Chapter 26

I did what I had done before, by starting to write it as a story before aiming at the screenplay. I had a lot of it on the computer when Jacquie informed us that we had nothing to go to the Globes for, but a number of nominations in the BAFTA awards this year.

‘Lost in the Gale’ was up for Best Film, David as Director, Cecil for Cinematography, and I was up for Casting, which I had been credited for at the end of the film. All four of us were in the mix for our acting, with Eric up for Best Actor, Jack up for Supporting Actor, both me and Samantha as Best Actress, and Cynthia as the Supporting Actress. C.J. was on the list for the screenplay.

The Oscar nominations followed, but we were not so fortunate with them. They obviously thought that the picture was too English, too simple, or too psychological. Or, maybe, they couldn’t get their heads around a story where nobody except a country copper had any morals at the end.

David was still nominated for direction, with Cecil for cinematography, and, weirdly, Visual Effects. If they thought that the storm scenes were C.G.I. then that was their problem. Eric was in the list as a Supporting Actor. It meant that we would be attending, but it wouldn’t be the crowd we had taken with us last year.

I had another couple of weeks on my story before we needed to head home to get ready for the BAFTA’s. We were fairly sure that we would have some success, as we had a British film through and through. It was, as usual, a glittering evening. Jeff and I were outfitted by Burberry, from a new range. We were driven, in style, by Colin in the armour-plated A8, which we hadn’t used very much.

I got a mask for Casting. David got his for Directing, Cecil got his for Cinematography, and C.J. got the one for the screenplay. We swept the board with the masks for acting, with Eric and Jack getting the Best and Supporting categories. I missed out to Samantha as Best Actress, but Cynthia got hers as the Supporting Actress. Of course, after that we walked away with both the Best Film and the Outstanding British Film masks. It was a very good evening, and I was sure that David breathed a sigh of relief when we were up on stage. It had been a gamble to hold off the release, but it had paid off.

After that was the usual round of interviews, and then Jeff and I, David and Irene, Cecil, Eric, and their wives, along with Jacquie and Bronte, flew to America. With the pre-ceremony interviews, we were asked if we were happy or angry with our lack of nominations. We could only say that there a lot of films around, and that the Academy calls it how they see it. I saw a couple of TV anchors who had differing views on the subject. The left leaning one saying that the Academy was going too far right, and the right leaning one saying that we deserved all we got, as godless heathens, adding that ‘Women’ should have been banned, and films like that would be banned under their next government.

We went, we had a table for us, and we won the Oscars for Director, Cinematography, and Supporting Actor, but not the Visual Effects, which went to a sci-fi film. I took a picture of the three winners sent it to the Fan Club webmaster. They had already uploaded a bunch of pictures from the BAFTA evening. We were satisfied with what we received; it all adds to the saleability of the film.

A week later, Tony called us to say that he had the final print of the new film. He sounded a little tired. I found out why when we assembled at a soundstage, he told me that it had been a tough edit, with all the C.G.I. We had all of the cast, all the shareholders and all the unit leaders. He had also invited some prominent members of the Pluckley village. After the doors were closed and locked, he stood in front of the screen.

“I’m about to show you the first screening of ‘Wind of Change’. If you have any comments on how it can be changed, then feel free to speak. If the film shows the village in any bad way, we can fix it now, rather than later on. Enjoy.”

We saw the film and I was pleased that all my imaginative notions came out intact. The demons were demonic, the witches evil, and the villagers were brave. The scenes with Kym and Kurt were lovely, and the core love story dominated the middle of the film. At the end I didn’t have anything to comment on. One of the village elders pointed out one scene which had part of the original signage showing. Tony thanked him and promised that it would be airbrushed out.

Everyone thought that it was both a love story as well as a horror film. Later, in the reviews, one scribe referred to it as a ‘lorror story’ which was picked up and became a genre, like ‘romcom’. We showed the film to the village, in the sports pavilion, along with some other invitees, such as Agnes and her current reviewer. It was just a social evening so they could see it first. A “Wind Week’ was mooted for next year. The villagers were happy with what they had seen, and we set up a proper reviewers screening.

The reviews were good, and the premiere was in London, two weeks after that. It was promoted as the sequel to ‘Women’ and the viewers flocked to see it. When we released it in America, it was reviewed as a welcome change that the demons were vanquished by religion. Six months after release, it had clocked up four hundred and fifty million. That gave the crews nine million to split between them.

The main thing, for the film company, was that we had over a hundred million in the kitty after all the shareholders, expenses, and cast had been paid out. It gave David, and Tony close to thirty-four million, each. Jim had sixty-seven and a half to share among his backers.

Jim was keen to get something else going. We made two more films that year, both with screenplays that we had been sent, and the casts drawn from a multitude of new talent that were knocking on our door. David and Tony took turns in directing, with me helping out with locations, casting and some second unit directing. I wasn’t in either film but concentrated on my own new screenplay.

I had been working on it, on and off, for most of the year. What had started as a simple idea, had grown into a hefty piece of work. The opening was set in New York, where we see a very self-centred man in the finance business. He is very successful and exceedingly rich. He treats everyone around him with distain. He has bought a new luxury yacht, complete with crew, and plans a cruise to the Caribbean to show off to his acquaintances.

We have a trophy wife, three trophy ex-wives and their new partners, plus two prospective mistresses. The crew is a captain, and engineer and three very virile stewards who double as deckhands. There is jealousy, hatred, sex in many forms, and then a sudden storm that the captain had warned him about but that he had ignored. They get blown further and further into the Atlantic and things get dangerous when a huge wave almost capsizes the yacht, and floods some of the interior, via the large windows of the master bedroom that he has kept open so that he could breathe the sea air.

As the yacht rights, one of the stewards sees the water rushing through the stateroom door, goes into the stateroom, closes the windows, and then goes to report the flood to the captain. The captain shuts the engines down and tells our man that it was his stupidity that allowed the engine room to be flooded. The yacht tosses around like a cork, being built so that it was hard to sink. The captain and crew know this, and work on the owner, saying that they’re all going to die. The man is ground down until he would do anything to live. That’s when the rest of the passengers, and all the crew, work on him to share his wealth with them, seeing that if they all died, there would be a wider range of beneficiaries.

One of the partners of an ex-wife is a lawyer, and makes up a set of contracts, which the man signs, at the end of his tether. They all had other pieces of paper where they share their own money should his yacht come through. Of course, all of these are totally bogus. The papers are put into a waterproof container which went into the safe to be found if they were all dead. The weather improves, the engine room is pumped dry, and they return to the Florida port where they had started the cruise.

When the man tries to go back on his agreements, he finds that all the papers he signed were binding, stripping him of his wealth. As they had been cruising home, the rest of the passengers had been busy on their phones, organising transfers with the passwords that he had given them. None of the other passengers would have anything to do with him now. He had even given the luxury yacht to the captain, who orders him to leave. We last see him trying to thumb his way back to New York to return to his job. As he gets into a car, we see a newspaper stand, with the headlines that a global financial crash is happening.

When I had finished it, I ran off a dozen copies, and gave one each to the other shareholders, asking them to join me, at the house, for a dinner, so that we could talk about it. Jeff said what I expected, just a day later.

“Julia, my love. This is a good screenplay for a powerful film, but we don’t have enough behind us to make it.”

I agreed with him and asked him to wait until the others were with us. At the dinner, Kurt said what I had expected him, with his wide knowledge of action films.

“Julia, this is a great story, a huge film and a big money earning vehicle. What it isn’t is something that could be made here.”

“Exactly, Kurt. Some time back, your American backers promised me the earth, should I ask for it. What I have written has to be an American film, with top line American stars, made in a big studio with experience in similar films. It will take more money than we have. All we can offer is our combined directing skills, and the original screenplay. Do you think that’s enough to get them opening their wallets? If they do, this one has a chance to get close to ‘Titanic’.”

“That’s an interesting proposition. I can see this doing well, if made properly. You’re right, it can only be made with a big budget by a studio with a huge water tank. There are a few in America, I used one in one of my action films. You’ll need the use of a yacht, although there’s a few around that can be chartered. You could always just offer the screenplay to another film company.”

“No. If we retain control, we can get a percentage of the gross and make sure it doesn’t get messed around with. We get ‘Younger Films’ as a co-producer which will attract more actors and writers coming to our door. That, alone, will be worth not making this film ourselves.”

“You’re not doing this for personal gain, then?”

“I’ve got more money that I know what to do with, Kurt. My lifestyle is as good as I want it to be. I have a wonderful husband, a good family of friends, even a Fan Club. I’m not into grand houses all over the world, or fleets of million-dollar cars. What I want to do is to help others achieve their potential, and a successful outlet for creative people is one way to see that happen.”

Jim had a smile on his face.

“I can see your aim, Julia. It wouldn’t expose us to any financial risk if it bombs but will give us a big boost if it’s a hit. We could offer the rights for two percent, which I’m sure the backers would be very happy with. Although we can offer it at five and be prepared to haggle. It would have our company in the credits as co-producers, in a big-budget project. I like it.”

Tony, who had worked with Kurt in American-made movies, nodded.

“We can always offer the three of us as a directing, editing, location, casting and writing package, for five percent. The only locations come at the beginning and the end; the casting will need to be careful, but the main character goes through such a range of emotions there would be several who will put their hands up for a certain Oscar.”

Kym had been quiet, but then added her comment.

“I can see Kurt as the Captain. It’s a strong role and could get a supporting statuette. I’ll put my hand up to play the ex-wife married to the lawyer. To hell with retirement with a film like this. There’s a few that I’ve worked with who will want to be in it. If you all agree, Kurt and I will take some copies of this and talk to our friends in America. The worst that can happen is for them to say no. There’s the studio where Kurt has worked, and we can put it to them as a first in line once we put together a stellar cast. There will be some who will think that it’s too hard to make, but we can only hope.”

We took a show of hands, and Kym gathered up all of the copies, bar mine, to take on a trip to America, to talk to their friends. It was now out of my hands until we had a positive response. In the meantime, we worked on films that we could make, even doing one that was totally made in the studio, like films of old. It was the ‘spaghetti western’, with me as Dolly, the whore with a heart of gold. Cynthia, Belle, Moyra, and Samantha were the other girls, Jeff was a gunslinger sheriff, with Eric as a hard-as-nails rancher. It was surprisingly quick to make, with most of the cast and crews so used to working with each other. We did change the name for the release, to ‘Deadwood Dolly’.

In the meantime, we had followed our usual winter holiday. Jeff and I went to the apartment on Palma, with the others near Valencia. I didn’t write a thing, but just relaxed until Jacquie rang to tell us that we would be going to the Golden Globes, followed by the BAFTA awards again, as well as the Oscars. The Globes had us nominated for the Best Motion picture (Drama), Kurt and Kym were up for the two supporting performances, with me for the screenplay.

‘Wind of Change’ was up for the four acting, direction, and editing in both the other ceremonies, as well as Adapted Screenplay in the Oscars, and Cinematography at the BAFTA’s. Jim also rang me to tell me that a three-DVD set that had been released for the festive season was leaping off the shelves, and that I was needed to make a couple of appearances in the big store entertainment departments. One would be at Harrods and Burberry were on board for that one.

I had never set out to have a DVD set of films, but this set was marketed as Julia Leigh’s ‘Weather Set’, with ‘Turbulence’, ‘Lost in a Gale’, and ‘Wind of Change’. There was also a two DVD set with ‘Thirteen Women’, and ‘Wind of Change’ that was listed as my ‘Lorrorfilm’ collection.

We worked the same as we did the previous year, with Jeff and I meeting David, Tony, Kurt, and Kym in Los Angeles. We brought home the Globes in everything we had been nominated for. When we got to the BAFTA evening, we had a big table for the big crowd of us. It was an interesting evening. David, Tony, and Cecil each got their masks. Kurt and Kym won the main acting ones, while Eric and Cynthia got the supporting ones. I didn’t mind, the cleaning service was starting to complain about dusting and polishing my collection. We didn’t take home the Best Film but did win the ‘Outstanding British Film’.

After that, it was the usual craziness that’s the Academy Awards. You can never get used to this award night, as there are always new faces among the old. A lot of the established stars were retiring, or dying, and there was a new breed of crazies taking their place. I decided that I may have had enough of it, vowing to work in the background so that I’ll never have to come again. Some revel in it, to some it’s like a drug, but to me it had become as unwanted as a plane full of drunken louts and crying babies.

We did have a successful evening, all the same, so it wasn’t all doom and gloom. I took home the screenplay statuette, while David took the directing one. Kurt and Kym made it a treble with the main acting ones. Eric missed out on the supporting actor, but I picked up the supporting actress award.

I was looking at spring and summer without anything happening, the first time for some years. None of the small films we had made were good enough for premieres, but all did get reviewer screenings. Little did I know that others were planning to fill my days. Jim had been working with Jacquie to organise a world tour, seeing that I wasn’t wanted on a set. Burberry wanted to be on board, as well.

So, Jeff and I were at the spring fashion shows, in France and Italy, in Burberry, as well as attending special showings of our films. After that, it was several capital cities in Europe, then it was down through Africa, across to India, and then across Australia, in their winter. That, I found, was almost as nice as our English spring.

We started in Perth, went to Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney. After that, it was New Zealand, back to Brisbane, Singapore, and then up to Japan, where our films had some kind of cult status, being akin to some anime monster magazine stories. We caught up with Wendy in Sydney and went to see her on stage in a drama, she was becoming a popular Aussie actress.

After that, we were in America for two months, coming home to Heathrow and bringing the first snows of the following winter with us. Larry and Brendon had been with us all the way, augmented by Ruth and Colin across Asia. They went home from Auckland, and Jaquie and Bronte joined us for the Japanese and American leg.

All the time, I was being spoken to about projects, offered screenplays, parts in local films, and also about involvement in an executive capacity. I kept records of everything and told all of the people that I would sit down and look at everything when I had arrived home. In America, Kurt and Kym caught up with us and told us that they had a list of very well-respected actors for the cast and had a studio that was interested. While we were in Los Angeles, we visited the studio, discussed the screenplay, and shook hands on a deal.

After it had been discussed by the shareholders, we all flew to New York to meet with the studio heads and the backers. We signed contracts that gave them the right to changes in the screenplay should any part be impossible to film, but only after consultation. They also had the rights to make any changes to the script to make it more American. The money that was going to be paid up front to the cast was eye-watering. The film would have to pass four hundred million to even begin to break even. I took one percent as the screenplay writer and ‘consultant’. ‘Younger Films’ was on the two percent for supplying the directors and other services package. The backers had assured themselves that it would fly, so they were now the pilots.

David and Tony spent the best part of the next year on this one, with me flying in to help as needed. Kurt and Kym were revelling in their parts and had snared Jeff to play one of the crew, so he was spending a lot of time away.

When I was at home alone, I started thinking about another story. If this one flew, another would be good to follow it up with. I had learned enough about all of the different facts of the business to have an appreciation of how things work, if ‘Tycoon’ as it was now being called, was a hit, they’ll be clamouring for more.

It took a visit to see my Mum which gave me the idea. We spoke about my father, and I went home and wrote the title to my next film on a blank sheet of paper. The title was ‘An Interesting Occupation’.

I wrote nothing more for a month. Then we had our winter break. Jeff was home again, oddly withdrawn, and we were in the apartment on Palma. As we had no awards to attend in the New Year, we were able to spend a bit longer resting. Jacquie was keeping us in the loop about the irons we had in the fire. “Turbulence’ was still showing around the world and had been slowly earning good money. ‘Thirteen Women’ was still showing in a lot of cinemas and had pushed well past the billion at the box office, as had ‘Wind of Change.’ ‘Lost in the Gale’ had been taken up by television stations around the world and had become very popular as late-night movie watching.

I had spent a lot of time on research with my new story. The film opens with a large body of soldiers on parade. The Sergeant-Major shouts “At Ease” and the commanding officer addresses the assembled men. The time is June 1945, the place is Germany, and the soldiers are the British Army of Occupation on the Rhine (BAOR). The speech is all about the letter that Montgomery had sent out, stipulating how the soldiers should show the vanquished German population that they are everything that their own army wasn’t. The C.O. calls for the three ‘C’s. Caring, Compassion, and Correctness in their dealings with the locals, as well as with the Prisoners of War that they would be guarding and helping to be absorbed back into civilian life.

As the men are dismissed, we meet our main cast members. A lieutenant, sergeant, two corporals and twenty privates who had enjoyed a good war, only arriving on the beach after D Day, as after-invasion support. These were men who had sold rations for sexual favours, looted museums on their way to Berlin and had created a small squad of villains that the army didn’t, yet, have the power to stop.

Marianne Gregory © 2024