Still Surreal...

Patrick wrote:

It’s already October, nearly five months since Nick (co-producer) and I signed Hollywood screenwriter Jay Wolpert (The Count of Monte Cristo/Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl) to write the adaptation to A Century of November (A.C.O.N.), and it’s still very surreal.

Jay was our first choice, and when we sent the book to his agent, we weren’t sure what to expect. Would he even get the book? Would he read it? The reality of this is that he did receive it (thank you Rich!) and he did read it, and fortunately for us, he loved it as much as we did.

Sometimes it’s difficult to take that first step, especially when you are shooting for the stars. When you consider dealing with a commercially successful writer who has helped create the second most successful box office franchise trilogy in film history (2.7 billion worldwide, right behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy!), that task can seem daunting.

As they say, it’s not real until you sign on the dotted line, but I guess until we feel the script in our hands, the idea of making a feature film at this level still seems like a dream.

The film industry that I am familiar with, the business that has sustained me for years, is going through some pretty dramatic changes. Vancouver has mostly been about servicing Hollywood productions, and for the first time in a long time, this work seems to be going elsewhere.

This gift of the “best of all worlds” - working on big American films, with big stars, and not having to leave this gorgeous city appears to be dwindling. Threatened writer’s strikes and an ever-strengthening Canadian dollar (or weakening American economy, depending on how one looks at it) are making Vancouver less attractive to producers.

The filming that is underway now has been secured by producers who have negotiated with the Canadian dollar for what it was worth months ago.

Many can fool themselves into believing that our film infrastructure, talented crews and diverse locations will be enough to save the service business here, but I feel that we need to start focussing on what will sustain us indefinitely: the creation of a truly indigenous industry. It’s not just about cutting wages or increasing tax incentives. We need to create our own viable film business here;

• development,
• pre-production,
• production,
• post production, right through to
• distribution

and use the American marketing model to reach a worldwide audience.

Really, this is what we are doing with A Century of November (A.C.O.N.). It’s not an impossible journey. We are first time feature filmmakers aiming to create a studio film, initiated in Canada. We started with baby steps.

Where did we begin? It’s all about the story.

First, we found the source material we thought would make a great novel.

A Century of November, is the story of a father who hears word that his son has been declared “killed/missing” on a Belgian battlefield during the First World War. Wanting to bury the hope of his son returning home, the man journeys to the western front to find the exact spot where he fell.

It’s a great story about an “everyman” who just needs to know what happened to his son. It takes place in 1918.

It could be the story of any parent today whose loved one has journeyed half way around the world, to fight in a dangerous conflict over economic dominance under the guise of fighting for the liberty of a helpless people.

Second, we secured the option, giving us the exclusive right to develop the story into a feature film. This process took about six months, but the experience was tremendously rewarding in so many ways. We have a real believer in Mary Bisbee-Beek, (Director of Trade Marketing, Publicity and Foreign Rights at University of Michigan Press), and received the blessing of the tremendously talented author, W.D. Wetherell.

Next, we sent the book out to our first choice to adapt it into a screenplay, and fortunately for us, Jay wanted to take up the challenge. It’s funny how things work themselves out and are sometimes meant to be.

Nick and I asked each other what movie, adapted from a novel in recent years, impressed us the most. Almost simultaneously, we said The Count of Monte Cristo.

Not knowing who the screenwriter was, we quickly looked it up on imdb.com to discover that Jay Wolpert not only wrote the adaptation to “The Count”, but he was the first screenwriter hired to adapt Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.

Having worked in film long enough to be ‘realistic’ on how Hollywood works, I practically threw up my hands, saying “Forget it; we’ll never get a guy like that to write this script.”

Nick, the eternal optimist, however, has a different way of looking at things and simply suggested sending Jay’s agent the book. After much prodding, I finally surrendered and Fed Exed the book to Rich Freeman at Paradigm, with a small typed letter to Jay inserted inside.

The next step for me, was to promptly put it out of my head. The book was sent, I did my part. Let’s move on.

In the meantime, we pursued other leads for a potential screenwriter, but we could never quite find what we were looking for.

Months later, out of the blue, I received a call on my cell.

“Patrick? This is Jay Wolpert….Thank you so much for your letter, and I read the book. I loved it. But there’s not a hope in hell that I can adapt this into a script for you. I’m way too busy, and quite frankly, I’m sure you can’t afford me.”

All I could think of was, “Holy shit. Jay Wolpert is on the phone, he read the book, and he loves it.” The rest of the stuff about not having any time and that we couldn’t afford his rate, etc. seemed to be blocked from my brain. All I could think of to say was, “That’s encouraging.”

I called Nick immediately. The fact was, at this moment, we were convinced:

A Century of November is gold.

Jay’s call encouraged us to really get to work. If he likes the book, then other top Hollywood screenwriters would too.

Fortunately for us, before any others could respond, Jay called back, saying that he couldn’t stop thinking about the book, but was still too busy to tackle this project. He also mentioned that if some of his pressing assignments started to clear up, maybe he could consider talking about an adaptation.

He also suggested that Nick and I come up with a potential offer, something he wouldn’t normally receive from a studio.

We started to think. We started to get excited. Until…..

Another month later, Jay called once again. “My slate is clean. Let’s negotiate.”

We came up with the beginnings of a deal, and in September of 2006, Jay flew up to Vancouver to meet with us.

Although this meeting was of great importance, Nick had a previous engagement he could not break or reschedule, so I met with Jay myself.

The meeting was a tremendous success, as we discussed creative story points and what needed to happen to negotiate successfully.

Although it took eight agonizing months, we worked out a viable partnership, and Jay signed to write the adaptation to A Century of November.

So, you see, nothing’s impossible: persistence is everything.

As ACON begins, we’ve recognized our opportunity.

We’re taking our shot.