Pokémon: The Resurgence - Curtain Call

As I sit here with my whisky beside me, the night after our premiere, I'm finally allowing myself a moment to relax. One thousand one hundred and sixty-four days later. From concept to completion. That is how long this film has taken to make. Now this probably doesn't seem that long, particularly when comparing it to another script I have been writing over the past six years called 'Mud over Blood'. I suppose the difference is, once I started writing 'The Resurgence' I knew I had almost all the resources to actually create this film and bring it to life. And what I didn't have, I was sure I could get. So once the script was complete, I immediately began working on props and everything I thought would be needed before that pivotal night at a friend's birthday party. I was sitting alone in the club being anti-social. I didn't really know how to let go and have a good time when my now very good friend, Mozz, came over and said "Why are you sitting alone like a loser? Come have a drink." We got to talking, and he wanted to know about my film and said it could be something he was interested in helping me produce. 

Cut to two and a half years later and here we are, the film has premiered in a small 78-seat cinema with an encore screening straight after as we sold out the first screening within a day. It's a pretty crazy feeling and one of the rare moments in my life I am truly proud of. This has certainly been a learning curve, that's for sure. Before this moment I was 'just' an actor that had started to dabble in script-writing. The only thing I knew about making a film was that I wanted to do it. But where would I start? I have been lucky enough to spend my time with a lot of very talented actors, so I was sure a solid cast would be easy to find. However, I didn't have a single contact outside of that. This was where Mozz filled in the blanks, most crucial of which being his recommendation for and incredible DoP (Director of Photography), Matthew Scott. A meeting was set up and the three of us met in a little cafe in the city. I sat there eating a croissant as Matt started to talk about shots and his excitement towards shooting this script. After a small location scout and some sample shots on Matt's iPad, I was sold. No one else was going to be shooting this film. Matt came with a bunch of recommendations for crew members he had worked with and trusted, all of whom quickly jumped on board, and we were ready to set sail.

Now as hectic as it is shooting a film, the upside was that all of the crew were there in the moment feeling the energy. The post-production side of things is a different story altogether. Finding the right people to do sound was a five-month journey, but we found a really amazing and passionate team that were excited to take on the challenge. Lastly, with all the positive feedback we had received about the film's trailers, there was one niggling little thing that kept appearing in the comments - "You call this a Pokemon film? Where are the Pokemon?!" When I wrote this film I made sure we could avoid CGI due to the limited budget I had, most of which came from my own pocket (I had some help from my partner, my family, and an amazing friend). Yet I couldn't shake the idea that maybe we have a responsibility to give the fans what they want. Which we did. This meant pushing the release date back to find a CGI team, which meant another five-month long journey that would find me collaborating with the team that eventually took the project on.

I have learnt a lot from making this film, as I am sure I will get to learn plenty more on the films to come. Yet the biggest thing I can take away is this, yes it IS possible. I always had a dream of running a film production company, telling stories, and acting in them. Today, that dream has officially become reality. There were moments throughout this process that were insanely difficult to overcome, but never once did I feel like I couldn't complete this film. The challenges and obstacles that stood in front of us as we climbed the mountain that is film-making were there to test our resolve. So many films never get to the finish line because of any number of issues. Some can seem quite insignificant when you look back at it, but in that moment you are calling helpdesks around the world racing to find an answer to a problem that needs to be fixed before the screening which is in a matter of days. Through the stress and the highs and lows, the finish line was something that we were always going to cross. My message to any dreamers out there that read this blog is to never give up, don't put restrictions in place or say "I can't". Start saying "I can". If you want it enough then you will problem solve all that you need to. You might even end up shooting your vision purely on a mobile phone with zero dollars whilst in between lunch breaks from work. But you will look back and have a finished project, and that is something to be proud of no matter what. I have the utmost of respect for anyone that has ever completed a film. There were challenges you faced not too dissimilar from the challenges I faced. My hat is off to you and I would love to watch your film. Send me a link to it in the comments and let's grow together :)

For me now at the end of it all, I know it's just the beginning. With this film now ready to show itself to the world, I need to start writing the next ones.