Some news items and stuff, while I'm in the middle of writing other things:
Fans of Doctor Who/Torchwood/Sarah Jane Adventures might want to check out a one day convention on June 6th, called Utopia, in London (who knew Utopia was really to be found in London, coh, what a surprise, etc etc). Among the guests are Toby Whithouse (writer for Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Being Human), Carole Ann Ford (Susan, the Doctor's grand-daughter), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa, companion of the 4th and 5th Doctors), James Strong (director for Doctor Who and Torchwood), Tracey Childs (Metella in my Pompeii episode of Doctor Who), and a very handsome, talented writer for TV and film called-- oh, how embarrassing! It's me!
Yes, I'll be there, talking, answering questions, signing things, and so on. There are lots of other guests, and more to come, with panels, Q+A's, etc, so if you like the sound of that, come along to the Cockpit Theatre in London. As I post this, there are only 36 tickets left - 40 quid for adults, 20 quid for kids - so snap them up if you want to go. Update: Only 28 tickets left now!
The new Torchwood magazine is out here in the UK, with lots of stuff and photos of the upcoming series. They've also announced a book of short stories, called Torchwood: Consequences, which explores how Torchwood's actions can sometimes have far reaching effects. It all sounds really good, especially considering they've got people like Joseph Lidster, David Llewellyn, Andrew Cartmel, and an incredibly handsome, talented writer called- oh, how even more embarrassing than the last time! It's me! Yep, I'm doing one of the stories, it's quite a long one (ooh, matron) and I got away with all sorts of mayhem. It'll be released in October.
Several people have asked about Law & Order UK, but I'm actually not working on that any more - things got way too busy last year, so I had to step aside, and I don't have any episodes in the show. I know, I should have mentioned this earlier, but you know what I'm like with blog punctuality... But I had a great time working on the show while I was there, learned a lot, and got to meet the whole cast, including Jamie Bamber, who actually flies a Viper in real life (probably). You have no idea how hard it was to *not* say things to him like: "so, how was your flight over? Any turbulence...? Cylons...?" Somehow I managed to stay professional and not behave like a giggly schoolkid. Much.
Another bit of Primeval fun: Just after the episode had aired, it had only been a few days since the character was introduced, but already there was slashfic out there featuring Danny Quinn. I was very impressed at the speed of this. By the way, I got to give Danny his last name, and decided to name him after one of my best mates, Emmet Quinn. I won't tell him about the slash, though. Well, not until I can do it in person so I can see his face. (Just a reminder: I'm not allowed to read anything like this, be it slash, fic, or unrelated stuff, for various boring legal reasons, so please don't send me any etc. But I can look at the titles, and see who is being paired with who, which fascinates me.)
Showing newest posts with label Law and Order. Show older posts
Showing newest posts with label Law and Order. Show older posts
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Friday, September 12, 2008
Forbidden Planet signing for Doctor Who Storybook
Right, three more brief announcements before the next big post. Running low on time before I go to Texas, so things might slow down, he said, pretending that he does regular blog posts.
The writing team on Law & Order: UK has officially been announced. "Top writing talent"! And they're including me in that description! Clearly a typo, it should say "top writing talent, including TV's James Moran, who is also handsome and witty". Obviously I'll be sending them a letter to correct this. Written in crayon. On a piece of human flesh (not my own).
More guests have been announced for next year's Gallifrey convention in Los Angeles, which I am attending. Super duper guests include Nicola Bryant, Phil Ford, Keith Temple, and many others, at the link. Oh, and some bloke called Gareth something-or-other, apparently he plays a character called "Ian Toe" in some TV show about aliens and stuff, I think it's called "Touch My Wood".
And finally, the big Forbidden Planet store in London is having a signing session for The Doctor Who Storybook 2009, available in all good shops now etc etc. Several of the short story authors will be there, including one particularly striking, talented chap called... oh, how embarrassing! It's me! The signing is on Saturday 4th October, from 1 - 2pm, at Forbidden Planet, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR. From the website:
Authors on the day include: Gareth Roberts (The Shakespeare Code and The Unicorn and The Wasp), Keith Temple (Planet Of The Ood), James Moran (The Fires OF Pompeii), Clayton Hickman (Doctor Who audio writer), Gary Russell (Script Editor on Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures) and Jonathan Morris (Doctor Who book writer and audio writer).
This is particularly exciting for me, because I've attended several signings at Forbidden Planet in the past, mainly back when the shop was on New Oxford Street. The last one I went to there was Amber Benson, who played Tara in Buffy (damn you Whedon TO HELL for what you did, oh I can't stay mad at you, let's be best friends again forever, although I am still upset and will feel free to mention it again whenever we argue, kthxbye). So it'll be very cool to see it from the other side. Pop along if you're in the area, and get your books defaced with our squiggles.
The writing team on Law & Order: UK has officially been announced. "Top writing talent"! And they're including me in that description! Clearly a typo, it should say "top writing talent, including TV's James Moran, who is also handsome and witty". Obviously I'll be sending them a letter to correct this. Written in crayon. On a piece of human flesh (not my own).
More guests have been announced for next year's Gallifrey convention in Los Angeles, which I am attending. Super duper guests include Nicola Bryant, Phil Ford, Keith Temple, and many others, at the link. Oh, and some bloke called Gareth something-or-other, apparently he plays a character called "Ian Toe" in some TV show about aliens and stuff, I think it's called "Touch My Wood".
And finally, the big Forbidden Planet store in London is having a signing session for The Doctor Who Storybook 2009, available in all good shops now etc etc. Several of the short story authors will be there, including one particularly striking, talented chap called... oh, how embarrassing! It's me! The signing is on Saturday 4th October, from 1 - 2pm, at Forbidden Planet, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR. From the website:
Authors on the day include: Gareth Roberts (The Shakespeare Code and The Unicorn and The Wasp), Keith Temple (Planet Of The Ood), James Moran (The Fires OF Pompeii), Clayton Hickman (Doctor Who audio writer), Gary Russell (Script Editor on Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures) and Jonathan Morris (Doctor Who book writer and audio writer).
This is particularly exciting for me, because I've attended several signings at Forbidden Planet in the past, mainly back when the shop was on New Oxford Street. The last one I went to there was Amber Benson, who played Tara in Buffy (damn you Whedon TO HELL for what you did, oh I can't stay mad at you, let's be best friends again forever, although I am still upset and will feel free to mention it again whenever we argue, kthxbye). So it'll be very cool to see it from the other side. Pop along if you're in the area, and get your books defaced with our squiggles.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Announcements, and an agent anecdote
Okay, after months of having to keep quiet, I can finally reveal what I've been working on recently - not everything, but the three main things at the moment. There are a couple of other things that I'll have to keep secret for now, as they're still in the early stages. But now, on with the bean spillage:
The Secret Project that Isn't DW or TW and Not on BBC... is... Primeval. Although many of you already guessed, and I told some people at Gallifrey, it's not common knowledge yet, so here I am, making it so. Like Captain Picard. Only not as commanding and handsome. It's for series 3, which has just been announced, and I got the job way back in September last year (clickyclicky for flashybacky), so I've been keeping quiet all this time. It's filming fairly soon, so I'd better get on and finish the draft I'm doing at the moment, or they will throw me to the Velociraptors.
By the way, just want to say hello and thank you to the ninjas over at Geek Syndicate, because during an interview with a certain someone who shall remain nameless (but his name rhymes with "Paul Cornell"), he accidentally let it slip that I'm working on Primeval. Being thoroughly decent, righteous dudes, they edited it out and told me they'd keep it secret until I announced it. You can hear the interview here, and great fun it is too - but don't go yet! I'm not finished talking.
The second project that has been occupying my time in Jan and Feb is... Spooks: Liberty. It's a spinoff of Spooks, from Kudos, the people who make, er, Spooks, and Ashes to Ashes, and loads of other shows. The only info I've found so far online is here, on the wiki-wiki-wah-wah, but I'm sure there'll be official sites and things soon. I don't know if the Liberty title is staying or changing, but last time I checked, that's what it was. It's a new show, will be on BBC3, but that's all I can say so far. Apart from this: yesterday was the final day of filming for the episode I worked on, so it's all "in the can". I know! I just threw that in there at the end, as if it didn't matter! I am, quite literally, hardcore.
The third one is very new, big and scary, and it is... the UK version of Law & Order. The story broke fairly recently, but if you don't know, the gist is that Kudos (see above) are doing a UK version of the US show, with Chris Chibnall as the showrunner. Same stories, more or less, but reworked into a UK setting for UK characters, with UK law. I'm part of the writing team, and will be doing 2 episodes. It's a new, scary departure for me, because it features no aliens, no psycho killers, no time travel, and no monsters. We've got legal and police advisors to help us with the tricky bits, and have had a couple of 2-day meetings about the show, getting it into shape, and this is before we even start writing. Week before last, we got a tour of The Old Bailey, which was amazing, and terrifying at the same time. I sat in a judge's chair, and shouted "Silence in court! You are out of order, sir!" Then I went down into the main bit, and shouted "Out of order? No! YOU'RE out of order! This whole goddamn SYSTEM is out of order!" Then I had to be escorted out, because there was a court case in progress at the time, and I'd just kicked an elderly judge out of his chair.
Obviously, as I've said many times now, I cannot talk about plot things, so don't even dare ask, or I'll shriek in horror. I will try and post about the working process for any and all of these, because they each had very different setups, and the contrast is quite interesting. Ah, that reminds me, I still have some TW questions to answer... I'll try to do those soon, but it's a bit hectic at the moment (see above).
And to finish things off, here's an insight into the mind of an agent. Last week, I was in a meeting for a TV job (one I've already got, nothing mentioned above), and they asked me if I fancied doing an episode of Other Popular Show, as well as this one. At first, I said no, what with being so busy, and also because I thought it would be too awkward (the plots can get quite tangled and tricky, and I worried that it'd probably be a nightmare to write for). But they talked me into it, pitched the episode idea to me, and explained that it wasn't as serial-based and complex as the other ones. I said fair enough, and asked if I could be considered for Possible Other Series as well (something else they're developing which I want in on). They thought about it, and said they'd see what they could do. So it looks like I'm doing Other Popular Show, which should be good fun, and maybe Possible Other Series sometime too. It was so nice to have someone pitch to me, rather than the other way around. Anyway. I phoned my agent, and told him the whole story, expecting him to be impressed at (a) my negotiating skills, (b) my calmness under pressure, and (c) how far I've come along in my career now that they're asking me for things. Instead, there was a brief silence, and then the rest of the conversation went:
Agent: You said NO to them??
Me: Yes, and then what was so brilliant was--
Agent: You. Said no. To them.
Me: Yeah, but then they talked me into it. Isn't that cool?
Agent. Said. No. To. Them...
Me: Yeah! I told them I thought it'd be too difficult.
[sounds of agent having massive heart attack]
Me: Hello?
...
The Secret Project that Isn't DW or TW and Not on BBC... is... Primeval. Although many of you already guessed, and I told some people at Gallifrey, it's not common knowledge yet, so here I am, making it so. Like Captain Picard. Only not as commanding and handsome. It's for series 3, which has just been announced, and I got the job way back in September last year (clickyclicky for flashybacky), so I've been keeping quiet all this time. It's filming fairly soon, so I'd better get on and finish the draft I'm doing at the moment, or they will throw me to the Velociraptors.
By the way, just want to say hello and thank you to the ninjas over at Geek Syndicate, because during an interview with a certain someone who shall remain nameless (but his name rhymes with "Paul Cornell"), he accidentally let it slip that I'm working on Primeval. Being thoroughly decent, righteous dudes, they edited it out and told me they'd keep it secret until I announced it. You can hear the interview here, and great fun it is too - but don't go yet! I'm not finished talking.
The second project that has been occupying my time in Jan and Feb is... Spooks: Liberty. It's a spinoff of Spooks, from Kudos, the people who make, er, Spooks, and Ashes to Ashes, and loads of other shows. The only info I've found so far online is here, on the wiki-wiki-wah-wah, but I'm sure there'll be official sites and things soon. I don't know if the Liberty title is staying or changing, but last time I checked, that's what it was. It's a new show, will be on BBC3, but that's all I can say so far. Apart from this: yesterday was the final day of filming for the episode I worked on, so it's all "in the can". I know! I just threw that in there at the end, as if it didn't matter! I am, quite literally, hardcore.
The third one is very new, big and scary, and it is... the UK version of Law & Order. The story broke fairly recently, but if you don't know, the gist is that Kudos (see above) are doing a UK version of the US show, with Chris Chibnall as the showrunner. Same stories, more or less, but reworked into a UK setting for UK characters, with UK law. I'm part of the writing team, and will be doing 2 episodes. It's a new, scary departure for me, because it features no aliens, no psycho killers, no time travel, and no monsters. We've got legal and police advisors to help us with the tricky bits, and have had a couple of 2-day meetings about the show, getting it into shape, and this is before we even start writing. Week before last, we got a tour of The Old Bailey, which was amazing, and terrifying at the same time. I sat in a judge's chair, and shouted "Silence in court! You are out of order, sir!" Then I went down into the main bit, and shouted "Out of order? No! YOU'RE out of order! This whole goddamn SYSTEM is out of order!" Then I had to be escorted out, because there was a court case in progress at the time, and I'd just kicked an elderly judge out of his chair.
Obviously, as I've said many times now, I cannot talk about plot things, so don't even dare ask, or I'll shriek in horror. I will try and post about the working process for any and all of these, because they each had very different setups, and the contrast is quite interesting. Ah, that reminds me, I still have some TW questions to answer... I'll try to do those soon, but it's a bit hectic at the moment (see above).
And to finish things off, here's an insight into the mind of an agent. Last week, I was in a meeting for a TV job (one I've already got, nothing mentioned above), and they asked me if I fancied doing an episode of Other Popular Show, as well as this one. At first, I said no, what with being so busy, and also because I thought it would be too awkward (the plots can get quite tangled and tricky, and I worried that it'd probably be a nightmare to write for). But they talked me into it, pitched the episode idea to me, and explained that it wasn't as serial-based and complex as the other ones. I said fair enough, and asked if I could be considered for Possible Other Series as well (something else they're developing which I want in on). They thought about it, and said they'd see what they could do. So it looks like I'm doing Other Popular Show, which should be good fun, and maybe Possible Other Series sometime too. It was so nice to have someone pitch to me, rather than the other way around. Anyway. I phoned my agent, and told him the whole story, expecting him to be impressed at (a) my negotiating skills, (b) my calmness under pressure, and (c) how far I've come along in my career now that they're asking me for things. Instead, there was a brief silence, and then the rest of the conversation went:
Agent: You said NO to them??
Me: Yes, and then what was so brilliant was--
Agent: You. Said no. To them.
Me: Yeah, but then they talked me into it. Isn't that cool?
Agent. Said. No. To. Them...
Me: Yeah! I told them I thought it'd be too difficult.
[sounds of agent having massive heart attack]
Me: Hello?
...
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