this exploitation will not only continue, it’ll get worse.
And no one in their right mind wants that.Just a reminder that Top Dog has been nominated in the ‘Best Action’ category at the National Film Awards 2015. This is decided by the public and time is running out so please, click on the link and vote for us.
Could I also remind you that We Still Kill The Old Way is nominated for numerous awards at the Action Elite Awards��Again, this is a public vote so please, click on the link and do it!
acting, actor, writing, script, scriptwriting, screenplay, author, independent film, top dog, green street, football, sex, premiership, chelsea, law
March 2, 2015
Screenwriting: Is age discrimination an actual thing?
In my last blog (Why the film world doesn’t owe you a living) I made the point that as a 56 year old male, the chances of you ‘breaking through’ are almost certainly hindered by the fact that you are usually old enough to be the father of the person holding your future in their hands.
The reaction to this was, as expected, mixed. Some people claimed it was shameful of me to compare age to race or even sex as a barrier with others thanking me for saying something that they’d been thinking for for years.
Now in response to the former, I��have no idea what it’s like to be anything other than a white male and given that I’m currently 56 and a writer, I think I’m fairly well placed to write about the impact being a 56 year old white male can have on a career as a writer. And since this is my blog… well, I’m sure you know where I’m going with that so please, fill in the blanks yourself.
As for those who agreed with me, which was to be fair, the majority, I’m obviously grateful for all of your comments and if in some small way I’ve inspired you to keep going, then I’m humbled.
Interestingly, the blog generated some extremely positive reaction in the US (someone even linked me with Madonna which is a bit random!) and actually led to a few interviews on the subject one of which was with the website ‘Screenwriting Staffing‘ which has just gone live.
Have a read and please, let me know what you think.
Just a reminder that Top Dog has been nominated in the ‘Best Action’ category at the National Film Awards 2015. This is decided by the public so please, click on the link and vote for us.
Could I also remind you that We Still Kill The Old Way is nominated for numerous awards at the Action Elite Awards��Again, this is a public vote so please, click on the link and do it!
author, screenwriting, screenplay, green street, elijah wood, fart, farting, gangster, sex, oral, football, soccer, hooligans, author, indie, independent, self publishing, ebook
