On a 73 bus again. I am heading in for some late Christmas shopping! Every year I am late but this one seems the worst. I’m still playing catch up on the things that were left high and dry when we started pre-production on DEP. So much to do!

On Tuesday I met again with Jonnie and we went through what invoices and receipts we’ve got at present. We paid the most pressing but our finance is running low yet again. We desperately need to do the VAT reclaim. HM Customs and Excise needed some sales estimates which I have dutifully done this morning, but what they most need is the accounts. That again is something that cannot be done till we get everything from Williams Rodriguez. I planned to meet him yesterday evening but he cancelled again!

On Thursday there were some Post Production results finally. I saw rushes. Caroline and I sat through the footage shot for all the stuff leading up to getting on the Ferry excluding the footage from the office that is the last to be synced up.

So far we are synced up to slate number 447. Nearly all have been transferred so it’s just a case of syncing. What’s it like seeing rushes at last? Well, it’s strangely calming.

The best thing is seeing the uniformity of style and texture. All the colour co-ordination I agreed with Seanne and all the lighting decisions I made with Roger seem to have paid off. Nothing stands out as being out of place. The ‘feel’ of the film is there. A kind of European feel, not at all American or British. It’s not grungy documentary style like FL, nor gritty but cinematic like BKO, nor slick and stylised like The Poet. It’s different to either. That I like.

I once showed «The Poet» to someone and they asked «Who’s the DoP? It looks amazing!!» When I replied that it was Roger they said «Not the same guy who did Boston Kickout?» I said «Of Course!» They had fallen victim to the same old disease, the one that is rife in the world of Commercials for instance. They think because a DoP or director has done one style it’s the only style they can do!! Anyway, we’ve come up with a different one again. Of course there are some DoP’s or Directors that can only do things one way as well as versatile one’s like Sidney Lumet.

On Thursday we made all the choices for scenes in the first half of the film that were done in one shot - all the sequence shots. We might re-evaluate those choices later but I doubt it. As we watched the footage scene by scene chronologically it occurred to me that the first dialogue scene of the film is actually a short sequence shot. Caroline asked me «Did you plan it that way?» Bizarrely, being honest, I hadn’t. It was one of only three scenes in the film where I had to compromise on coverage because of time pressures – at the Tai Chi class. Of course, when you start to get to know a character, that’s the place to let things breathe. It works well here I feel.

What scenes stand out so far? The wine scene where Callum and Malika get drunk. The beautiful swings scene with Roger’s day for night filter and the beautiful mesmeric effect of the sound of the swinging. The scenes with Rosie in Emma’s house.

We also made the first cut in the film. After choosing the final take of the first day scene 48, the 3 minute tracking shot, we choose the cut to the take where they fall to the ground. It works well to cut from such a long and then wide shot in close is the pure essence of cinema. The change of perspective. I love it. It cuts just as planned with Roger’s compensating handheld track around as beautiful and sublime as can be.

It makes me think of the real tragedy, be it a future one. One day I might have to make a film without Roger as my DoP. That will be a very, very, very painful day for me!

I am seeing more next Friday. Hopefully all the film will be synced up by that time.

On Friday myself and Jonnie did final drop offs of bits of equipment and things that had been leant to the production. We also dropped off a big screen TV to Caroline. There’s no way we can edit a feature on the small monitor she normally uses for documentaries and promos. I showed Jonnie some rushes that we had sat through. I only showed him bits that me and Caroline had viewed and talked about. I am Old School in the way I cannot tolerate people seeing rushes before I have seen them. I hate it!

On BKO, Paul Trijbits, who was Exec. Producing the film called up the editor, Melanie Adams and told her he had to catch a plane later that day and wanted to see the rushes. She told him that I had not seen them yet. He insisted. She said «no». He turned up at the cutting room. She pleaded for him to leave. He said that he was the Exec Producer, that he had to get on a plane, that he wouldn’t tell me and that if she didn’t show them that she would be sacked. He convinced her. What did he do after seeing them? Got in a car, drove 25 miles to Stevenage and to set, got out, walked through the whole crew, straight between John Simm, Emer McCourt and myself as we were rehearsing, looked me in the eye and said «Nice rushes». Of course, when I called Melanie she was in tears.

On DEP there has been none of that, no real politics, just the fall out between Jonnie and Williams that rumbles on. Of course, the longer it goes on not getting the paid invoices etc. the more Williams is shooting himself in the foot in every way.

Anyway, now Christmas is here, hopefully I’ll finish all I have outstanding before the day actually dawns!

On a train heading back to London from Stevenage. I’ve just been to visit my father who still lives in the town I grew up in from the age of 7 up until I was 18 and gravitated back to London to pursue a film-making career. The town is looking a little better than it did a few years ago when I made my autobiographical film about growing up there. It has grown a lot.

Although the town is looking better, my father is not. He’s well into his 70’s now and is not doing great. He can hardly walk properly and just a few yards are tiring for him. It’s sad for me to see him like that. I remember when he chased a man in a car for a mile to pull him out of it at a roundabout entrance and smack the shit out of him for shouting “Get a haircut!” as he drove by. My Father doesn’t quite believe in hairdressers. His hair always looks messy! Maybe my particular hair routine is influenced by that a bit!

My father asked about “The French film”. I told him we were in post and tried to explain to him what that means. In any event I’m pretty certain it wont be his kind of film. If I had made the Soldier’s story rather than Callum’s it might have been – if it was in English of course. Normally my Father has a healthy contempt for my film-making. He rarely asks but this time he did. That was nice.

The first time I ever had something showing on UK TV was a student film I produced at the National Film School. It was directed by Danny Cannon who remade the film later as “The Young Americans”. Anyway I called him up to tell him it was going to be on TV that Saturday. On Sunday I had planned to go home. When I got back I asked him did he watch it. He said “Nar, there was something better on the other side”. Some TV sitcom!

Later we were out back of the house. He was repairing a car, something he did for cash. His friend came out from a house nearby saying “Roy did, you see that thing on TV last night? The thing about the young boy!”. My Father was staggered for a second then replied “Oh my son made that.” He never let on for a second he hadn’t actually seen it himself.

Anyway, Christmas is done. I just did the necessary shopping in time. On the day itself I went to a friend’s house and ate the best Turkey I think I have ever had – not dry at all! After that I’ve been working, eating heartily and watching films. Amongst other things, I completed final tweaks on a script called “The Cult” on Thursday. That was a relief.

On Friday I was back in the cutting room. I watched with Caroline another whole chunk of synced rushes. We’ve probably seen about half of the film together now. I finally saw the stuff that had been damaged by the laboratory. The best takes are destroyed but I think with a bit of CGI we can retime the bicycle pass by Roger the Druid. We watched all the journey through France up till finding the first camp site by the stream. Things that stand out are the amazing improvisations en route and beautiful stuff around the pregnant tree where she asks permission from the forest. Wonderful!

Another scene I am really happy with is the first ‘faeries’ scene, again beginning with a development style sequence shot. We actually did the edit at the end of that scene like we did with the one from the first day. It was also the first time I have seen stuff in the office with Marc, John and Grace. The panning tracking introduction to the advertising company works well also. Marc’s improvisations in Sark’s office with the mini-globe is the only scene Marc was unsure about but as I knew they are very well covered and thus not a problem at all. It will edit together perfectly.

We are currently up to slate 529 but 30 of them are not done for various technical reasons. Now Caroline has nearly three weeks to finish the syncing as well as start the first assembly before I will bother her again. I go on holiday on Monday and badly needed it is too. I will put down the books I am reading now and will start Finigan’s Wake on the plane!

One final thing happened today. I got a letter from Max Steadi, demanding payment for the money he is owed and saying that now it is 2 months outstanding. I promised him I would text him while I was watching the steadicam rushes from the “Do Elephants Pray?” scene. I haven’t seen them yet. I am still waiting and that is why he has not had any contact. The problem we have now is that two months is nothing. I still haven’t got the receipts from Williams. He cancelled an appointment before Xmas and hasn’t replied to any of my recent texts. Without those receipts we cannot do our VAT reclaim and without that we cannot pay Max what he is owed.